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Marvel Season One
Spider-Man: Amazing Origins
The greatest origin story of all time, retold for a new generation! Meet Peter Parker like never before, and join him on the journey of triumph and tragedy that takes him from high-school wallflower to the fast-talking, wall-crawling super here Spider-Man! It's an ageless tale of power and responsibility as relevant today as it was decades ago! Plus: Follow our young Spidey as he battles to build his amazing rep in early action against...Doctor Octopus! Rediscover why the world's comics fans fell in love with Spider-Man! BONUS CONTENT: SPIDEY #1
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
15 people are currently reading
270 people want to read
About the author
Cullen Bunn
2,101 books1,058 followersCullen grew up in rural North Carolina, but now lives in the St. Louis area with his wife Cindy and his son Jackson. His noir/horror comic (and first collaboration with Brian Hurtt), The Damned, was published in 2007 by Oni Press. The follow-up, The Damned: Prodigal Sons, was released in 2008. In addition to The Sixth Gun, his current projects include Crooked Hills, a middle reader horror prose series from Evileye Books; The Tooth, an original graphic novel from Oni Press; and various work for Marvel and DC. Somewhere along the way, Cullen founded Undaunted Press and edited the critically acclaimed small press horror magazine, Whispers from the Shattered Forum.
All writers must pay their dues, and Cullen has worked various odd jobs, including Alien Autopsy Specialist, Rodeo Clown, Professional Wrestler Manager, and Sasquatch Wrangler.
And, yes, he has fought for his life against mountain lions and he did perform on stage as the World's Youngest Hypnotist. Buy him a drink sometime, and he'll tell you all about it.
Visit his website at www.cullenbunn.com.
All writers must pay their dues, and Cullen has worked various odd jobs, including Alien Autopsy Specialist, Rodeo Clown, Professional Wrestler Manager, and Sasquatch Wrangler.
And, yes, he has fought for his life against mountain lions and he did perform on stage as the World's Youngest Hypnotist. Buy him a drink sometime, and he'll tell you all about it.
Visit his website at www.cullenbunn.com.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
November 21, 2016
Clunk. Clunk. Clunk.
That was what the dialogue sounded like in my head, in case you were wondering.
As far as a re-imagining of Spidey's origins?
There's nothing exceptionally fresh or new, just some minor tweaking here and there.
And the tweaked parts?
They sucked.
Peter initially tries to make some extra cash off of his powers by getting a manager. He jumps around at malls hawking motorcycles, attends ribbon cuttings, and goes on a late night show.
Wow.
I think Uncle Ben's character saw the most change. In this one, he was a pervy old dude that talked about 'hot young chicks'. I'm assuming so that he'd seem cool to Peter?
Yep.
It was sad to see Uncle Ben get gunned down...
Mercifully, Spider-Man: Season One is relatively short.
Blech.
That was what the dialogue sounded like in my head, in case you were wondering.
As far as a re-imagining of Spidey's origins?
There's nothing exceptionally fresh or new, just some minor tweaking here and there.
And the tweaked parts?
They sucked.
Peter initially tries to make some extra cash off of his powers by getting a manager. He jumps around at malls hawking motorcycles, attends ribbon cuttings, and goes on a late night show.
Wow.
I think Uncle Ben's character saw the most change. In this one, he was a pervy old dude that talked about 'hot young chicks'. I'm assuming so that he'd seem cool to Peter?
Yep.
It was sad to see Uncle Ben get gunned down...
Mercifully, Spider-Man: Season One is relatively short.
Blech.
March 20, 2013
The umpteenth and first re-telling of Spider-Man's origin, with a few tweaks and updates along the way.
This one is truer to the original story told by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko all those years ago and I give it a lot of credit for that. Reading it, I found myself wishing they'd adapted this into last year's Amazing Spider-Man instead of what we got.
I can see how comic book storytelling has changed and the younger audience this book is targeted at may not necessarily like or want to read the original Lee/Ditko continuity right out of the gate. As a retelling of Spidey getting his powers and learning that with great power comes great responsibility Season One works fairly well. And it's nice to see that the first supervillain Spidey faces is the Vulture -- again something that calls back to the early days.
The tweak of J. Jonah Jameson hiring a young reporter to start off the anti-Spidey stories is nicely done but a bit too quickly wrapped up. I feel like there was more potential to this that could be explored in future installments, assuming Marvel decides to renew the series for a second season.
This one is truer to the original story told by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko all those years ago and I give it a lot of credit for that. Reading it, I found myself wishing they'd adapted this into last year's Amazing Spider-Man instead of what we got.
I can see how comic book storytelling has changed and the younger audience this book is targeted at may not necessarily like or want to read the original Lee/Ditko continuity right out of the gate. As a retelling of Spidey getting his powers and learning that with great power comes great responsibility Season One works fairly well. And it's nice to see that the first supervillain Spidey faces is the Vulture -- again something that calls back to the early days.
The tweak of J. Jonah Jameson hiring a young reporter to start off the anti-Spidey stories is nicely done but a bit too quickly wrapped up. I feel like there was more potential to this that could be explored in future installments, assuming Marvel decides to renew the series for a second season.
