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Marvel Comics killed Peter Parker & replaced him as Spider-Man in 2012 - and only two people outside a secret circle were told it was temporary: Andrew Garfield & Stan Lee

Peter Parker’s death shocked Spider-Man fans worldwide, and Dan Slott revealed that the secret of Peter’s return was known only by Spider-Man himself and his co-creator

Andrew Garfield In Spider Man No Way Home — Image credit: Marvel Studios

News by Jules Chin Greene, Staff Writer

Published on Sat Mar 29 2025

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Comic book writer Dan Slott did what I have longed to do for years: kill Peter Parker. That may sound sacrilegious to all of you Spider-Man fans reading this, but Slott’s actions led into one of the most memorable Peter Parker-less Spider-Man stories in comic book history: Superior Spider-Man. With Doc Ock traipsing around as New York City as the web-slinger, it gave fans a unique look at the psychology of the longtime Sinister Six villain.

Slott’s Superior Spider-Man was running at an auspicious time: during production of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 starring Andrew Garfield. At WonderCon 2025, Slott revealed that Garfield was one of two people he revealed the fate of Peter Parker to while he was working on Superior Spider-Man. The other person, of course, was Stan Lee.

Slott said, “I looked small children in the eyes and told them, ‘Peter Parker is dead.’ But I broke my oath, I told two people outside of editorial. I got a call from Stan Lee, and he said, ‘Peter Parker is dead,’ and I was like, ‘No he isn’t’… When they had me as a guest on the set of The Amazing Spider-Man 2… Andrew Garfield comes over to me and he goes, ‘So you killed me?’ Slott then recounted how he explained that Peter was still influencing Doc Ock despite being dead. “‘I’m a ghost now,’” was Garfield’s response to Slott. Then, of course, Slott revealed to Garfield that Peter Parker was going to come back in July of that year, and all would be well once again.

Considering how Andrew Garfield also managed to keep his appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home a secret for months before the movie debuted, it’s fair to say that the actor is excellent at handling confidential information. Who knows what else he knows about… well, anything.

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Dates

Mar 28 - Mar 30

Location

Anaheim
United States

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Jules Chin Greene: Jules Chin Greene is a journalist and Jack Kirby enthusiast. He has written about comics, video games, movies, and television for sites such as Nerdist, AIPT, Multiverse of Color, and Screen Rant.