Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Amazing Spider-Man #65

Surprisingly, Spider-Man just quit his latest responsibility as a superhero in the comics. However, it's not hard to blame the iconic Webslinger considering what he's just been through. Having been chosen to serve as Earth's champion in the mystical Covenant of Cyttorak, Peter Parker's latest trial may have truly broken his spirit (and it may take some significant time and work for it to be repaired).

In the ongoing "8 Deaths of Spider-Man" storyline, Doctor Doom (Marvel's current Sorcerer Supreme) has tasked Spider-Man with fighting in the Covenant of Cyttorak, a series of trials and battles against the chaos god's scions to protect the world. As such Doom grants Peter Parker with new magical armor and the eight Reeds of Raggadorr to bring Spider-Man back to life following each trial. However, Spider-Man's newest trial in the new Amazing Spider-Man #65 from Joe Kelly and Cafu may have been far too much for him.

Spider-Man Just Quit His New Magical Misson To Save The World

Peter Parker's Absolutely Over The Covenant of Cytorrak

Having just died for a fifth time, Peter Parker has decided to quit the Covenant of Cyttorak. Having been guided by the ethereal spirit of Doctor Strange, the former Sorcerer Supreme begs Spider-Man to continue the trials, knowing full well the mystical consequences that would come for Earth if the trials are not completed in full. According to Strange who used to endure the Covenant himself every year, the fate of the world depends upon victory within the Covenant and over Cyttorak's scions.

That said, Spider-Man confirms he no longer cares in Amazing Spider-Man #65. This is a pretty surprising move considering Spider-Man's whole thing is about the great responsibility that always comes with great power. That said, it's not surprising why Peter Parker feels so broken after this latest issue from Marvel Comics.

It's Hard To Blame Spider-Man Considering His Latest Trial

Watching The Deaths of All His Friends and Loved Ones

Thanks to the scion named Cyra, Peter Parker was just shown the deaths of countless friends and loved ones, beginning with his Aunt May and Mary Jane Watson. He then sees the tragic deaths of J. Jonah Jameson, Betty Brand, Robbie Robertson, Norman Osborn, Felicia Hardy's Black Cat, Spider-Boy, Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, and so many more as they're taken from the mortal plane and escorted to the next life by Phil Coulson, the Marvel Universe's current embodiment of Death itself. However, it's not just that he sees their deaths in real time.

What makes this trial so hard is that Spider-Man is made to feel the loss of every single person, and he's also shown just how quickly their names, legacies, and memories are forgotten in the grand scheme of time. While the exact number of deaths Spider-Man witnessed isn't specified before Peter himself dies once more at the hands of Cyra's twin brother Callix, Strange later reveals that his record was 171,963 in a past Covenant. Interestingly enough, this is likely an Easter egg, as The Amazing Spider-Man #17 in 1963 featured Aunt May in the hospital and one of the first times Spider-Man struggles with his responsibility.

Spider-Man Has Truly Been Broken This Time

What Will Bring His Back To His Responsibility?

Having tried and failed to stop Coulson from inevitably taking his friends and loved ones, it's Phil Coulson himself who ends up holding Peter as he breaks down from the sheer weight of all the loss and feeling that life is meaningless. As such, it seems Cyra has successfully broken Spider-Man, hence his refusal to continue serving as the world's champion in the Covenant of Cyttorak, even though he only has three more trials to go. After all, Peter Parker was already tired of repeatedly dying and all the pain that comes with each demise before this latest trial.

"Spider-Man's uncharacteristic state of defeat and feelings of pointlessness is certainly justified and understandable..."

Combined with the fact that he's now been forced to witness and feel the loss of everyone he cares about and the end of so many lives in succession, Spider-Man's uncharacteristic state of defeat and feelings of pointlessness is certainly justified and understandable. Regardless of his responsibility, Spider-Man has tragically lost his will to fight, and perhaps even to live at all in the aftermath of this truly brutal trial. As such, it's going to take something pretty big to shake Spider-Man out of this dark state in the issues that are still to come.

The Amazing Spider-Man #65 is now on sale from Marvel Comics.