Warning! Spoilers ahead for Savage Spider-Man #4
Fans of Spider-Man have long wondered whether or not the dominant force within him is more spider or man. Well, a recent decision in his life has provided some insight into the answer.
Spider-Man's life has been a bit of a roller coaster lately. He's been trying to stop a performance enhancing drug called A-Plus. Unfortunately, the men behind the scheme injected Spider-Man with it, transforming him into a savage half man-half spider creature that was eventually enslaved by Baron Zemo. Spider-Man broke free from Zemo's grasp and the monstrous shell he was in to return to his Peter Parker self.
Except he wasn't exactly his normal self. This Peter Parker was cold, calculating, and overly logical. In Savage Spider-Man #4 by Joe Kelly and Gerardo Sandoval, Peter decided to sacrifice a large portion of the population in order to save all of Earth. Baron Zemo was going to use the drug on the entire world, but Spider-Man was going to limit the effects to just a small section of it instead, effectively killing hundreds of thousands of people while saving billions. It was a move so out of character for Spider-Man that Zemo swore it was a bluff, but Zemo wasn't aware that this wasn't the normal Spider-Man he was dealing with.
Although it takes a utilitarian approach to heroism, Peter Parker under normal circumstances knows that every life is worth saving. He would never do such a thing like this, but now, after emerging from his savage spider self, Peter's spider-human balance is more in line than ever before. That means if the spider side of Peter is causing him to think this way, then it must not have been as strong in him before the transformation. This indirectly answers the mystical question on whether Peter Parker is more a man or a representative of the spider totem. The answer is man because this is the kind of actions he would take if his spider side were increased.
This is not the first time heroes have taken this approach to saving people, which is why they are often viewed as villains such as the Maker or Thanos in the MCU. The ends do not always justify the means. In fact, the reason they take this approach is because they are often disassociated with their compassion and their humanity. The fact that Peter Parker would never stand for such an action means he is connected to his humanity, even as Spider-Man.
Savage Spider-Man #4 is available now from Marvel Comics.