Writer-editor
Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter
Steve Ditko created the character of Spider-Man, and the pair produced 38 issues from March 1963 to July 1966. Ditko left after the 38th issue, while Lee remained as writer until issue 100. Since then, many writers and artists have taken over the monthly comic through the years, chronicling the adventures of Marvel's most identifiable hero.
The Amazing Spider-Man has been the character's
flagship series for his first fifty years in publication, and was the only monthly series to star Spider-Man until
Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, in 1976, although 1972 saw the debut of
Marvel Team-Up, with the vast majority of issues featuring Spider-Man along with a rotating cast of other Marvel characters. Most of the major characters and villains of the Spider-Man saga have been introduced in
Amazing, and with few exceptions, it is where most key events in the character's history have occurred. The title was published continuously until No. 441 (Nov. 1998) when Marvel Comics relaunched it as vol. 2 No. 1 (Jan. 1999), but on Spider-Man's 40th anniversary, this new title reverted to using the numbering of the original series, beginning again with issue No. 500 (Dec. 2003) and lasting until the final issue, No. 700 (Feb. 2013).
1960s Due to strong sales on the character's first appearance in
Amazing Fantasy No. 15, Spider-Man was given his own ongoing series in March 1963. The initial years of the series, under Lee and Ditko, chronicled Spider-Man's nascent career as a masked super-human vigilante with his civilian life as hard-luck yet perpetually good-humored and well-meaning teenager
Peter Parker. Peter balanced his career as Spider-Man with his job as a freelance photographer for
The Daily Bugle under the bombastic editor-publisher
J. Jonah Jameson to support himself and his frail
Aunt May. At the same time, Peter dealt with public hostility towards Spider-Man and the antagonism of his classmates
Flash Thompson and
Liz Allan at Midtown High School, while embarking on a tentative, ill-fated romance with Jameson's secretary,
Betty Brant. By focusing on Parker's everyday problems, Lee and Ditko created a groundbreakingly flawed, self-doubting superhero, and the first major teenaged superhero to be a protagonist and not a sidekick. Ditko's quirky art provided a stark contrast to the more cleanly dynamic stylings of Marvel's most prominent artist,
Jack Kirby, and his astronaut son
John Jameson, and the supervillain the
Chameleon. and the
Tinkerer as well as the beginning of Parker's freelance photography career at the newspaper
The Daily Bugle. The Lee-Ditko era continued to usher in a significant number of villains and supporting characters, including
Doctor Octopus in No. 3 (July 1963); the
Sandman and Betty Brant in No. 4 (Sept. 1963); the
Lizard in No. 6 (Nov. 1963);
Living Brain in No. 8 (Jan. 1964);
Electro in No. 9 (Mar. 1964);
Mysterio in No. 13 (June 1964); the
Green Goblin in No. 14 (July 1964);
Kraven the Hunter in No. 15 (Aug. 1964); reporter
Ned Leeds in No. 18 (Nov. 1964); and the
Scorpion in No. 20 (Jan. 1965). The
Molten Man was introduced in No. 28 (Sept. 1965) which also featured Parker's graduation from high school. Peter began attending Empire State University in No. 31 (Dec. 1965), which featured the first appearances of friends and classmates
Gwen Stacy and
Harry Osborn. Harry's father,
Norman Osborn first appeared in No. 23 (April 1965) as a member of Jameson's country club but was not named nor revealed as Harry's father until No. 37 (June 1966). One of the most celebrated issues of the Lee-Ditko run is No. 33 (Feb. 1966), the third part of the story arc "
If This Be My Destiny...!", which features the dramatic scene of Spider-Man, through force of will and thoughts of family, escaping from being pinned by heavy machinery. Comics historian
Les Daniels noted that "Steve Ditko squeezes every ounce of anguish out of Spider-Man's predicament, complete with visions of the uncle he failed and the aunt he has sworn to save."
