Spider-Man's Self-Loathing Makes Him Smarter Than Reed Richards

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Marvel fans around the world are well-aware of Spider-Man's propensity to be bogged down by his own guilt. Peter Parker is defined by guilt as much as Batman is defined by vengeance: it is a trait that both characters can never escape, no matter how hard writer after writer tries. But in Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1, Spider-Man's guilt actually managed to save the day rather than ruin it — while Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four used his magnificent intelligence to solve the same problem (and failed).

Peter Parker's self-loathing and constant guilty conscience first appeared at the shocking conclusion of Amazing Fantasy #15, in which Peter discovers Uncle Ben's killer was in fact a burglar whom he failed to stop earlier that day. Thus began a lost history of Spider-Man blaming himself for the many tragedies in his life — only some of which are his fault.The Night Gwen Stacy Died is perhaps one of them; Spider-Man's method of catching Gwen Stacy actually caused her death (in fairness, she would have died regardless of his actions). Aunt May's almost-death in Spider-Man: One More Day is in a moral grey area, and something that Spider-Man fans still argue about to this day.

Related: Why Tim Burton Didn't Direct Spider-Man 2002

InGiant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1, written by Joss Whedon, a bullet from the mysterious Breakworld has been fired and immediately endangers the Earth. The Fantastic Four, X-Men, Avengers and other heroes know the bullet is coming and also know the round is shielded by a mysterious «magical protection.» The protection comes in the form of mind-manipulation: every character with a plan to stop the bullet believes they stopped it before it actually arrives. Reed Richards engineers a miraculous