A common diss at Marvel is that Spider-Man has jumped the shark. He was once the number one Marvel hero, but he’s definitely been in a rut these last few years. Arguably, since the dreaded “One More Day.” However, the old spider still has some web left in him. In an age where Spider-Man’s best stories seem long behind him, it’s important to remember that a fantastic comic can come at any time. We’re celebrating just that by looking at five modern Spider-Man comics that are absolutely just as good, if not better, than some of the best from his heyday. So, without further ado, let’s swing right into Spider-Man’s spectacular stories.
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5) “Spider-Island”
Issues: The Amazing Spider-Man #666 to #673
Dan Slott was Spider-Man’s writer for about a decade, and in that time, he penned a whole host of storylines that have stuck with people for years. One of the very best, however, is definitely “Spider-Island.” One day, New York City woke up to discover that the vast majority of its population had powers exactly like Spider-Man’s, and they wasted no time in causing chaos wherever they saw fit. In a world of people with his powers and makeshift masks, Peter had to find a way to save the day when his great power was commonplace. It’s a riveting, heart-pounding story that just keeps turning, all the way to the fantastic end.
This story feels like a culmination of its era, drawing on every part of Spider-Man’s history, including elements from “The Clone Saga,” the mystical Spider-Queen, and his deep connections with everyone in his life. This comic is a payoff for every Spider-Man comic before it, such as watching Spider-Man regain his Spider-Sense and MJ confess her love for Peter once again. It’s a fun romp through all of Spider-Man’s corners, and it definitely deserves a read if you haven’t.
4) Life Story
Issues: Spider-Man: Life Story #1 to #6
Superhero comics exist on a perpetual, sliding timescale. They always exist in the present day, living through our modern world, but never truly age, which means that, every couple of years, their origins and stories need to be moved further up the timeline to accommodate. However, that wasn’t always the case. Back in the ’60s, Marvel heroes aged in real time. We watched Peter Parker go from a high school science wiz to a college graduate, and enter the adult world. We watched Spider-Man grow up, but then he and everyone else stopped growing. That early phenomenon is exactly what Life Storycaptures.
This story starts in the ’60s, just a few years after Spider-Man debuted, with every issue focusing on another decade, all the way up to the 2010s. What’s incredible is how it ties every major Spider-Man story from these decades into those issues, creating a continuous timeline built from adaptations of Spider-Man’s greatest moments. Peter spends his entire life wondering if he’s truly being responsible, fighting every failing and weakness he’s ever had to be the best man he can be, even when he has no idea what that looks like. This might not be the greatest story for fans of other heroes, but for Spider-Man, it’s a wonderful meditation and exploration of who he’s become over the decades.
3) “Ravaged”
Issues: The Amazing Spider-Man #1000 to #1002
Aunt May has always been one of Spider-Man’s most important characters, but her presence has waned considerably over the years. Where once she was the source of some of Spider-Man’s most human drama and his moral guide, she now rarely shows, and often only does so to demonstrate how alone Peter is. That changed with Joe Kelly’s ongoing run, which has a heavy focus on bringing Aunt May back into the spotlight as a major character. Her newest change is the best step forward for her in decades, where it was revealed that the son she thought died in childbirth, Cormac, is actually a villain named Ravage. He used his powers to remove May’s memories of and love for Peter, and tried to do the same with him.
This fight is personal in a genuinely inventive way. Both men want May’s love, but while Peter loves her like his mother, Cormac sees May as something he’s entitled to. He’s all power with zero responsibility, as he can literally make everyone forget his mistakes. This is a fight Spider-Man has to approach from a totally new angle, trying to win May back from someone who has the law, money, and May herself on his side. Peter is pushed to the very edge, and we see a fantastic dive into both his character and Cormac, which leaves me more than excited to see how their dynamic evolves in the future.
2) Ultimate Spider-Man #1
Issues: Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #1
Marvel’s new Ultimate Universe has a host of problems, all stemming from a pre-emptive cancelation that no writer saw coming, but when it first started, it put out some of the greatest comics Marvel had in years. Case in point, its debut Spider-Man issue stands as one of the single best Spidey single issues of all time. It begins by immediately showing us that this Peter isn’t like the one we know and love. Instead of becoming Spider-Man, he grew up with a normal life. He married MJ, had two kids, and works as a reporter for the Daily Bugle. Yet, he’s always known that something is missing, that he’s meant for more. Everyone else knows it, too, and they encourage him to reach for it.
This issue, more than anything else, feels like a celebration of everything Spider-Man is and what fans want him to be. All too often, comics paint being Spider-Man as constant suffering and agony, to the point where it’s genuinely not fun to read. This issue poses the opposite. Being Spider-Man completes Peter, and using his power to help others is a blessing like no other. It also finally gave us a world where Peter and MJ are reunited with kids, which fans have been begging years for. There’s no high like the infinite potential of a new series, and this number one had some of the highest potential of any comic, and it made it feel like it would deliver on everything fans wanted.
1) Torn
Issues: The Amazing Spider-Man: Torn #1 to #5
If you’re still looking for a comic that scratches the itch of an early Spider-story, then look no further than this very series, which is set in Peter’s college years. Like the title implies, Peter is torn between every aspect of his life. He’s with Mary Jane, but also knows that there are much more than budding feelings between him and Gwen, along with his friendship with Harry, which is tested by their feelings for both women. At the same time, an ancient book causes havoc when it transforms a thief into a soulless demon, which forces Spider-Man to figure out how to both stop and help her.
This story has almost all the classic Spider-Man drama you could ask for, being as much a soap opera and exploration of Peter’s relationships as it is a bombastic superhero comic. Of course, you can’t expect anything but the best when J. Michael Straczynski is working on a Spider-Man script, which he always brings an unmatched humanity to. This Peter is still learning to be the world’s greatest hero, growing into the man he’ll one day be, and watching him take those steps gives readers the same feelings as the earliest Spider-Man classics did.
Which new-age Spider-Man comics do you think stack up to his best stories of all? Let us know your favs in the comments below!
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