April 22, 2025
The idea behind the "Season One" comics was to provide a modernized retelling of the origin story of some of Marvels' most iconic characters. Because of that, it's little surprise that Spider-Man was included among them, considering that he is their most iconic IP. And yet Cullen Bunn does little to update the story beyond extending Spider-Man's early flirtation with fame (turning a one-night wrestling match into a budding career as a celebrity) and giving him a digital camera. Apart from that the beats are all there: the visit to the science fair, the bite by the irradiated spider, the death of Uncle Ben, and the turn towards superheroism. If anything, J. Jonah Jameson — arguably Spider-Man's true nemesis — receives more of a revision, as he is shown ginning up his criticism of Spider-Man more to drive newspaper sales rather than out of any personal vendetta. And while it's all capably told this I ended this with more of a sense of a missed opportunity than anything else, especially when compared with the more imaginative retellings by some of the other contributors to the concept.
March 30, 2018
Energetic retelling; in this updated version, tweets are happening. Artist Neil Edward rocks it.
The backup, from Spidey #1, in this trade paperback edition, is just as good, with a different tone and team, and I like the more youthful feel of artist Nick Bradshaw. I do not like losing the Steve Ditko hair on Harry and Norman Osborne. That makes me what in jazz was called a moldy fig.
Recommended.
The backup, from Spidey #1, in this trade paperback edition, is just as good, with a different tone and team, and I like the more youthful feel of artist Nick Bradshaw. I do not like losing the Steve Ditko hair on Harry and Norman Osborne. That makes me what in jazz was called a moldy fig.
Recommended.
May 17, 2021
You would think that if an entire modern graphic novel were being devoted to Spider-Man's decades-old origin story that it would bring something new to the table in so doing. You would be right to think so, yet Spider-Man: Season One ignores this basic logic and delivers something totally unoriginal and bland instead.
So, what makes Season One's take on Spidey's origin a worthy addition to the Spider-Man mythos? The answer is, nothing much. In fact, this graphic novel did more to worsen his origin more than anything else. The changes made in an attempt to modernize the story ended up being detrimental to Spider-Man's character and his development.
One such harmful change was to make Spider-Man remain focused on making money with his powers even after Uncle Ben had been murdered for that same reason. In the original comic book origin (Amazing Fantasy #15), Spidey focused too heavily on making money and becoming famous for him to have the focus to do the right thing despite having the power to do much good in the world. As a result, his Uncle Ben was murdered by a guy he could have easily stopped, letting money get in the way of doing the right thing. That was when he realized the wisdom of Uncle Ben's credo, that “With great power comes great responsibility.” That was a great moment in Spider-Man's life, but here comes Spider-Man: Season One to screw that up for no good reason other than to avoid outright plagiarism. This time around, even after Spider-Man discovers that his desire for fame and fortune played a role in his Uncle Ben's death, he still remained determined to make an easy buck using his abilities, and only after fighting the Vulture did he learn to use his powers for good (too late, if you ask me). Has he learned nothing from his uncle's death? It didn't take this long in the original comics for him to learn his lesson! Even in other versions of this origin, Spider-Man never continued his money-making endeavors after Uncle Ben's murder. It's flat-out insulting to deprive Spider-Man of this historic learning moment just to prolong your stupid little graphic novel. This was not the only change done to the origin tale, but it was among one of the most egregious bastardizations to Spider-Man's beloved beginnings.
As if ruining key moments in Spider-Man's origin story wasn't bad enough, any of the potentially good aspects in this version were squandered in a baffling decision to blatantly ignore the most important and interesting parts of his development. Spider-Man: Season One, as a graphic novel, had the ability to take all the time and page space it needed to flesh out every vital moment of Peter Parker's journey from a nerdy outcast in high school to the confident crime-fighter known as Spider-Man. Rather than using this time productively, Spider-Man: Season One chose some of the most baffling aspects of this story to spend its time on, leaving many great parts ignored or barely touched upon. In Amazing Fantasy #15, Spidey's fight with wrestler Crusher Hogan was only a panel or two long and accompanied by one box of expository dialogue. That isn't much to go off of, so when that exact same moment came up in this graphic novel, I was excited to see how it would be handled. After all, this was the first time Spidey realized he could be successful at making money using his spider powers, so it was an important part of his story. But guess what happens instead? Writer Cullen Bunn skips ahead by two weeks and skips that fateful fight in its entirety, relegating it to a single flashback panel a few pages later. Talk about missed opportunity! What was this guy thinking? That wasn't the only moment Bunn skipped over all together, for potentially fun and humorous moments like seeing Peter Parker adjust to his powers in class were completely absent from this graphic novel. So much was left out or brushed over for no good reason that it just compounds its disappointing mediocrity.
Like I mentioned earlier, as a graphic novel, this story had plenty of time to tell a more full story without the twenty-page restrictions of the average comic book, yet Cullen Bunn decided not to utilize any of the time and space associated with a non-restrictive graphic novel productively. Further exacerbating that poor decision of his was the pacing of this story, in that it was far too fast in places it should have taken its time. I won't try to argue that Amazing Fantasy #15 had any better pacing because that was a rather short comic even by comic book standards, so it had to be quick paced in order to get everything across succinctly for those being introduced to the character for the first time. By the time Spider-Man: Season One was written, everyone and their pets knew the origin of Spider-Man, and rather than wanting another rehash of what we already knew, we wanted to see new moments along with old ones that progressed smoothly and with purpose, giving us a new perspective on an old tale. But since Bunn isn't such a talented writer, he chose to rush over potentially exciting moments.
For example, when Peter Parker gets bitten by a radioactive spider in this graphic novel, it takes all of about five pages before he has fully adjusted to his new powers. How's that for development? We don't get to see him worrying about how Aunt May or Uncle Ben will react to this fantastical news, or watch him try to balance his super strength with something simple like opening a door without destroying it, or even getting inside his head to see how he is dealing with this sudden change on a mental and emotional level. What we get instead is, “Oh no, I've been bitten! I wonder what will happen to me? Oh wait, I'm good now, I got this shit! Let's make some money!” This is quite literally some of the worst developing I have ever witnessed for Spider-Man in general.
