History Comicbook / SpiderMan

Please note that this page covers the ''Spider-Man'' comics ''only'', for tropes pertaining to all ''Spider-Man'' media, see [[Franchise/SpiderMan the franchise page]]. For the title character, see Characters/MarvelComicsPeterParker.

!!''Spider-Man'' comics, related comics and storylines
[[folder:Ongoing Series]]

!!Current Titles
* ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2022'' (Vol. 6) (April 2022 - present)
* ''ComicBook/MilesMoralesSpiderMan2022'' (December 2022 – present)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan2022'' (October 2022 - present)
* ''Webcomic/SpiderManUnlimited2023'' (September 2023 - present)
* ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan2023'' (Vol. 3) (November 2023 - present)
* ''ComicBook/TheSpectacularSpiderMen'' (March 2024 - present)
!!Former Titles
!!!2020s
* ''Webcomic/SpiderVerseUnlimited2022''
!!!2010s
* ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManDanSlott'' (2010)
* ''ComicBook/ScarletSpider'' (2012)
* ''ComicBook/AvengingSpiderMan'' (2012-2013)
* ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan2013'' (Vol. 1) (2013)
* ''ComicBook/TheSuperiorFoesOfSpiderMan'' (2013)
* ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2014'' (Vol. 3) (2014)
* ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2015'' (Vol. 4) (2015)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManDeadpool'' (2016)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan2016'' (2016)
* ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'' (Vol. 5) (2018-2021)
* ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan2018'' (Vol. 2) (2018)
* ''ComicBook/MilesMoralesSpiderMan2018'' (2018-2022)
* ''ComicBook/GhostSpider2019'' (2019)
!!!2000s
* ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski'' (2001)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMansTangledWeb'' (2001-2003)
* ''ComicBook/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' (Vol. 2) (2003-2005)
* ''ComicBook/MarvelKnightsSpiderMan'' (2004-2006)
!!!1990s
* ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan1999'' (Vol. 2) (1999)
* ''ComicBook/PeterParkerSpiderMan'' (1999)
* ''ComicBook/UntoldTalesOfSpiderMan'' (1995)
* ''[[ComicBook/SpiderMan1990 Spider-Man]]'' (1990)
!!!1980s
* ''ComicBook/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' (Vol. 1) (1986-1998)
* ''ComicBook/WebOfSpiderMan'' (Vol. 1) (1985 - 1995)
!!!1970s
* ''Peter Parker, ComicBook/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' (1976-1985)
!!!1960s
* ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan1963'' (Vol. 1) (1963-1998)
* ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko'' (1963)

[[folder:Limited Series]]
[[index]]
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManVersusWolverine'' (1987)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManTheMutantAgenda'' (1994)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManBlue'' (2002)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManBlackCatTheEvilThatMenDo'' (2002)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManAndTheXMen'' (2014)
* ''ComicBook/DeadlyNeighborhoodSpiderMan'' (2022)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManTheLostHunt'' (2023)
[[/index]]

[[folder:Storylines in the Main 616 Continuity]]
[[index]]
* ''ComicBook/AmazingFantasyNumber15'' (1962)
* ''ComicBook/IfThisBeMyDestiny'' (1965)
* ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'' (1973)
* ''ComicBook/NothingCanStopTheJuggernaut'' (1982)
* ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfJeanDeWolff'' (1985-1986)
* ''ComicBook/KravensLastHunt'' (1987)
* ''ComicBook/MaximumCarnage'' (1993)
* ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga'' (1994-1996)
* ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis1998''
* ''ComicBook/TheOther''
* ''ComicBook/RevengeOfTheGreenGoblin'' (2000-2001)
* ''ComicBook/SinsPast'' (2004)
* ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' (2007-2008)
* ''ComicBook/BrandNewDay'' (2008-2010)
* ''ComicBook/GrimHunt'' (2010)
* ''ComicBook/OneMomentInTime'' (2010)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderIsland'' (2011)
* ''ComicBook/EndsOfTheEarth'' (2012)
* ''ComicBook/DeadNoMoreTheCloneConspiracy'' (2016)
* ''ComicBook/GoDownSwinging'' (2018)
* ''ComicBook/{{Hunted}}'' (2019)
* ''ComicBook/AbsoluteCarnage'' (2019)
* ''ComicBook/SinsRising'' (2020)
* ''ComicBook/LastRemains'' (2020)
* ''ComicBook/KingsRansom'' (2021)
* ''ComicBook/TheChameleonConspiracy'' (2021)
* ''ComicBook/SinisterWar'' (2021)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManBeyond'' (2021)
* ''ComicBook/DarkWeb'' (2022)
* ''ComicBook/GangWar2023''
[[/index]]

