What do you think?
Rate this book
Civil War: A Marvel Comics Event
Civil War: Peter Parker, Spider-Man
The War has begun, sides have been chosen, and the die has been cast With the repercussions of recent events in Civil War spreading across the Marvel Universe, see how every action can have enormous consequences - even in Peter Parker's life. Collects Sensational Spider-Man #28-34.
168 pages, Paperback
First published May 9, 2007
13 people are currently reading
887 people want to read
About the author
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
462 books476 followersRoberto Aguirre-Sacasa is an American playwright, screenwriter, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics and for the television series Glee, Big Love, Riverdale, and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. He is Chief Creative Officer of Archie Comics.
Aguirre-Sacasa grew up liking comic books, recalling in 2003, "My mom would take us out to the 7-Eleven on River Road during the summer, and we would get Slurpees and buy comics off the spinning rack. I would read them all over and over again, and draw my own pictures and stuff."
He began writing for Marvel Comics, he explained, when "Marvel hired an editor to find new writers, and they hired her from a theatrical agency. So she started calling theaters and asking if they knew any playwrights who might be good for comic books. A couple of different theaters said she should look at me. So she called me, I sent her a couple of my plays and she said 'Great, would you like to pitch on a couple of comic books in the works?'"
His first submissions were "not what [they were] interested in for the character[s]" but eventually he was assigned an 11-page Fantastic Four story, "The True Meaning of...," for the Marvel Holiday Special 2004. He went on to write Fantastic Four stories in Marvel Knights 4, a spinoff of that superhero team's long-running title; and stories for Nightcrawler vol. 3; The Sensational Spider-Man vol. 2; and Dead of Night featuring Man-Thing.
In May 2008 Aguirre-Sacasa returned to the Fantastic Four with a miniseries tie-in to the company-wide "Secret Invasion" storyline concerning a years-long infiltration of Earth by the shape-shifting alien race, the Skrulls,and an Angel Revelations miniseries with artists Barry Kitson and Adam Polina, respectively. He adapted for comics the Stephen King novel The Stand.
In 2013, he created Afterlife with Archie, depicting Archie Andrews in the midst of a zombie apocalypse; the book's success led to Aguirre-Sacasa being named Archie Comics' chief creative officer.
Aguirre-Sacasa grew up liking comic books, recalling in 2003, "My mom would take us out to the 7-Eleven on River Road during the summer, and we would get Slurpees and buy comics off the spinning rack. I would read them all over and over again, and draw my own pictures and stuff."
He began writing for Marvel Comics, he explained, when "Marvel hired an editor to find new writers, and they hired her from a theatrical agency. So she started calling theaters and asking if they knew any playwrights who might be good for comic books. A couple of different theaters said she should look at me. So she called me, I sent her a couple of my plays and she said 'Great, would you like to pitch on a couple of comic books in the works?'"
His first submissions were "not what [they were] interested in for the character[s]" but eventually he was assigned an 11-page Fantastic Four story, "The True Meaning of...," for the Marvel Holiday Special 2004. He went on to write Fantastic Four stories in Marvel Knights 4, a spinoff of that superhero team's long-running title; and stories for Nightcrawler vol. 3; The Sensational Spider-Man vol. 2; and Dead of Night featuring Man-Thing.
In May 2008 Aguirre-Sacasa returned to the Fantastic Four with a miniseries tie-in to the company-wide "Secret Invasion" storyline concerning a years-long infiltration of Earth by the shape-shifting alien race, the Skrulls,and an Angel Revelations miniseries with artists Barry Kitson and Adam Polina, respectively. He adapted for comics the Stephen King novel The Stand.
In 2013, he created Afterlife with Archie, depicting Archie Andrews in the midst of a zombie apocalypse; the book's success led to Aguirre-Sacasa being named Archie Comics' chief creative officer.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
December 2, 2015
If you want the quintessential volume to illustrate why it is so difficult to follow a simple (ha!) storyline within the context of a mega crossover event, here it is! Marvel’s Civil War is complicated enough to sort out as it is, but one would hope that a single collection would at least adequately explain, via a smaller glimpse, what’s happening to the titular character(s).
Nope, not happening here! And it doesn’t help that these stories vary widely in quality either.
