Among Spider-Man‘s many iconic enemies, Doctor Octopus occupies a notable place–right after the infamous Green Goblin. Octopuses are not natural enemies to the spiders, so this is an exception. Introduced in 1963 in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man #3, this supervillain was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
Doc Ock’s real name is Otto Octavius. He is a mad scientist who is highly intelligent, myopic, and in control of four mechanical arms that he built himself. Those arms were the original idea of Steve Ditko. He suggested it to Stan Lee who came up with the rest, the name and the origin story.
A few months after the Dark Web event, Spider-man is once again throttled at the center of a crossover event as chaos reign in the street of New York City with a Gang War taking place–the old Spidey fan will remember that there’s already a storyline titled Gang War in the series, in Amazing Spider-Man #284-288.
Set up during Zeb Wells’s run of Amazing Spider-Man, the Gang War event revolves around a violent conflict between the gang lords of New York City that is causing chaos throughout the Big Apple. It’s about the bad guys fighting the other bad guys to the point that even a proactive superhero like Spidey can’t keep up.
Hobgoblin, Mr. Negative, the Owl, Shotgun, Diamondback, A.I.M., Hydra, and more battle with and against each other for gaining total control of the city. To stop this folly, Spider-Man has to lead a group of heroes–including Spider-Man Miles Morales, She-Hulk, Daredevil, Shang-Chi, and Spider-Woman–in order to take down the super-gangs in under 48 hours.
But what do Mayor Luke Cage and the city’s strong anti-vigilante laws have to say about it? Will Jackpot gamble on getting involved? And is Shang-Chi a friend or foe? They better all figure it out before two classic villains make a game-changing return!
The main event is taking place in the Amazing Spider-Man series written by Zeb Wells, with art by Ed McGuiness and John Romita Jr.
There is more than one Spider-Man out there! It’s no secret, especially since the release of the animated movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, where a whole new universe of spider heroes swung into the limelight, introducing the large Spider-Family to a new public.
At the center of the web, we naturally find the original and most well know Spider-Man/Peter Parker, created by Stan Lee and Steve Dikto in 1962. Between the comic books and the adaptations on the big screen, Peter Parker’s story is quite known today: When everything started, he was a nerdy high school student from Queens, New York, and an orphan raised by his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. After being bitten by a radioactive spider at a science exhibit, Peter acquired the agility and proportionate strength of an arachnid! At first, he decided to exploit his heightened athletic abilities to make money. But when the robber he refuses to stop becomes responsible for his Uncle Ben’s murder, Peter learns a painful lesson: “With great power there must also come—great responsibility!”
The world of Spider-Man only expanded from there, at first in the mainstream universe with all those clones and the introduction of Jessica Drew as the first Spider-Woman. Then , with all thos different incarnations of the character in alternate universes. From Miles Morales from the Ultimate Universe to the futuristic Miguel O’Hara and more extravagant versions like Spider-Ham, there’s no shortage of Spider-people in the large Marvel Comics Multiverse.
Though most arachnids evolved separately from each other, they had to come together with the event Spider-Verse, and its sequel Spider-Geddon, to defend the multiverse. Such stories are always great occasions to explore old forgotten characters as well as create new ones such as Spider-Gwen. The Spider-Verse is always evolving and growing!
What follows is not an exhaustive Spider-People Guide as there are too many of them out there for that. But you’ll find the most important Spider-Men and Spider-Women, the ones you should know, some fun characters and newly additions to the Spider-Verse in order for you to find your way across the multiverse!
Barely one month after the A.X.E.: Judgment Day event, the X-Men are caught in a new crossover. However, this one also revolves around Spider-Man. Written by Zeb Wells and drawn by artist Adam Kubert, Dark Web is about clones. Here is the official synopsis:
“The worlds of Spider-Man and the X-Men collide, thanks to the unholy alliance of Madelyne Pryor, AKA the Goblin Queen, and Ben Reilly, now known as Chasm! The two most famous and famously wronged clones are back…and they’re going to claim what’s rightfully theirs! The Dark Web they spin over Manhattan is going to change the NYC skyline forever!”
