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.

Check out our first installment of great Spidey stories here, and check out some X-Men recommendations here and here!

 

“Shaw’s Gambit”
Written by: David Micheline
Art by: Todd Mcfarlane
Found in: Amazing Spider-Man 328, 1989

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taking place during the Acts of Vengeance crossover event, this story features a crazy twist, a first, and a last. Spider-Man goes toe-to-toe with the Incredible Hulk during his gray, Joe Fixit era, but there’s a twist: Spider-Man has been imbued with the Captain Universe powers (the Enigma Force) and is insanely powerful, so for the first (and last) time ever, Spider-Man has the edge! Wanna see Spider-Man launch the Hulk into orbit? Look no further than this issue!

Sadly, there is also a ‘last’, as this is the last issue Todd McFarlane ever drew of the Amazing Spider-Man. After this he launched his own Spider-Man title, and a year later he was gone from Marvel forever when he co-founded Image comics and launched Spawn. But he at least leaves Marvel’s flagship book with a hell of a bang, drawing the two characters at Marvel he was most famous for drawing. This issue is a ton of fun, and his awesome artwork is a big reason why!

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“Happy Birthday”
Written By: J Michael Straczynski
Art By: John Romita Jr
Found In: Amazing Spider-Man 500, 2003

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How do you celebrate the 500th issue of Amazing Spider-Man? Well, if you’re writer J Michael Straczynski and artist John Romita Jr, you find a way to celebrate all (at the time) 40 years of the title with a story that’s action-packed, full of nostalgia, packed with famous Spider-Man villains, a Dr. Strange appearance, and features Spider-Man overcoming increasingly impossible tasks against all odds to get back to the ones he loves. In short, you distill everything awesome about Spider-Man into one issue, and one of the most legendary Spidey artists of them all draws the hell out of it.

Spidey is essentially cut adrift in time during a team-up with Dr. Strange and is forced to relive pretty much every fight he’s ever had as Spider-Man, one after the other, and he doesn’t recover between ‘jumps’ from moment to moment, so he is forced to use his memories of each encounter to try to recreate his victories. Imagine having to have your first fight with Venom after you’ve just had like 83 fights in a row? Or having to go through Spider-Man’s first fight with Morlun after the equivalent of fighting for days straight without rest?

Can Spidey somehow- once again- pull off the utterly impossible? Can Dr. Strange do anything to help him? If he can make it back to the present, what surprises await him? One of the best centennial issues in Spidey history!

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“Powerless”
Written By: David Micheline
Art By: Erik Larsen
Found In: Amazing Spider-Man 341-343, 1990-91

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first full story-arc of Amazing Spider-Man I read as it was coming out, I have a huge soft spot for “Powerless”. Smack in the middle of the Micheline/McFarlane/Larsen/Bagley era that is so (rightfully) fondly remembered by fans, it features a writer that knows exactly how he wants to pace his stories and an artist in Larsen that can make the most mundane activity pop off the page and has a kinetic Jack Kirby-like style that makes his action scenes engaging.

Peter undergoes a medical test that short circuits his powers, and as he is in one of his “God, being Spider-Man fucking SUCKS” funks, he decides to see if it can be permanent! The procedure seems to work, and he no longer has his spider-powers. Of course, what he doesn’t know is that the doctor in charge of the procedure is actually a disguised Chameleon…

Now, without his powers but not without his sense of responsibility, he is trying to capture the Chameleon, who sends super-villains like the Tarantula, the Femme Fatales, and even the Scorpion after him! Even with an assist from his old partner/enemy, the Black Cat, the web head has his hands more than full this time! Can Peter and the Cat stop a half dozen super villains alone, when Spidey is decidedly non-spidery? Can Spidey live long enough to bring the Chameleon to justice? Most importantly, can Spidey get his powers back before the villains kill the Black Cat??

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“Doom Service!”
Written By: David Micheline
Art By: Erik Larsen
Found In: Amazing Spider-Man 350, 1991

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we near Avengers: Doomsday and just saw Fantastic Four: First Steps for the MCU and are in the middle of the One World Under Doom event in the comics, Dr. Doom is on a lot of people’s minds these days, and rightfully so: he’s one of the very best villains in the history of comics!

While I was always aware of Doom growing up from toys and cartoons, this was my first exposure to the ruler of Latveria as a reader, and I was far from disappointed! This is the era of Venom and the Sinister Six; Spidey had been going up against some awfully tough opponents in the last 50 issues, but none of them, not even the entire Sinister Six, handed him his ass the way Doom does. It’s crazy, Spidey has NO chance, and he’s acutely aware of the fact.

Thankfully for the old web slinger, Doom isn’t there for him, but rather an item stolen from a museum on loan from Latveria: an item that belonged to none other than Doom’s own mother! The thief, the Black Fox, is an elderly man that keeps getting away from Spider-Man by playing up the fact that he’s old and doesn’t have much time left, or he’s old and feeble, or he’s old and… you get it. Rather than spend the time to hunt this thief himself, Doom agrees to spare Spider-Man’s life if he catches the Black Fox himself and returns the item to Doom. Spidey reluctantly agrees but knows that turning the Fox in is as good as killing him, himself, now that Doom is involved!