Backstory – Peter Parker was convinced by asshat Tony Stark to not only side with the pro-registration-and-pro-reveal secret identity heroes, but to unmask himself in public at a press conference. Now everyone knows, including the bad guys he’s been pummeling for years. Monkey poop hits the fan in a big way.
The first story looks at the trickle-down effect Parker’s decision has on one person he has come in contact with – a student in his biology class. It’s excellent and Clayton Crain’s artwork is exceptional.
The second batch of stories features villains billed as the Deadly Foes of Spiderman – Will O’ the Wisp, Scarecrow, Molten Man, the Chameleon and The Swarm (Bees and wasps swarm around a skeleton and make it come alive. It’s done with magic and mirrors, kids). When I’m thinking “Deadly Foes”, these losers wouldn’t be in the top ten. Maybe “deadly” was supposed to be ironic. Probably not.
Then we jump cut from Spider-Man-Pro-registration darling to Spider-Man-arachnid on the run and it’s “Hey, what happened to about six months of continuity?" You have three issues each centered on his then-wife Mary Jane, Aunt May and The Black Cat. We get to learn 1) that Mary Jane is selfish, 2) how Aunt May coped when she Uncle Ben adopted Peter when she was 86 years old and 3) what the Black Cat looks like when not drawn by an artist fixated on her cleavage.
As Marty Robbins would say, “El Paso”.
FYI - Don’t ever let Aunt May bake cookies for you.
Nope, not happening here! And it doesn’t help that these stories vary widely in quality either.
Backstory – Peter Parker was convinced by asshat Tony Stark to not only side with the pro-registration-and-pro-reveal secret identity heroes, but to unmask himself in public at a press conference. Now everyone knows, including the bad guys he’s been pummeling for years. Monkey poop hits the fan in a big way.
The first story looks at the trickle-down effect Parker’s decision has on one person he has come in contact with – a student in his biology class. It’s excellent and Clayton Crain’s artwork is exceptional.
The second batch of stories features villains billed as the Deadly Foes of Spiderman – Will O’ the Wisp, Scarecrow, Molten Man, the Chameleon and The Swarm (Bees and wasps swarm around a skeleton and make it come alive. It’s done with magic and mirrors, kids). When I’m thinking “Deadly Foes”, these losers wouldn’t be in the top ten. Maybe “deadly” was supposed to be ironic. Probably not.
Then we jump cut from Spider-Man-Pro-registration darling to Spider-Man-arachnid on the run and it’s “Hey, what happened to about six months of continuity?" You have three issues each centered on his then-wife Mary Jane, Aunt May and The Black Cat. We get to learn 1) that Mary Jane is selfish, 2) how Aunt May coped when she Uncle Ben adopted Peter when she was 86 years old and 3) what the Black Cat looks like when not drawn by an artist fixated on her cleavage.
As Marty Robbins would say, “El Paso”.
FYI - Don’t ever let Aunt May bake cookies for you.
May 4, 2016
You know who doesn’t need your Civil War? Besides Axl Rose, I mean. Peter Parker could also do without it because it ain’t been nothing but trouble for the poor guy.
Most of the major events for Spidey in this event happened in the main CW books or Amazing Spider-Man so what this collection focuses on is how the public revelation of his secret identity has impacted the people in Peter Parker’s life. There’s some decent stories with Aunt May, Mary-Jane, Felicia Hardy a/k/a The Black Cat, and even a random student from the high school science class Peter was teaching. There’s also a fair amount of time spent showing all his old enemies start coming out of the woodwork to attack him now that they know who Spider-Man really is, and that also puts May and MJ in constant danger.
It all ends up being mostly a tease because it just flirts with the kind of stories I was hoping we’d get as on-going things to be explored after Peter came out as Spider-Man. However, since all this was wiped out about ten minutes after it happened and didn’t really matter it’s kind of like reading one of those What If…? issues. Not bad but ultimately pointless.
It’d also be messy to read by itself since the stories happen as Civil War progresses with little to no explanation given as to what’s been happening with Spidey there.