[[folder:Alternate Continuity]]
(in publication order of first appearance)
[[index]]
* ''Manga/SpiderManManga'' (1970)
* ''ComicBook/SpideySuperStories'' (1974)
* ''[[ComicStrip/SpiderMan The Spider-Man Newspaper Strip]]'' (1977)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderHam'' (1983)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan2099'' (1992)
* ''ComicBook/OneHundredAndOneWaysToEndTheCloneSaga'' (1997)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManChapterOne'' (1998)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderGirl'' (1998)
* ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan2000''
* ''ComicBook/TroubleMarvelComics'' (2003)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManIndia2004''
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManLovesMaryJane'' (2005)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManReign'' (2006)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManNoir'' (2009)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderGwen'' (2014)
* ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManRenewYourVows'' (2015)
* ''ComicBook/{{Spidey}}'' (2015)
* ''Manga/SpiderManFakeRed'' (2019)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManLifeStory'' (2019)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManBloodline'' (2019-2020)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManSpidersShadow'' (2021)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderPunk'' (2022)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManIndia2023''
* ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan2024''
[[/index]]

[[folder:Crossovers]]
[[index]]
* ''ComicBook/SupermanVsTheAmazingSpiderMan'' (1976)
* ''ComicBook/SupermanAndSpiderMan'' (1981)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManAndBatmanDisorderedMinds'' (1995)
* ''ComicBook/BatmanAndSpiderManNewAgeDawning'' (1997)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMen'' (2012)
* ''ComicBook/EdgeOfSpiderVerse2014''
* ''ComicBook/SpiderVerse'' (2014)
* ''ComicBook/WebWarriors'' (2016)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMenII'' (2017)
* ''ComicBook/SpiderGeddon'' (2018)
* ''ComicBook/EdgeOfSpiderVerse2022''
* ''ComicBook/EndOfTheSpiderVerse'' (2022)
* ''ComicBook/EdgeOfSpiderVerse2023''
[[/index]]

----
!!''Spider-Man'' provides examples of:

[[folder:In General]]
[[index]]
* SpiderMan/TropesAToB
* SpiderMan/TropesCToF
* SpiderMan/TropesGToP
* SpiderMan/TropesQToZ
[[/index]]

!!Various runs

[[folder:Amazing Fantasy Vol 2]]
* HowMuchDidYouHear: In ''Amazing Fantasy Vol. 2 #15'', Spider-Man realizes that in the famous cover of ''Amazing Fantasy #15'', he pretty much declared his real name in the presence of the guy in his armpit. Fortunately for him, [[SpeechBubblesInterruption the guy was screaming too loudly to hear it]].
-->'''Spider-Man:''' Um...you didn't hear that thing I just said, right? You know? About how the world may mock... [[BlahBlahBlah yadda yadda yadda]]?
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Retroactively done with the ''Amazing Fantasy Starring Spider-Man'' mini-series, which bridged the gap between ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 and ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #1. In the second issue of the series, Peter meets Joey Pulaski, a teenage superheroine who he became friends with. She ends up being sent to jail after Spider-Man turns her in for committing a number of crimes, and for the rest of the mini-series, Spider-Man is devastated by the memory of her. Of course, since she was created in the mid-nineties, and her story set between those published in the early 60s, her existence begs the question "why haven't we heard of her until now?". The only time she ever appears is in the one story, and her existence is never explored again.
** This happens a lot with these retroactive issues. The other villains in the same mini-series (a man named Undertaker and a supervillain named Supercharger), despite being Spider-Man's first supervillains, never get any mention (indeed, the Chameleon is still toted as Spider-Man's first supervillain in the comics), and the original villains for ''Untold Tales of Spider-Man'' generally have never reappeared. The exception to this is The Scorcher, (Spider-Man's first black villain), who died within the series.

[[folder:Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man]]
* AbuseMistake: In ''Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'', Peter is a high school science teacher whose identity is made public after the events of ''ComicBook/{{Civil War|2006}}''. The first time he returns to class, one of his students remarks that she noticed he always wore long sleeves to cover the bruises on his arms and assumed that Mary Jane was beating him.
* ArtisticLicenseLaw: In ''Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'' Annual #1, Floyd Baker, the father of Spider-Man's foe Sandman, is framed for the murder of an alternate reality Ben Parker, and given a quick death sentence. When the governor (or maybe NYC's mayor) learns that Sandman's going to break out his father, he orders the immediate execution of the man, something that violates a wide range of laws and civil rights protections, and nobody involved in law enforcement bothers to say 'you can't do that; it's illegal'.
* BulletCatch: Parodied in ''Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'' #1. Peter tries to train himself to do this, and is surprised when he succeeds. But then he remembers there were two bullets, and the other one went through his other hand. Upon realizing this, he faints in a very undignified manner.
-->'''Spider-Man:''' Ah... Crap. [[CollapsedMidSpeech That's gonna hur--]].
* IronicNickname: Tom Taylor's first issue in Volume 2 of ''Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'' {{Lampshades}} the fact that Spider-Man is a ''Spider-themed'' hero, when after Spidey saves a little girl and her father, the small child slaps his spider emblem on his chest out of her dislike for spiders:
-->'''Spider-Man:''' It's all good to be fair, I don't exactly have the most kid-friendly costume. It literally has a spider on it.
* WrestlingMonster: In ''Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'' #6, this is played straight with MaskedLuchador El Muerto. This is played with when wrestling god El Dorado shows up. [[PiratesWhoDontDoAnything He never appears in the ring of any promotions and fights with swords.]]

