‘Parker Luck’: The Weird Reason Comics Spider-Man Is So Miserable In Brand New Day
If TikToks and Instagram reels have taught me anything these past few days, it’s this — the Spider-Man fandom love it when Peter Parker is miserable. It’s something they really relish.
I’ll admit it — there is something quite endearing about Peter when he is a broke and lonely loser. And it’s fair to say that the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer really delivers on that front.
It seems like, whatever happens, the worst-case scenario always happens to Peter. Repeatedly. Some might call it depressing, but I prefer to call it character building. But there is an order to the chaos that encompasses Peter’s life, and that’s ‘Parker Luck.’
What is ‘Parker Luck’?
Coined by Marvel, Parker Luck is the canonical explanation for why things suck so hard for Peter. It’s essentially a kind of bad luck curse bestowed upon our favourite web-slinger. The presence of Parker Luck ensures that, no matter how difficult things get for Peter, he can always go lower — whether that be in his romantic life, job, or a particularly gnarly injury from his crime-fighting.
It has become a recurring theme in the comics. There’s a lighthearted reference in ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ issue #50, Volume 2, when Peter and Mary-Jane describe travelling to L.A. and New York, respectively, but end up missing one another. “Typical Parker Luck!” they say in unison.
But Parker Luck is more than just a gag — for Peter, it’s a way of life. There’s a heavier depiction of Parker Luck in ‘The Spectacular Spider-Men’ issue #4. Peter can be seen sitting with his family as he says, “I’m the luckiest man in the world.” He then comes to the grim realisation that “the Parker Luck was never that good.” The rest of the page features a large illustration depicting all of Peter’s losses alongside text that reads: “The Parker luck is always like this…”
How Does Parker Luck Work in the Spider-Man Movies?
Though it might seem less obvious, Parker Luck is also present in all the Spider-Man movies.
Remember when Tobey Maguire’s Peter struggled to pay his rent? Parker Luck. Andrew Garfield’s Peter losing Gwen Stacy? Parker Luck. In fact, if you think about it, all the canon events established in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, like the death of important family members/father figures like Uncle Ben, are, in essence, various instances of Parker Luck in action. If we follow this logic, one could argue that Parker Luck is, like canon events, a fundamental part of the Marvel multiverse.
When we met Tom Holland’s Peter, he was a cheerful and optimistic high school student. Since then, he has been put through the wringer. He’s been snapped by Thanos, witnessed his mentor, Tony Stark, and Aunt May die, been accused of killing Mysterio, had to make his girlfriend and best friend forget who he is, and has been without a single friend in the whole world.
The broken man we see in the Brand New Day trailer has definitely had his fair share of Parker Luck, and if masochistic fans have it their way, Peter’s suffering is only just beginning.
