Marvel Knights: Spider-Man is a 2004 series from Marvel Comics, starring the titular Spider-Man. It's written by Mark Millar with art by Terry Dodson.
The series was released under the Marvel Knights imprint, which was intended to have a more mature take on the character.
The first issue was released April 14, 2004.
Marvel Knights: Spider-Man: provides examples of:
- Anti-Climactic Unmasking: In issue 4, the Vulture attacks the hospital Spider-Man is brought to and kidnaps the highly injured superhero to finally learns his secret identity. Once he sees Peter Parker's face he's visibly disappointed that he was beaten up by an average looking nobody he doesn't recognize.
- Aside Glance: In an issue of Marvel Knights: Spider-Man, Peter and Liz Allan get talking during a high-school reunion. Liz reflects on how weird their lives have been, from the Living Brain attacking the school to Harry Osborn (and his dad) both being the Green Goblin, and concludes that sometimes, it feels like Peter's the only normal person she knows. Peter's reaction is priceless.
- Big Damn Heroes: The Avengers are this when they show up right when the Sinister Twelve are about to kill Spider-Man.
- Buried Alive: In the first arc, Norman Osborn has Aunt May kidnapped and buried alive as part of a plan to put Spidey in such a blind panic that he wouldn't be paying attention to Osborn's efforts to assemble a new incarnation of the Sinister Six.
- Capitalism Is Bad: Norman Osborn mocks Peter with classist insults, for being a loser who works as a high-school teacher despite his great talent, which Spider-Man retorts by pointing out that Norman could well have cured cancer with all his wealth and connections if he actually cares about improving lives. Norman then replies that he only said it to hurt Peter by his values, because he on the other hand as he puts it, "I don't give a rat's ass".
- Corrupted Character Copy: Ethan Edwards
is another Marvel Comics sendup of Superman, a Skrull who was sent to Earth from his dying world, raised by a kindly couple in midwest America, became the star reporter of the Daily Bugle in his civilian identity (which didn't last long) while becoming a Nigh-Invulnerable Flying Brick in his costumed identity. Unfortunately, he's also a Hot-Blooded Failure Hero who has a Freak Out when he discovers he's an alien. Spider-Man convinces him to keep using his powers for good, but he comes to believe destroying The Avengers, who lack Spider-Man at the time, is a good thing because Hercules killed a Skrull god to stop Secret Invasion (2008). - History Repeats: The Green Goblin invokes this by bringing Mary Jane to the same bridge where Gwen Stacy died.
- Legion of Doom: In the finale of the first story arc Green Goblin assembles a new team of Spidey villains. Rather than the usual Sinister Six this time it's the Sinister Twelve.
- Meta Twist: Right after Spider-Man sends Green Goblin to prison, Aunt May is kidnapped. Osborn protests that he hasn't had time to formulate a revenge plan from prison yet, so it couldn't have been him. It turns out the mastermind was Mac Gargan AKA The Scorpion AKA the new Venom. But he didn't know who Spider-Man was and wasn't smart enough to orchestrate the scheme, so who gave him the instructions? Norman Osborn, of course.
- Not Me This Time: The series kicks off with a story in which Aunt May is kidnapped. Spider-Man immediately confronts Norman Osborn, who's in prison, demanding he return her. Osborn says he had nothing to do with it, because he's in prison. Of course, being imprisoned (or even dead) has not stopped Osborn on other occasions. And it turns out that he really was responsible.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: When Mac Gargan reveals to Peter he's the one responsible for Aunt May's kidnapping he's disappointed Peter not even recognize him as being the Scorpion as civilian and argues that it must be disappointing to Peter it was just him as Peter didn't even think about him. Later in the series he takes over the symbiote and becomes the new Venom to prove that he isn't that harmless.
- Powerful, but Incompetent: This is highlighted when Scorpion becomes the new Venom, as even with the symbiote at his command he's still less effective than Eddie.
- Power Perversion Potential: In one Marvel Knights storyline, Electro is seen frequenting a brothel with a mutant prostitute who can assume any form a customer desires. She seems to specialize in super-heroines, but mentioned that some customers with fetishes had requested rather unusual ones, even Fin Fang Foom. Her conversation with Electro is cut off by Spidey breaking into the place before he can tell her what he wants, so there's no way to tell.
- Rejected by the Empathic Weapon: In issues #6-8, the Venom symbiote was purchased by a mobster for his loser of a son to use. They go on to kill an innocent guy wearing a Spider-Man costume, until finally the symbiote became so fed up with the failure's whining and general incompetence that it ejects him mid-Building Swing.