Peter David observed that "After his origin, this two-page sequence from
Amazing Spider-Man No. 33 is perhaps the best-loved sequence from the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko era." Steve Saffel stated the "full page Ditko image from
The Amazing Spider-Man No. 33 is one of the most powerful ever to appear in the series and influenced writers and artists for many years to come." and Matthew K. Manning wrote that "Ditko's illustrations for the first few pages of this Lee story included what would become one of the most iconic scenes in Spider-Man's history." The story was chosen as No. 15 in the 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time poll of Marvel's readers in 2001. Editor
Robert Greenberger wrote in his introduction to the story that "These first five pages are a modern-day equivalent to Shakespeare as Parker's soliloquy sets the stage for his next action. And with dramatic pacing and storytelling, Ditko delivers one of the great sequences in all comics." Although credited only as artist for most of his run, Ditko would eventually plot the stories as well as draw them, leaving Lee to script the dialogue. A rift between Ditko and Lee developed, and the two men were not on speaking terms long before Ditko completed his last issue,
The Amazing Spider-Man No. 38 (July 1966). The exact reasons for the Ditko-Lee split have never been fully explained. Spider-Man successor artist
John Romita Sr., in a 2010
deposition, recalled that Lee and Ditko "ended up not being able to work together because they disagreed on almost everything, cultural, social, historically, everything, they disagreed on characters..." In successor penciler Romita Sr.'s first issue, No. 39 (Aug. 1966), nemesis the Green Goblin discovers Spider-Man's secret identity and reveals his own to the captive hero. Romita's Spider-Man – more polished and heroic-looking than Ditko's – became the model for two decades. The Lee-Romita era saw the introduction of such characters as
Daily Bugle managing editor Robbie Robertson in No. 52 (Sept. 1967) and NYPD Captain
George Stacy, father of Parker's girlfriend
Gwen Stacy, in No. 56 (Jan. 1968). The most important supporting character to be introduced during the Romita era was
Mary Jane Watson, who made her first full appearance in No. 42 (Nov. 1966), although she first appeared in No. 25 (June 1965) with her face obscured and had been mentioned since No. 15 (Aug. 1964). Peter David wrote in 2010 that Romita "made the definitive statement of his arrival by pulling Mary Jane out from behind the oversized potted plant [that blocked the reader's view of her face in issue no. 25] and placing her on panel in what would instantly become an iconic moment." Romita has stated that in designing Mary Jane, he "used
Ann-Margret from the movie
Bye Bye Birdie as a guide, using her coloring, the shape of her face, her red hair and her form-fitting short skirts." Lee and Romita toned down the prevalent sense of antagonism in Parker's world by improving Parker's relationship with the supporting characters and having stories focused as much on the social and college lives of the characters as they did on Spider-Man's adventures. The stories became more topical, addressing issues such as
civil rights, racism,
prisoners' rights, the
Vietnam War, and
political elections. Issue No. 50 (June 1967) introduced the highly enduring criminal mastermind the
Kingpin, who would become a major force as well in the superhero series
Daredevil. Other notable first appearances in the Lee-Romita era include the
Rhino in No. 41 (Oct. 1966), the
Shocker in No. 46 (Mar. 1967), the
Prowler in No. 78 (Nov. 1969), and the Kingpin's son,
Richard Fisk, in No. 83 (Apr. 1970).
1970s Several spin-off series debuted in the 1970s:
Marvel Team-Up in 1972, and
The Spectacular Spider-Man in 1976. A short-lived series titled
Giant-Size Spider-Man began in July 1974 and ran six issues through 1975.
Spidey Super Stories, a series aimed at children ages 6–10, ran for 57 issues from October 1974 through 1982. The flagship title's second decade took a grim turn with a story in #89-90 (Oct.-Nov. 1970) featuring the death of Captain
George Stacy. This was the first Spider-Man story to be penciled by
Gil Kane, who would alternate drawing duties with Romita for the next year-and-a-half and would draw several landmark issues. One such story took place in the controversial issues #96–98 (May–July 1971). Writer-editor Lee defied the
Comics Code Authority with this story, in which Parker's friend Harry Osborn, was hospitalized after over-dosing on pills. Lee wrote this story upon a request from the
U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare for a story about the dangers of drugs. Citing its dictum against depicting drug use, even in an anti-drug context, the CCA refused to put its seal on these issues. With the approval of Marvel publisher
Martin Goodman, Lee had the comics published without the seal. The comics sold well and Marvel won praise for its socially conscious efforts. The CCA subsequently loosened the Code to permit negative depictions of drugs, among other new freedoms. "
The Six Arms Saga" of #100–102 (Sept.–Nov. 1971) introduced
Morbius, the Living Vampire. The second installment was the first
Amazing Spider-Man story not written by co-creator Lee, with
Roy Thomas taking over writing the book for several months before Lee returned to write #105–110 (Feb.-July 1972). Lee, who was going on to become Marvel Comics' publisher, with Thomas becoming editor-in-chief, then turned writing duties over to 19-year-old
Gerry Conway, who scripted the series through 1975. Romita penciled Conway's first half-dozen issues, which introduced the gangster
Hammerhead in No. 113 (Oct. 1972). Kane then succeeded Romita as penciler, Her demise and the Goblin's apparent death one issue later formed a story arc widely considered as the most defining in the history of Spider-Man. The aftermath of the story deepened both the characterization of
Mary Jane Watson and her relationship with Parker. In 1973 Gil Kane was succeeded by
Ross Andru, whose run lasted from issue #125 (Oct. 1973) to #185 (Oct. 1978).
