Spider-Man, obviously, is one of the most popular characters in comic books (or movies, or cartoons, or video games, or…), and has been for decades now. His popularity has meant for most of the 60+ years of his publishing history, he has had more than one ongoing title running simultaneously. Not counting what if…? or Ultimate stories (those would need to be different lists), I wanted to pick out 10 tales of the webbed wall-crawling wonder that will show you why he, his villains, and his cast of supporting characters are second to none.

I should point out this is NOT a top 10 list, in that these are not ranked in any particular order, nor are they the 10 BEST Spider-Man stories, or my absolute favorite 10. These are just 10 cool stories that maybe slipped your radar or were out before you were reading Spider-Man and/or were born. I imagine I will revisit this topic, because it was hard to narrow it to just 10 for this article.

So, if you haven’t read these, do yourself a favor and check them out, and if you have read them, well… good.

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“Unscheduled Stop”
Written By: Mark Waid
Art By: Marcos Martin & Javier Rodriguez
Found In: Amazing Spider-Man 578 & 579 (2008)

The Shocker is sent to take out members of a jury in a mafia trial, but Spider-Man steps in to save them! There’s just one catch: the jury was being transported by subway, and the Shocker just wrecked the train and caused so much infrastructure damage that the tunnels are starting to flood and collapse. So now, Spider-Man has to get everyone to safety in an increasingly dangerous and claustrophobic environment, and the Shocker may or may not be coming back for more! Oh, and did I mention that one of the jurors is J. Jonah Jameson… senior!?!

Mark Waid’s script and some incredible artwork by Marcos Martin (with Javier Rodriguez) make this 2-part story an instant classic.

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“The Grim Hunt”
Written By: Joe Kelly
Art By: Michael Lark
Found In: Amazing Spider-Man 634- 637 (2010)

An absolutely brutal two year stretch for Spidey (I’ll get to it) culminates in the resurrection of one of his oldest, most dangerous foes: Kraven the Hunter! This spiritual sequel to the classic ‘Kraven’s Last Hunt’ has the whole, messed up Kravinoff family around for the special occasion, as well as some assistance from some more of Spidey’s most dangerous enemies! You see, the Kravinoff family is hunting spiders.

But, in this blasphemous act of dark magic and ritual do they go too far? After Spider-Man loses more than one ally, it sure seems that way! Now, the Kravinoffs are restored to their full power with the rebirth of Sergei, just in time to face the wrath of an enraged Spider-Man! The stakes are high, the mood is appropriately creepy and dark, the action scenes are brutal and thrilling, and Spider-Man is once again pushed to the brink against one of his most hated foes.

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“Origin of the Species”
Written By: Mark Waid
Art By: Paul Azaceta
Found In: Amazing Spider-Man 642-646 (2010)

Coming off of the traumatic two years he’s had and the harrowing events of the Grim Hunt storyline, Peter Parker sure could use a break. Unfortunately for him, now is when Dr. Octopus returns with a master plan to steal the baby of Norman Osborn and Lilly Hollister, and use the combined Goblin/Menace dna to create miracles of science. To get this baby, old Doc Ock summons every freaking Spidey villain he can think of and sends them all after the baby. All of them!

The kicker? The baby has been alive for all of five seconds before Spider-Man has to rescue him and start the run and fight of his life, as everyone from the Red Vulture to Freak to the Rhino, Sandman and Electro (plus a LOT of others) are all after this kid, and Doc Ock has promised whoever brings him this baby their fondest wish realized. He’s like a fucked up genie.

The stakes keep getting raised, we see a side of Spidey we rarely see when he gives in to his rage and takes it out on the villains (scary), and we even get a really awesome Spider-Man vs Doc Ock vs the Lizard fight!

That Mark Waid guy is pretty good, he might have a future writing comics.

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“Shed”
Written By: Zeb Wells
Art By: Chris Bachalo
Found In: 630-633 (2010)

Whether or not this is the best Lizard story ever is up to personal preference, but there’s no denying this is the darkest, most tragic Lizard story ever. Ho-lee shit, man.