All the issues I've previously outlined are only compounded by how bad the dialogue is written. There is no subtlety, no tact, nor any charm or natural flow in anything these characters say to themselves or each other. While I do not believe that better dialogue would have saved this graphic novel in its entirety, I still think it would have been nice to at least say that the characters didn't sound like morons whenever they opened their mouths. I don't know what it is about this author, but he can't write for shit, or he is just really ill-suited to write for Spider-Man comics.
As a visual medium, graphic novels should have some exceptional art to showcase, right? Well, artist Neil Edwards would disagree. Rather than deliver any spectacular illustrations worthy of Spider-Man's greatness, Edwards instead gave a middling performance barely even worth mentioning were it not for the rest of the book being so frustrating to me that I just want to pile on the criticism now to throw salt in the wound. In short, it was too safe for its own good and didn't leave a positive impression. The artwork is of that typical modern-day dreg that sorely lacks an identity because it is so unoriginal and tame. Sure, there's an occasional panel that looks pretty cool, and Spider-Man is at least drawn competently, but everything else is just so painfully average. Seriously, I know the '90s had some problems with storytelling in their comics, but style of the era was simply fantastic – full of colors, vibrant, action-packed, dynamic, and generally appealing – and I wish modern comic book artists took more inspiration from that era rather than going for that safe-as-can-be look that could have been illustrated by anyone with an art class under their belt. It's not like the industry is short on talent, just look at the cover of the graphic novel; the stylized rendition of Spider-man on the cover is better than everything within its pages. Had the graphic novel been fully illustrated in that exaggerated style like on the cover, I would have at least enjoyed my time looking at the art. As it stands, I neither enjoyed the story by Cullen Bunn, nor enjoyed the art by Neil Edwards.
When I heard that Spider-Man: Season One was a modernization of the old Spidey origin story, I expected to see cell phones everywhere and read cringy dialogue consisting of dead memes and slang terms. To this graphic novel's credit, at least the writing didn't resort to that kind of modernization, but even being spared the Facebook references and "OMGs," what we got in the end was hardly any better. No, Spider-Man: Season One is not irredeemable garbage, but it is certainly nowhere near good or decent, and that poses a huge problem considering the source material with which this graphic novel had to work. When you take one of the greatest and most significant stories in Spider-Man's entire existence and modernize it for a new generation, you don't have to do much to succeed at your endeavors, yet somehow Cullen Bunn managed to screw that up, which is a testament not to how difficult that task actually was, but rather to how bad he is as a comic book writer. Speaking as someone with zero comic book writing experience, I could assure you that, with my breadth of comic book knowledge and appreciation for Spider-Man as a franchise and character, I could have done something far better than what Bunn provided with the same resources and budget. Alas, what we got is what shall remain, and unfortunately for Spidey fans everywhere, Spider-Man: Season One is hardly worth your time of day.
So, what makes Season One's take on Spidey's origin a worthy addition to the Spider-Man mythos? The answer is, nothing much. In fact, this graphic novel did more to worsen his origin more than anything else. The changes made in an attempt to modernize the story ended up being detrimental to Spider-Man's character and his development.
One such harmful change was to make Spider-Man remain focused on making money with his powers even after Uncle Ben had been murdered for that same reason. In the original comic book origin (Amazing Fantasy #15), Spidey focused too heavily on making money and becoming famous for him to have the focus to do the right thing despite having the power to do much good in the world. As a result, his Uncle Ben was murdered by a guy he could have easily stopped, letting money get in the way of doing the right thing. That was when he realized the wisdom of Uncle Ben's credo, that “With great power comes great responsibility.” That was a great moment in Spider-Man's life, but here comes Spider-Man: Season One to screw that up for no good reason other than to avoid outright plagiarism. This time around, even after Spider-Man discovers that his desire for fame and fortune played a role in his Uncle Ben's death, he still remained determined to make an easy buck using his abilities, and only after fighting the Vulture did he learn to use his powers for good (too late, if you ask me). Has he learned nothing from his uncle's death? It didn't take this long in the original comics for him to learn his lesson! Even in other versions of this origin, Spider-Man never continued his money-making endeavors after Uncle Ben's murder. It's flat-out insulting to deprive Spider-Man of this historic learning moment just to prolong your stupid little graphic novel. This was not the only change done to the origin tale, but it was among one of the most egregious bastardizations to Spider-Man's beloved beginnings.
As if ruining key moments in Spider-Man's origin story wasn't bad enough, any of the potentially good aspects in this version were squandered in a baffling decision to blatantly ignore the most important and interesting parts of his development. Spider-Man: Season One, as a graphic novel, had the ability to take all the time and page space it needed to flesh out every vital moment of Peter Parker's journey from a nerdy outcast in high school to the confident crime-fighter known as Spider-Man. Rather than using this time productively, Spider-Man: Season One chose some of the most baffling aspects of this story to spend its time on, leaving many great parts ignored or barely touched upon. In Amazing Fantasy #15, Spidey's fight with wrestler Crusher Hogan was only a panel or two long and accompanied by one box of expository dialogue. That isn't much to go off of, so when that exact same moment came up in this graphic novel, I was excited to see how it would be handled. After all, this was the first time Spidey realized he could be successful at making money using his spider powers, so it was an important part of his story. But guess what happens instead? Writer Cullen Bunn skips ahead by two weeks and skips that fateful fight in its entirety, relegating it to a single flashback panel a few pages later. Talk about missed opportunity! What was this guy thinking? That wasn't the only moment Bunn skipped over all together, for potentially fun and humorous moments like seeing Peter Parker adjust to his powers in class were completely absent from this graphic novel. So much was left out or brushed over for no good reason that it just compounds its disappointing mediocrity.