Issue#129 (Feb. 1974) introduced the
Punisher, who would become one of Marvel Comics' most popular characters. The Conway-Andru era featured the first appearances of the
Man-Wolf in #124–125 (Sept.-Oct. 1973); the near-marriage of Doctor Octopus and Aunt May in #131 (Apr. 1974); Harry Osborn stepping into his father's role as the Green Goblin in #135–137 (Aug.-Oct.1974); and the original "
Clone Saga", containing the introduction of
Spider-Man's clone, in #147–149 (Aug.-Oct. 1975).
Archie Goodwin and Gil Kane produced the title's 150th issue (Nov. 1975) before
Len Wein became writer with issue No. 151. During Wein's tenure, Harry Osborn and Liz Allen dated and became engaged; J. Jonah Jameson was introduced to his eventual second wife, Marla Madison; and Aunt May suffered a heart attack. Wein's last story on
Amazing was a five-issue arc in #176–180 (Jan.-May 1978) featuring a third Green Goblin (Harry Osborn's psychiatrist, Bart Hamilton).
Marv Wolfman, Marvel's editor-in-chief from 1975 to 1976, succeeded Wein as writer and, in his first issue, #182 (July 1978), had Parker propose marriage to Watson, who refused in the following issue.
Keith Pollard succeeded Andru as artist shortly afterward and, with Wolfman, introduced the likable rogue the
Black Cat (Felicia Hardy) in #194 (July 1979). As a love interest for Spider-Man, the Black Cat would go on to be an important supporting character for the better part of the next decade and remain a friend and occasional lover into the 2010s.
1980s and
Klaus Janson.
The Amazing Spider-Man #200 (Jan. 1980) featured the return and death of the
burglar who killed Spider-Man's
Uncle Ben. Writer Marv Wolfman and penciler Keith Pollard both left the title by mid-year, succeeded by
Dennis O'Neil, a writer known for groundbreaking 1970s work at rival
DC Comics, and penciler
John Romita Jr. O'Neil wrote two issues of
The Amazing Spider-Man Annual which were both drawn by
Frank Miller. The 1980
Annual featured a team-up with
Doctor Strange while the 1981
Annual showcased a meeting with the
Punisher.
Roger Stern, who had written nearly 20 issues of sister title
The Spectacular Spider-Man, took over
Amazing with #224 (Jan. 1982). During his two years on the title, Stern augmented the backgrounds of long-established Spider-Man villains and, with Romita Jr., created the mysterious supervillain the
Hobgoblin in #238–239 (Mar.–Apr. 1983). Fans engaged with the mystery of the Hobgoblin's secret identity, which continued throughout #244–245 and 249–251 (Sept.-Oct. 1983 and Feb.-April 1984). One lasting change was the reintroduction of Mary Jane Watson as a more serious, mature woman who becomes Peter's confidante after she reveals that she knows his secret identity. Stern also wrote "
The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man" in
The Amazing Spider-Man #248 (Jan. 1984), a story which ranks among his most popular. By mid-1984,
Tom DeFalco and
Ron Frenz took over scripting and penciling. DeFalco helped establish Parker and Watson's mature relationship, laying the foundation for the characters' wedding in 1987. Notably, in #257 (Oct. 1984), Watson tells Parker that she knows he is Spider-Man, and in #259 (Dec. 1984), she reveals to Parker the extent of her troubled childhood. Other notable issues of the DeFalco-Frenz era include #252 (May 1984), the first appearance of Spider-Man's black costume, which the hero would wear almost exclusively for the next four years' worth of comics; the debut of criminal mastermind the
Rose in #253 (June 1984); the revelation in #258 (Nov. 1984) that the black costume is a living being, a
symbiote; and the introduction of the female mercenary
Silver Sable in #265 (June 1985). DeFalco and Frenz were both removed from
The Amazing Spider-Man in 1986 by editor
Jim Owsley under acrimonious circumstances. A succession of artists including
Alan Kupperberg,
John Romita Jr., and
Alex Saviuk penciled the series from 1987 to 1988, and Owsley wrote the book for the first half of 1987, scripting the five-part "Gang War" story (#284–288) that DeFalco plotted. Former
Spectacular Spider-Man writer
Peter David scripted #289 (June 1987), which revealed Ned Leeds as being the Hobgoblin although this was
retconned in 1996 by Roger Stern into Leeds not being the original Hobgoblin after all.
