Most of the time, Spider-Man is victorious. He’s one of the best superheroes around, always doing his utmost to save the day no matter how dire the circumstances. However, on occasions, he fails. Nobody, not even somebody with the abilities and good-nature of Peter Parker, is capable of saving everybody from death.
So we’re now going to look back at all the Spider-Man movies and pick out the saddest death from each one. Starting with the blockbuster that started it all…
8 Spider-Man (2002): Uncle Ben
When we first meet Peter Parker in 2002’s Spider-Man he’s somebody pushed around by his peers, with love interest Mary Jane Watson the only person willing to fight his corner. However, he can always bank on the love and support of Uncle Ben and Aunt May at his home in Queens.
And it’s that fact which makes Ben Parker’s death that bit more tragic. He’s shot by Flint Marko (although we wouldn’t know that for five more years) with Spider-Man chasing down Dennis Caradine, who he believes is to blame. Ben’s passing comes after a final exchange with Peter where the latter had been rude and disrespectful. Thankfully, it fuels his determination to rid New York City of super villains in the years that follow.
7 Spider-Man 2 (2004): Rosalie Octavius
We very nearly went with Otto Octavius for this one. Otto, after nearly destroying the city, sacrifices himself in order to prevent New York City from being sucked into his dangerous fusion power project.
But it’s the death of Rosalie Octavius that triggers his descent into villainy. We see her and Otto before the experiment and they’re loved up, an inspiration to Peter and his own hopes of romance with Mary Jane. She’s killed when Otto’s experiment goes wrong and the villain is never able to recover, determined to set things right and prove a point to her from beyond the grave. Unfortunately, all this leads to is more destruction – before Spidey, with a little help from his old mentor, saves the day.
6 Spider-Man 3 (2007): Harry Osborn
Harry Osborn and Peter Parker are close friends when we first meet them in 2002’s Spider-Man but, by the time Spider-Man 3 rolls around five years later, they’re enemies instead.
Harry blames Peter for the death of his father and had come close to killing his friend in the previous blockbuster. However, upon learning that Norman Osborn’s wounds had come via his own glider, he decides to reunite with his pal in order to take down Venom and Sandman. Tragically he pays the ultimate price with Eddie killing him using his glider – in scenes that echo the death of his father two movies before.
5 The Amazing Spider-Man (2012): Captain Stacy
Captain Stacy isn’t the nicest of people in The Amazing Spider-Man. He’s against everything our hero stands for but, upon learning the web slinger’s identity is none other than Peter Parker (who is dating his daughter Gwen), he changes and agrees to team up with him to save New York’s citizens from Curt Connors’ horrific Lizard experiment.
Before Peter can stop Connors, Stacy is killed by the Lizard. Prior to his death, he tells Spider-Man to leave his daughter alone but it’s something he finds extremely difficult, with the duo getting back together after a brief split by the time the credits roll.
4 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014): Gwen Stacy
To this day, there’s not been a scene in a solo Spider-Man movie like the death of Gwen Stacy. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 left much to be desired but it nailed the biggest moment of the film, turning us all into blubbering wrecks in the process.
Gwen’s death comes about as Spidey is battling Harry Osborn, who has become the Green Goblin. She falls from a great height and, though Peter Parker attempts to save her life, he fails with Emma Stone’s character hitting the floor. This, and the funeral scene that follows, left barely a dry eye in the theatre.
3 Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017): Jackson Brice
Okay, this death isn’t actually that sad. But it is a bit of a blow from an audience perspective, with Jackson Brice the far better Shocker of the two that appear in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming.
He’s got charisma, courage, and a fondness for being bad – but Jackson is killed by Adrian Toomes for acting up. Herman Schultz then dons the Shocker gloves but he’s got zero personality and we can’t help but feel the bigwigs at Sony and Disney should have just stuck by the first rendition of the character instead. Plus Herman gets defeated by Ned – which is, quite frankly, embarrassing.
2 Into The Spider-Verse (2018): Uncle Aaron
Every superhero gets to a point where they need that extra push to knuckle down and achieve their goals. And Miles Morales’ in Into The Spider-Verse comes when Uncle Aaron is killed off by Wilson Fisk.
He was also closer to his Uncle than he was his own father and this tips him over the edge, convincing him to embrace his powers and take the fight to Fisk. Thankfully the death of Aaron does have one silver lining – that Miles and his dad finally get to become close again.
1 Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019): Mysterio
Okay, so this is a bit similar to the Spider-Man: Homecoming one. We’re thinking selfishly here because Mysterio was an excellent villain and, in Jake Gyllenhaal, he was portrayed by an actor at the pinnacle of their profession.
His death was sad, though. He was somebody molded by Tony Stark, who had treated all his hard work with nothing but mockery. Mysterio wanted to be something special when really he was a nobody – is that so bad? His methods certainly were, though, and it’s a good thing he was stopped before murdering Peter Parker and all his friends.