Like I mentioned earlier, as a graphic novel, this story had plenty of time to tell a more full story without the twenty-page restrictions of the average comic book, yet Cullen Bunn decided not to utilize any of the time and space associated with a non-restrictive graphic novel productively. Further exacerbating that poor decision of his was the pacing of this story, in that it was far too fast in places it should have taken its time. I won't try to argue that Amazing Fantasy #15 had any better pacing because that was a rather short comic even by comic book standards, so it had to be quick paced in order to get everything across succinctly for those being introduced to the character for the first time. By the time Spider-Man: Season One was written, everyone and their pets knew the origin of Spider-Man, and rather than wanting another rehash of what we already knew, we wanted to see new moments along with old ones that progressed smoothly and with purpose, giving us a new perspective on an old tale. But since Bunn isn't such a talented writer, he chose to rush over potentially exciting moments.
For example, when Peter Parker gets bitten by a radioactive spider in this graphic novel, it takes all of about five pages before he has fully adjusted to his new powers. How's that for development? We don't get to see him worrying about how Aunt May or Uncle Ben will react to this fantastical news, or watch him try to balance his super strength with something simple like opening a door without destroying it, or even getting inside his head to see how he is dealing with this sudden change on a mental and emotional level. What we get instead is, “Oh no, I've been bitten! I wonder what will happen to me? Oh wait, I'm good now, I got this shit! Let's make some money!” This is quite literally some of the worst developing I have ever witnessed for Spider-Man in general.
All the issues I've previously outlined are only compounded by how bad the dialogue is written. There is no subtlety, no tact, nor any charm or natural flow in anything these characters say to themselves or each other. While I do not believe that better dialogue would have saved this graphic novel in its entirety, I still think it would have been nice to at least say that the characters didn't sound like morons whenever they opened their mouths. I don't know what it is about this author, but he can't write for shit, or he is just really ill-suited to write for Spider-Man comics.
As a visual medium, graphic novels should have some exceptional art to showcase, right? Well, artist Neil Edwards would disagree. Rather than deliver any spectacular illustrations worthy of Spider-Man's greatness, Edwards instead gave a middling performance barely even worth mentioning were it not for the rest of the book being so frustrating to me that I just want to pile on the criticism now to throw salt in the wound. In short, it was too safe for its own good and didn't leave a positive impression. The artwork is of that typical modern-day dreg that sorely lacks an identity because it is so unoriginal and tame. Sure, there's an occasional panel that looks pretty cool, and Spider-Man is at least drawn competently, but everything else is just so painfully average. Seriously, I know the '90s had some problems with storytelling in their comics, but style of the era was simply fantastic – full of colors, vibrant, action-packed, dynamic, and generally appealing – and I wish modern comic book artists took more inspiration from that era rather than going for that safe-as-can-be look that could have been illustrated by anyone with an art class under their belt. It's not like the industry is short on talent, just look at the cover of the graphic novel; the stylized rendition of Spider-man on the cover is better than everything within its pages. Had the graphic novel been fully illustrated in that exaggerated style like on the cover, I would have at least enjoyed my time looking at the art. As it stands, I neither enjoyed the story by Cullen Bunn, nor enjoyed the art by Neil Edwards.
When I heard that Spider-Man: Season One was a modernization of the old Spidey origin story, I expected to see cell phones everywhere and read cringy dialogue consisting of dead memes and slang terms. To this graphic novel's credit, at least the writing didn't resort to that kind of modernization, but even being spared the Facebook references and "OMGs," what we got in the end was hardly any better. No, Spider-Man: Season One is not irredeemable garbage, but it is certainly nowhere near good or decent, and that poses a huge problem considering the source material with which this graphic novel had to work. When you take one of the greatest and most significant stories in Spider-Man's entire existence and modernize it for a new generation, you don't have to do much to succeed at your endeavors, yet somehow Cullen Bunn managed to screw that up, which is a testament not to how difficult that task actually was, but rather to how bad he is as a comic book writer. Speaking as someone with zero comic book writing experience, I could assure you that, with my breadth of comic book knowledge and appreciation for Spider-Man as a franchise and character, I could have done something far better than what Bunn provided with the same resources and budget. Alas, what we got is what shall remain, and unfortunately for Spidey fans everywhere, Spider-Man: Season One is hardly worth your time of day.
November 28, 2017
I really enjoyed this one!
It was simple, but interesting and a lot more detailed story than the other "Season One" stories. I guess it's partially because it concentrates just on one character.
It had quite a bit of jokes/sarcasm that was refreshing and pulled in, plus the art was really nice and showed the evolution of Peter Parker.
There were some plot elements I didn't buy which was a shame, but overall I enjoyed this one a lot and would read more about Spiderman if this comic would be continued (which I suppose "it is" because this is so close to the origins story).
It was simple, but interesting and a lot more detailed story than the other "Season One" stories. I guess it's partially because it concentrates just on one character.
It had quite a bit of jokes/sarcasm that was refreshing and pulled in, plus the art was really nice and showed the evolution of Peter Parker.