David Michelinie took over as writer in the next issue, for a story arc in #290–292 (July–Sept. 1987) that led to the marriage of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson in
Amazing Spider-Man Annual No. 21. The "
Kraven's Last Hunt" storyline by writer
J.M. DeMatteis and artists
Mike Zeck and
Bob McLeod crossed over into
The Amazing Spider-Man #293 and 294. Issue No.298 (Mar. 1988) was the first Spider-Man comic to be drawn by future industry star
Todd McFarlane, the first regular artist on
The Amazing Spider-Man since Frenz's departure. McFarlane revolutionized Spider-Man's look. His depiction – "Ditko-esque" poses, large eyes; wiry, contorted limbs; and messy, knotted, convoluted webbing – influenced the way virtually all subsequent artists would draw the character. McFarlane's other significant contribution to the Spider-Man canon was the design for what would become one of Spider-Man's most wildly popular antagonists, the
supervillain Venom. Issue No. 299 (Apr. 1988) featured Venom's first appearance (a last-page cameo) before his first full appearance in #300 (May 1988). The latter issue featured Spider-Man reverting to his original red-and-blue costume. Other notable issues of the Michelinie-McFarlane era include #312 (Feb. 1989), featuring the Green Goblin vs. the Hobgoblin; and #315–317 (May–July 1989), with the return of Venom. In July 2012, Todd McFarlane's original cover art for
The Amazing Spider-Man No. 328 sold for a bid of $657,250, making it the most expensive American comic book art ever sold at auction at the time. Michelinie–McFarlane's era included the famous
The Amazing Spider-Man #328 (Jan. 1990), McFarlane's final issue on the series, which became one of the best-selling comics of the decade. The story, titled "Shaws!", featured Spider-Man temporarily imbued with cosmic powers, culminating in a battle where he defeats the Hulk with a single punch. Scholars have described this issue as a showcase of McFarlane's exaggerated anatomy and cinematic motion, bridging superhero illustration and fine art composition. McFarlane's original cover art for #328 has been recognized for its significance in the comic art world, highlighted in exhibitions exploring Marvel Comics artists' creative processes. McFarlane's visual approach has been credited with reshaping Marvel’s late-1980s aesthetic and inspiring a generation of comic artists.
1990s With a civilian life as a married man, the Spider-Man of the 1990s was different from the superhero of the previous three decades. McFarlane left the title in 1990 to write and draw a new series titled simply
Spider-Man. His successor,
Erik Larsen, penciled the book from early 1990 to mid-1991. After issue No. 350, Larsen was succeeded by
Mark Bagley, who had won the 1986 Marvel Tryout Contest and was assigned a number of low-profile penciling jobs followed by a run on
New Warriors in 1990. Bagley penciled the flagship Spider-Man title from 1991 to 1996. During that time, Bagley's rendition of Spider-Man was used extensively for licensed material and merchandise. Issues #361–363 (April–June 1992) introduced
Carnage, a second symbiote nemesis for Spider-Man. The series' 30th-anniversary issue, No. 365 (Aug. 1992), was a double-sized, hologram-cover issue with the cliffhanger ending of Peter Parker's parents, long thought dead, reappearing alive. It would be close to two years before they were revealed to be impostors, who are killed in No. 388 (April 1994), scripter Michelinie's last issue. His 1987–1994 stint gave him the second-longest run as writer on the title, behind Stan Lee. Issue No. 375 was released with a gold foil cover. There was an error affecting some issues, which caused them to be missing the majority of the foil. With No. 389, writer
J. M. DeMatteis, whose Spider-Man credits included the 1987 "
Kraven's Last Hunt" story arc and a 1991–1993 run on
The Spectacular Spider-Man, took over the title. From October 1994 to June 1996,
Amazing stopped running stories exclusive to it, and ran installments of multi-part stories that crossed over into all the Spider-Man books. One of the few self-contained stories during this period was in No. 400 (April 1995), which featured the death of Aunt May – later revealed to have been faked (although the death still stands in the MC2 continuity). The "
Clone Saga" culminated with the revelation that the Spider-Man who had appeared in the previous 20 years of comics was a clone of the real Spider-Man. This plot twist was massively unpopular with many readers, and was later reversed in the "Revelations" story arc that crossed over the Spider-Man books in late 1996. The Clone Saga tied into a publishing gap after No. 406 (Oct. 1995), when the title was temporarily replaced by
The Amazing Scarlet Spider #1–2 (Nov.-Dec. 1995), featuring
Ben Reilly. The series picked up again with No. 407 (Jan. 1996), with
Tom DeFalco returning as writer. Bagley completed his 5½-year run by September 1996. A succession of artists, including
Ron Garney,
Steve Skroce,
Joe Bennett,
Rafael Kayanan and John Byrne penciled the book until the final issue, No. 441 (Nov. 1998), after which Marvel rebooted the title with vol. 2, No. 1 (Jan. 1999).