For years, Dr. Curtis Connors has struggled to maintain and repress the Lizard side of him, and the dam finally breaks. Connors has a job in a lab, where he is developing feelings for his lab assistant, but is constantly berated and emasculated by his boss. We see him trying to maintain some kind of communication with his son and his estranged wife, but he’s failing at that, as they’ve been threatened by a giant monster version of the man they loved one too many times. Connors’ life is full of frustration, and his boss picks the wrong time to start ripping on him, and then openly hits on Connors’ assistant in front of him. The Lizard in his brain gets territorial, and he Lizards up and horrible things happen to everyone involved.

But that’s just the beginning of the horror. We’ve seen Connors struggling to behave like a human even when in his human form: he is territorial, doesn’t trust other males, treats women like they’re property, and even has a dueling inner monologue between his human side and his reptile side. So when he Lizards out, and did so when being in an extremely territorial mood, the Lizard does what a lizard would do in the wild: it goes after the one that’s going to replace it: Billy Connors, Curt’s son!

Normally, this is where things would get saved by the old wall crawler. But, as I’ll mention below, the Kravinoff family is working towards their Grim Hunt, using the kidnapped and tortured Madame Webb to see the future and give a little nudge here and there to either make things go their way or to royally screw with Spider-Man. In this case, something horrible happens, and the Lizard side of Connors takes full control in a way we’ve never seen before.

Now, Spider-Man has to bring the Lizard to justice, but there’s another problem: the Lizard is more dangerous than he’s ever been!

A really dark, but really great story that’s definitely worth a look!

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“The Gauntlet”
Written By: Dan Slott, Mark Waid, Fred Van Lente, Joe Kelly, Greg Weisman, Tom Peyer, Karl Kesel, Kurt Busiek
Art By: Adam Kubert, Paul Azaceta, Javier Pulido, Max Fiumara, Marcos Martin, Michael Lark, Luke Ross, Michael Gaydos, Paulo Siqueira, Barry Kitson
Found In: Amazing Spider-Man 612-626, Amazing Spider-Man Annual 37, Web of Spider-Man 2-5 (2009-2010)

I’ll admit it’s a bit of a cheat to count this as one story, as it’s really like 9 stories strung together with a theme: the Kravinoff family is preparing for their Grim Hunt, and are using the kidnapped Madame Webb to see where things are headed and make sure they’re terrible for Spider-Man. Back-to-back-to-back, in a short amount of time, he goes up against the likes of Electro, the Chameleon, the Sandman, an enraged Rhino, Mysterio, Mr. Negative, Morbius, the Red Vulture and more, often with them being super charged and with less and less recovery time.

By the end of the second amazing issue featuring the Rhino, Peter is at an emotional low (maybe not an all-time low, but it’s not far off). He’s battered and bruised and hurting, but emotionally he’s been through the wringer.

Each of these stories tries to focus on bringing their respective villain back to the forefront of the Spidey corner of Marvel. The Electro story, the Chameleon story, the Sandman story… they’re all great. Each one tears something out of Spidey’s life. Shed is great, and all but ruins Peter emotionally after all of the events of the Gaunlet. But the Rhino stories by Joe Kelly and Max Fiumara will make you not only look at the Rhino through a new lens, they will break your heart, make you truly care about the Rhino, and also make him one of the scariest villains on Earth.

Big action, humor, terrifying villains, super high stakes, and constant disaster for Peter, his personal life (or what was left of it), and even those he’s trying to save. What more could you ask for in a Spider-Man story?

 

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“The Death of Jean DeWolff”
Written By: Peter David
Art By: Rich Buckler
Found In: Spectacular Spider-Man 107-110 (1985)

If you like angry Spider-Man, this story is definitely for you!

When police Captain Jean DeWolff is murdered by a serial killer called the Sin Eater, Spider-Man gets involved in the man hunt. The more he learns about Jean and the case, the angrier he gets, and when the Sin Eater strikes again, his frustrations grow and grow. But when the Sin Eater goes after someone that Peter Parker cares about, the gloves come off!

