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Jessica Drew Reading Order, the first Spider-Woman

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Spider-Woman / Jessica Drew Reading Ordere

Like with ‘Spider-Girl’, the code name ‘Spider-Woman’ has been used by several characters, and the first and original one was Jessica Drew. Created by Archie Goodwin and Marie Severin, the character first appeared in Marvel Spotlight #32, in February 1977, working for Hydra and with no memories of her past.

At the time, our Spider-Woman was not destined for great things, as she was just created in order for Marvel to secure the copyright for the name “Spider-Woman.” But with the success of her debut, Marvel decided that she would have her own solo series, written by Marv Wolfman who redesigned the character and gave her a human identity as Jessica Drew.

The comic book introduced her origin story and to put it simply, Jessica Drew has a bizarre backstory. It is complicated by contradicting origin stories, with Brian Michael Bendis revisiting her history in the 2000s and changing how Jessica received her powers.

Since her first appearance, Jessica Drew has been a spy and a superhero. She has been an agent of HYDRA, S.H.I.E.L.D., and S.W.O.R.D. but also a member of the Avengers and the Web-Warriors as well as a Private detective. And she will soon make her animated movie debut in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One).

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Superior Spider-Man 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.

To know what came before The Superior Spider-Man series, take a look at our Dan Slott’s Amazing Spider-Man Reading Order.

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Amazing Spider-Man Beyond 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.

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Spider-Island Reading Order

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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!

What to read before Spider-Island?

Being the first event of the Dan Slott era, there were not a lot of Spider-Man books prior to it. You can take a look at our The Amazing Spider-Man by Dan Slott Reading Order for a full listing.

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Spider-Man Noir Reading Order (member of the Spider-Verse)

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In December 2006, french writer Fabrice Sapolsky (creator of Comix Box Magazine) pitched the idea of a 1930s pulp version of Spider-Man to David Hine.  This led to Marvel Noir, a Marvel Comics alternative continuity combining elements of film noir and pulp fiction with the Marvel Universe. The Marvel Noir line was launched with Spider-Man: Noir #1 and X-Men Noir #1, in February 2009. For Spidey, Carmine Di Giandomenico drew the first stories and Marko Djurdjevic his cool costume.

Earth-90214, sometimes also called Earth-Noir, is a hard-boiled world. Spider-Man’s story begins in the 30s, during the Great Depression when New York is dealing with some economical issues and most of the people do not have jobs. Norman Osborn mostly rules the city, with Vulture, Kraven, and the Enforcers as members of his crew. Peter Parker has been raised by his paternal aunt and uncle, activists May and Ben Parker, and gained arachnid powers after being bitten by a supernatural spider. If you’re a fan of Batman, this Spider-Man is the closest version there is of the character in the Spider-Verse — his alias is The Spider-Man, for a good reason.

Spider-Man Noir became quickly a popular character, earning a sequel, but also appearing as a playable character in the 2010 video game Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions — a year after his first comic appearance. Despite existing for less than 15 years, Spider-Man has featured already in a few crossover stories and quite a number of video games, but also in television and film (like in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse). No doubt, Spider-Man Noir is photogenic!

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Anya Corazon Reading Order (Araña, Spider-Girl)

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Created by writer Fiona Avery and artist Mark Brooks, Anya Sofia Corazon is a member of the Spider-Verse since 2004 and is more known right now as being Spider-Girl. But she was Araña when she made her first appearance in Amazing Fantasy vol.2 #1.

She didn’t acquire her abilities following a bite by a spider, but after having her life saved by the mage Miguel Legar from the Spider Society. He performed a ritual on her by giving her a spider-shaped tattoo that endows her with spider-like powers and recruits her to be a Hunter for the Spider Society (a secret society worshipping Spider-Totems, created by J. Michael Straczynski during his run on Spider-Man).

The Latina daughter of a Puerto Rican father and a Mexican mother, she had been the star of her own (short) series and been affiliated with the Spider Society, the Young Allies (during the Heroic Age), the Avengers Academy, and the Web Warriors. Simply put, like all respected members of the Spider-Verse, Anya Corazon has her fair share of adventures, and to discover them, we made this reading order

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May “Mayday” Parker Reading Order (Spider-Girl/Spider-Woman from Earth-982)

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May Mayday Parker, alias Spider-Girl / Spider-Woman

Across the multiverse, several characters call themselves or have called themselves ‘Spider-Girl’. For example, Anya Corazon has used the codename since 2010. But one of the most famous ‘Spider-Girl’ is May “Mayday” Parker, from the MC2 (Marvel Comics 2) continuity — or Earth-982.