Can the Black Fox escape Spider-Man? Can Spider-Man recover the lost item? Can he keep Doom from killing the Fox? Can he even function through the severe concussion Doom gave him in their first confrontation? This is some top-tier Spider-Man! Also, since it’s the 350th issue, they added a few pin-ups in the back (remember in the 90’s when they did that? I miss that), including this jam piece by both McFarlane and Larsen, which is seared into my brain.

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“Revenge of the Sinister Six”
Written, Art By: Erik Larsen
Found In: Spider-Man vol 1, 18-23, 1991-92

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Erik Larsen’s last Marvel work for some time, as he was off to launch the excellent Savage Dragon for Image Comics as a co-founder, features Spidey vs the newly reformed Sinister Six, but this time he’s got a whole host of back-up!

Featuring the likes of the Incredible Hulk, one man war on terror Solo, Nova: the human rocket, the unstoppable Ghost Rider, the AI/human hybrid consciousness in a zombie/cyborg body that is Deathlok, and even the entirety of the Fantastic Four! The Six are up to their most devious plan yet, one so bad that one of their own, the Sandman, turns against them and tries to stop them before they turn him into glass and break him into millions of pieces!

Before the heroes all team up they each lose terribly (minus the FF, who show up in the last chapter or so), even Ghost Rider, and shockingly, even the Hulk! Dr. Octopus has obtained some adamantium arms, and he uses them to beat the crap out of the freaking Hulk! Not just any Hulk, either, this is the merged Hulk from the early 90’s who combined the strength of the classic Hulk with the wile of the gray Hulk and the consciousness of Bruce Banner, and Ock kicks the shit out of him!

Spidey takes an absurd amount of damage trying to fight the Six by himself, leading to one of the most popular non-costumes ever (below)!

Even with all of the heroes showing up to take on the Six, can Spidey find a way to stop them? Is the Sandman really dead? Can Hulk get his revenge on Ock? Who is the new sixth member of the Sinister Six? Can the Fantastic Four be the difference, and can they show up in time to save their old friend, Spider-Man?

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“Learning Curve”
Written By: Brian Michael Bendis
Art By: Mark Bagley
Found In: Ultimate Spider-Man vol 1 #7-12, 2002

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second story in Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley’s record-setting run is one of its very best. Peter Parker, in the very early days of his career as Spider-Man, runs across the Kingpin for the first time, and gets his first exposure to the world of organized crime. Not only does Spider-Man have to deal with this new threat, the Kingpin of crime, but his goons, as well! Guys like the Enforcers and Electro work for Fisk, and they’re not really keen on getting on his bad side, so they don’t seem to have any problems trying to murder a 15 year old kid in a costume.

Can Spider-Man get one over on Wilson Fisk? Can he keep his Aunt May from learning his secret? Can he work up the guts to tell his friend Mary Jane? These questions, and more, are answered in this now-classic story from an all-time great run by two all-time great creators. Bagley’s art is great as always, particularly in the ‘Mary Jane’ issue, and Bendis’ dialogue is great as usual.

Full of super hero action, criminals crime-ing, drama, humor, and teenage angst, this collection is great! The first run of Ultimate Spider-Man is full of so many great stories; the hits far outweigh the misses. If you’ve never read it, I highly recommend it!

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“…And Death Shall Come”
Written By: Stan Lee
Art By: Gil Kane
Found In: Amazing Spider-Man 90, 1970

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a damn shame that this classic story gets so overshadowed by the one that would happen in about 30 issues, because it’s a great one! I don’t want to spoil the story here, but Spider-Man suffers a massive failure; one of the very worst of his career. Things have been looking pretty decent for ol’ Spidey recently (I mean, judging by Parker standards): he’s got his friends MJ, Harry, Gwen, and Flash, he’s going to college, his career as a photographer is going pretty well, and none of his super villains have done anything all that horrible latel- oh. Oh, crap.

Look, it’s Doc Ock, and look, he’s being a total dick! Spider-Man, as he is wont to do, takes action to bring the portly purveyor of pure panic into policy custody. But Ock has been paying attention to their previous encounters, and seems to constantly be one step ahead of the ol’ web swinger. This battle intensifies, going up and down buildings and across rooftops, and just as Spider-Man starts to turn the fight in his favor, one of Ock’s tentacles swing wide, dislodging a large chunk of stone and sending it hurtling to the street below and towards a kid bystander!

Spider-Man is unable to reach it in time and watches as one of his allies and friends shoves the child out of the way, taking the impact on themselves. The civilians did not see Ock’s arm hit the building, so to many of them it looks like Spider-Man did this, which isn’t helped when he swings down, takes the dying body in his arms, and flees! Of course, Peter is trying to get this person to a hospital, but to the bystanders below it looks like Spider-Man may have killed this person then snatched up their body and ran away, which turns pretty much the entire city against him. Peter’s personal life begins to crumble as a result of this story, as well, and Peter really never trusts when things are going well again after this, but it’s a really good story, a good Doc Ock fight, and a seminal moment in Spider-Man history.