Relaunch and the 2000s Marvel began
The Amazing Spider-Man relaunching the 'Amazing' comic book series with (vol. 2) #1 (Jan. 1999).
Howard Mackie wrote the first 29 issues. The relaunch included the Sandman being regressed to his criminal ways and the "death" of Mary Jane, which was ultimately reversed. Other elements included the introduction of a new
Spider-Woman (who was spun off into her own short-lived series) and references to
John Byrne's miniseries
Spider-Man: Chapter One, which was launched at the same time as the reboot. Byrne also penciled issues #1–18 (from 1999 to 2000) and wrote #13–14,
John Romita Jr. took his place soon after in October 2000. Mackie's run ended with
The Amazing Spider-Man Annual 2001, which saw the return of Mary Jane, who then left Parker upon reuniting with him. With issue No. 30 (June 2001),
J. Michael Straczynski took over as writer and oversaw additional storylines – most notably his lengthy "Spider-Totem" arc, which raised the issue of whether Spider-Man's powers were magic-based, rather than as the result of a radioactive spider's bite. Additionally, Straczynski resurrected the plot point of Aunt May discovering her nephew was Spider-Man, and returned Mary Jane, with the couple reuniting in
The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #50. Straczynski gave Spider-Man a new profession, having Parker teach at his former high school. Issue No. 30 began a dual numbering system, with the original series numbering (#471) returned and placed alongside the volume two number on the cover. Other longtime, rebooted Marvel Comics titles, including
Fantastic Four, likewise were given the dual numbering around this time. After (vol. 2) #58 (Nov. 2003), the title reverted completely to its original numbering for issue No. 500 (Dec. 2003). in which the superhero community is split over whether to conform to the federal government's new
Superhuman Registration Act. This knowledge was erased from the world with the event of the four-part, crossover story arc, "
One More Day", written partially by
J. Michael Straczynski and illustrated by
Joe Quesada, running through
The Amazing Spider-Man #544–545 (Nov.-Dec. 2007),
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man No. 24 (Nov. 2007) and
The Sensational Spider-Man No. 41 (Dec. 2007), the final issues of those two titles. Here, the
demon Mephisto makes a
Faustian bargain with Parker and Mary Jane, offering to save Parker's dying
Aunt May if the couple will allow their marriage to have never existed, rewriting that portion of their pasts. This story arc marked the end of Straczynski's work on the title. Following this, Marvel made
The Amazing Spider-Man the company's sole Spider-Man title, increasing its frequency of publication to three issues monthly, and inaugurating the series with a sequence of "back to basics" story arcs under the banner of "
Brand New Day". Parker now exists in a changed world where he and Mary Jane had never married, and Parker has no memory of being married to her, with
domino effect differences in their immediate world. The most notable of these revisions to Spider-Man continuity are the return of Harry Osborn, whose death in
The Spectacular Spider-Man No. 200 (May 1993) is erased; and the reestablishment of Spider-Man's secret identity, with no one except Mary Jane able to recall that Parker is Spider-Man (although he soon reveals his secret identity to the
New Avengers and the
Fantastic Four). Under the banner of
Brand New Day, Marvel tried to only use newly created villains instead of relying on older ones. Characters like
Mister Negative and
Overdrive both in Free Comic Book Day 2007 Spider-Man (July 2007),
Menace in No. 549 (March 2008),
Ana and Sasha Kravinoff in No. 565 (September 2008) and No. 567 (October 2008) respectively, and several more were introduced. The alternating regular writers were initially
Dan Slott,
Bob Gale,
Marc Guggenheim, and
Zeb Wells, joined by a rotation of artists that included
Steve McNiven,
Salvador Larroca,
Phil Jimenez,
Barry Kitson,
Chris Bachalo,
Mike McKone,
Marcos Martín, and
John Romita Jr. Joe Kelly,
Mark Waid,
Fred Van Lente and
Roger Stern later joined the writing team and
Paolo Rivera,
Lee Weeks and Marco Checchetto the artist roster. Waid's work on the series included a meeting between Spider-Man and
Stephen Colbert in
The Amazing Spider-Man No. 573 (Dec. 2008). Issue No. 583 (March 2009) included a back-up story in which Spider-Man meets President
Barack Obama.
