While Spider-Man has a lot of evil villains, one of his darkest has yet to appear, but is practically primed to make their big screen debut soon enough. The MCU has featured some interesting takes on classic Spider-Man rogues, such as Vulture and Mysterio, but those two are nothing compared to the insidious nature of one perplexing foe.

Fans who have been following the development know that the next film following Peter Parker is Spider-Man: Brand New Day. That subтιтle means a lot to fans of Marvel’s wall-crawler, but one thing people may be overlooking is a plotline from that particular story arc involving a conspiracy to frame Spider-Man by planting Spider-Tracers on deceased bodies.

But it wasn’t one person with a grudge against Spider-Man planting those tracers, but rather, an entire cadre of crooked cops. While there’s lots of directions the upcoming Spider-Man movie could go, having him take on the Spider-Tracer Killer could be an interesting path to pursue as the MCU Peter Parker starts taking on more complicated threats beyond supervillains.

The Spider-Tracer Killer Plot is One of Spider-Man’s Darkest Storylines

Peter Parker Faced a Type of Foe He Never Saw Coming

Shortly after Spider-Man sold his marriage to Mephisto in exchange for saving the life of Aunt May, a new era referred to as “Brand New Day” began. It was a huge change to status quo as Spider-Man’s idenтιтy was once again a secret after revealing it during Civil War, and Peter started to build his life back up.

Shortly after “Brand New Day” began, a thief stole one of Spider-Man’s web shooters, only to end up ᴅᴇᴀᴅ in an alley. One of Spider-Man’s spider-tracers were found in the victim’s mouth, making Peter’s alter ego the number one suspect. Unfortunately, this was the first of many bodies to be found spider-tracers and the public started to turn on Spider-Man.

This case of the Spider-Tracer Killer took a serious turn when Peter’s ally and brief love interest, Carlie Cooper, found a cache of spider-tracers under the bed of Peter’s roommate, Vin Gonzales. Thankfully, Vin wasn’t the culprit, but he was being set up, along with Spider-Man, by a group of corrupt cops working for the New York Police Department.

The police believed that Spider-Man was a menace to New York and decided to frame him so they could bring him to justice in a conspiracy masterminded by Sergeant Palone. Thankfully, Vin was beat the frame-up and arrested Palone for his role. While Spider-Man made it out alright, his relationship with the public and the NYPD took a major hit.

The MCU is Giving Spider-Man a Brand New Day

After No Way Home, Peter Parker is in a Low Place

After being introduced in Captain America: Civil War, the MCU version of Peter Parker was on top of the world. He was working with Tony Stark and was outfitted with a slick, advanced costume to help him keep his city safe. While there were some ups and downs along the way, Spider-Man thrived for a good few years.

Then things started to turn after Endgame, when his mentor died and Peter was left to become a more independent hero. Unfortunately, after placing his trust in the wrong person, Spider-Man’s idenтιтy was leaked to the world by Mysterio and Peter found himself as the most wanted person in the world. With no other options, Peter turned to Doctor Strange.

Like the comics, Peter was able to get his secret idenтιтy back with a bit of magic. And just like the comics, that came at a very high price. At the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, a spell erases the knowledge of Spider-Man’s secret from everyone’s minds, including his closest allies, MJ and Ned Leeds, leaving Spider-Man completely alone.

The next Spider-Man film is currently in production and the fourth movie in the franchise will use the subтιтle ‘Brand New Day’. While there are no plot details to speak of just yet, the film seems to be taking a key from the comics, given the reset to Spider-Man’s status quo and the downswing Peter’s life appears to be taking.

The MCU Shouldn’t Be Afraid to Tackle This Part of Spider-Man’s Life

It Was a Dark Time in Peter’s Life and the MCU is Ready to Reflect That

The Spider-Tracer Killer plotline happens when Peter’s at a low point. He’s lost his love and with his restored secret idenтιтy, he was in violation of the Superhuman Registration Act so distrust of Spider-Man was at an all-time high. Now that the MCU Peter is at a similar low point, it’s time to give him a different kind of challenge.

If there’s one thing fans know about Spider-Man, it’s that he really goes through the ringer. Both the comics and the MCU have done a good job of putting both versions of Peter through some truly trying events. But one thing that the movies have held back on is Spider-Man being targeted in such a personal and perturbing manner.

Fans have seen him face supervillains, but seeing Peter become the target of a conspiracy by cops is an incredibly interesting and compelling storyline. After all, Spider-Man can’t solve that kind of problem with a giant superhero battle. He has to completely rethink his approach while still fighting for a public that is turning against him.

Granted, MCU adaptations are rarely 1:1 when bringing particular storylines to life. But if the MCU really wants to do something different with Spider-Man, Marvel Studios should strongly consider bringing in this storyline. Now’s the best time to do it and overcoming this kind of harrowing experience can ultimately make Spider-Man a stronger and more resilient hero.