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“Spider-Man 2099”
Written By: Peter David
Art By: Rick Leonardi
Found In: Spider-Man 2099 #1, 1992

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s easy to forget, but for a long time there was only one Spider-Man. There were two Spider-Women at the point that Spider-Man 2099 came around, but Spider-Woman, as cool as she (well, they) are, is not Spider-Man. So when Amazing Spider-Man issue 365, the 30th anniversary of Spider-Man celebration issue, came out, we were treated to a good Lizard story and some cool pin-ups and stuff, but suddenly there was a preview for Spider-Man 2099 #1, and WOW!  Rick Leonardi’s art popped off the page, and the costume design was just so cool. I was a kid and I was so hyped for this book to come out (and Doom 2099, but that’s for another list), and when it did it actually surpassed the hype!

Migues O’Hara, the Spider-Man of the year 2099, is very different from Peter Parker, and his Spider-Man is very different from Peter’s. Miguel was a scientist for Alchemax, the super corporation that essentially runs the world, and lives in Nueva York. He runs afoul of the CEO of Alchemax, who traps him in a chamber used for genetic experiments and starts the machine up. The machine binds spider dna to Miguel’s, and suddenly Alchemax has a terrifying new enemy: Spider-Man! Donning a modified ‘day of the dead’ costume, Miguel sets about trying to get justice (revenge) for what was done to him but is quickly under siege from enemies from every side, and it all starts in this issue.

Peter David (RIP, sir) does a wonderful job of setting up this new world of the future, our new Spider-Man, and his friends/family and enemy, and is one of my favorite #1 issues of the entirety of the 1990’s. It’s just a very cool issue.

Miguel has since made appearances in video games, numerous other comics, and even the Spider-Verse films (although he’s an entirely different character in the films than he is here).

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“Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut”
Written By: Roger Stern
Art By: John Romita Jr
Found In: Amazing Spider-Man 229-230, 1982

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What happens when an unstoppable force meets a very movable object? Two straight issues of the Juggernaut shrugging off Spidey’s best and swatting at him like a fly, that’s what! Also, you get two of the very best issues of Amazing Spider-Man ever created. In the legendary Roger Stern’s story, the Juggernaut is hired to kill Madame Web, because her movie was unwatchable. No, it’s because the contractor didn’t want her to be able to see something that was coming that she could direct someone (ie Spidey) to stop.

Spidey gets wind of the situation and tries his damndest to stop the freaking Juggernaut; the guy the X-Men can’t even stop, and there were like 8 of them at the time (now like 800, including the freaking Juggernaut!). A young John Romita Jr, one of the all-time great Spidey artists, draws the crap out of this story, including the mayhem and destruction caused by someone like the Juggernaut just walking through (he ain’t got time for this ‘around’ crap) a building.

Spidey gets increasingly desperate, going so far as to crash an oil tanker truck into the Juggernaut and making it explode! Of course, this does nothing…

Can Spider-Man find a way to stop the unstoppable? Can he come up with a way to save Madame Web so decades later we can wish he hadn’t after seeing her movie? Can Spidey even survive if the Juggernaut decides to go on the offensive for real? You’ve gotta check these two incredible issues to find out!

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“Best of Enemies”
Written By: J.M. DeMatteis
Art By: Sal Buscema
Found In: Spectacular Spider-Man 200, 1993

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t think anyone would make much of an argument that Harry Osborn is the best Green Goblin, but when you read the saga by the masterful J.M. DeMatteis and the incredibly underrated Sal Buscema you may change your mind. Everything culminates here, in Spectacular Spider-Man’s 200th issue. Harry has completely been lost to the Goblin persona, and his increasingly unhinged behavior is terrorizing his wife and son, and he keeps hovering around Peter’s life as the Goblin, goading him into a confrontation.

Peter’s been dealing with this for weeks, and he’s had enough. The two former best friends beat the living crap out of each other while Peter tries to talk Harry down, but when Harry gets the upper hand on his father’s hated enemy will he have enough Norman Osborn in him to do what his father would do? This bi-centennial issue has got it all: wonderful writing, incredible artwork, break-neck pacing, and big, emotional moments all culminating in an ending you’ll never forget!

 

 

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Wallopin’ web snappers, those are some kickass comic books! But fear not, true believers, we have PLENTY more amazing, spectacular, sensational, adjectiveless, and… web of… comics to recommend featuring the old wall crawler! There are so many great stories to choose from that it’s hard to narrow it to 10! Maybe we go with some newer stuff, like Hickman’s Ultimate Spider-Man or Chip Zdarsky’s Life Story or Spider’s Shadow, or maybe we go back to the early 21st century for some JMS action, or maybe just go back a decade for some Superior Spider-Man shenanigans or Spidey’s bromance with Deadpool? Do we want to cover some new villains or some more of the classics, like the Goblins, Venom, Carnage or Doc Ock? Decisions, decisions… be sure to check it out!