Credit: Sony PicturesEverywhere you look, there’s a Spider-Man, or at least that’s what it feels like in recent months.
The run-up to the release of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) saw the Spider-man craze sweep the globe. And with record-breaking box office, it seems to have paid off. While all fans have currently are rumors of a new franchise featuring Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, or Andrew Garfield, Marvel continues to develop the story of Peter Parker in the pages of comic books — and they just completely changed his life.
Peter Parker, AKA Spider-Man, has been a staple part of the Marvel mythos since Stan Lee and Steve Ditko debuted the character in “Amazing Fantasy #15” (1962). The New York native is one of Marvel’s most beloved and cherished characters, transitioning from his Marvel Comics roots to the screen, and, remarkably, the stage, over the past 60 years.
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It is during Spider-Man’s sixtieth year that “The Amazing Spider-Man” will publish. What started as a bimonthly periodical quickly moved to a monthly publication as Spider-Man grew in popularity. In 2022, “The Amazing Spider-Man” will have celebrated 900 issues and 60 years in print.
Back in 2020, Nick Spencer began the new arc for “The Amazing Spider-Man” series, featuring the “Sinister War” storyline, and Marvel Big Bad, Mephisto. Then, after Spencer’s run, Kelly Thompson, Saladin Ahmed, Cody Ziglar, Patrick Gleason, and Zeb Wells took over the book as a set of rotating writers, transitioning the tale of Peter Parker into the “Beyond” era.
“Beyond” features the return of Ben Reilly. Reilly first appeared in 1975 as a clone of Peter Parker intended to destroy Spider-Man. He would go on to become the Scarlet Spider throughout the 1994-1996 “Clone Saga” story arc and, in the end, an ally of Peter Parker.
Unfortunately, the end of the “Beyond” arc saw Reilly fall to his death after colluding with the mysterious Beyond Corporation, an organization that left him missing key memories. After falling into a strange matter that destroys and rewrites (Quantum-Shifting Polymers in a Psycho-Reactive Medium), Reilly emerged in the final issue as a new Spider-Man villain, Chasm.
Now, as “The Amazing Spider-Man” begins again with a new #1, it seems more things have changed than just Reilly’s resurrection as Chasm. Peter Parker is estranged from all that he knows and loves and Mary Jane Watson, well, MJ is further away than ever…
The new run from Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr is completely changing Peter Parker’s life. As Comic Book Movie notes:
For reasons which aren’t entirely clear, something has happened in the past six months that’s led to Peter Parker having a strained relationship with his friends and family. He’s dismissive of Johnny Storm and Randy Robertson, and even his Aunt May appears to have had enough of being lied to. There’s also someone looking to collect money for unpaid medical bills, while Mary Jane is dodging Peter’s calls.
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They go on to illustrate the confusion and bizarre nature of the latest Spidey comic book:
When we last saw the happy couple, they made plans to move in together, but on the final page of Amazing Spider-Man #1, MJ appears to be in a relationship with a guy called Paul…and she has two kids calling her “mommy.” Has reality somehow been rewritten? Is it possible that MJ has been hiding the fact that she’s a mother from Peter for the past several years?
Marvel Comics describes “The Amazing Spider-Man #1” as:
WHAT DID SPIDER-MAN DO?! Peter’s on the outs with the FF. He’s on the outs with the Avengers. He’s on the outs with Aunt May! No one wants to see Spider-Man – except for Doctor Octopus. Ock’s on Spider-Man’s tail and the Master Planner has something truly terrible planned for when he gets his tentacles on Spidey. All that, and what does Tombstone have planned?
As for the live-action Spider-Man universes, Tom Holland (Peter Parker/Spider-Man) is reportedly attached to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe from Amy Pascal and Sony Pictures, despite stating he wishes to take a break from acting. And while heat turned up surrounding a new Amazing-Spider Man sequel following Andrew Garfield’s (Peter Parker/Spider-Man) star turn in No Way Home, Garfield too will take a break from acting, seemingly shunning those Emma Stone (Gwen Stacy) rumors too. Tobey Maguire, anyone?
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