Spider-Man Gave Kingpin A Fate Worse Than Death

When the Kingpin orchestrated an attack on Spider-Man that nearly killed Aunt May, Peter Parker confronted the mob boss in prison and gave him a fate worse than death: he defeated him in front of everyone. Peter beat the Kingpin to a pulp but refused to kill him at the moment because he realized the supervillain living with everyone knowing he can be beaten was better than ending his life.

Spider-Man was in a weird place during the Civil War arc at Marvel Comics. After revealing his identity to the public, he was at odds with Tony Stark over the Superhuman Registration Act – which made Peter Parker a wanted man. On the run, Peter, Aunt May, and Mary Jane hid at a run-down motel while he was a fugitive. However, when Kingpin hired a hit on Spider-Man, it resulted in Aunt May accidentally being shot, leaving her critically injured. Peter would give her a blood transfusion and while she was in a coma, he went after Wilson Fisk.

In Amazing Spider-Man #542 by J. Michael Straczynski, Ron Garney, Bill Reinhold, Matt Milla, and VC’s Cory Petit, Peter Parker, in his black suit, goes to Riker’s Island to track down the Kingpin. Kingpin taunts Spider-Man, calling him a chump, says he’s failed everyone in his family, and wonders if he’s going to kill him as he promised. Peter removes his suit and attacks him in front of a prison crowd. He gives Kingpin such a beating that the villain physically can’t get up, as he bleeds, flailing on the ground. Peter picks him up and slaps him and threatens to put webbing in his internal organs – which terrifies the Kingpin.

Spider-Man says he’s going to kill Kingpin eventually, but not on that day. Instead, he gave him a fate “far worse” than killing him. He tells Wilson Fisk he’s beaten him in front of the most dangerous criminals on the planet and they will surely tell their fellow criminals about how weak he was and looked. Peter tells him the whole country “will know that you’ve been beaten, in public, one-on-one.” He notes that for a man who thrives on ego and pride, it’s the worst pain he could give him.

Peter gave Kingpin a beating of a lifetime and embarrassed the mob boss in front of his fellow inmates. He definitely sent a message. However, he wouldn’t kill the Kingpin, as Aunt May never died as Peter made a deal with Mephisto in the much-maligned One More Day arc. Still, Spider-Man proved even without the suit, he could take on the Kingpin one-on-one and embarrass him to a degree that he’s never experienced before. For Kingpin, he’d probably rather die at the moment instead of live with people knowing how badly he was beaten.

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Liam McGuire
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Lead writer for Screen Rant’s comic team. [email protected]. Find me on Twitter @LiamRMcGuire for comic news and reporting.

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