Most of the major events for Spidey in this event happened in the main CW books or Amazing Spider-Man so what this collection focuses on is how the public revelation of his secret identity has impacted the people in Peter Parker’s life. There’s some decent stories with Aunt May, Mary-Jane, Felicia Hardy a/k/a The Black Cat, and even a random student from the high school science class Peter was teaching. There’s also a fair amount of time spent showing all his old enemies start coming out of the woodwork to attack him now that they know who Spider-Man really is, and that also puts May and MJ in constant danger.
It all ends up being mostly a tease because it just flirts with the kind of stories I was hoping we’d get as on-going things to be explored after Peter came out as Spider-Man. However, since all this was wiped out about ten minutes after it happened and didn’t really matter it’s kind of like reading one of those What If…? issues. Not bad but ultimately pointless.
It’d also be messy to read by itself since the stories happen as Civil War progresses with little to no explanation given as to what’s been happening with Spidey there.
August 8, 2016
The only comic book I read today because it was such a drag.
The artwork was horrible, by the way. They changed it up almost every issue and it was just a different type of horrible.
When someone argues the side of anti-registration, one of the points they bring up is that the world/government will know their identity, thus endangering said powered individual's family. That is exactly what happens here. A ton of Spider-Man's rogues come after Peter, Mary Jane, and Aunt May. THANKS, TONY STARK.
There's not much to this honestly. Bad artwork, mediocre plot, boring characters and dialogue.
The artwork was horrible, by the way. They changed it up almost every issue and it was just a different type of horrible.
When someone argues the side of anti-registration, one of the points they bring up is that the world/government will know their identity, thus endangering said powered individual's family. That is exactly what happens here. A ton of Spider-Man's rogues come after Peter, Mary Jane, and Aunt May. THANKS, TONY STARK.
There's not much to this honestly. Bad artwork, mediocre plot, boring characters and dialogue.
October 6, 2013
There's nothing particularly wrong with this, other than the fact that after Amazing Spider-Man Civil War, this seems like it was designed for 12yr olds. The art is great in the first issue of the volume, but after that I'm not a huge fan. The subject matter is also pretty ho-hum...I'm supposed to believe that the cut-rate Spidey villains can do so much damage to him while he's able to duke it out with Iron Man and Cap? There's a few good parts, when Aunt May foils a plan to kill her, and some stuff showing her bond with Peter since the death of his parents, but otherwise, meh. It affects MJ and May yes, but in a good scene with Sue Storm, Sue tells MJ to suck it up buttercup, she knew he was Spidey when they got married, so no complaining now.
Not really related to Civil War at all, just happens to occur during that, and because of what happens there, but this isn't a necessary tie-in at all.
Non-essential. Miss.
Not really related to Civil War at all, just happens to occur during that, and because of what happens there, but this isn't a necessary tie-in at all.
Non-essential. Miss.
July 15, 2024
2.75 stars. Spider-Man’s identity is revealed to the world as (spoiler alert) Peter Parker! And this volume is a jumbled mess of different situations dealing with that. Not much of this volume felt connected. While the stories were entertaining, they just weren’t great.
March 30, 2016
I'm rather new to reviewing comics, but this site includes them in the books I've read, and so shall I. I do not know enough about the practice of reviewing comics to properly address the art, so instead I will focus on the story.
And what a story! This is the kind of thing that Marvel does well, I think. It is a decidedly personal story of inner conflict as Peter struggles between two political factions, both of which have good points (how rare that is in real life!). The importance, though, is not in the political conflict, but in Peter's life as Spider-Man. He is forced to a point where he knows there will be repurcussions, both for himself and for those he loves, regardless of what he chooses. This is further complicated by the fact that those loved ones have opinions of their own.
I think the relationship between Peter Parker and Tony Stark was one of the strongest parts of Civil War, and this book tells us Peter's side of the story well, with the characteristic Spider-Man humour, but a thoughtfulness that you don't always see in superhero comics. Fundamentally, I think, Peter finds himself in a position many people do: trapped between two sides, not based on an abstract ideology, but on the actual realities of his life. It is the clash of idealism with pragmatism, of selflessness on a societal scale with selflessness on a familial scale, and of ties of friendship with political disagreement. This is what I enjoyed about Civil War.
