Spectacular or Amazing, Spider-Man has been slinging his web through a lot of adventures for more than 60 years. That’s a lot, but Peter Parker is more than familiar with his responsibilities and uses his powers to entertain us as much as he can. Of course, it’s not always a hit. As a matter of fact, some years have been difficult.
Nevertheless, there’s still a lot to enjoy in Spider-Man comics and there are a lot of Spider-Man comics to enjoy. Therefore, you may ask: what are the ones that are the best? What are the must-read stories any Spidey fan can enjoy?
Today, we are trying to answer these questions with a selection of stories–mostly storylines of two or more issues–considered the best. Some are quite old, others are a bit more modern, but all are excellent. Of course, this list is probably not the most original, most of those stories are now considered classics. If you want to read more Spider-Man stories and to know when those stories take place, check out our Spider-Man Comics Reading Order.
So, here are 10 of the best Spider-Man comics storylines to read:
If This Be My Destiny…!
Coming from Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and Sam Rosen, If This Be My Destiny…! is probably the first great Spider-Man story arc. The books started strong, but those three issues (Amazing Spider-Man #31-33) are definitively character-defining material. The friendly neighborhood Spider-Man has to face the mysterious Master Planner but also the consequences of his well-intentioned actions–he discovered that by helping Aunt May earlier, he was now responsible for her sickness. Things stacked up and, for a hero so defined by the tragedy he has to overcome, this may be too much. Nevertheless, it’s Spider-Man and, even when things are getting unbearable, he never gives up, as this story perfectly proves it.
The Night Gwen Stacy Died
Is there a more classic tale in the Spider-Man canon than the tragic death of the beloved Gwen Stacy? Well, she was not that beloved at that time, some may even say they thought she was quite boring, and that’s why she had to die in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #121 & 122. Gerry Conway didn’t really write a perfect comic, by far, but this story is the starting point of so much of what happened to Peter Parker after–in good and bad. Marvel likes to tease each new event as the one that will change everything, in the case of The Night Gwen Stacy Die, it was not false advertising. It was another tragedy in the life of the web-slinger, one that pushed him in a new direction.
The Original Clone Saga
If you talk of the Clone Saga to a Spidey fan, he will probably not have a lot of good things to say, because the name became linked to the ’90s over-bloated narrative that almost ruined Spider-Man forever. That said, we are here to talk about the Original Clone Saga, the one that was published in The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #139 through #150. Forced to deal with the backlash of Gwen Stacy’s death, writer Gerry Conway and artist Ross Andru found a way to bring her back in a way that made sense. In a way that delivers one twist after another, creating chaos and tragedy once more in the life of Peter Parker–but it also helped his relationship with MJ to go in the right direction. The Saga should have stopped there though.
Nothing Can Stop The Juggernaut
As you may be aware, the Juggernaut is not one of the classic Spider-Man foes–is one of the X-Men. But he is an unstoppable force who needs to be stopped. In the street of New York City, it’s clearly a job for the Amazing Spider-Man–or is it? This two-issue story (AMS #229-230) written by Roger Stern and illustrated by John Romita Jr. gave us a classic against-all-odds story. The end goal may not be the most original one, showing once more that the real force of Spidey is really his willpower, but it is done in a great fashion.
The Death of Jean DeWolff
Police Captain Jean DeWolff was an ally to Spider-Man, but her life was cut short, not by one of the super-villains the web-slinger always fights, but by a maniac with a shotgun. This story by Peter David, Rich Buckler, and Sal Buscema, published in Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 1 #107-110, is quite gritty and forces Peter Parker to face a different kind of reality in his role as a super-powered vigilante. With Daredevil added to the mix to offer another view of the justice system, this story explores interesting angles and breaks from the usual confrontations between Spidey and his enemies.
Kraven’s Last Hunt
Another 1980s story that breaks conventions, Kraven’s Last Hunt (published in Web of Spider-Man 31-32, Amazing 293-294, Spectacular 131-132) by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck has become a real game changer, and for good reason. In a way, it’s more of a Kraven story than a Spider-Man’s as the famous hunter is the real focus here. Written thoughtfully, this old-school enemy is shown as the real menace he was always supposed to be. The result is dark, full of twists, and strangely poetic, and the art by Mike Zeck really elevates the whole story to a level that was (is, and will be) rarely seen at that time on a Spider-Man Title.
Spider-Man: Blue
Written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Tim Sale, Spider-Man: Blue is a romantic yet sad tale from the past, a slightly different look at the Peter Parker/Gwen Stacy relationship. The story is set during Valentine’s Day. Spider-Man is feeling “blue” and this led him to reminisce. A good way to bookend what is a touching and engaging retelling of one of the most iconic stories in the Spider-Man canon. Loeb and Sale explored the past of several characters in their Color series, but Blue is probably their crown achievement.
Coming Home
The Amazing Spider-Man run by J. Michael Straczynski and John Romita Jr. is considered by many–me included–as one of the best. With the Coming Home storyline (Amazing Spider-Man #30-35), we’ve got humor, mystery, and a whole new mythology–a new way to look at the whole Spider-Theme angle. Perfectly executed, this book helped Spider-Man to enter a new era with what he was already good at, plus new challenges that prove that there’s always a new interesting story to tell with the character.
The Gauntlet & The Grim Hunt
After what is still considered the worst story in the Amazing Spider-Man modern era (you know, One More Day), the future of Spider-Man didn’t look that interesting. Marvel started to juggle between multiple teams of writers and artists. These seven writers and sixteen artists gave us a lot of stories under the “Brand New Day” banner, some good, some forgettable, and before Dan Slott took over the title for the next decade, they produced The Gauntlet & The Grim Hunt (The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #612-637), two interconnected storylines focusing of on Spider-Man and his foes (like Sandman, Electro, Chameleon, Mysterio, Hammerhead, Lizard, Morbius, Rhino, Scorpion, Vulture, and Juggernaut). In the end, this turns out to be a great sequel to Kraven’s Last Hunt.
Spider-Verse
Dan Slott’s run on Spider-Man was a decade-long and it didn’t satisfy everybody, but it gave us some memorable stories, The Superior Spider-Man and Spider-Verse. This one is built on elements introduced by J.M. Straczynski but it went bigger, a lot bigger, multiverse bigger in fact. Spider-Verse is a true epic full of Spider-heroes going from one universe to the other, exploring the past and building the future while trying to survive the present. It became of classic for good reasons.