There were some plot elements I didn't buy which was a shame, but overall I enjoyed this one a lot and would read more about Spiderman if this comic would be continued (which I suppose "it is" because this is so close to the origins story).
January 28, 2016
This comic felt like a complete déjà-vu of the film with the same title. The illustrations were well animated and completely filled with action. Sadly, the metamorphosis from Peter Parker to Spider-Man was too fast-paced. Like two drawings. Where did the spider come from? Why did it bite Peter? We will never know. At least not in this comic.
Wish it would have been a few pages longer and included more details about Parker's private life to make me want to attach myself more to his character.
Wish it would have been a few pages longer and included more details about Parker's private life to make me want to attach myself more to his character.
September 27, 2025
A retelling of the origin of Spidey, it retells the first couple of issues from the 60s, in a modern way. Great artwork and a solid read for what it is.
May 27, 2012
I wasn't going to bother with many of the Season One range of Marvel graphic novels, but Spider-Man has always been my favourite character, and since I own almost all of his other trade collections, I couldn't stop myself getting this.
This is a wonderful introduction to Spider-Man, giving his origin and first adventure nicely to new readers whilst still being an enjoyable little read for old fans like me. You'll get more out of it if you've never read any Spider-Man origins before, however.
Neil Edwards' art is clean, smooth and inoffensive, a great combination. I especially like how Peter's appearance subtley changes once he gains his Spider-Powers.
If you want to introduce a new reader to one of Marvel's most prolific and relatable characters, Spider-Man Season One does exactly what it's meant to do, and does it well.
This is a wonderful introduction to Spider-Man, giving his origin and first adventure nicely to new readers whilst still being an enjoyable little read for old fans like me. You'll get more out of it if you've never read any Spider-Man origins before, however.
Neil Edwards' art is clean, smooth and inoffensive, a great combination. I especially like how Peter's appearance subtley changes once he gains his Spider-Powers.
If you want to introduce a new reader to one of Marvel's most prolific and relatable characters, Spider-Man Season One does exactly what it's meant to do, and does it well.
August 8, 2019
The art was gorgeous and the story fun but at the same time, this was not for me. I'm a huge Spidey fan but there's also only so many times you can read or experience an origin story. In particular this reads like a Homecoming first draft with the Daily Bugle involved.
It is fun but probably aimed for Spider-man beginners.
It is fun but probably aimed for Spider-man beginners.
May 27, 2012
I've read the Spider-Man origin story quite a few times at this point and I was expecting Cullen Bunn (the writer behind "The Sixth Gun") would be able to bring something to the table to keep things fresh. Unfortunately, this really wasn't the case. This volume is an abridgment of the popular story told in the movies with stiff, unconvincing dialog. It adds a handful of new characters who bring nothing new to the story, while abandoning several of the familiar ones that you would see of you read this as an introduction to spiderman and then tried to pick up an issue of "Amazing Spider-Man." Ultimately, I don't. Think this volume brings anything to the Spider-man origin tale and, quite frankly, manages to take away a lot of the more interesting aspects of it.
June 10, 2012
We don't need another Spider-Man origin tale. Maybe in a vacuum the book is worth a couple stars, but it takes a hit because the degree of difficulty is higher. If you are going to retread a well-known superhero origin, you better make it fantastic.
May 23, 2012
Bastante bueno, por lo general, pero siento que ha alargado demasiado el tema del show-business
December 7, 2025
I'm not a massive Spiderman fan so maybe this book just wasn't for me, but... it was boring. It opens with geek Peter Parker getting bullied and living with Aunt May and Uncle Ben. He goes on a visit to a science lab where he's bitten by a radioactive spider and given super powers! Whereupon he sews himself a suit and becomes a... mascot...?
Yeah, Spiderman does some professional wrestling with a skeevy agent who wants him to wear a mask because he's pretty sure Spiderman is a minor and if he confirms that, he'll have to stop booking Spiderman for gigs. Spiderman goes from professional wrestling to... ribbon cuttings and store openings and hyping up people to purchases motorcycles... Which is why J. Jonah Jameson starts hating Spiderman. Because kids will see Spiderman lifting motorcycles and doing the splits and want to copy him! So he deserves the title of Public Enemy Numero Uno!
Meanwhile, Vulture is flying around doing crime and no one really... cares? Uncle Ben is killed (off screen) by some random home invader that Peter could have stopped at an earlier time but didn't because he's a MASCOT. It's not even like he was doing any super-heroing at the time!
Literally in the final twenty pages, Spiderman puts on the suit (that he's been wearing the whole time he was a mascot) and decides to fight Vulture because... reasons and he wins because Vulture is 90 and Peter is a science geek. Then, there's a random few pages of Peter with the Avengers(?) that's trying to get you to buy the next book and it ends.
Maybe this just wasn't for me, but I didn't enjoy it. Spiderman spends most of his time acting like Chuck E Cheese, Vulture barely does anything, Uncle Ben's death happens but has very little effect, and J Jonah Jameson is all wound up about nothing. (Seriously, let the kids try to lift a motorcycle or do the splits. What's the worse that happens?)
I saw a lot of compliments on the artwork, (not that comic book art is super realistic) but some of Peter/Spiderman's poses look downright impossible. Spidey's legs must not be attached to his body! It was intriguing but not beautiful by any means. (Most of the women looked like Barbie dolls, but that's pretty typical.)