And what a story! This is the kind of thing that Marvel does well, I think. It is a decidedly personal story of inner conflict as Peter struggles between two political factions, both of which have good points (how rare that is in real life!). The importance, though, is not in the political conflict, but in Peter's life as Spider-Man. He is forced to a point where he knows there will be repurcussions, both for himself and for those he loves, regardless of what he chooses. This is further complicated by the fact that those loved ones have opinions of their own.
I think the relationship between Peter Parker and Tony Stark was one of the strongest parts of Civil War, and this book tells us Peter's side of the story well, with the characteristic Spider-Man humour, but a thoughtfulness that you don't always see in superhero comics. Fundamentally, I think, Peter finds himself in a position many people do: trapped between two sides, not based on an abstract ideology, but on the actual realities of his life. It is the clash of idealism with pragmatism, of selflessness on a societal scale with selflessness on a familial scale, and of ties of friendship with political disagreement. This is what I enjoyed about Civil War.
March 3, 2016
This book takes place during the Marvel event of Civil War. This book details how Spider-Man's unmasking affects the people around him. This group includes Aunt May, Mary Jane, his students, and ex-girlfriends.
My enjoyment of this collection went from end of the spectrum to the other end. There are seven issues in this collection and I would say about half of them were terrific while the other half were forgettable. Peter has always feared that his enemies will come after the ones he loves and this proves to be true as his enemies know who he is now. I liked the story with Aunt May but the story with Mary Jane fell flat. That is a recurring theme in this collection. For every device or story I liked I can also point out something I did not. This could be said about the artwork too. Some issues I did not like at all but some had some amazing panels.
This is not a necessary read for the overall story arc. It is more a view into the effects of the war on a small group of people. There were some highlights like the flashbacks from May and Black Cat but also there are some low points. I would only recommend this to the most die hard fans of Marvel and Spider-Man.
My enjoyment of this collection went from end of the spectrum to the other end. There are seven issues in this collection and I would say about half of them were terrific while the other half were forgettable. Peter has always feared that his enemies will come after the ones he loves and this proves to be true as his enemies know who he is now. I liked the story with Aunt May but the story with Mary Jane fell flat. That is a recurring theme in this collection. For every device or story I liked I can also point out something I did not. This could be said about the artwork too. Some issues I did not like at all but some had some amazing panels.
This is not a necessary read for the overall story arc. It is more a view into the effects of the war on a small group of people. There were some highlights like the flashbacks from May and Black Cat but also there are some low points. I would only recommend this to the most die hard fans of Marvel and Spider-Man.
January 25, 2016
The focus here, I think, is more on how Spidey's unmasking affects everyone else in his life: MJ, Aunt May, his array of villains, Black Cat, even Peter Parker's high school science students. Civil War: The Amazing Spider-Man actually deals more directly with Spiderman's perspective on the Civil War. I really liked that regular people in Spidey's life while under a great deal of pressure, Jordon (the student), MJ, and Aunt May (especially Aunt May!) have to prove themselves heroic in their own ways. The tone of Black Cat's story, both funny and bittersweet, was also appealing.
December 30, 2018
One of the strongest entries in the entire Civil War series, "Civil War: Peter Parker, Spider-man" shows the repercussions of Peter Parker revealing his secret identity during the main plot arc, including having to deal with villains inevitably coming after his loved ones. The first story, "My Science Teacher is Spider-man," was my personal favorite and put a creative twist on the narrative by telling the story from the perspective of one of the students from Peter's biology class. Imagine watching TV one day finding out "Mr. Parker" has been Spider-man since he was fifteen years old! It was incredibly interesting to see the superhero civil war from the viewpoint of an ordinary person close to Peter who is caught up in events. The conclusion was immensely satisfying.
Plot-wise, most of this graphic novel involves Spider-man trying to keep his loved ones out of harm's way during the onslaught of villains like Dr. Octopus, Rhino, and the Chameleon. But the wonderfulness of "Civil War: Peter Parker, Spider-man" is much deeper than that: everyone gets their chance to shine. There is some seriously deep character development here, especially with Aunt May and Mary Jane. Flashbacks contrasted with current events really capture how their relationship with Peter has affected them, and how both him being Spider-man, and ultimately revealing his secret, has changed their lives. Even Felicia Hardy, better known as Black Cat, gets some seriously moving screen time as Peter's estranged ally and ex, and how their break-up and her relapse into criminal activity has changed their relationship and her world outlook.
