Ultimate Peter Parker/ Spider-Man ‘Ultimate Spider-Man #160’
This is hands down the greatest hero death in comics to me. In my opinion, this is the on par with Barry Allen’s sacrifice in 1985 “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” I know that’s blasphemy to say to some of y’all, but who was the last hero who buried a G like this? Peter took a slug to the side for Captain America. Mind you, Captain America was saying how untrained he was and questioning his ability as a hero. He took a hot one for Steve Rogers.
Parker then had to get up and fight off Electro, Sandman, Vulture, Kraven, and Osborn when they brought the war to his front door. Parker laid cats out in the street with the help of friends and family but the stage was set for the final show down. Mask off with the streets recording him and Norman going at it. It took pile-driving a mack truck onto Norman to put his ass down. The damage was done to Peter, but he didn’t leave before telling his Aunt May one last thing…
What makes this death so poignant was the execution. What Parker had to pull through, what he had to endure but the real attention to detail was in the aftermath. It’s always said Spider-Man becomes the best of all the heroes. Captain America said it to him in this universe as well. We saw what happens when there is no guarantee that Parker would live to see that day. The way Bendis had all of New York City mourning his death, J. Jonah Jameson felt afterwards, how Nick Fury felt like Parker was his own son that he had failed, and even the people saved by Spider-Man years prior paying respect. This was a level of honors and impact that sent ripples through the entire Ultimate Universe.
However, looking at death in fiction from a different angle, maybe it can be said that even though we get annoyed with the constant flexibility with which death is treated in comics, we keep reading them because it isn’t that flexible in the reality. I mean, who amongst us wouldn’t accept any excuse the universe gave us to see the return of someone we loved or card for? We won’t get that on this side of the panels but it is at times a great thing to be able to welcome back a favorite character inside the panels.
Source: Omar Holman at blacknerdproblems.com