Content Warning: the following article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The MCU's Spider-Man has certainly had more than his fair share of pain over the course of his very young life. Though the superhero is generally known for being upbeat and carefree, Peter Parker has suffered greatly ever since taking on the mantle of Spider-Man.
The recent release of Spider-Man: No Way Home added to Peter's trials and tribulations, putting him in some of the most difficult situations of his life. With his first MCU franchise trilogy complete, viewers can look back on all the painful moments that helped build an amazing superhero.
Hit By A Train
Spider-Man: Far From Home puts the titular hero through the wringer as he comes to realize that Quentin Beck, Mysterio, whom he believed to be his friend, had been stringing him along throughout the entire film, all in an effort to steal a valuable piece of technology from him. When the two face off against one another for the first time, the confrontation ends after Beck tricks Peter in front of a passing bullet train.
While Peter's peculiar powers protected him from serious harm as a result of the collision, this moment represented far more than potential broken bones. This sequence was representative of Peter's "dark night of the soul," as screenwriters label it, the moment when the hero has lost everything and seems incapable of surmounting the perils of the villain. It took a serious pep talk from Happy Hogan to motivate the young hero to charge back into battle.
Trapped Beneath The Rubble
After learning that Liz's father is actually the weapon-smuggling supervillain known as the Vulture, Peter confronts his homecoming ride in an abandoned warehouse, only to end up buried beneath several cement columns when Toomes causes the building to collapse.
This proves to be one of Spider-Man's lowest moments, ripped right from the comics, as the hero lays helpless under the rubble, pleading for someone to come and rescue him. Despite the hopelessness of his position, however, Peter gathers enough strength to save himself, going on to stop the Vulture's plans.
Tricked By Mysterio
In many ways, Mysterio is the best Spider-Man villain in the MCU, in part due to his wily deceptions, which fooled even the likes of Nick Fury (or, at least, a Skrull that looked like him). While he fooled just about every character in the film, Mysterio's deception of Peter hurt the most.
Unlike the other characters who worked with Quentin Beck, Peter looked at the supervillain in disguise as a friend and mentor, a replacement for the recently deceased Tony Stark. The revelation that Beck had been deceitfully plotting against him the entire time nearly broke Peter, and nearly cost him his life.
Ruining Liz's Life
One of the characteristics of Peter Parker that has made him such a timeless and beloved aspect of modern literature is just how much he cares about the people around him. More often than not, Peter is willing to put all others before himself, the essence of a true hero.
Despite his best efforts, however, Peter can't always stop those around him from getting hurt. Such was the case with his high school crush, Liz, whose father was revealed to be the villainous Vulture. Peter was forced to put her father in prison, essentially ruining Liz's life in the process. In one scene, he is forced to confront his actions as he says goodbye to her forever.
Identity Revealed
While many other superheroes have secret identities in the comic books, none holds their anonymity quite as sacred as Spider-Man. In the migration to the MCU, most heroes eschewed the secret identity schtick, all except the Amazing Spider-Man, who took great care to make sure that his identity was not betrayed--that is until Mysterio publically announced it to the entire world.
The opening act of Spider-Man: No Way Home addresses the fallout of this event, as the school-aged Peter is forced to endure endless attacks on his character after losing his anonymity. His entire life, and the lives of his friends, falls apart, causing him to take unorthodox measures to reverse Mysterio's actions.
Losing Uncle Ben
Unlike the other cinematic versions of Spider-Man, Tom Holland's version of the character has never seen an on-screen depiction of Ben Parker, Peter's uncle who is famously killed as a result of the newly superpowered character misusing his new powers. However, the MCU has hinted at Ben's death, most notably in the zombie episode of What If...?
Though the details of Ben's death are still scarce, it is clear to see that the event had an enormous impact on the young Peter. His presence is still felt over every aspect of his life, as he struggles with the intricacies of becoming his own hero in a world filled with Avengers. No matter how strong Spider-Man becomes, he will always still be the young boy who lost his beloved uncle all those years ago.
Blipped
Avengers: Infinity War shocked the world by temporarily killing off dozens of beloved characters after Thanos used the power of the Infinity Gauntlet to erase half of all life in the universe. One such casualty was Peter Parker himself, who dusted away in Tony Stark's arms.
Many fans have wondered if Peter's dusting may have been worse than anyone else's, as his spider-sense seemed to detect his imminent demise before the others. While all the others who were Blipped away were confused, Peter knew exactly what was happening, and was powerless to stop it. This event kept the arachnid hero dead for five years and had a disarming effect on his extrasensory powers for months afterward.
Losing Tony Stark
One of the story elements that made Iron Man one of the MCU's best Avengers was his mentor relationship with the young Peter Parker. Approaching the end of his career as a hero, Tony took Peter under his wing, teaching him to be the best superhero he could be. This made it all the more tragic when Tony sacrificed his life to stop Thanos at the end of Endgame.
Unlike the unseen Uncle Ben, the audience got to see Peter's distress at Tony's passing, watching him plead with the elder hero to live. To add to the tragedy of the situation, Tony seemed unable to respond to Peter's words, making their final interaction one of silence and tears.
Losing Aunt May
While the MCU's Spider-Man films have steered clear of Uncle Ben, they have swapped his tragic death out with another of Peter's beloved relatives: Aunt May. May is killed after sustaining injuries from a confrontation with the Green Goblin, and Peter is forced to watch her fade away before his eyes.
This death broke Peter, nearly driving him to kill the Green Goblin with his own glider, only stopping after the variant from Earth-96283 (Tobey Maguire) stepped in the way. May's death has become this Peter's "Uncle Ben moment," and will surely influence his superhero career forever.
Erased From Existence
No Way Home's finale saw three variants of Peter Parker take on supervillains from various dimensions in an effort to cure their ails. However, their victory did not prove to be enough, and Holland's Peter was forced to sacrifice the world's memories of him in order to stop the multiverse from shattering.
As a result of this selfless sacrifice, Peter lost all connections to those whom he held dear. His best friend and girlfriend now have no memory of him, nor do any of his superhero allies. Peter's entire life was whisked away all at once, leaving him entirely alone. Nevertheless, as he always does, Peter soldiers on, carving out a life for himself despite the tragedy that had befallen him.