I just didn't find much enjoyment out of this one. The plot was dull, the motivations weren't there, and the art wasn't great. Give it a pass unless you're a Die Hard Spiderman Fan. 2/5
Yeah, Spiderman does some professional wrestling with a skeevy agent who wants him to wear a mask because he's pretty sure Spiderman is a minor and if he confirms that, he'll have to stop booking Spiderman for gigs. Spiderman goes from professional wrestling to... ribbon cuttings and store openings and hyping up people to purchases motorcycles... Which is why J. Jonah Jameson starts hating Spiderman. Because kids will see Spiderman lifting motorcycles and doing the splits and want to copy him! So he deserves the title of Public Enemy Numero Uno!
Meanwhile, Vulture is flying around doing crime and no one really... cares? Uncle Ben is killed (off screen) by some random home invader that Peter could have stopped at an earlier time but didn't because he's a MASCOT. It's not even like he was doing any super-heroing at the time!
Literally in the final twenty pages, Spiderman puts on the suit (that he's been wearing the whole time he was a mascot) and decides to fight Vulture because... reasons and he wins because Vulture is 90 and Peter is a science geek. Then, there's a random few pages of Peter with the Avengers(?) that's trying to get you to buy the next book and it ends.
Maybe this just wasn't for me, but I didn't enjoy it. Spiderman spends most of his time acting like Chuck E Cheese, Vulture barely does anything, Uncle Ben's death happens but has very little effect, and J Jonah Jameson is all wound up about nothing. (Seriously, let the kids try to lift a motorcycle or do the splits. What's the worse that happens?)
I saw a lot of compliments on the artwork, (not that comic book art is super realistic) but some of Peter/Spiderman's poses look downright impossible. Spidey's legs must not be attached to his body! It was intriguing but not beautiful by any means. (Most of the women looked like Barbie dolls, but that's pretty typical.)
I just didn't find much enjoyment out of this one. The plot was dull, the motivations weren't there, and the art wasn't great. Give it a pass unless you're a Die Hard Spiderman Fan. 2/5
July 9, 2023
Most comics over 40 years old are kind of hard to read. They are too wordy and move at a snail's pace. Spider-man's first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15: Facsimile Edition from 1962 is an exception to that rule. It clocked in at a mere 11 pages and not a panel was wasted. It still reads very modern. That Spider-man origin story is one of the best and most well-known origin story in all of superhero comics. I think it was filmed for a couple different movies.
The Season One series from marvel comics was created to give newcomers a more "modern introduction" to the origin story of the more famous super heroes including Daredevil, the Hulk, Fantasy Four, and of course Spider-Man, among others. I think the others will benefit more from a "modernization", but this one was very well done. The story was expanded on beyond original to include his first battle with the Vulture and J.K. Jameson working with an ambitious reporter to bring Spidey down.
I had read those first issues a while back in The Amazing Spider-Man Masterworks (001) and while it was good, the pacing slowed down a lot after that first appearance and the stories got more convoluted. I think I would prefer to read this "modernization" to the original, though this only re-tells an amalgamation of the first few issues with the Vulture being the only Spidey villain to make an appearance. One thing I really missed in this re-telling was Peter's high school drama. He never gives Flash his comeuppance and flirting is kept to a minimum here.
While this is by no means, necessary, I can still recommend it as long as you're okay with a retelling of the classic Spidey origin story. I think the other entries will benefit more from the "modernization" process.
The Season One series from marvel comics was created to give newcomers a more "modern introduction" to the origin story of the more famous super heroes including Daredevil, the Hulk, Fantasy Four, and of course Spider-Man, among others. I think the others will benefit more from a "modernization", but this one was very well done. The story was expanded on beyond original to include his first battle with the Vulture and J.K. Jameson working with an ambitious reporter to bring Spidey down.
I had read those first issues a while back in The Amazing Spider-Man Masterworks (001) and while it was good, the pacing slowed down a lot after that first appearance and the stories got more convoluted. I think I would prefer to read this "modernization" to the original, though this only re-tells an amalgamation of the first few issues with the Vulture being the only Spidey villain to make an appearance. One thing I really missed in this re-telling was Peter's high school drama. He never gives Flash his comeuppance and flirting is kept to a minimum here.
While this is by no means, necessary, I can still recommend it as long as you're okay with a retelling of the classic Spidey origin story. I think the other entries will benefit more from the "modernization" process.
Read
October 4, 2025Have you ever wondered about what Spider-man is doing right now? Spider-Man: Season One is a book by Cullen Bunn and Neil Edwards. It is a fiction book. It's a book about a vigilante. He is a person who has spider type powers. He uses his powers for good things like responsibility. It is a story of adventure and action. It keeps you entertained and thrilled every second of the book. It is one of the best Spider-man books I’ve read.
Peter Parker is a kid in high school. He gets bitten by a spider who is radioactive. He goes on late night shows and promotes stuff. There is a newspaper that does not like him. Katy Kiernan, the reporter, tries to make him look bad. There is a thief. His uncle gets killed by the thief later. He works for the newspaper and needs to take pictures of the vulture guy. They start to fight each other. They fight each other again. Spiderman uses an electromagnet to shock him. He takes more pictures. Katy quits the newspaper.
It was a good story. It is a classic for readers. It has a conflict so that there is a problem to solve. There is emotional conflict because his uncle died. It has good drawings. The drawings look better than drawings from someone who can’t draw. It gives you a visual effect. You don’t have to imagine what it looks like. You can see it with your own eyes. It is slow paced. You can take your time with the book. You don’t have to read it very fast. It doesn’t have enough action. It feels like it is very short. Some parts are just about him at school. It feels like we do not get to see the end.
