For this weeks blog I want to talk about Spider-Man. With it being the 50th anniversary of Spidey and if you’ve been reading my blogs this month you probably already know that I’ve been talking about Spidey a lot. Well, here’s some more talk but this time I’m going to talk about some of the best issues of Spidey’s there is to read.
Ultimate Spider-Man 13, written by Brian Michael Bendis, who knows the core of what made Peter Parker/Spider-Man/Mary Jane such great characters. In this issue Peter tells MJ his secret identity of being Spider-Man. I love this issue because it shows how great these two character are with each other. It has great dialog where Peter explains exactly why he has kept his identity a secret and what might happen if it was known. It’s in this instance we get to see the thrills of MJ finding out the secret then quickly learning how much it takes to be Spider-Man, and that now their relationship has grown more.
Amazing Spider-Man #299-#300 written by David Michelinie with such great art by Todd McFarlane, it was these issues that would change the world of Spider-Man and even Marvel Comics. Here we get the villain Venom aka Eddie Brock, who got the alien symbiote that has the same powers as Spider-Man with the organic webbing. Difference between the two is that Eddie is stronger and a lot crazier, plus he don’t set off Peters spider-sense. Since that fateful day when these issues came out the world of Peter Parker/Spider-Man has been plagued by multiple Venoms as well as the offspring of Venom, most evil and a few good but it’s been on entertaining ride.
Amazing Spider-Man #229-#230, written Roger Stern and artwork of John Romita Jr. pits Spidey against Juggernaut. Which just knowing that should be enough to get you to read the issues and all I’ll say is this was one of the most interesting fights I’ve seen of someone going up against the unstoppable Juggernaut. It’s a great 2 part story, here’s Spidey, a guy that’s strong but the Juggernaut is unstoppable and has taken on the X-Men and kept going, so what can Spidey do? Well read it to find out, it’s worth it.
Spectacular Spider-Man #107-#110, The Death of Jean DeWolff story line is one that is still effecting Spidey’s life. Jean was a cop who liked Spider-Man, both as a hero and having feelings for him, but she never told him and after being killed by the villain Sin Eater, Peter learns of her feelings. This story shows that even Spider-Man has a point that will push him to the limits and it took Daredevil to step in to stop Spidey from becoming a killer himself. It’s a strong story that shows a side of Spidey that’s rarely seen.
Amazing Spider-Man #38 Vol 2, written by J. Michael Straczynski and art work of John Romita Jr. finally has Peter confronted by Aunt May about Spider-Man. After his battle royal with Morlun, Peter is beaten, battered, and passed out in his bed when Aunt May discovers him and his Spidey suit. What we find out in this issue makes all three characters stronger and more enjoyable, which is another reason why the whole retcon of Brand New Day sucks.
The Other, this story didn’t just take place in one title, it spanned all of Spider-Man titles and it was something that hadn’t been done before, Spidey is beaten and killed. Yep that’s right, Spidey dies in this story from being beaten by Morlun (yeah that guy I just mentioned above, he came back after Spidey to finish the job). This story took place in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1-#4, Marvel Knights Spider-Man #19-#22, The Amazing Spider-Man #525-#528 and was by far the greatest battles that I’ve read in a Spider-Man story and one that drove me nuts having to wait for each title to come out.
Amazing Spider-Man #634637, Grim Hunt, another great set of fights that pushed Spider-Man to the edge. Spider-Man has to face most of his biggest foes, fighting each one because Ana Kravinoff the daughter of Kravin the Hunter has plans for bringing her father back to life so he can finish off Spidey. These led into the story of Grim Hunt where I was actually shocked by what happens, 2 heroes, well known heroes at that, are killed by the Kravinoff’s and when Spidey finally faces off with Sasha Kravinoff about what she and her daughter did, Spidey did something with his powers that had my jaw drop and I’m still amazed that they did this.
Amazing Spider-Man #36 Vol 2 or otherwise known as the Black Cover Issue where Marvel has Spidey facing the aftermath of 9/11. Wrote by J. Michael Straczynski and drawn by John Romita Jr., this issue was heart wrenching and still is, more so then when it was so soon after the attack. It’s a sad story but Straczynski handles it with great skill and the art that Romita Jr. puts into this shows the heartache of what this day brought to everyone.
And for now the last of the greats,
Amazing Spider-Man #121-#122, The Death of Gwen Stacy. Wrote by Gerry Conway and drawn by Gil Kaine, these 2 issues changed the life of Peter Parker/Spider-Man so much that it still has effects on him. There have been people, many people, that have died that Spider-Man knows but Gwen was the one he loved and how she died took more from him than anyone or any other event has. These issues defined the future of Spider-Man and Peter Parker, even the supporting characters were changed because of it.
That concludes my favorite reads of my favorite character Spider-Man. With this being his big month I thought it would be good to give a few great reads of the character that if you haven’t read would be ones that you should read. And if you did read them then I’m sure you would agree, these were a lot of fun.