[[folder:The Sensational Spider-Man]]
* BadassUnintentional: In ''The Sensational Spider-Man'' #31, Aunt May saw through Chameleon's disguise (he was being Peter). So she pretended nothing was wrong, gave him cookies, and had a nice chat... then revealed that the cookies had tranquilizers in them, she'd put in some almonds to make the Chameleon think she had dosed him with cyanide, and as he passed out, Aunt May revealed that sampler she'd been knitting the entire time had "GOTCHA" sewn into it.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: In ''The Sensational Spider-Man'' vol. 2 29#, Eddie Brock is dying of cancer. [[ByronicHero Alone, and forgotten except as a remorseless monster to the public at large,]] [[OhCrap and the remnants of his old]] [[TheSymbiote "pal"]] [[ByronicHero are floating around in his head telling him]] that he still has one chance at revenge by killing a comatose May Parker or just disappearing off the world with nothing to show for it. Or he can just sit in his bed waiting to die with Venom tormenting him until the end of his wasted life. [[http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/3/31005/1080771-last_temptation_9_super.jpg Instead,]] [[TakeAThirdOption he]] [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled cuts himself trying to remove the remnants of Venom from his blood]] and it works. After Spider-Man saves him, he tells the remnants of the symbiote to shut up. After being exonerated for the crimes he committed as Venom, he met Matin Li/Mr. Negative, who offered him a job. Eddie accepted, and when Martin touched him, the remnants of TheSymbiote were fused to his immune system, turning him into Anti-Venom.
* GratuitousFrench: For whatever reason, Madame Web spoke with occasional French words during her brief appearances at the end of ''The Sensational Spider-Man'' vol 2, despite never doing so before, or after.
* PunctuationShaker: Parodied in ''The Sensational Spider-Man'' #13, with an ancient beast known as Chtylok the Che-K'n Kau.
* VillainOverForDinner: In ''The Sensational Spider-Man'' #31, Aunt May '''takes out the Chameleon''' disguised as Peter Parker with poisoned cookies because [[SpotTheImposter she knew he wasn't the real Peter]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Spider-Man Team Up]]
* FaithInTheFoe: In one issue of ''Spider-Man Team Up'', Spidey has been framed for murder, again. And Abe Jenkins, formerly The Beetle, now MACH-1, is certain of his innocence because he knows who Spidey is as a hero.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Symbiote Spider-Man]]
* AccidentalMurder: The series shows the first time that ComicBook/{{Mysterio}} killed as a supervillain; while robbing a bank, he forced the teller to open the vault for him, only for her to get accidentally shot by a security guard because of how he dodged the guard's gunfire. The experience shocks and traumatizes him badly enough that Mysterio briefly considers quitting crime... [[HeelFaceDoorSlam until a symbiote-wearing Spider-Man beats him viciously while trying to arrest him despite Mysterio being defenseless, causing Mysterio to redouble his desire for revenge against the Wallcrawler]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sinister Spider-Man]]
* {{Fauxreigner}}: In ''ComicBook/DarkReign: Sinister Spider-Man'', General Wolfram is [[AnimalThemedSuperbeing a wolf-themed villain]] claiming to be "the genetic terror of the Third Reich". Apparently, he faked the Nazi angle and the accent for distinctiveness' sake/to draw heat away from his real identity. ComicBook/{{Scorpion}}, who is currently impersonating Spider-Man with the aid of the ComicBook/{{Venom}} symbiote, calls him "Castle Wolfenstein" and eats his arm for his trouble.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Spider-Man Unlimited]]
* EvilLaugh: Lampshaded in ''Spider-Man Unlimited'' #12, when [[PunchClockVillain the Shocker]] tries it, only to be shot with a tranquilizer dart by the mercenary villain the Pro, who states that he ''hates'' evil laughs, calling them "unprofessional".
* RecycledScript: Issues #3 and #18 are almost identical in terms of plot (a recap of Dr. Octopus's life and criminal career), despite being published years apart. Issue #3 has as its FramingDevice a Bugle reporter preparing an obituary for him, while issue #18 retreads the obituary sequence, but expands with Carolyn Trainer (Lady Octopus) and Spider-Man recounting his lifestory.
* SelfDeprecation: ''Spider-Man Unlimited'' #3 starts with a newspaper editor explaining to his new employee about how they usually write obituaries in advance, which can lead to embarrassing retractions, what with the Marvel universe [[DeathIsCheap being the way it is]]. In the foreground of that panel, we see two filing cabinets, one with the label "[[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]]" with two stickers reading "dead" and "alive"... and another named "ComicBook/XMen", with so many of the dead/alive stickers that they go off-panel. This was in the early nineties, by the way, so Tony probably got a few more of those stickers added to his cabinet over the years.
* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: Issue #19 is yet another Lizard's return. This time, however, Spider-Man does not defeat him: while he is incapacitated in a pool, Martha Connors begins a verbal beatdown of the Lizard and reminds him of their son Billy. ''It works'': the Lizard reverts back to Connor, and the Lizard's threat is over.
[[/folder]]

