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The Amazing Spider-Man (1999) (Single Issues) #501-514
The Best of Spider-Man: Volume 3
The year's best Spider-Man stories, collected in one amazing volume
Marvel Comics proudly presents a complete year's worth of Amazing Spider-Man tales by writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist John Romita Jr., featuring Spider-Man at his very best - continuing to protect the innocent citizens of New York City from harm, even as he struggles to keep his personal life together.
- Peter Parker always believed the radioactive spider-bite that granted him his powers was an accident. Now, the mysterious Ezekiel offers Peter a shockingly different explanation. But the wall-crawler won't have much time to ponder the question of his origins, as his existence has drawn the attention of Shathra, an otherworldly being with the power of a killer wasp. Shathra sees Spider-Man as her prey, and she'll do anything to snare the web-slinger in her deadly trap.
- Years ago, a savage mob hit wiped out the leaders of six organized-crime families. Morris Forelli thought his rivals were long dead and buried, until a gamma-bomb test revives the slain gangsters as one unstoppable killer dubbed "Digger." Fearing for his life, Forelli hires as his bodyguard the one man who can protect him: Spider-Man.
- Since he became a hero, Spider-Man has taken thousands of criminals off the streets. But what happens to the families of these thugs after they're put away? Peter finds out when his life as a young teacher intersects with his career as Spider-Man in a touching personal story of one family's devotion.
- Spider-Man has proven he can defeat criminals such as the Green Goblin and the Sandman, but what happens when a horde of otherworldly monsters is too much to handle? The web-slinger joins special guest-stars Iron Man, Captain America, the Thing, Cyclops and Dr. Strange in a mystical battle to save New York City.
PLUS: In celebration of Amazing Spider-Man's 500th issue, legendary artist John Romita Sr. returns to the series to illustrate a reunion between Peter and an unexpected figure from his past - an historic event that will bring a tear to the eye of every Spider-Man fan.
Collecting Amazing Spider-Man #46-58, plus the #500 anniversary issue.
Marvel Comics proudly presents a complete year's worth of Amazing Spider-Man tales by writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist John Romita Jr., featuring Spider-Man at his very best - continuing to protect the innocent citizens of New York City from harm, even as he struggles to keep his personal life together.
- Peter Parker always believed the radioactive spider-bite that granted him his powers was an accident. Now, the mysterious Ezekiel offers Peter a shockingly different explanation. But the wall-crawler won't have much time to ponder the question of his origins, as his existence has drawn the attention of Shathra, an otherworldly being with the power of a killer wasp. Shathra sees Spider-Man as her prey, and she'll do anything to snare the web-slinger in her deadly trap.
- Years ago, a savage mob hit wiped out the leaders of six organized-crime families. Morris Forelli thought his rivals were long dead and buried, until a gamma-bomb test revives the slain gangsters as one unstoppable killer dubbed "Digger." Fearing for his life, Forelli hires as his bodyguard the one man who can protect him: Spider-Man.
- Since he became a hero, Spider-Man has taken thousands of criminals off the streets. But what happens to the families of these thugs after they're put away? Peter finds out when his life as a young teacher intersects with his career as Spider-Man in a touching personal story of one family's devotion.
- Spider-Man has proven he can defeat criminals such as the Green Goblin and the Sandman, but what happens when a horde of otherworldly monsters is too much to handle? The web-slinger joins special guest-stars Iron Man, Captain America, the Thing, Cyclops and Dr. Strange in a mystical battle to save New York City.
PLUS: In celebration of Amazing Spider-Man's 500th issue, legendary artist John Romita Sr. returns to the series to illustrate a reunion between Peter and an unexpected figure from his past - an historic event that will bring a tear to the eye of every Spider-Man fan.
Collecting Amazing Spider-Man #46-58, plus the #500 anniversary issue.
300 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2004
41 people want to read
About the author
J. Michael Straczynski
1,372 books1,280 followersJoseph Michael Straczynski is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 (1993–1998) and its spinoff Crusade (1999), as well as the series Jeremiah (2002–2004) and Sense8 (2015–2018). He is the executor of the estate of Harlan Ellison.
Straczynski wrote the psychological drama film Changeling (2008) and was co-writer on the martial arts thriller Ninja Assassin (2009), was one of the key writers for (and had a cameo in) Marvel's Thor (2011), as well as the horror film Underworld: Awakening (2012), and the apocalyptic horror film World War Z (2013). From 2001 to 2007, Straczynski wrote Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, followed by runs on Thor and Fantastic Four. He is the author of the Superman: Earth One trilogy of graphic novels, and he has written Superman, Wonder Woman, and Before Watchmen for DC Comics. Straczynski is the creator and writer of several original comic book series such as Rising Stars, Midnight Nation, Dream Police, and Ten Grand through Joe's Comics.
A prolific writer across a variety of media and former journalist, Straczynski is the author of the autobiography Becoming Superman (2019) for HarperVoyager, the novel Together We Will Go (2021) for Simon & Schuster, and Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer (2021) for Benbella Books. In 2020 he was named Head of the Creative Council for the comics publishing company Artists, Writers and Artisans.