With issue #15 (May 1962), the anthology comic book Amazing Adult Fantasy was renamed Amazing Fantasy, because teenagers were not comfortable buying a book with “Adult” in the title. It was a good choice as this issue was introducing “The Spiderman,” a teenage superhero created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko who was destined to become the headliner of the book, but the Amazing Fantasy comics was canceled. As you know, Spider-Man (the hyphen was added soon after) became an instant hit and, a few months later, got his own comic book series.
The story starts with Peter Parker, a geeky high school student from Queens, New York, and an orphan who was living with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. After being bitten by a radioactive spider at a science exhibit, Peter acquires the agility and proportionate strength of an arachnid! At first, he decided to use his heightened athletic abilities to make money as a wrestler on television. But when the thief he chose not to stop ended up being responsible for the death of his Uncle Ben, Peter learned a hurtful lesson: “With great power there must also come—great responsibility!”
From that point on, Peter Parker fought criminals, with or without superpowers. But he also struggles to help his widowed aunt pay the rent and to study at the same time. He started working as a photographer for the Daily Bugle, selling pictures of Spider-Man to its loudest opposition, newspaper publisher J. Jonah Jameson. It was difficult, but he kept on going, joining Empire State University where he met his new roommate and best friend Harry Osborn, and girlfriend Gwen Stacy—also, his aunt soon introduced him to the beautiful Mary Jane Watson.
Peter’s life is punctuated by tragedies as he fights his enemies like the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, the Sinister Six, and a lot more. He lost friends and lovers (but gained new ones along the way). Aunt May had a lot of health issues, as well as money problems. The Marvel Universe expanded and Spider-Man had to fight cosmic entities, insect and animal-themed villains. He sometimes worked with the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers, and he teamed up with almost everybody.
With J. Jonah Jameson telling his readers that Spider-Man was a menace, Peter Parker is as much loved and hated by the public, but Marvel Comics certainly loves him as he became the most popular superhero at the company.
Spider-Man doesn’t really need an introduction. He is the most recognizable comic book hero next to Batman and one of the most popular characters in all fiction. He is the star of movies, TV shows, video games, and even a Broadway show… His face is on lunch boxes, pens, and every other thing you can put it on.
Today, we are only talking about comic books though, and there are a lot of them. We already covered the biggest part of the last thirty years in previous articles, but we are going back to the beginning.
Ultimate Marvel is maybe the most famous Marvel imprint, but not the only one. Back in 1992, a line of comics titled Marvel 2099 explored what the Marvel Universe would look like in 2099 and it wasn’t a utopia. It was the opposite, with a future overrun by mega-corporations that treated the world like a police state. The line was concluded in 1999 with a one-shot, but the 2099 world has been seen occasionally since then.
Marvel celebrated their 80th anniversary in 2019, acknowledging at the same time that there is still 80 years to go until the year 2099. For the occasion, the published has turned the spotlight towards this particular world, with a Spider-Man crossover/storyline written by Nick Spencer.
Something has happened in the year 2099 that caused the timeline to crumble. The heroes of 2099 will need the help of the present-day Spider-Man to figure out what’s going and to save their world. Discover more about it in this 2099 reading order!
Coming from Dan Slott, with artwork by Ryan Stegman, Humberto Ramos, and Giuseppe Camuncoli, The Superior Spider-Man series was launched after Amazing Spider-Man #700 in which Peter Parker finally loses his battle against Otto Octavius.
The famous Doctor Octopus swapped consciousnesses with Parker and left him to die in his decaying body to ensure his own survival. Otto became Peter, but arrogant as he is, he also decided to become a better Spider-Man than Parker ever was, and a better man than he was as Otto Octavius. He became the Superior Spider-Man.
This was a controversial move, but the Superior Spider-Man quickly became a fan favorite anyway. Of course, Peter Parker had to come back at some point, but Otto wore the costume for enough time to change things a little. And this was not the end of the Superior Spider-Man, as you’ll see in this reading order.