* '''Post-Clone Saga''' (1996-2000): The immediate aftermath of the era saw writers trying to grapple with Norman Osborn returning to Spider-Man titles, while at the same time downplaying the events of the Clone Saga itself. A notable story in this period is ''ComicBook/{{Identity Crisis|1998}}'' where Norman Osborn who has bought out the Daily Bugle and is now technically Peter's boss, frames Spider-Man for murder. To clear up his name and get payback, Peter, with the help of Mary Jane who designed the costumes, creates a new series of costumed alter-egos with power-sets that he can fake as Spider-Man -- Hornet, Prodigy, Dusk, Ricochet. These alter-egos in time became picked up and spun off into [[ComicBook/{{Slingers}} legacies in their own right]]. This period was also notable for a brief attempt at a ContinuityReboot SettingUpdate, John Byrne's ''ComicBook/SpiderManChapterOne'' which despite initial notices was quickly retconned and canceled over to fears that it was an attempt to replace the original story. It was followed by Howard Mackie's run which led to the brief death of Mary Jane Watson at the demand of editors, followed by Peter Parker at his lowest and most depressed period in his life. Green Goblin, the revived Norman Osborn decided to catch up and get his ArchEnemy mojo back in ''ComicBook/RevengeOfTheGreenGoblin'' by Roger Stern, a bleak, angsty and violent story where the Goblin tortures and gaslights Peter Parker into becoming his heir only for him to refuse. Near the end, Mary Jane was alive after all and she and Peter returned, but the trauma of her period of captivity and resulting PTSD leads her and Peter to separate for a brief period. She would leave New York and go to LA and recover in the meantime. In 2000, Creator/BrianMichaelBendis wrote ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' another attempt at a ''Chapter One'' SettingUpdate but this one proved popular and influential, starting the ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'' sub-franchise which dominated the turn of the millennium.

* ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' (2000)

With a strongly serialized continuity during the era of [[UsefulNotes/MarvelComicsEditorsInChief EIC Stan Lee]], where Marvel as a whole told stories in near real-time, Spider-Man has been lauded as a landmark in comic book characterization and narrative structure. However, as the years have gone by, ComicBookTime was gradually introduced under his successors but still, Spider-Man's stories remained on the realistic side, a place where characters who died stayed dead, and supporting characters and fixtures from one era died in the next, new supporting characters coming in while old ones were either PutOnABus only [[TheBusCameBack to return later]] in a new role and new form. Status-quo changes had impact and lasting consequences. Spider-Man started as a high school student, went to college, worked as an adult, had a series of girlfriends, before having long-term relationships with first Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane, Felicia Hardy, before finally reuniting with MJ and getting married to her. In TheNineties, falling in line with the general trends in other Marvel titles, as well as tendencies in superhero titles from other companies, Spider-Man gradually came to be affected by retcons, characters coming BackFromTheDead, KudzuPlot and in 2007-2008, a CosmicRetcon that reversed 20 years of real-life continuity to tell a new altered status-quo that is, in fact, a composite of elements from different parts of Spider-Man's publication history.

** ''Green Goblin Reborn!'': Also known as the "Drug Trilogy" (ASM #96-98). This landmark comic was published in 1971 when the U.S. Department of Health approached Marvel and asked them to do an anti-drug storyline. There was one little problem: UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode forbade drugs anywhere, both good and bad. Marvel decided to write a three-parter where Harry Osborn was shown to be popping pills and ignore Comics Code approval for those three issues. Along with ''ComicBook/GreenLantern[=/=]ComicBook/GreenArrow'' doing a heroin storyline the same year, this was one of the first signs of transition to the socially- and politically-conscious [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Age of Comics]].

The Wallcrawler, the Webhead and the Webslinger. ''The'' [[IShallTauntYou King of Taunts]] and [[DeadpanSnarker Snark]]. '''The''' [[TheEveryman Everyman Hero]]. '''''[[TropeCodifier The]]''''' ([[KidSidekick non-sidekick]]) Teen Superhero, '''''The''''' Heart of the Marvel Universe and Company.

** ''Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut'' (Issue #229-230): One of the greatest battle issues and fights in Spider-Man's career. The Juggernaut and Black Tom Cassidy hunt for Madame Web, with Marko causing destruction along the way. Spider-Man does his best to halt him and save Madame Web's life.

* ''ComicBook/NothingCanStopTheJuggernaut (1982)

* {{Fauxreigner}}: In ''ComicBook/DarkReign: Sinister Spider-Man'', General Wolfram is [[AnimalThemedSuperbeing a wolf-themed villain]] claiming to be "the genetic terror of the Third Reich". Apparently, he faked the Nazi angle and the accent for distinctiveness' sake/to draw heat away from his real identity. ComicBook/{{Scorpion}}, who is currently impersonating Spider-Man with the aid of the Comicbook/{{Venom}} symbiote, calls him "Castle Wolfenstein" and eats his arm for his trouble.

Spider-Man is a Creator/MarvelComics superhero created by Creator/StanLee and Creator/SteveDitko in 1962. First appearing in ''[[ComicBook/AmazingFantasyNumber15 Amazing Fantasy]]'' [[ComicBook/AmazingFantasyNumber15 #15]] (August 1962), he is considered to be Marvel's most popular and famous superhero. He is one of -- if not ''the'' -- premier company mascots of Marvel Comics and is as central to them as WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse is to Creator/WaltDisney.

* MadArtist: In ''Web of Spider-Man'' #73–76, Wilhelm van Vile used his paints to awaken the latent mutant powers of two unsuccessful performance artists, then enhance them, and form a team called the Avant Guard, with the goal of plunging New York into an ice age as their insane version of a "masterpiece". They were defeated by the combined efforts of Spidey and the Torch.

