The Horror of Spider-Man

WARNING: SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD REGARDING CERTAIN SPIDER-MAN COMICS.

While the tights wearing Spider-Man, and almost any super-hero, does not come immediately to mind when you think horror, there are quite a few stories in the long history of Spider-man comics that could easily fall under the auspices usually resigned to the horror comics. From the Lovecraftian creature from “Hooky” to the more traditional monsters in the Universal Studios vein, there are many such stories.

I intend to have follow up articles exploring the various Spider-man comics, regardless of the title, that convey a sense of horror. I do not include things that, while suspenseful and horrible, do not quite feel like Horror. Done right, almost any of the villains of Spider-man, starting at the simple masked murderer Sin-Eater to the frightening masked Green Goblin, could be done as a horror comic. Not many are.

Many super-villains, simply by their powers and motivations that are encountered by Spider-man, would, to a normal person, be horrific. When you are dealing with a super-hero such as the web-slinger, he is not going to be phased by a Michael Myers or a Jason Voorhees (even in the canon where he is spawned from hell).

In fact, in many comics, there are sections in comics that convey, from the criminal’s perspective, that it is in fact Spider-man himself that is the element of horror.

I am generally looking at the feel of the comic, the effect it has on the hero, and/or if it is a traditional horror theme or villain.

Let’s begin with the impetus of this chain of articles. When the first thought of horror and Spider-Man combine for me, I think of the 1986 Graphic Novel “Hooky” by Susan K. Putney and Berni Wrightson.

Marvel Comics, Hooky, 1986 – Writer Susan K. Putney, Artist Berni Wrightson

In the horror circles, Susan K. Putney, a science fiction author, may not be known. However, that sci-fi element lends itself to the horror-alien aspects of the comic.

Berni Wrightson is a different story. (As his name on Hooky is spelled Berni, I have kept that, but he also spells it, Bernie.) He is a well-regarded horror comic illustrator. This includes a phenomenal illustration of Mary Shelley’s 1831 edition of Frankenstein.

From Bernie Wrightson’s Frankenstein: Or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley (1831 edition) (1983)

But Hooky was not Berni Wrightson’s only experience with Spider-man, having also done concept art for the first Sam Raimi’s (another horror connection) 2002 Spider-man movie.

Concept art for Spider-Man (2002), by Berni Wrightson.

In Hooky, Spider-man is enlisted by a sorceress trapped at the age of 12 to defend her against the Spindrifter’s Bane. The creature starts as a giant cockroach type character, but continually transforms in a fashion that speaks of the movies “From Beyond” and “The Thing.”

Marvel Comics, Hooky, 1986 – Writer Susan K. Putney, Artist Berni Wrightson

Seeing as John Carpenter’s The Thing¸was released only four years prior, in 1982, and From Beyond in the same year, 1986, as the comic, it would not be surprising that either may have been some sort of influence on the comic, but most likely it is because they all have a shared pedigree – namely a Lovecraftian one.

Stan Winston’s dog-thing from “The Thing” (1982)

Image from 1986 From Beyond.

Great Old One from lovecraft.fandom.com

Wrightson’s artwork is wonderful, and Putney’s writing conveys at the moment the creature grabs hold of Spider-man that Peter Parker, despite his powers, is terrified.

Although there are many dark moments in Spider-man comics, which is a surprise to those who do not read them extensively, but the ambiance of this comic is truly one that fits in right along with other horror mediums.

Hoping I have stoked your curiosity of all things horror, please join me on future articles about the horror treats hiding in the colorful pages of Spider-man comics.