More than a decade ago, when J.M. Straczynski stopped writing The Amazing Spider-Man (see JMS’ Spidey reading order), Marvel decided to launch “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”, a storyline written by multiple writers used to reshape the series—after that, Dan Slott became the main writer (see Slott’s Spidey reading order).
Nick Spencer took over after Dan Slott, but he made a deal with Substack and announced that he decided to leave Marvel altogether (see Spencer’s Spidey reading order). That’s when it was announced that, once again, not one team, but a whole group of artists—Kelly Thompson, Saladin Ahmed, Cody Ziglar, Patrick Gleason, and Zeb Wells—would take over to give us a huge storyline before a new solo writer can take over.
Titled “Amazing Spider-Man: Beyond,” the story brings Ben Reilly back! Here is the official synopsis: Ben Reilly has been through hell, but now with the support of a major corporation, Ben is thwipping once again and being the best Spider-Man he can be. And what does Peter think? Well, he’s just been through the Sinister War and he’s exhausted! But even if Peter is against Ben’s return to the limelight, does he have a choice? The webs that are about to be woven will take you to places you’ve never been … pit our spectacular heroes against classic villains reloaded, as well as brand-new foes … and make you rethink the whole concept of Spider-Man! But what will all this change and upheaval mean for Mary Jane, the Black Cat, Aunt May—and all of New York City?!
What to read before Amazing Spider-Man Beyond?
This is the first time Ben Reilly has been the official Spider-Man since the 1990s, with the Clone Saga event. If you are not familiar with Ben, Spider-Man’s Clone (or…is it??) you can take a look at our Ben Reilly Reading Order–and you can check out our Spider-Man Reading Order that covers the adventures of Spidey from the start to today.
Amazing Spider-Man: Beyond is being treated as a possible entry point for new readers. But if you want to know what came just before, you can take a look at our Nick Spencer’s Spider-Man reading order–and at the Sinister War reading order, the last event of that era.
Even if Spider-Man is the most popular Marvel superhero, the events centered around him are not as regular as we may think. There are a few though, like 2011’s Spider-Island written by Dan Slott with art by Humberto Ramos.
Here is the official synopsis: Between keeping New York City safe as Spider-Man, being a member of two Avengers teams and the FF, and his day job at Horizon Labs, Peter Parker’s life is as crazy as it’s ever been. And it’s about to get even crazier.
Welcome to Spider-Island, where a million New Yorkers suddenly possess Spider-Man’s powers – but none of the responsibility! Can Spidey play world-saving superhero while the Big Apple gets eaten alive from the inside out when he’s suddenly not quite so special? When he’s surrounded by a million people just as powerful as him? When even his girlfriend is web-swinging through the city? And just wait until you meet J. Jonah Jameson, the Spectacular Spider-Mayor!
From 2001 to 2007, J. Michael Straczynski was the main writer of The Amazing Spider-Man series. An important run, even if Marvel’s editors ruined it at the end (Civil War! One More Day!!!). In January 1999, Howard Mackie started to write volume 2 of the series, and Straczynski took over with issue #30.
His run is mostly famous for his great and lengthy “Spider-Totem” arc that questioned the source of Spider-Man’s powers (Magic?). Also, Aunt May discovered the truth about her nephew, Mary Jane came back, and Peter started to teach at his former high school.
Of course, with the Civil War, things didn’t go well for Spidey, everything changed until it was time to clean up and let another writer take over (after a short while, Dan Slott started his 10-year run).
What to read before Spider-Man by J. Michael Straczynski?
First, you can check out our Spider-Man Reading Order that covers the adventures of Spidey from the start to today.
As J. Michael Straczynski took over The Amazing Spider-Man after Howard Mackie, you might be tempted to take a look at what was done at that time (it’s optional, of course). Mackie’s run is not fully collected for now, but you can find the last storyline, which was published after the Marvel Crossover event Maximum Security.
Spider-Man: Revenge of the Green Goblin
Collects Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #20-29, Annual 2001; Spider-Man: Revenge of the Green Goblin #1-3; Peter Parker: Spider-Man (1999) #25, 29.