* ''ComicBook/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' (Vol. 2) (2003-2005)

* ''ComicBook/UntoldTalesOfSpiderMan'' (1995)

[[folder:Avenging Spider-Man]]
* BadassNormal: In ''Avenging Spider-Man'' #4, ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}} confides in Spider-Man that there is an enormous amount of pressure on him as a BadassNormal on the same team as Captain America, Thor, Iron Man & the Hulk, and subsequently he has to train constantly in order to make sure his accuracy is superhuman, in effect meaning ''he cannot miss''.
* TheBreakfastClubPosterHomage: In ''Avenging Spider-Man'' #12, Peter and ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} explores Peter's dreams to find out who is trying to infiltrate his brain. At one point, Peter dreams characters into ''The Breakfast Club'', which is introduced [[https://i1.wp.com/www.bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/115.jpg?resize=600%2C447&ssl=1 with a shout-out]] to the original poster. Peter is Brian, redheaded love interest Mary Jane is Claire, jock frenemy Flash is Andrew, Deadpool himself is Bender...and he doesn't know who Allison is, so the person impersonating her must be the villain. It turns out to be Hypno-Master.
-->'''Deadpool:''' What a weirdo. You couldn't be dreaming of ''Film/MeanGirls''?
* ClosetGeek: In ''Avenging Spider-Man'', ProudToBeAGeek Peter Parker is ecstatic to discover that Steve Rogers used to draw comic books, and Steve is less than happy to talk about it because he doesn't think it's very ComicBook/CaptainAmerica. He relents at the end, though, when he realizes this attitude has somewhat dented Spidey's view of him, and the story ends with him showing Peter some new comics he's drawn and asking what he thinks.
* DefeatByModesty: In ''Avenging Spider-Man'', Spider-Man defeats a subterranean warlord in combat for leadership of his people who was handily beating him after finishing off the ComicBook/RedHulk by swinging a shard on a webline and cutting off his loincloth. Turns out shaming someone in battle also counts as besting them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Marvel Knights Spider-Man]]
* AsideGlance: In an issue of ''Marvel Knights: Spider-Man'', Peter and Liz Allan get talking during a high-school reunion. Liz reflects on how weird their lives have been, from the Living Brain attacking the school to Harry Osborn (and his dad) both being the Green Goblin, and concludes that sometimes, it feels like Peter's [[DramaticIrony the only normal person she knows.]] Peter's reaction is priceless.
* BigDamnHeroes: The Avengers are this when they show up right when the Sinister Twelve are about to kill Spider-Man.
* BuriedAlive: In the first arc, Norman Osborn has Aunt May kidnapped and buried alive as part of a plan to put Spidey in such a blind panic that he wouldn't be paying attention to Osborn's efforts to assemble a new incarnation of the Sinister Six.
* CapitalismIsBad: Norman Osborn mocks Peter with classist insults, for being a loser who works as a high-school teacher despite his great talent, which Spider-Man retorts by pointing out that Norman could well have cured cancer with all his wealth and connections if he actually cares about improving lives. Norman then replies that he only said it to hurt Peter by his values, because he on the other hand as he puts it, "I don't give a rat's ass".
* CorruptedCharacterCopy: [[https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Ethan_Edwards_(Earth-616) Ethan Edwards]] is another Creator/MarvelComics sendup of ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'', a Skrull who was sent to Earth from his dying world, raised by a kindly couple in midwest America, became the star reporter of the Daily Bugle in his civilian identity ([[ClarkKenting which didn't]] [[SubvertedTrope last long]]) while becoming a [[NighInvulnerability Nigh-Invulnerable]] FlyingBrick in his costumed identity. Unfortunately, he's also a HotBlooded FailureHero who has a FreakOut when he discovers he's an alien. Spider-Man convinces him to keep using his powers for good, but he comes to believe destroying The Avengers, who lack Spider-Man at the time, is a good thing because Hercules {{kill|thegod}}ed a Skrull god to stop ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion2008''.
* HistoryRepeats: The Green Goblin invokes this by bringing Mary Jane to [[ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied the same bridge where Gwen Stacy died]].
* MetaTwist: Right after Spider-Man sends Green Goblin to prison, Aunt May is kidnapped. Osborn protests that [[NotMeThisTime he hasn't had time to formulate a revenge plan from prison yet, so it couldn't have been him.]] It turns out the mastermind was Mac Gargan AKA The Scorpion AKA the new Venom. But he didn't know who Spider-Man was and wasn't smart enough to orchestrate the scheme, so who gave him the instructions? Norman Osborn, of course.
* NotMeThisTime: The series kicks off with a story in which Aunt May is kidnapped. Spider-Man immediately confronts Norman Osborn, who's in prison, demanding he return her. Osborn says he had nothing to do with it, ''because he's in prison.'' Of course, being imprisoned (or even dead) has not stopped Osborn on other occasions. [[spoiler: And it turns out that he really was responsible.]]
* PowerfulButIncompetent: This is highlighted when Scorpion becomes the new Venom, as even with the symbiote at his command he's still less effective than Eddie.
* PowerPerversionPotential: In one ''Creator/MarvelKnights'' storyline, Electro is seen frequenting a brothel with a mutant prostitute who can assume any form a customer desires. She seems to specialize in super-heroines, but mentioned that some customers with fetishes had requested rather unusual ones, even Fin Fang Foom. Her conversation with Electro is cut off by Spidey breaking into the place before he can tell her what he wants, so there's no way to tell.
* RejectedByTheEmpathicWeapon: In issues #6-8, the [[Characters/MarvelComicsVenom Venom symbiote]] was purchased by a mobster for his loser of a son to use. They go on to kill an innocent guy wearing a Spider-Man costume, until finally the symbiote became so fed up with the failure's whining and general incompetence that it ejects him mid-BuildingSwing.