2010s and temporary end of publication Mark Waid scripted the opening of "
The Gauntlet" storyline in issue No. 612 (Jan. 2010). The
Gauntlet story was concluded by
Grim Hunt (No. 634–637) which saw the resurrection of long-dead Spider-Man villain, Kraven the Hunter. The series became a twice-monthly title with
Dan Slott as sole writer at issue No. 648 (Jan. 2011), launching the
Big Time storyline. Eight additional pages were added per issue.
Big Time saw major changes in Spider-Man/Peter Parker's life, Peter would start working at
Horizon Labs and begin a relationship with
Carlie Cooper (his first serious relationship since his marriage to Mary Jane), Mac Gargan returned as Scorpion after spending the past few years as Venom,
Phil Urich would take up the mantle of Hobgoblin, and the death of J. Jonah Jameson's wife, Marla Jameson. Issues 654 and 654.1 saw the birth of Agent Venom, Flash Thompson bonded with the Venom symbiote, which would lead to Venom getting his own series
Venom (volume 2). Starting in No. 659 and going to No. 665, the series built-up to the
Spider-Island event which officially started in No. 666 and ended in No. 673.
Ends of the Earth was the next event that ran from No. 682 through No. 687. This publishing format lasted until issue No. 700, which concluded the "
Dying Wish" storyline, in which Parker and Doctor Octopus swapped bodies, and the latter taking on the mantle of Spider-Man when Parker apparently died in Doctor Octopus' body.
The Amazing Spider-Man ended with this issue, with the story continuing in the new series
The Superior Spider-Man. Despite
The Superior Spider-Man being considered a different series to
The Amazing Spider-Man, the first 33 issue run goes towards the legacy numbering of
The Amazing Spider-Man acting as issues 701–733. In December 2013, the series returned for five issues, numbered 700.1 through 700.5, with the first two written by
David Morrell and drawn by
Klaus Janson.
2014 relaunch In January 2014, Marvel confirmed that
The Amazing Spider-Man would be relaunched on April 30, 2014, starting from issue No. 1, with Peter Parker as Spider-Man once again. The first issue of this new version of
The Amazing Spider-Man was, according to Diamond Comics Distributors, the "best-selling comic book... in over a decade." Issues #1–6 were a story arc called "Lucky to be Alive", taking place immediately after "Goblin Nation", with issues No. 4 and No. 5 being a crossover with the
Original Sin storyline. Issue No. 4 introduced
Silk, a new heroine who was bitten by the same spider as Peter Parker. Issues #7–8 featured a team-up between Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man, and had backup stories that tied into "Edge of Spider-Verse". The next major plot arc, titled "
Spider-Verse", began in Issue No. 9 and ended in No. 15, features every Spider-Man from across the dimensions being hunted by Morlun, and a team-up to stop him, with Peter Parker of Earth-616 in command of the Spider-Men's Alliance.
The Amazing Spider-Man Annual No. 1 of the relaunched series was released in December 2014, featuring stories unrelated to "Spider-Verse".
The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows In 2015, Marvel started the universe wide
Secret Wars event where the core and several other Marvel universes were combined into one big planet called
Battleworld. Battleworld was divided into sections with most of them being self-contained universes. Marvel announced that several of these self-contained universes would get their own tie in series and one of them was
Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, an alternate universe where Peter Parker and Mary Jane are still married and give birth to their child Annie May Parker, written by Dan Slott. Despite the series being considered separate from the main
Amazing Spider-Man series, the original 5 issue run is counted towards its legacy numbering acting as No. 752-756.
