I don’t think it is humanly possible to have a great
superhero with no great stories, and Spiderman proves this. Not only does he
have great stories, but he has countless amounts of them even from the very
beginning. There are hundreds of legendary Spidey stories but, just as I did in
my previous articles, have only chosen a select few; stories that were
critically acclaimed at their time and stories that are just particular
favorites of mine. So here they are, 5 renowned stories spanning the Webhead’s
50 years of publication.
Spider-Island
If everyone is a
“Spiderman”, then no one is, including the original. The Jackal, catalyst of
the unforgettable clone saga arc, returns to cause even more mischief and
mayhem for out friendly neighborhood hero. This time around, the Jackal has
somehow created thousands of radioactive spiders, very similar to the one that
gave Peter his spider-powers some 50 years earlier. The spiders spread across
Manhattan like a deadly virus, infecting every civilian in their path turning
everyday men and women into spidermen and spiderwomen creating the phrase: “if
everyone is a Spiderman, then no one is.” This distinctively unique story
spanned across the entire Marvel Universe affecting almost every hero in New
York. An idea that everyone had superpowers was something that had rarely been
explored in comics and worked particularly well in Spiderman’s world.
Spider-Island may be one of the most recent of the story arcs, but for me, it
became an instant classic, an arc that, 20 years down the road, I’m going to
remember as a truly great Spiderman story.
The Clone Saga Epic/ The Ben Reilly Epic
What began as “The
Original Clone Saga” with the recreations of the late Gwen Stacy and Peter
Parker clone turned into arguably the most confusing, controversial Spiderman
stories of all time, but it was just so damn cool. What may have been
frustrating for others were wonders for me. Was Peter Parker a clone? For the
past 5 years, after seeing him drop his purposively dead “clone’s” body into that
smoke stack, had we been viewing the life of a mere clone? Marvel really
confused Spidey fans for one of the first times in the characters history.
People really didn’t know the truth between Ben Reilly and Peter Parker and
neither did they and frantically people didn’t think the writers were too sure
of it either. This series did include a diverse group of talented writers and
artists, introduced us to a now legendary character in the Scarlet Spider and
made sure this was a Spiderman story that no one in their right mind would ever
forget… And it probably doesn’t help that I seem to bring it up in every other
Spiderman article.
The Night Gwen Stacy Died
Right before issue
#121, fans assumed that Gwen was the girl Peter would spend the rest of his life
with, and then came the tragedy. Shortly taking place after the death of her
father, Gwen is abducted by the Green Goblin and taken to the top of the George
Washington Bridge. This issue saw the return of Peter’s greatest foe, the first
foe to ever discover his secret identity and use it to his ultimate advantage.
The Goblin was also the first villain to take his evil acts to “the next
level.” The Goblin drops Gwen’s body off the top of the bridge and Spiderman
looks over just in time to snag her with his web, but as we all know, as he
pulls her up he realizes she’s dead. Much speculation has occurred as to
whether the Goblin killed her before hand or whether the sudden stop from
Spiderman’s web had accidentally snapped her neck. All we know for certain is
that Peter lost the love of his life, and defined this moment as the second
most intrical part to Spidey’s crime fighting career, next to the death of
Uncle Ben.
Spiderman, No More
Everyone knows that
Peter Parker is the most relatable hero in comics. His problems are realistic,
his characters are realistic and certain aspects of his universe are realistic,
including the idea of getting fed up with caring about everyone else instead of
himself. Never before has a superhero decided, “why should I sacrifice the
things I want the most, what mustn’t I have the things that I want.” Peter
Parker said something along those lines when he realized that his grades, his
jobs and his relationships with his friends were slipping and that his persona
of Spiderman was slowly taking over his life. For almost an entire issue Peter
had given up his responsibility, but it didn’t take long before he realized
what he wanted wasn’t as important as what was right. Spiderman returns after
saving an innocent man from being mugged, just in time to stop the Kingpin. No
More sparked one of the most memorable panels in all of Marvel (Peter walking
away from his costume in the trash, walking away from his power, his
responsibility) and a theory that being a superhero isn’t easy for anyone,
especially for someone “who could be anyone of us under that mask.”
Amazing Fantasy #15
Written by Smilin’
Stan Lee, penciled by Jolly Jack Kirby and inked by Steve Ditko. Three of the
most legendary contributors to comics in Marvel history all had a hand in the
first comic featuring old Webhead. This first story not only introduced us to
characters we would fall in love with for many years after, and still be in
love with 50 years later. It also introduced the unforgettable lesson that
young Peter Parker learned the night his whole life changed. I wont say it,
because we all know it, but none of what happened in the past 50 years of
Spiderman’s history would of happened if it weren’t for the work put into
Amazing Fantasy #15. Somewhere along the way, many have forgotten the
importance of the issue and how pivotal it is in Spidey’s history. So yes, this
is the most significant issue in Spiderman’s history, ironically one of the few
issues to not have his name in the title.
Doomsday & Beyond
continues to celebrate Spiderman’s 50th birthday when we examine
Spidey’s best artists, so stay tuned.
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