Top Ten Deaths in the Live-Action Spider-Man Films

This list covers the main character deaths in the live-action Spider-Man films. This includes the Sam Raimi Trilogy, the duo of Marc Webb's Amazing Spider-Man films, as well as the MCU Spider-Man films: Homecoming, Far From Home, and No Way Home.

Please note that this list will not include any animated movies. Therefore, Into the Spiderverse is excluded since it's not a live-action film.

Additionally, this list will not include movies that are part of bigger franchises like the two Venom movies or the other MCU movies that Spider-Man appears in. For instance, his dusting in Infinity War will not be included here as it's not a true Spider-Man movie.
The Top Ten
1 Ben Parker (Spider-Man)

Starting off at #1 is the original Ben Parker's death from the very first live-action Spider-Man film. This event serves as the motive for Spider-Man to become the person he will ultimately be. The most tragic aspect is that Peter never witnesses his father figure's death. He only sees the crowd and finds him in his final moments.

This follows a moment of defiance when Peter lets the money thief at the wrestling rink go. Ever since, Parker has chased down that crook. What really cements Ben's death in the #1 spot is that it remains an unsolved case. In the third movie, it's revealed that Flint Marko was the killer. So, Parker pursues him, and in the end, we discover that Marko himself harbors deep regret. This is because his accomplice (the original Dennis Carradine) startled him while he held the gun. This death is profoundly sad for both Parker and the one who accidentally shot him.

2 Ben Parker (The Amazing Spider-Man)

Now, we turn to the next Ben Parker from the Webb duology. This Ben, like his predecessor, is a true role model for Peter Parker, whom Peter initially defies but ultimately regrets doing so. This death is more pronounced, as we witness Ben dying at the hands of the cash register thief who tossed the milk at Parker when he couldn't pay.

The thief had a gun, and Ben, trying to do the right thing, gets shot by him. We see it happen, and Peter's spider-sense goes off. It's just as tragic here as with the original Ben Parker, and sadly, Peter never finds the murderer in this case.

3 Gwen Stacy (The Amazing Spider-Man 2)

One can argue that if Gwen had kept to herself and not assisted Spider-Man in stopping the bad guys, she could have survived. After all, she was going to move to England to enroll in Oxford, and she had to break up with Spider-Man since her father, who died in the last movie, wanted them to stay apart.

But heroism does have consequences, and despite these movies not being well-received, we can say that Gwen's death at the end of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was certainly a very emotional moment.

4 May Parker (Spider-Man: No Way Home)

As you'd expect, the characters who were closest to Peter Parker end up being the highest-ranked deaths in these films. It's devastating to lose the last family member you had. The only reason this is ranked under both Ben and Gwen is that we can tell eventually Spider-Man will come around, thanks to his alternate selves also having to deal with these losses.

In her final moments, May was trying to help these alternate universe villains until something went wrong, and she lost her life because of it. It almost turns MCU-Peter into a vengeful killer against Green Goblin at the climax, and the ramifications are significantly worse at the end. Parker is not known by anyone, and he doesn't have any family or friends left by the end. May was his biggest financial support, and starting from scratch in the current time frame is something he now has to deal with, and it's a gargantuan gap to fill.

5 Quentin Beck (Spider-Man: Far From Home)

Mysterio in the Far From Home movie is an example of a villain who is always three steps ahead. This guy has plans for mass casualty events, and although he does get exposed soon enough, he is more than willing to murder Peter and his friends in the process.

Caught in the crossfire of his own equipment, he dies, but even in death, he has the last laugh due to exposing Peter's identity and framing him as a real criminal.

6 Otto Octavius (Spider-Man 2)

"I will not die a monster." I think that line speaks for itself. Science should be used for the good of mankind, but as we can see with this whole movie, it's easy to corrupt.

7 Harry Osborn (Spider-Man 3)

Sworn on vengeance for the death of his father and believing it's all personal, Harry only gets slightly lucky in the beginning but then loses his memory. He seemed like a good friend until he regained his memory, as well as MJ.

But even after all this, it had to take his butler to tell him that yes, it was his own father who ended up accidentally dying. So, before Spider-Man could lose to Sandman and Venom, Harry arrives as backup, and the two were a good team until Harry himself had to make the sacrifice to save Spider-Man.

8 Norman Osborn (Spider-Man)

"Peter, don't tell Harry." Norman clearly wanted to be the best businessman and scientist but let a bad side get to him. This gives him a lot of clairvoyance, but at the cost of his sanity and his own life at his own hands.

Naturally, this should be higher than Harry's death in the third film, but Harry had more of a reconciliation while his dad didn't. It's still strong how his ghost wants Harry to avenge him, though.

9 George Stacy (The Amazing Spider-Man)

He dies by the Lizard's hands in this movie but proves to be a good ally once he learns that Spider-Man is Peter. Very determined to help, yet at the same time, it's unfortunate that Gwen loses her dad to the villain.

He tells Peter to avoid Gwen, a promise that isn't kept well.

10 Eddie Brock (Spider-Man 3)

This is a good case of what could have been. As some know, Sam Raimi didn't want him in, but Avi Arad insisted, and he became a secondary villain to both Harry and Flint, arriving much later. It's actually sad in hindsight what happened to him, considering he was Peter's photography rival who really wanted to impress Gwen Stacy. However, he gets upstaged by Peter due to him having the black Spider-Man suit and even having him fired for being a fake.

As a result, he ends up wanting to kill Peter but discovers the symbiote and becomes Venom. He becomes even more desperate when he becomes addicted to the symbiote's abilities. Peter does manage to kill the Venom symbiote using the ringing noises, separating Eddie, but as Peter tosses a goblin bomb, Eddie also jumps in and is blown up instantly, leaving no trace.

The Contenders
11 Max Dillon (The Amazing Spider-Man 2)

By this point, I sort of ran out of very harrowing character deaths in the live-action Spider-Man films, so why not go with something that was quite explosive and awesome to look at?

12 Jackson Brice (Spider-Man Homecoming)

The only death in Spider-Man: Homecoming, it was an accidental death by Adrian Toomes, who basically fired the guy, literally. He was fired because he was being a jerk to their black market operation and failed to do things under the radar.

But in an effort to punish the guy with an anti-gravity gun, Toomes accidentally uses a Chitauri weapon instead, which disintegrates Brice from the inside out. Accidental, but Toomes does not miss the guy at all.

13 Rosalie Octavius (Spider-Man 2)

Although a minor character, she was a lovable wife to Otto Octavius. When the experiment he did went wrong, she was caught and hit with sharp glass all over. This death influences the doctor to do some villainy, as he believed he had nothing else left.

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