How dark should Spidey be?

[jimishim12]

I asked this with Superman, so what about the wall crawler and the tone of his stories and narrative with his personal life and his hero life? Also what of his supporting cast and villians.

[Metamorphosis]

I think generally the tone of Spider-Man should be bright and upbeat.

However, he's a very versatile character that can work with a variety of storytelling styles, and can definitely go dark with good results (Death of Gwen Stacy, Death of Jean DeWolff, Kraven's Last Hunt, Back In Black).

[Internet-man]

Spiderman is inherently a lighter character. But he shouldn't be too light either. A little darkness accentuates the light.

[dragonmp93]

Well, he should never be as dark as the X-men.

[boots]

pretty much what everyone here has already said.

[taylortexas]

As a general statement I would say Spider-Man lends itself towards being a lighter character. I don't mind some occasional darkness though as struggling with tragedy, loss, or dire circumstances plays into Peter's humanity which is very important.

[Gnarlly]

Not as dark as most comic book "heroes" these days. Stories like Back in Black are too dark in my opinion, and even Kraven's Last Hunt is bordering on crossing the line. Spider-Man stories should be fun overall, and only on rare occasions should there be tragedies that eventually become lessons and/or opportunities for Spider-Man to prove his convictions (ex. the No One Dies premise).

[weezer17]

I wouldn't say dark all the time, but I love a well-written dark Spider-Man on occasion. "Kraven's Last Hunt" is a perfect example of dark Spider-Man done right; it's so good that it's my favorite Spider-Man story ever, and it's not in the least bit upbeat per his usual tone. I also quite liked JMS's "Back in Black" arc; probably the last good Spider-Man story of his run before OMD happened.

[Mauled]

While Spiderman is fairly up beat himself, he does deal with fairly dark themes. Harry's drug addiction as 1 example and MJ with her abusive home life etc Not counting his duality as both Peter and Spiderman.

[DanielPeter@Spiderman3DS]

spiderman should be bright and fun most of the time but he was the first hero to deal with adult themes (death of the stacys,venom,harry drug poblem. etc)
but thats it

[Shishard]

I like both. I would like to see a fun title like Spidey and maybe a dark version of Spiderman, not a bad guy but a play on where good guys should draw the line and even blur it when dealing with major villans.

I really liked Superior just not the whole doc oc is spidey. I did like how he pushed what a good guy is. he was shady but for the right reasons.

[Mister Mets]

There have been some really good dark Spider-Man stories, but it works better in contrast to the norm of a relatively lighthearted superhero.

[Celgress]

I think generally the tone of Spider-Man should be bright and upbeat.....

I agree make the majority of stories too dark/serious, like they were in the 2000s', and Spidey comics stop being a fun read and instead become a depressing slog.

[MarioHerald]

I like both. I would like to see a fun title like Spidey and maybe a dark version of Spiderman, not a bad guy but a play on where good guys should draw the line and even blur it when dealing with major villans.

If you haven't, I humbly recommend to you to read the recent Scarlet Spider series. It's quite close to what you describe in the second part of your sentence.

Here is a thread I made of it with several opinions on it (and some minor spoilers).

Scarlet blood drops on the stone - Kaine the Scarlet Spider and Hummingbird appreciation
http://community.comicbookresources....9-appreciation

[Dr. Skeleton]

They went the dark route in Clone Saga and look how that turned out.