[[folder:Spider-Man's Tangled Web]]
* GeniusSerum: In the story, "Flowers for Rhino", the dim-witted Rhino is tired of being treated like a joke and undergoes a dangerous surgical procedure to greatly increase his intelligence. He eventually becomes so smart that he thoroughly trounces Spidey in a fight and uses an algorithm to determine his SecretIdentity. But he soon begins experiencing IntelligenceEqualsIsolation as he simply grows bored of everything and can only see the numbers and science behind the world around him instead of enjoying it for what it is. As a result, he ends up getting another surgery to revert his intelligence and make him dumber than he already was.
* HateSink: ''Spider-Man's Tangled Web'' introduces a one-shot villain known as The Thousand, who is just as loathsome as he is horrifying. Originally [[SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp Carl King]], a particularly nasty bully to Peter Parker, he transformed into [[HiveMind a colony of a thousand spiders]] that could [[BodyHorror crawl into a human's body, devour them from the inside out]] and then [[TheWormThatWalks wear their skin like a suit]] after eating the radioactive spider that gave Parker his powers. He goes through several bodies each year to grow stronger, with some of the victims being children, and hunts down Spidey for the sole purpose of stealing his body and taking over his life, under the belief that he should have been Spider-Man instead of Peter Parker. Even among Peter's worst foes like Norman Osborn and Carnage, the Thousand has none of their bravado or even slightly sympathetic qualities. He's a vicious, entitled bully who kills and torments for the pettiest of reasons, and a vile, predatory abomination both literally and figuratively. This just makes his ultimate demise of [[CruelAndUnusualDeath being electrocuted and having his last spider squished by a random passer-by]] all the more satisfying, and he has [[KilledOffForReal never reappeared since]].
* {{Kayfabe}}: The comics treated the fight between Peter and the wrestler as real, though it was explained in issue #14 of ''Spider-Man's Tangled Web'' that Crusher Hogan was actually a "shoot" wrestler--in which the outcome of the match is not scripted.

[[folder:Spider-Man Team Up]]
* FaithInTheFoe: In one issue of ''Spider-Man Team Up'', Spidey has been framed for murder, again. And Abe Jenkins, formerly The Beetle, now MACH-1, is certain of his innocence because he knows who Spidey is as a hero.

[[folder:Symbiote Spider-Man]]
* AccidentalMurder: The series shows the first time that ComicBook/{{Mysterio}} killed as a supervillain; while robbing a bank, he forced the teller to open the vault for him, only for her to get accidentally shot by a security guard because of how he dodged the guard's gunfire. The experience shocks and traumatizes him badly enough that Mysterio briefly considers quitting crime… [[HeelFaceDoorSlam until a symbiote-wearing Spider-Man beats him viciously while trying to arrest him despite Mysterio being defenseless, causing Mysterio to redouble his desire for revenge against the Wallcrawler]].

[[folder:Sinister Spider-Man]]
* {{Fauxreigner}}: In ''ComicBook/DarkReign: Sinister Spider-Man'', General Wolfram is [[AnimalThemedSuperbeing a wolf-themed villain]] claiming to be "the genetic terror of the Third Reich". Apparently, he faked the Nazi angle and the accent for distinctiveness' sake/to draw heat away from his real identity. ComicBook/{{Scorpion}}, who is currently impersonating Spider-Man with the aid of the Comicbook/{{Venom}} symbiote, calls him "Castle Wolfenstein" and eats his arm for his trouble.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Spider-Man Unlimited]]
* EvilLaugh: Lampshaded in ''Spider-Man Unlimited'' #12, when [[PunchClockVillain the Shocker]] tries it, only to be shot with a tranquilizer dart by the mercenary villain the Pro, who states that he ''hates'' evil laughs, calling them "unprofessional".
* RecycledScript: Issues #3 and #18 are almost identical in terms of plot (a recap of Dr. Octopus's life and criminal career), despite being published years apart. Issue #3 has as its FramingDevice a Bugle reporter preparing an obituary for him, while issue #18 retreads the obituary sequence, but expands with Carolyn Trainer (Lady Octopus) and Spider-Man recounting his lifestory.
* SelfDeprecation: ''Spider-Man Unlimited'' #3 starts with a newspaper editor explaining to his new employee about how they usually write obituaries in advance, which can lead to embarrassing retractions, what with the Marvel universe [[DeathIsCheap being the way it is]]. In the foreground of that panel, we see two filing cabinets, one with the label "[[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]]" with two stickers reading "dead" and "alive"... and another named "ComicBook/XMen", with so many of the dead/alive stickers that they go off-panel. This was in the early nineties, by the way, so Tony probably got a few more of those stickers added to his cabinet over the years.
* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: Issue #19 is yet another Lizard's return. This time, however, Spider-Man does not defeat him: while he is incapacitated in a pool, Martha Connors begins a verbal beatdown of the Lizard and reminds him of their son Billy. ''It works'': the Lizard reverts back to Connor, and the Lizard's threat is over.
[[/folder]]

Please note that this page covers the ''Spider-Man'' comics ''only'', for tropes pertaining to all ''Spider-Man'' media, see [[Franchise/SpiderMan the franchise page]]. For the title character, see Characters/SpiderManPeterParker.