Can Spider-Man catch this maniac before he kills again? Who else will fall into this maniac’s sights? He’s not alone in his hunt; he’s got Sargeant Stan Carter of the NYPD allowing him to help with the investigation, and he’s also got an assist from none other than Daredevil himself!

A tense story filled with nerves and dread, it can get dark, at times. But it’s very well written by Peter David and Rich Buckler’s art is very solid (he’s a guy that never got enough credit), and this is the story that establishes Spidey and Daredevil as actual friends, and not just ‘co-workers’, after DD makes a confession that Spidey finds rather startling. Spidey’s rage in this story is palpable, and DD is desperately trying to keep him on the ‘right path’, so to speak.

Great stuff! Also, it’s got the black suit Spider-Man, so you know you want to read it.

 

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“Spider-Verse”
Written By: Dan Slott, Peter David, Mike Costa, Skottie Young, Robbie Thompson, Katie Cook, Kathryn Immonen, Jed Mackay, Enrique Puig, Christos Gage, Roger Stern, Gerry Conway, Tom DeFalco, Dennis Hallum
Art By: Olivier Coipel, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Will Sliney, Paco Diaz, Humberto Ramos, Jake Parker, Denis Medri, Ty Templeton, Katie Cook, Tom Grummett, Kris Anka, David Lafuente, Sheldon Vella, Francisco Herrera, Paco Herrera, Dave Williams, Bob McLeod, Steven Sanders, Ron Frenz, Greg Land
Found In: Amazing Spider-Man (vol 3) 9-15, Scarlet Spiders 1-3, Spider-Man 2099 (vol 2) 6-8, Spider-Verse 1-2, Spider-Verse Team-Up 1-3, Spider-Woman (vol 5) 1-4 (2014-15)

Not to be confused with the series of animated films, which take the central concept of a spider-verse in a very different direction, this tale features the return of one of Spider-Man’s most horrifying villains: Morlun, who twice at this point has faced off with Spider-Man and twice Peter was lucky to survive. Only this time, Morlun isn’t alone, as his whole family, energy vampire creatures called the Inheritors that feed on the life forces of ‘totems’ (people that operate under the guise and likeness of an animal, so Spider-Man is a spider totem, the Rhino would be a rhino totem, etc). They travel the multi-verse feeding but pay particularly close attention to spiders. They operate out of Loom world, where they have access to a multiversal web and travel to the different Spider-Men of the multiverse and kill them.

To stop this horrible assault, every surviving Spider-Man, Spider-Girl, Spider-Woman, and Spider-Ham in the multiverse gather to fight back, and therein lies the real appeal of this story. When they say every Spider-Man ever, they aren’t kidding. Miles Morales teams up with some animated Spider-Men, a sentient Spider-mobile, a spider-horse… the Spider-Man from the Japanese TV show makes a big appearance, there’s Spider-Girl, Spider Aunt May, six-armed Spidey’s, clones, clones of clones, Superior Spider-Man, Captain Universe Spider-Man… you name it. They all team up to take on Morlun and his family, which is truly an impossible task. It’ll all come down to a few select Spiders to attempt the impossible!

A crazy romp of a story with some genuinely funny, sad, tense, and thrilling moments, you won’t regret checking it out.

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“Family Business”
Written By: Mark Waid
Art By: Gabrielle Dell’Otto, Werther Dell’Edera
Found In: Amazing Spider-Man: Family Business (original graphic novel) (2014)

I really like this story. I love when Spidey deals with the underworld element, like Hammerhead, Tombstone, and the Kingpin, and the Kingpin is all over this one. I also like when Peter’s parents’ time as spies is revisited. I will read anything Mark Waid writes, and I really adore the way he writes Spider-Man. Gabrielle Dell’Otto’s painted work is always phenomenal, and this is no exception.

I don’t want to give any spoilers away except for the main concept of the story. Peter is dragged into a crazy adventure with SHIELD agents, the Kingpin, and a central mystery revolving around Richard and Mary Parker and their… daughter?!?!

Is this Theresa Parker actually the son of the two spies? Is she Peter’s sister? Can she be trusted? What exactly does the Kingpin have planned, and does he play any role in this revelation?

