Marvel theorist suggests there’s a good reason for Spider-Man’s notorious bad luck

Peter Parker is not known for his good fortune. Even before he was bitten by the spider he was a bullied orphan struggling to fit in at school, and after becoming Spider-Man his things don’t improve as he struggles to balance superheroism with a normal life. This has seen many of his loved ones die tragically, his marriage erased by Satan, being possessed by an evil alien, and whatever the hell was happening in ‘The Clone Saga’.

All this has led fans to wonder whether there might be more to Peter’s difficult life than simply bad luck and a post in r/FanTheories may have hit the nail on the head. The user argues that his bad luck might be linked to the Spider-Verse comics’ reveal that his Spider-sense is the result of all Spideys being connected to the multiversal Web of Life and Destiny.

This lets them sense short-term danger happening in other universes, resulting in what appears to be short-term precognition. But if multiple Spider-Men are tweaking the Web of Life to dodge trouble, perhaps that has direct consequences for other Spider-Men who smack headlong into bad luck in another part of his life? After all, every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

It’s a neat theory and appropriately enough puts Peter at the center of his own misery. A reply says that this “makes too much sense” and it’s pointed out Spidey’s life tends to quickly improve anytime he loses his powers and can’t use his Spider-sense.

We have more multiversal action in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse coming in June 2023, so here’s hoping they expand on how the Web of Life stretches across Marvel’s properties, perhaps even encompassing Tom Holland’s MCU Peter Parker.