* '''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManDanSlott''' (2010-2018): Writing bi-monthly, Dan Slott ultimately became the major writer of Spider-Man and with more than 200+issues on Spider-Man in main titles, secondary titles, mini-series, and other stuff, he has become ''the most'' Spider-Man writer ever on 616. His arc began with "Big Time", which saw Peter join Horizon Labs and work as a scientist under Max Modell. Slott followed this up with several event stories, including ''ComicBook/SpiderIsland'', an event story from 2011 which spanned all of the ongoing Spider-Man satellite books as well as much of the Marvel Universe. The aftermath saw Kaine acquire his ongoing book series (''Scarlet Spider''). This was followed by ''Ends of the Earth'' and ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'', a 2012-2014 Spider-Man event that saw Peter Parker disappear from his title for the longest gap in his history. Following that, there was ''ComicBook/SpiderVerse'' where Spider-Man teams up with many, ''many'' other people with Spider-powers as well as AlternateUniverse counterparts of himself to stop a danger that threatens them all. Features massive amount of ContinuityPorn as Spider-Men from previous AU storylines (such as ComicBook/TheCloneSaga and ComicBook/HouseOfM), Spider-themed spin-off books, '''ComicBook/WhatIf''' one-shots and from animated adaptations. This was followed by the ''Worldwide'' arc which saw Peter Parker elevated to a rich businessman. Slott ended his run with ''ComicBook/GoDownSwinging'' published in 2018, stopping at Issue #801.

* Following Zdarsky's success on Spectacular Spider-Man, Marvel stated that it continues its commitment to the second series, with ''Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'', a title that had last been written by Peter David during the JMS era, revived under Tom Taylor starting from 2019. Meanwhile, Spider-Man's legacy characters will continue their adventures under new teams, with Creator/SaladinAhmed writing ''ComicBook/MilesMoralesSpiderMan2018'' and Christos Gage writing the sequel series to ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan''.

* ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' (2013)

* CorruptedCharacterCopy: [[https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Ethan_Edwards_(Earth-616) Ethan Edwards]] is another Creator/MarvelComics sendup of Superman, a Skrull who was sent to Earth from his dying world, raised by a kindly couple in midwest America, became the star reporter of the Daily Bugle in his civilian identity ([[ClarkKenting which didn't]] [[SubvertedTrope last long]]) while becoming a [[NighInvulnerability Nigh-Invulnerable]] FlyingBrick in his costumed identity. Unfortunately, he's also a HotBlooded FailureHero who has a FreakOut when he discovers he's an alien. Spider-Man convinces him to keep using his powers for good, but he comes to believe destroying The Avengers, who lack Spider-Man at the time, is a good thing because Hercules {{kill|thegod}}ed a Skrull god to stop ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion2008''.

* '''Len Wein and Marv Wolfman's Spider-Man''' (1976-1980): A slew of writers took over from Conway, including Archie Goodwin (who wrote Issue #150) before Len Wein started an extended run, followed by Marv Wolfman. Most of Conway's story threads and plots were carried forward. Important changes in this period included the wedding of Ned Leeds and Betty Brant (where Peter and MJ served as Best Man and Maid of Honor, respectively), Aunt May's unexpected flirtation with Civil Rights Activism and elderly rights, and other melodramatic turns. Wolfman, wanting to shake the title up, saw fit to end the Peter and MJ romance by having Peter propose to her and having MJ turning it down as a ShipSinking (in Issue #182). The couple broke up in Issue #192 (exactly 100 issues before she and Peter would get engaged and married for real). The important landmark issue is Issue #200 where Peter confronts Uncle Ben's killer, who escaped from prison, and Peter achieves a measure of catharsis over Uncle Ben's death. Also important is the first appearance of Felicia Hardy, the ComicBook/BlackCat, who would go on to be Peter's third great romance.