2015 relaunch Following the 2015
Secret Wars event, a number of Spider-Man-related titles were either relaunched or created as part of the "
All-New, All-Different Marvel" event. Among them,
The Amazing Spider-Man was relaunched as well and primarily focused on Peter Parker continuing to run Parker Industries and becoming a successful businessman operating worldwide. It also tied with
Civil War II (involving an Inhuman named
Ulysses Cain who can predict possible futures),
Dead No More (where
Ben Reilly [the original Scarlet Spider] revealed to be revived and as one of the antagonists instead), and
Secret Empire (during Hydra's reign led by a Hydra influenced Captain America/Steve Rogers, and the dismissal of Parker Industries by Peter Parker to stop Otto Octavius). Starting in September 2017, Marvel started the
Marvel Legacy event which renumbered several Marvel series to their original numbering. The
Amazing Spider-Man was put back to its original numbering for #789. Issues #789 through 791 focused on the aftermath of Peter destroying Parker Industries and his fall from grace. Issues #792 and 793 were part of the
Venom Inc. story.
Threat Level: Red was the story for the next three issues which saw Norman Osborn obtain and bond with the Carnage symbiote.
Go Down Swinging saw the results of the combination of Osborn's goblin serum and Carnage symbiote creating the Red Goblin. Issue No. 801 was Dan Slott's goodbye issue.
2018 relaunch In March 2018, it was announced that writer
Nick Spencer would be writing the main semi-monthly
The Amazing Spider-Man series beginning with a new No. 1, replacing long-time writer
Dan Slott, as part of the
Fresh Start relaunch that July. The first five-issue story arc was titled 'Back to Basics.' During the
Back to Basics story,
Kindred, a mysterious villain with some relation to Peter's past, was introduced, and Peter resumed his romantic relationship with Mary Jane once more. The first major story under Spencer was
Hunted which ran through issues 16 through 23, the story also included four ".HU" issues for issues 16, 18, 19, and 20. The end of the story saw the death of long-running Spider-Man villain Kraven the Hunter, being replaced by his clone son, the Last Son of Kraven.
2020s Issue 45 kicked off the
Sins Rising story which saw the resurrected
Sin-Eater carry out the plans of Kindred to cleanse the world of sin, particularly that of Norman Osborn. The story concluded with issue 49, issue 850 in legacy numbering, seeing Spider-Man and Green Goblin team up to defeat Sin-Eater.
Last Remains started in issue 50 and concluded in issue 55, the story saw Kindred's plans come to fruition as he tormented Spider-Man. The story has also seen five ".LR" for issues 50, 51, 52, 53, and 54 which focused on The Order of the Web, a new faction of Spider-People consisting of Julia Carpenter (Madame Web), Miles Morales (Spider-Man), Gwen Stacy (Ghost-Spider), Cindy Moon (Silk), Jessica Drew (Spider-Woman), and Anya Corazon (Spider-Girl) . The story also revealed that Kindred is Harry Osborn.
Last Remains also received two fallout issues called
Last Remains Post-Mortem. Nick Spencer concluded his run with the
Sinister War story which wrapped up in No. 74 (legacy numbering 875). The story saw several retcons to the Spider-Man mythos including that Kindred was Gabriel and Sarah Stacy all along, the fact that the Stacy twins were actually genetically engineered beings using Norman Osborn and Gwen Stacy's DNA, that the Harry Osborn that returned in
Brand New Day was actually a clone, and that Norman had made a deal with Mephisto and sold Harry's soul to the demon. The story ended with the deaths of the Harry clone, Gabriel, and Sarah and the real Harry's soul being freed from Mephisto's grasp. After Spencer left the book, Marvel announced the "Beyond" era of Spider-Man would start in #75. The book would be moving back to the format it had during
Brand New Day where it would have a rotating cast of writers including
Kelly Thompson,
Saladin Ahmed, Cody Ziglar,
Patrick Gleason, and
Zeb Wells. The book would also be released three times a month. "Beyond" would focus on Ben Reilly taking up the mantle of Spider-Man once again but backed by the
Beyond Corporation. Peter also falls ill and cannot be Spider-Man so he gives Ben his blessing to carry on as the main Spider-Man. However, following the conclusion of the storyline in #93, Peter has resumed active duties as Spider-Man, while Ben suffers a mental breakdown after losing his memories and becomes the villain Chasm.