Some fantastic dialogue, a great mystery, and some jaw-dropping artwork make this a must read. There’s also a black suit appearance, so it gets bonus points, too.

 

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“Spider Island”
Written By: Dan Slott, Rick Remender, Nick Spencer, Antony Johnston, Christos Gage, David Liss, Paul Tobin, Fred Van Lente, Greg Pak, Skottie Young, Greg Rucka, Joe Cramagna, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Christopher Yost, Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning
Art By: Humberto Ramos, Stefano Caselli, Tom Fowler, Emma Rios, Sebastian Fiumara, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Francesco Francavilla, Pepe Larraz,  June Brigman, Skottie Young, Max Fiumara, Chuck BB, Mike McKone, Kyle Hotz
Found In: Amazing Spider-Man 666-673, Venom 6-8, Spider-Island: Deadly Foes, Spider Island: The Amazing Spider-Girl 1-3, Spider Island: Cloak & Dagger 1-3, Spider Island: Deadly Hands of Kung Fu 1-3, Herc 7-8, Spider Island: Avengers 1, Spider Island: Spider-Woman 1, Black Panther 524, Spider Island: Heroes for Hire 1, Spider Island: I Love New York City 1 (2011)

When old foe and architect of the original clone saga, the Jackal returns, he creates a situation in which NY is infested with bed bugs, and everyone that gets bitten starts to develop Spider-Man’s powers! Soon the entire city has Spidey’s powers, and it’s a mad house!

See everyone from Spidey’s girlfriend, Carlie Cooper, to Mary Jane Watson, to J Jonah Jameson himself develop Spider powers!

Of course, it’s not just that simple, and these powers come with a curse, which leads Spider-Man, Venom, Kaine, the Avengers, and more to work together to try to lock down this new Spider Island before the Jackal’s handiwork spreads and becomes unstoppable!

Can the heroes save the day against this ticking clock? Who will survive? What is the Jackal’s end goal? Is he working alone? How well does Mary Jane adapt to having the ability to do the things she watched Peter do for years? Will the Thing ever let Peter live this down? Get these answers- and so much more- by reading the super fun Spider Island!

 

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“Go Down Swinging”
Written By: Dan Slott
Art By: Stuart Immonen, Nick Bradshaw, Humberto Ramos, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Marcos Martin, Mike Hawthorne
Found In: Amazing Spider- Man 797-800 (2018)

Writer Dan Slott wraps up the longest, and perhaps best, run on Amazing Spider-Man in history with ‘Go Down Swinging’, which is insanely epic.

To start, the previous story, ‘Condition Red’, ended with none other than Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin himself, becoming the new host of the Carnage symbiote! Holy shit-stained pants, Batman!

Osborn immediately sets out to destroy Spider-Man, and in the process remembers something crucial he had been forced to forget: Spider-Man’s real name!

Now the game is on: Norman knows who Spidey is again, knows all of his weaknesses and who he cares about, and now he’s the Green Goblin PLUS Carnage: he’s the Red Goblin!

Spidey is forced to team up with a whole gang of heroes, but it’s no use: they simply aren’t a match for Osborn. The likes of the Human Torch, Silk, Miles Morales, Anti-Venom, and Clash all are completely decimated by the newly powered lunatic. Peter is forced to make some intensely difficult situations and has to put everything on the line to stop this new monster, and he just has to pray it’s not too little, too late!

Featuring guest appearances galore, including the likes of Venom and Dr. Octopus, this is one of the most jam-packed, everything and the kitchen sink, balls-to-the-wall Spidey stories ever!

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That’s the list! I’ll definitely make another one, there are just so many great Spider-Man stories to choose from! The David Micheline Venom stuff, Roger Stern’s “Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut”, the J.M. DeMatteis/Sal Buscema Spectacular Spider-Man, the birth of Carnage, the McFarlane era, the Round Robin Saga, Gang War, the Tombstone saga, there’s some great stuff in the New Avengers/Civil War era, and some more!

Don’t expect much from the Clone Saga era from me, though. Yuck.