* '''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga''' (1994-1996): Gerry Conway's original Clone Saga was an emotional roller-coaster and farewell to Gwen Stacy and the nostalgia she represented. That was what he intended at any rate and that was how it was received originally. But near the end of his story, there was a bit where Spider-Man fought a clone of himself in a stadium and for a brief moment Peter had CloningBlues and readers wondered if [[OpeningACanOfClones the Peter we saw was the clone all along]].[[note]]In the actual story, Peter reasons logically that since he's in love with MJ and the clones are fixated on Gwen Stacy and were created after Gwen's death, that meant he was the real deal since if he was a clone he would be stuck in the past and not able to get over, grow and mature. A moment of emotional truth about the nature of CharacterDevelopment and not fixating on the past expressed in comic book metaphors, that unfortunately got lost in the shuffle of fan theories about logistics.[[/note]] Inspired by ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman'' and ''ComicBook/{{Knightfall}}'' stories that expressed a tragic attitude to its iconic heroes by temporarily removing them and replacing them with AntiHeroSubstitute, an attempt was made to give Spider-Man his equivalent. It was also felt that this would be "back to basics" and temporary. Peter was now married and a new character could be the hip former single Spider-Man of the past and contrast with Peter's present. That was the original idea for a six-month story. What followed, thanks to a period where marketing and merchandising was inspiring creative as well as a period of weak editorial oversight was a story stretched out for three years with endless backtracking, padding and spinning of wheels as Ben Reilly, Kaine, the Jackal (the villain of the original Saga who died at the end of it and was forgotten until the second one) returned to wreak havoc on Spider-Man's life along with a slew of characters that were hard to keep track off. Mary Jane also became pregnant, Aunt May died in ''Issue #400'' written by J. M. [=DeMatteis=] (which despite later retcons is still considered a classic story in its own right, and works as a standalone). Meanwhile, Marvel dropped the bombshell and triggered the second backlash in its creative history (the first being Gwen's death). The Spider-Man we'd been following for the past twenty years [[ActuallyADoombot was a clone]].[[note]]Conway's response on this retcon from a story that hilariously misread his own story to start with: "When I did find the gist of the story, that the previous ten years of Spider-Man stories didn't happen, I thought, this is a wonderful thing for a writer, because it means when I left the title, the book stopped."[[/note]] The response to this story (that the Spider-Man who fought the Juggernaut, romanced Black Cat, met the Kid who Collected Spider-Man, wore the Black Suit, grieved over the death of Captain [=DeWolff=], married MJ and survived Kraven and fought Venom and Carnage wasn't the real deal) was loud and negative. Even if Ben Reilly was positively received by some, the entire project fell apart and the whole thing was hastily undone through a series of {{retcon}}s and quietly swept under the rug -- with the main consequence that the original Green Goblin was [[BackFromTheDead back among the living]]. (Oh, and providing a possibly-dead baby to become ComicBook/SpiderGirl in an alternate timeline.) Aunt May also came back at the end.

** ''ComicBook/MaximumCarnage'': An event from 1993; Carnage recruits C-list villains into a LegionOfDoom, and Spidey recruits several heroes ([[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Venom]]) to stop them. Mainly of note for being the highest-selling multi-title comic series in History (displacing ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'') until ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' - the reason for such a large mega-run was summarized by writer/E.I.C. Tom [=DeFalco=] as being a test to see how a multi-title series would function in the Spidey-verse, something that was tried before, but with a much smaller cast.

* '''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski'''(2001-2008): Creator/JMichaelStraczynski took over from Amazing Spider-Man Vol 2 #30 and would continue a run that lasted for 7 years, the longest since David Michelinie. He introduced a series of new concepts and ideas. Namely the MythArc of the Spider-Totem, which was unfurled in the opening "Coming Home" storyline that pitched Spider-Man against Morlun, his new villain who was tougher, relentless, and mysterious than many of the villains Spider-Man was used to. Peter also became a high school teacher at this time, returning to his original roots but now from the other side and often spending much of his time helping students and others in the friendly neighborhood even as his stories started flirting with MagicRealism. He also wrote the ''9/11 response issue'' in ASM-36, V2 (which became famous for the entirely black cover by John Romita Jr). His run became celebrated for "The Conversation" (ASM-38), the comic where Aunt May after discovering Peter is Spider-Man finally has a heart to heart talk with her nephew about the lies he has told her since the age of 15 (which much like the retconned Aunt May death issue[[note]]where it was revealed she knew Peter was Spider-Man all along and intended as such in that story[[/note]] is still considered a classic). In Issue #50, Spider-Man and MJ reunite and commit to their relationship again. His later run was affected by a series of stories by other writers, such as Spider-Man officially becoming an Avenger, and having his identity revealed to the world in ''ComicBook/CivilWar2006'' by Mark Millar which revealed Spider-Man's identity to the world and the consequences of that story led to ''Back in Black'' where Spider-Man and his family became outlaws on the lam. His run ended with ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' (co-written by EIC Joe Quesada who wrote the final two issues) which sparked the third major backlash of Spider-Man history culminating in the end of the Spider-Marriage via an editorially mandated DealWithTheDevil. Supplementing the main series were other storylines in satellite titles:

* AbuseMistake: In ''Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'', Peter is a high school science teacher whose identity is made public after the events of ''ComicBook/CivilWar2006''. The first time he returns to class, one of his students remarks that she noticed he always wore long sleeves to cover the bruises on his arms and assumed that Mary Jane was beating him.

->''Is he strong? Listen, bud!\\
He's got radioactive blood!\\
Can he swing from a thread?\\
Take a look overhead!\\
Hey there, there goes the Spider-Man!''
-->-- Excerpt from the 1967 TitleThemeTune to the 1967 ''[[WesternAnimation/SpiderMan1967 Spider-Man]]'' animated series, and BootstrappedTheme for the entire franchise.