Straczynski is a long-time participant in Usenet and other early computer networks, interacting with fans through various online forums (including GEnie, CompuServe, and America Online) since 1984. He is credited as being the first TV producer to directly engage with fans on the Internet and to allow viewer viewpoints to influence the look and feel of his show. Two prominent areas where he had a presence were GEnie and the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated.
Straczynski wrote the psychological drama film Changeling (2008) and was co-writer on the martial arts thriller Ninja Assassin (2009), was one of the key writers for (and had a cameo in) Marvel's Thor (2011), as well as the horror film Underworld: Awakening (2012), and the apocalyptic horror film World War Z (2013). From 2001 to 2007, Straczynski wrote Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, followed by runs on Thor and Fantastic Four. He is the author of the Superman: Earth One trilogy of graphic novels, and he has written Superman, Wonder Woman, and Before Watchmen for DC Comics. Straczynski is the creator and writer of several original comic book series such as Rising Stars, Midnight Nation, Dream Police, and Ten Grand through Joe's Comics.
A prolific writer across a variety of media and former journalist, Straczynski is the author of the autobiography Becoming Superman (2019) for HarperVoyager, the novel Together We Will Go (2021) for Simon & Schuster, and Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer (2021) for Benbella Books. In 2020 he was named Head of the Creative Council for the comics publishing company Artists, Writers and Artisans.
Straczynski is a long-time participant in Usenet and other early computer networks, interacting with fans through various online forums (including GEnie, CompuServe, and America Online) since 1984. He is credited as being the first TV producer to directly engage with fans on the Internet and to allow viewer viewpoints to influence the look and feel of his show. Two prominent areas where he had a presence were GEnie and the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 9, 2018
The highlight was the relationship between MJ and Peter; it felt "real" and organic. Peter continues to be a school teacher, which is a good idea, but doesn't really bring any interesting stories. It only seems to show Peter's willingness to want to help and give back.
There's a short crossover with Dr. Strange which isn't bad, but ties into a Dr. Strange mini-series that never came to fruition.
The rest if average.
There's a short crossover with Dr. Strange which isn't bad, but ties into a Dr. Strange mini-series that never came to fruition.
The rest if average.
July 29, 2012
One of the best things about this series was the portrayal of Aunt May. She was an amazing character, quite frequently more impressive than anyone else in the comic....
January 4, 2025
A real mixed bag. Moments of greatness here, #50 (Peter/MJs reconciliation in an airport) is up there with the best comic book issues I've read. JRJR's art has honestly really grown on me, Peter as an inner-city teacher is such a great move, the 2 issue arc focused on rehabilitation of a kid he had put away, and Peter's mentoring of his sister is PEAK Spider-Man. This is what I want JMS, not some Mystical Spider-Killer Wasp and gangster hulk. However neither of those stories are bad by any means, simply weaker comparatively, holding it back from the consistency needed for a truly great run. Kinda disappointing looking back, as I've always held this run in such a high reverence (Was my introduction to the comics as a kid), but USM/what I've read of Slott’s run greatly eclipse what is going on here😭. I honestly remember really enjoying the second half of the run even though y'all are haters, so we'll see
June 3, 2014
Well, now I'm starting to see why I hear people complain about Straczynski's Spider-Man run so often. It's so disappointing to see this comic slip so rapidly into the garbage, when it started out with so much promise. While JMS's decision to frame Spidey as a superhero with totemistic spider powers is jarring and a little strange, it at least felt bold and potentially mystical in an interesting way. But any originality has started to wear off at this point, as all of the plot lines surrounding that decision have started feeling repetitive and boring. They always end with someone being like "Beware, Spider-Man. The worst is yet to come." And then a ton of issues go by without ever mentioning what "the worst" is until it just kind of shows up out of nowhere without fanfare.
On top of this, JMS struggles constantly with his attempts to maintain "realism." He tries to give his characters human motivations and problems, but at the same time will just make them behave like complete lunatics with no logic or reasoning, all in the interest in getting to the next plot point. For instance, in one storyline in this book, one of his enemies goes on to the media and starts talking about how Spider-Man is a sexual deviant, all in an attempt to draw him out. The thing is, the media PUTS HER DIRECTLY ON TELEVISION. Like, within minutes. Are you telling me that any time someone with a random, unconfirmed story about a celebrity goes to the media, they just slap them right on television without even 30 seconds of fact checking? On top of this, Mary Jane sees the broadcast, and is immediately like "Oh no! Peter is cheating on me with this woman!" WHAT? She's known him forEVER, and also knows that his enemies will do anything to stop him, and also that he is dragged through the mud in the media CONSTANTLY, and yet she believes this mysterious woman no one has ever seen before? And THEN (ugh, I hated this storyline so much), Spider-Man is like "HOW DARE SHE TALK ABOUT ME! I MUST IMMEDIATELY RUSH TO THE SET, DESTROY IT, TERRIFY EVERYONE AROUND ME, AND PUNCH A LADY WHO IS TALKING ABOUT ME LIVE ON TELEVISION!" Give me the biggest break off of the world's largest Kit Kat bar and then shove it down my throat until I'm dead.
