We all know Spider-Man's origin story. Peter Parker grew up an orphan with his aunt May and uncle Ben, was bitten by a radioactive spider during his teenage years, suffered a terrible loss, and now suits up as New York's greatest friendly neighborhood hero. That's how the tale (usually) goes, but there's an area in the hero's story that remains unexplored in multiple adaptations, and it is the death of his parents.
The Amazing Spider-Man saga tried to dive into the reason why Richard and Mary Parker weren't around to raise their son, but failed to fully deliver on that promise. However, comic book pages solved that mystery back in 1964. Amazing Spider-Man Annual (1964) No. 5 revealed that Albert Malik's Red Skull was the culprit behind their deaths (or so it seemed back at the time).
See, Peter's parents were undercover CIA agents trying to infiltrate the Red Skull's operation. Unfortunately for them, things went sideways once the evil mastermind discovered their true motives. As retaliation, Albert Malik sent Richard and Mary on a "very important" mission, but sabotaged their plane beforehand. A few moments later, they died in a horrible accident, which eventually led to the creation of one of the most beloved heroes of all time.
That was the complete story for many years, but recently, new evidence surfaced that revealed the true killer of Peter's parents, and it's none other than a beloved Marvel hero.
Wolverine is responsible for the death of Spider-Man's Parents
Spider-Man & Wolverine (2025) No. 1 is finally here, and it kicked off things with a bang. Comic book readers are treated to the revelation that S.H.I.E.L.D. used to house "a master database of the world's double agents", which also included detailed records of the missions they went on. However, after the fall of the espionage organization, this highly dangerous asset (called Janus Directory) is up for grabs.
Wolverine — who went on multiple undercover missions in the past — doesn't want the Janus Directory to fall into the wrong hands. As a result, he recruits Spider-Man to break S.H.I.E.L.D.'s encryption, and the two heroes embark on a mission to save the day. On their way to retrieve the database, they come across Mysterio, Kraven, and Omega Red, who want the Janus Directory for themselves. But after a few not-so-complicated confrontations, Peter is finally able to locate and decrypt his target. However, what he found shocked him, as well as everyone reading this comic book issue.
The Janus Directory had a file on Peter's parents (since they were double agents), along with the last video transmission before their passing. Naturally, the wall-crawler played the file and, much to his surprise, Wolverine was hiding in the plane in which Richard and Mary died. Not only that, but all signs seem to indicate that he was the one to sabotage it.
Granted, the video transmission doesn't show Logan directly messing with the plane or murdering Peter's parents, so maybe there's a little bit of room for a retcon later down the line. However, things are looking very grim right now, as it seems that the beloved hero was working for Red Skull back in the day.
To add insult to injury, it's worth remembering that Richard and Mary actually saved Wolverine in Untold Tales Of Spider-Man (1997) No. 1. Logan even congratulated Richard on Mary's pregnancy. The three seemed to be on good terms, but it turns out that was only one part of the story. Now that Peter knows the whole truth, he's determined to make his former "friend" pay.
Remember when Tony found out that the Winter Soldier was behind the death of his parents in Captain America: Civil War? Yes, we're reliving that scenario all over again. So, who will come victorious in the Spider-Man vs Wolverine fight? Well, there's only one way to find out.
Spider-Man & Wolverine (2025) #2 will be released on June 25, 2025.