This book is really relevant. Spider-man is one of the most well known superheroes. There are many books and movies about him. If it is Halloween you will see kids dressed up as him. This book helps with the cinematic universe of the heroes. Without Spider-man season one we wouldn’t have Spider-man season two. It is a superhero story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It is a good book that I would recommend to people.
Peter Parker is a kid in high school. He gets bitten by a spider who is radioactive. He goes on late night shows and promotes stuff. There is a newspaper that does not like him. Katy Kiernan, the reporter, tries to make him look bad. There is a thief. His uncle gets killed by the thief later. He works for the newspaper and needs to take pictures of the vulture guy. They start to fight each other. They fight each other again. Spiderman uses an electromagnet to shock him. He takes more pictures. Katy quits the newspaper.
It was a good story. It is a classic for readers. It has a conflict so that there is a problem to solve. There is emotional conflict because his uncle died. It has good drawings. The drawings look better than drawings from someone who can’t draw. It gives you a visual effect. You don’t have to imagine what it looks like. You can see it with your own eyes. It is slow paced. You can take your time with the book. You don’t have to read it very fast. It doesn’t have enough action. It feels like it is very short. Some parts are just about him at school. It feels like we do not get to see the end.
This book is really relevant. Spider-man is one of the most well known superheroes. There are many books and movies about him. If it is Halloween you will see kids dressed up as him. This book helps with the cinematic universe of the heroes. Without Spider-man season one we wouldn’t have Spider-man season two. It is a superhero story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It is a good book that I would recommend to people.
November 14, 2025
Spider-Man: Season One left me feeling pretty underwhelmed. It’s a serviceable retelling of Spider-Man’s origins, I guess. If you’ve never read a Spider-Man comic before and are looking for a starting point, it could work as an introductory book. It hits the basics: Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider, struggles with his newfound powers, learns about responsibility, and faces his first villain. It’s all there, but it doesn’t bring anything new or particularly exciting to the table.
For anyone who’s already familiar with Spider-Man, though, this book feels entirely redundant. You’re not going to discover anything new about the character or his story. The narrative is predictable and lacks the energy or nuance that makes Spider-Man compelling in other runs. The dialogue often feels a bit stiff and overly explanatory, like it’s trying too hard to make sure new readers “get it.”
On the bright side, the art is pretty solid. It’s clean and easy to follow, and the character designs are faithful to classic Spider-Man aesthetics. There’s a charm in the visuals that almost makes up for the lackluster story, and it does give the book a little personality.
Overall, Spider-Man: Season One is fine as a starting point for someone completely new to the character, but for anyone who’s been following Spider-Man for even a little while, it’s largely skippable. It’s a book that plays it very safe and doesn’t take any risks, which is disappointing given how dynamic and layered the character can be.
For anyone who’s already familiar with Spider-Man, though, this book feels entirely redundant. You’re not going to discover anything new about the character or his story. The narrative is predictable and lacks the energy or nuance that makes Spider-Man compelling in other runs. The dialogue often feels a bit stiff and overly explanatory, like it’s trying too hard to make sure new readers “get it.”
On the bright side, the art is pretty solid. It’s clean and easy to follow, and the character designs are faithful to classic Spider-Man aesthetics. There’s a charm in the visuals that almost makes up for the lackluster story, and it does give the book a little personality.
Overall, Spider-Man: Season One is fine as a starting point for someone completely new to the character, but for anyone who’s been following Spider-Man for even a little while, it’s largely skippable. It’s a book that plays it very safe and doesn’t take any risks, which is disappointing given how dynamic and layered the character can be.
August 23, 2025
"Spider-Man: Season One", by Cullen Bunn and Neil Edwards, is a fresh and engaging retelling of the origins of our friendly neighbourhood hero, updated smartly for the 21st century. Bunn’s script captures both the youthful uncertainty of Peter Parker and the timeless themes of responsibility and growth, while Edwards’ artwork delivers dynamic action sequences and expressive character work that keep the story moving at a great pace.
A couple of clever details really stood out to me: the police chief’s surname, Romita—a nice nod to the legendary Spider-Man artist—and a touching moment where Spidey saves a young Black boy wearing a T-shirt with “Morales” on the back, a subtle reference to Miles Morales, Spider-Man in from another universe.
Overall, this is a modern yet faithful take on Spider-Man’s beginnings. Excellent script, more than solid art, and enough affectionate winks for long-time fans to smile at. A very enjoyable read for both newcomers and seasoned web-heads.
A couple of clever details really stood out to me: the police chief’s surname, Romita—a nice nod to the legendary Spider-Man artist—and a touching moment where Spidey saves a young Black boy wearing a T-shirt with “Morales” on the back, a subtle reference to Miles Morales, Spider-Man in from another universe.
Overall, this is a modern yet faithful take on Spider-Man’s beginnings. Excellent script, more than solid art, and enough affectionate winks for long-time fans to smile at. A very enjoyable read for both newcomers and seasoned web-heads.
March 10, 2020
The artwork is lovely, the panelwork is good, the characterizations are all there...this was simply disappointing.
The 'season one' line re-introduces Marvel heroes in a modern setting. Peter's classmates have smartphones, Pete himself shoots on digital instead of on film...and this affects nothing. The timelessness of Spidey's origin shoots this hardcover in the foot.
It's clear that a lot of love went into this story. There are easter eggs to Spidey lore, and the entire thing feels like an expanded 'Amazing Fantasy 15'. The familiarity of the tale reduces all that sizzle to a lukewarm experience.