Beyond this idiotic storyline, we get several other fairly idiotic storylines, as well. Spidey fights a zombie version of the Hulk for no real reason, I guess JMS just thought it was a fun idea (it's not, it's tedious). There's a big 500th-issue storyline involving Dr. Strange and Spidey getting thrown back in time, solely in the interest of forcing Spider-Man to relive all of his most memorable moments. It's essentially just a clip show in comic book format, and feels incredibly forced and lame.
Probably my least favorite part of JMS's run is the decision to make Peter Parker become a part-time high school teacher (not even sure how this works?). Sure, you can teach biology at our school 2 days a week. We just won't have it the other 3! Thanks, Pete! But the real problem is how he just keeps using the "damaged kid" trope to give Peter something noble to do. There's a new orphaned/troubled/bullied youth for Peter to take in like every 12 minutes, and the stories are always very sappy. Basically they could all be summed up with Spider-Man secretly stopping some sort of plot against the child (sure), and then putting his arm around them and saying "Everything's gonna be okay, kid." Then everyone cries I guess? I don't know. I certainly didn't.
So, I'm really hoping this picks up, as I have pretty much all of JMS's Spider-Man on my shelf and want to get through it. It's not looking too good right now, though.
On top of this, JMS struggles constantly with his attempts to maintain "realism." He tries to give his characters human motivations and problems, but at the same time will just make them behave like complete lunatics with no logic or reasoning, all in the interest in getting to the next plot point. For instance, in one storyline in this book, one of his enemies goes on to the media and starts talking about how Spider-Man is a sexual deviant, all in an attempt to draw him out. The thing is, the media PUTS HER DIRECTLY ON TELEVISION. Like, within minutes. Are you telling me that any time someone with a random, unconfirmed story about a celebrity goes to the media, they just slap them right on television without even 30 seconds of fact checking? On top of this, Mary Jane sees the broadcast, and is immediately like "Oh no! Peter is cheating on me with this woman!" WHAT? She's known him forEVER, and also knows that his enemies will do anything to stop him, and also that he is dragged through the mud in the media CONSTANTLY, and yet she believes this mysterious woman no one has ever seen before? And THEN (ugh, I hated this storyline so much), Spider-Man is like "HOW DARE SHE TALK ABOUT ME! I MUST IMMEDIATELY RUSH TO THE SET, DESTROY IT, TERRIFY EVERYONE AROUND ME, AND PUNCH A LADY WHO IS TALKING ABOUT ME LIVE ON TELEVISION!" Give me the biggest break off of the world's largest Kit Kat bar and then shove it down my throat until I'm dead.
Beyond this idiotic storyline, we get several other fairly idiotic storylines, as well. Spidey fights a zombie version of the Hulk for no real reason, I guess JMS just thought it was a fun idea (it's not, it's tedious). There's a big 500th-issue storyline involving Dr. Strange and Spidey getting thrown back in time, solely in the interest of forcing Spider-Man to relive all of his most memorable moments. It's essentially just a clip show in comic book format, and feels incredibly forced and lame.
Probably my least favorite part of JMS's run is the decision to make Peter Parker become a part-time high school teacher (not even sure how this works?). Sure, you can teach biology at our school 2 days a week. We just won't have it the other 3! Thanks, Pete! But the real problem is how he just keeps using the "damaged kid" trope to give Peter something noble to do. There's a new orphaned/troubled/bullied youth for Peter to take in like every 12 minutes, and the stories are always very sappy. Basically they could all be summed up with Spider-Man secretly stopping some sort of plot against the child (sure), and then putting his arm around them and saying "Everything's gonna be okay, kid." Then everyone cries I guess? I don't know. I certainly didn't.
So, I'm really hoping this picks up, as I have pretty much all of JMS's Spider-Man on my shelf and want to get through it. It's not looking too good right now, though.
September 15, 2011
When I was in high school I volunteered at my local library. Besides shelving and dusting, there wasn't much to do, so I would always sift through the comics section (Library Congress numbers for graphic novels are: PN 6728 AUTHOR). This was my first comic book, and it'll always be my favorite. Sci-fi writer Joe Straczynski takes on ol' webhead and explores the totemic nature of his powers: ie, the spider food chain applies to Spider-Man as he encounters the Spider-Wasp.
What really makes the book is how Peter Parker's life is affected by his super powers. In the start of the book, Mary Jane and Peter are married, but separated: she was pursuing an acting career in sunny LA and Peter taught in the NYC public school system. By the end, they find each other in an amazing two-issue arc . . . in an airport at Las Vegas. As it turns out, Dr. Doom is in the same airport and a group tries to assassinate him! It's heartbreaking, it's funny and it's everything Peter Parker should be.
What really makes the book is how Peter Parker's life is affected by his super powers. In the start of the book, Mary Jane and Peter are married, but separated: she was pursuing an acting career in sunny LA and Peter taught in the NYC public school system. By the end, they find each other in an amazing two-issue arc . . . in an airport at Las Vegas. As it turns out, Dr. Doom is in the same airport and a group tries to assassinate him! It's heartbreaking, it's funny and it's everything Peter Parker should be.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews