Out of all of Marvel’s beloved heroes, Spider-Man has had the most chances on the silver screen. As of the time of writing, there have been three different actors for live-action incarnations of Spider-Man, not to mention animated projects like the Spider-Verse movies. The people love the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and so it’s only natural that he gets plenty of chances to get in front of new audiences with brand new takes on some of his best stories. However, even though there are so many different Spider-Man adaptations and each pulls from the same source material, most of Peter’s best stories have never been adapted into movies.
So today, we’re going to look at seven of Spider-Man’s best stories that have yet to be adapted. Some have obvious reasons for not making the leap from comic to movie, but some that are absolutely begging for a chance to wow a brand new audience. Besides, if “One More Day” can be loosely adapted into a movie that is generally well-regarded, if not outright loved, then any of these masterpieces can easily do the same. Without further ado, let’s get started looking at Spidey’s best stories.
7) The Original Clone Saga
While the “Clone Saga” is infamous for being one of Spider-Man’s worst comics and one of Marvel’s most baffling decisions, it was a spiritual successor to a legitimately great story. The precursor to the “Clone Saga” took place from The Amazing Spider-Man #144 to #150. Just over twenty issues after her death, Gwen Stacy shows back up in Peter’s life, seemingly alive and well. Peter naturally refuses to believe this, and eventually stumbles into a conspiracy headed by his biology professor-turned-supervillain, Miles Warren, the Jackal.
This storyline revealed the identity of the Jackal, who had tormented Spider-Man for months, and dove deep into both Peter and the importance of his relationships. It explored his love for Gwen against his new love for MJ, as well as had an epic conclusion where he overcame his fear of being a clone. This story might be hard to adapt into a movie, as Gwen would need to be introduced and then killed for it to hit half as hard as it does here. Still, I’d love to see a movie play around with this type of story, especially if it set up for a Scarlet Spider movie to boot.
6) Spider-Man: Blue
While this is Spider-Man’s classic stories focused on Gwen Stacy, Spider-Man: Blue comes from the legendary duo of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. It’s Valentine’s Day, and Peter speaks into a tape recorder to dictate the story of how Gwen and him fell in love. It’s a heartfelt recollection of some of Peter’s happiest and most painful memories. It digs into the grief and guilt he carries even years later, even after marrying MJ. For her part, MJ asks Peter to say hi to Gwen for her, too.
The most interesting part of this story in any possible adaptation is the frame narrative. Given the nature of the story, it would almost require Peter to narrate at least some of the events. Losing out on the predominant blue color scheme would also be a major hit to the story’s theme. Still, an animated movie based on this comic would make the entire audience weep, without doubt. It’s nowhere near something like that, but Josh Keaton, Peter’s voice actor from the beloved Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon, did a reading of this comic’s opening monologue that is downright perfect.
5) The Origin of the Hobgoblin
The Hobgoblin is easily Spider-Man’s most underrated foe. Roderick Kingsley stumbled onto one of Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin hideouts and used the technology and Goblin Formula to become a criminal monster in his own right. Instead of being insane, Kingsley was obsessed with total financial domination and used his Goblin persona to spread chaos and blackmail his rivals. His first clash with Spider-Man has gone down in history as one of the most climactic and eventful eras that Peter has lived through. Kingsley is one of Peter’s best rogues and definitely deserves the chance to show moviegoers exactly what makes him so terrifying.
4) Spider-Island
This massive Spider-Man-centric event is the perfect comic for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The return of the Jackal and Spider-Queen sees people all across Manhattan suddenly develop powers identical to Spider-Man’s. The effort to cure New York and stop Spider-Queen’s plan of transforming New York City into her personal army takes Spider-Man to every corner of the superhero community. He works with the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and just about all of his important side characters. This story is the ultimate celebration of Spidey’s connections and an action-packed adventure like no other.
This story is genuinely fantastic for the MCU because of the wide number of extra heroes it employs. Most of the main players are already established, so focusing a movie on a Spider-Man event like this could connect them in a way that helps the world feel real, instead of like they only talk to each other when the Avengers decide it.
3) “The Death Of Jean DeWolff”
Unlike most of Spider-Man’s other fantastic stories, this one is a very low-to-the-ground mystery story. Spider-Man’s close friend Jean DeWolff was murdered in her sleep, and Spider-Man became obsessed with finding the killer at all costs. His investigation brought him closer to Daredevil, who learned Peter’s identity, and tried to keep Spider-Man from going too far once he found the man responsible, a delusional villain named Sin-Eater. This is one of Spider-Man’s darkest storylines, focusing on grief, rage, and the ugly nature of revenge.
Adapting this story to the silver screen would make for a much darker story than most Spider-fans are used to, but it would still be incredible to see one of Spider-Man’s most mature stories expanded and adapted. However, the only concern is that Jean DeWolff would have to be a pre-established character, so as to have the audience feel as much rage as Peter does. Definitely one I desperately want to see adapted someday.
2) “Kraven’s Last Hunt”
Speaking of mature and dark Spider-Man stories, no comic fits that description better than “Kraven’s Last Hunt.” After years of being humiliated by the Wall-Crawler, Kraven decided to prove once and for all that he was superior to Spider-Man in every way. He drugged Spider-Man, then buried him alive. After, he wore Spider-Man’s suit and went around pretending to be him, showing that he could even do everything Spider-Man could. Spider-Man eventually dug his way out of his own grave in one of the coolest panels ever, but by that time, Kraven had fulfilled his final desire and taken his own life.
“Kraven’s Last Hunt” would obviously not hit as hard if it were his first time hunting Spider-Man, but still, any adaptation of this comic would maybe be farther than most studios are willing to go with the Web-Slinger. It would be an incredible watch, but it’s definitely more of a Kraven story than a Spider-Man one.
1) “Coming Home”
This masterpiece of a story arc features the introduction of one of Spider-Man’s deadliest foes, and the bloodiest, most brutal fight he’s ever been in. The interdimensional animal-Totem vampire Morlun set his eyes on Spider-Man and beat Peter down harder than ever before. This was Peter’s first step into the more mystical side of his mythos, introducing concepts like his status as a Spider-Totem and the destiny that entails. Not only is this high-octane action, but it also demonstrates Peter’s resourcefulness, determination, and strength of character, even when it looks like it’s leading to his death.
A movie adapting this arc would be an absolutely insane ride of mayhem and brutality, which might make it too violent for live action and most animation. That doesn’t mean that I don’t hold out hope that one of Spider-Man’s best arcs will inspire a movie one day.
So there we have seven of Spider-Man’s best stories that, surprisingly, haven’t been even loosely adapted into a movie. Not yet, at least. Which Spider-Man story would you love to see up on a movie screen?
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