The 'season one' line re-introduces Marvel heroes in a modern setting. Peter's classmates have smartphones, Pete himself shoots on digital instead of on film...and this affects nothing. The timelessness of Spidey's origin shoots this hardcover in the foot.
It's clear that a lot of love went into this story. There are easter eggs to Spidey lore, and the entire thing feels like an expanded 'Amazing Fantasy 15'. The familiarity of the tale reduces all that sizzle to a lukewarm experience.
May 3, 2025
Yet another retelling of Peter Parker's rebirth; from nerdy high schooler, to wrestler, minor celebrity and finally costumed superhero (is he Threat or Menace?)
It is efficiently told, helped by Neil Edwards on art duties, with no major revisions: it's The Vulture whom Spider-Man has to first face, Flash Thompson is still a dick, Uncle Ben doesn't quite get to utter hits full 'motto' in panel and he still dies (obviously).
Nicely told, but completely unnecessary in the grand Marvel scheme of things...
It is efficiently told, helped by Neil Edwards on art duties, with no major revisions: it's The Vulture whom Spider-Man has to first face, Flash Thompson is still a dick, Uncle Ben doesn't quite get to utter hits full 'motto' in panel and he still dies (obviously).
Nicely told, but completely unnecessary in the grand Marvel scheme of things...
February 5, 2018
Another Season One book from Marvel and another book that didn't really add to the mythos. The beauty of Season One is that creators can start from scratch. Unfortunately here Spidey's origin is updated but not re-imagined. Bunn's dialogue was good but the plot was slow and not new enough to matter. Neil Edwards' work was some of the best of his career. Really nice work by him. Overall, just not enough newness to interest me.
September 16, 2018
It was the basic Spider-man origin story. Which is a great story but there was not a whole lot that I felt was fresh or meaningful that added to the mythos particularly since this is a story we have read/seen many versions of. The dialogue also was a little lack luster at parts. The art was beautiful and there were some really good quips and fun stuff in the book. Really if you enjoy Spider-man then this is a good read, but if you know Spider-Man’s origin then it may not be a needed read.
June 12, 2022
I'm pretty sure that this was exclusively released as an original graphic novel, but Goodreads seems to be indicating that it was originally released as five separate issues. Besides the main story, this collection also includes Avenging Spider-Man issue #1 for some reason.
This modern-day re-telling of Spider-Man's origin story is fine. The artwork reminded me of that exact style that DC is going for with their "Earth One" original graphic novels.
This modern-day re-telling of Spider-Man's origin story is fine. The artwork reminded me of that exact style that DC is going for with their "Earth One" original graphic novels.
July 30, 2023
*I've read A LOT more than I've reviewed, so it's time for some knee-jerk reactions!*
A really solid retelling of the Spider-Man origin story. There's not much to say: It's a story we all know, but that doesn't mean that hearing it again with a different writer taking a crack at it isn't still a worthwhile read. Fun when it needed to be and heart-wrenching when it needed to be that, too. If this was your first introduction to the Spidey mythos, it would be a great place to start.
A really solid retelling of the Spider-Man origin story. There's not much to say: It's a story we all know, but that doesn't mean that hearing it again with a different writer taking a crack at it isn't still a worthwhile read. Fun when it needed to be and heart-wrenching when it needed to be that, too. If this was your first introduction to the Spidey mythos, it would be a great place to start.
May 19, 2017
Three stars only because I have been a fan of Spidey for almost 40 years. (Anyone remember his segments at the end of the old 'Electric Company' TV series?) While the artwork is very good the legendary origin story has pretty much been done to death now. This Season One entry would be best for the elementary school-age crowd as an introduction to the character.
April 19, 2019
Pretty good art, but dialogue is lacking.
Spidey had a good line while battling The Vulture:
Spidey had a good line while battling The Vulture:
Everyone expects the enhanced reflexes … the dynamic web-slinging … the incredible strength … but nobody expects the proportional smarts of a high school science wiz!
November 15, 2019
This is another modern retelling of the Spider-Man story. Not much to say here. Art was great all throughout. The story was okay and the dialogue was immensely cheesy. Spider-Man should be cheesy on some level but I feel like there's a balance to seek. Far from the best Spider-Man story but I think it would be a decent starter for someone completely clueless about Spider-Man.
June 22, 2022
Entiendo que puede ser complicado escribir una reversión de Spider-Man, es una historia súper conocida, así que para que tu versión sea interesante hay que agregar algo nuevo. El caso es que acá eso no pasó, leer este cómic y leer los primeros 3 issues de Amazing Spider-Man de los 60 es exactamente lo mismo, no hay nada nuevo ni innovador en los diálogos ni el arte, así que fue medio meh.
January 27, 2024
This wasn't as good as the last one I read of spider man.
Was interesting though as I saw heaps of references to other Marvel hero's. (Captain America short ans Stark Industries ad)
It ddi seem to jump a fair bit two either thr second comic included which was unexpected and very confusing.
The graphics were great though very impressive, the pencilwork at the end is also very impressive.
Was interesting though as I saw heaps of references to other Marvel hero's. (Captain America short ans Stark Industries ad)
It ddi seem to jump a fair bit two either thr second comic included which was unexpected and very confusing.
The graphics were great though very impressive, the pencilwork at the end is also very impressive.
December 26, 2017
For a first comic I was happy! It started off a bit slow but it built up. I liked the exploration of spidermans origins for a basis for those (like me) who dont know much about spider man! Further comments will be posted in my review tomorrow but a solid 4 stars for this comic 😝
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