2022 relaunch In January 2022, it was announced that writer
Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr. would be working on a relaunched
The Amazing Spider-Man, bringing the number of volumes for the title to its sixth, with the series beginning in April 2022 as a semi-monthly publication. The relaunch encompasses both a legacy numbering of #900 as well as the 60th anniversary for the character. The relaunch took place months after a mysterious event that left Peter on bad terms with the superhero community and ended his relationship with Mary Jane. He ends up taking a job at Oscorp and begins working closely with Norman Osborn (who becomes the heroic Gold Goblin) and starts dating Black Cat. The volume's first crossover event was entitled
Dark Web, with Chasm having teamed up with
Madelyne Pryor to bring limbo to Earth. It's later revealed that Benjamin Rabin, the emissary of the Mayan god of mischief
Wayeb', sent Peter and Mary Jane to an alternate dimension to conduct a ceremony that would allow Wayeb to control the Earth. Peter was sent back to his Earth, while due to the alternative passage of time, Mary Jane and Benjamin Rabin's son
Paul spent four years in the realm together and adopted two children. When Peter eventually rescued them, Mary Jane refused to part with her new family. Rabin then planned to sacrifice Mary Jane to resurrect Wayeb, but is ultimately stopped by
Ms. Marvel sacrificing herself, but not before Rabin reveals that Paul and Mary Jane's children were illusions created by him and ceased their existence. Mary Jane becomes the superheroine
Jackpot using the bracelet acquired from the other dimension as Black Cat breaks up with Peter shortly before Janice Lincoln and
Randy Robertson's wedding. The second crossover event was entitled
Gang War, where Peter led a team of street-level superheroes to stop a massive war between New York's gangs led by
Madame Masque,
Tombstone, and
Beetle. During an encounter with Kraven the Hunter, Peter temporarily becomes infected by Norman Osborn's sins and becomes the villainous Spider-Goblin. Eventually, Norman's sins return to him and he resumes being the Green Goblin. While fighting Spider-Man, the goblin reveals that he implanted a trigger phrase within Peter's mind that would bring forth the Spider-Goblin persona. Norman then sends Spider-Goblin to attack the Sinister Six, who he brutally defeats, but is stopped from killing them due to the intervention of Chasm. With help from the Living Brain and his allies, Peter is able to purge himself and Norman of the Goblin for good. Wells' run ended in June 2024 with a climactic showdown between Spider-Man and Tombstone, where the former stops the latter from killing his daughter to establish his dominance over New York's gangs. Peter also begins to date Shay Marken, a nurse at the
Ravencroft Institute. In July 2024, it was announced that following the conclusion of Wells' run, a 10-issue event would begin publication in the Fall called
Eight Deaths of Spider-Man. The series was written by
Joe Kelly and
Justina Ireland and illustrated by
Ed McGuinness and Gleb Melnikov. The event featured the recently crowned Sorcerer Supreme
Doctor Doom designating Spider-Man as Earth's champion to take on Doctor Strange's annual task of facing the Scions of
Cyttorak, giving him an arcane armor and eight reeds to resurrect him if he dies. After being killed several times and being forced to face Cyra's challenge of enduring the future deaths of his loved ones and millions of others, Peter became disillusioned and gave up until his inactivity nearly costs the lives of Aunt May and his friends. He uses his remaining reeds to resurrect them before teaming up with
Juggernaut and the X-Men to take on Callix, who had been infected by the Blight and killed his siblings. After Callix kills him, Cyra, inspired by Peter's indomitable will, sacrifices her immortality to resurrect him and briefly imbue him with Juggernaut's strength. Cyttorak, seeing Peter willing to risk his life in the face of tragedy, decides to shield his remaining children from the Blight, saving the planet.
2025 relaunch In December 2024, it was announced that Kelly would become the writer of a new volume of
ASM that would launch after
Eight Deaths of Spider-Man in April 2025, with
John Romita Jr. and Pepe Larraz providing the work on the art. Peter manages to secure a job as an engineer at Rand Enterprises with help from his childhood friend, Brian Nehring. After he and his coworkers uncover a plot by Hobgoblin and
Itsy Bitsy that involved distributing drugs that heighten anxiety and stress, Peter's life seems stable until a powerful new villain named Hellgate attacks Peter and sends him into space. Peter gains a "technarachnid" suit and allies with
Rocket Raccoon, alien warrior Raeleth the Wretched, extraterrestrial scientist
Xanto Starblood, and the symbiote
Symbie. Peter embarks on cosmic adventures protecting the innocent while also aiming to make himself stronger to help him defeat Hellgate. On Earth, Ben Reilly takes over Peter's life, while Norman Osborn fills in as a more ruthless Spider-Man. ==Contributors==