Created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, May Parker is the teenage daughter of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. She has made her first appearance in a What if? #105 story published in February 1998 before becoming the star of her own ongoing title. 

Marvel Comics 2 was then an imprint depicting the events taking place in the alternative timeline presented in the What If? issue. The events are the same as the main 616 continuity until the end of Clone Saga with the issue Spider-Man #75, in which Peter and Mary Jane’s baby daughter dies.

In the MC2 universe, Peter and Mary Jane were reunited with their baby daughter thanks to Kaine, who discovered the child living with Alison Mongraine—a con artist who had kidnapped the baby under the Green Goblin’s orders.

The Spider-Girl comic series takes place in the future, following Mayday Parker as a teenager. At age 15, she begins developing versions of her father’s spider powers and decides to become the new “new web-slinging wonder!”

To discover more about Spidey’s daughter from Earth-982, here is the May “Mayday” Parker Comics Reading Order!

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Spider-Man by J. Michael Straczynski Reading Order

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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.

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Ben Reilly Reading Order, The other Spider-Man… or is it? (Scarlet Spider)

Ben Reilly - Spider-Man FCBD 2021

Ben Reilly is back! He can die, go live in another city, disappear for years, but he always comes back. But who is Benjamin Reilly? His story can be a little convoluted because it’s about clones, fake deaths, mistaken identity, and more.

Created by Gerry Conway in 1975, he first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #149… and is immediately killed. But he came back years later during the (in)famous “Clone Saga” storyline (see reading order) as the “Scarlet Spider,” an ally of Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Together, they fought against The Jackal and Kaine, the unsuccessful first clone of Spider-Man, but also another clone of Spider-Man who became the villain Spidercide, and more.

After some confusion about the identity of the real Peter Parker and other complicated twists and turns, Peter left his superhero life behind him and Ben Reilly became the official Spider-Man. Until his death. After that, he just appeared in the occasional flashbacks. Then he returned to life in 2010 during The Clone Conspiracy (see reading order). Once again, things got complicated for Ben, but he stayed alive this time and got his new ongoing series for a while, then he faded away.

With the new Spider-Man Beyond storyline (that began with The Amazing Spider-Man #75), Ben Reilly came back again as Spider-Man again, for a short time, then came the Dark Web. When will he be back again?

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The Amazing Spider-Man by Dan Slott Reading Order

During the first Civil War event (full reading order), Peter Parker revealed his Spider-Man identity on live television. This leads to a tragedy and this knowledge was quickly erased from the world with the event of the story arc called “One More Day”.

This is when J. Michael Straczynski stopped being the main writer of The Amazing Spider-Man (see Spidey’s JMS reading order). When he left, Marvel decided to get Spider-Man back to basics. This means that Peter Parker and Mary Jane had never married, and he had no memory of being married to her. Also, Harry Osborn was alive again.

It was the beginning of “Brand New Day.” Marvel decided to alternate writers for The Amazing Spider-Man series. One of them was Dan Slott who became the sole writer at issue #648 (Jan. 2011), launching the Big Time storyline. It was the beginning of what became the longest run in Spidey’s history.

During that era, Slott created new characters, updated old ones, developed the Spider-Verse, gave us the Superior Spider-Man, and more. He only left the title in 2018, his final issue being #801. But he came back to write Spider-Man in 2022, introducing the Spider-Boy and developing a sequel to his Superior Spider-Man series.

What to read before Dan Slott’s Amazing Spider-Man?

Of course, you can check out our Spider-Man Reading Order that covers the adventures of Spidey from the start to today. But, as I was saying, Brand New Day marked the start of the rebooted Amazing Spider-Man, and Dan Slott was one of the writers, and you can start with that:

  • Spider-Man: Brand New Day Omnibus Vol. 1
    Collects Free Comic Book Day 2007 (Spider-Man), Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #546-583, Amazing Spider-Man Annual (2008) #1, Secret Invasion: Amazing Spider-Man #1-3, Presidents’ Day Celebration Digital Comic, Spider-Man: Fear Itself One-Shot (2009), Amazing Spider-Man: Extra! #2, Spider-Man: Swing Shift Director’s Cut One-Shot And Material From Amazing Spider-Man: Extra! #1.
  • Spider-Man: Brand New Day Omnibus Vol. 2 (coming soon)
    Collects TBA

The Previous Brand New Day Collection:

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