This is a very human graphic novel, and a piece of art that captures the real emotional core of Spider-man better than any other in a long time. Highly recommended.
Plot-wise, most of this graphic novel involves Spider-man trying to keep his loved ones out of harm's way during the onslaught of villains like Dr. Octopus, Rhino, and the Chameleon. But the wonderfulness of "Civil War: Peter Parker, Spider-man" is much deeper than that: everyone gets their chance to shine. There is some seriously deep character development here, especially with Aunt May and Mary Jane. Flashbacks contrasted with current events really capture how their relationship with Peter has affected them, and how both him being Spider-man, and ultimately revealing his secret, has changed their lives. Even Felicia Hardy, better known as Black Cat, gets some seriously moving screen time as Peter's estranged ally and ex, and how their break-up and her relapse into criminal activity has changed their relationship and her world outlook.
This is a very human graphic novel, and a piece of art that captures the real emotional core of Spider-man better than any other in a long time. Highly recommended.
June 27, 2019
I'm reading this event according to the official Marvel Civil War reading recommendation list as seen on their website here:
https://www.marvel.com/comics/discove...
This collection is not listed in Marvel's reading list, which makes sense since it deals with more background characters and the repercussions of Peter unmasking. We see how the ladies in Peter's life are impacted, as well as his students and his rivals. I really liked it, but it also doesn't really further the plot of Civil War. This collection is for people who like character-driven stories more than the plot themselves. I would definitely recommend it.
For: fans of superheroes/comics; readers wanting a look at more background characters during the Civil War.
Possible red flags: characters in peril; violence; implications of sex and sexual situations; language.
https://www.marvel.com/comics/discove...
This collection is not listed in Marvel's reading list, which makes sense since it deals with more background characters and the repercussions of Peter unmasking. We see how the ladies in Peter's life are impacted, as well as his students and his rivals. I really liked it, but it also doesn't really further the plot of Civil War. This collection is for people who like character-driven stories more than the plot themselves. I would definitely recommend it.
For: fans of superheroes/comics; readers wanting a look at more background characters during the Civil War.
Possible red flags: characters in peril; violence; implications of sex and sexual situations; language.
May 24, 2018
Unlike the Spider-Man Civil War volume, this one primarily focused on Peter Parker and the consequences of him revealing his identity.
While somewhat interesting, I do have to say it seemed extremely ridiculous that after going out on a limb for registration and Tony Stark, Peter got next to no support or protection from revealing his identity.
This also often was redundant after having read the Spider-Man Civil War volume.
Worth reading for Spider-Man fans, but honestly, not a highlight of the Civil War series.
While somewhat interesting, I do have to say it seemed extremely ridiculous that after going out on a limb for registration and Tony Stark, Peter got next to no support or protection from revealing his identity.
This also often was redundant after having read the Spider-Man Civil War volume.
Worth reading for Spider-Man fans, but honestly, not a highlight of the Civil War series.
August 4, 2021
I liked the first story, about one of Peter's students, a lot; and I liked the latter stories where the focus lies more on the women in Peter's life (MJ, aunt May, and Felicia). The main "rogues' gallery comes after Peter" story was kinda boring, tbh.
I didn't like Angel Medina's penciling, it was very confusing, I often couldn't tell one limb from the other, which, in a Spider-Man story? Kinda crucial, cause he flails around a lot.
The first story (penciled and coloured by Clayton Crain) was beautiful, though.
I didn't like Angel Medina's penciling, it was very confusing, I often couldn't tell one limb from the other, which, in a Spider-Man story? Kinda crucial, cause he flails around a lot.
The first story (penciled and coloured by Clayton Crain) was beautiful, though.
May 6, 2023
Civil War Peter Parker is basically just one shots of Peter dealing with the aftermath of coming out as Peter Parker to the public.
It's some fun stories, especially the one when they focus on one of Peter Parker's students. It's kind of sad, but inspirational, with a great ending. I also enjoyed Black Cat's issue of her getting revenge in a new way for her after what happens to Pete.
Overall, nothing amazing but all solid one shots that give us a little bit more of the Spider-fun we get before the horrible ONE MORE DAY.
It's some fun stories, especially the one when they focus on one of Peter Parker's students. It's kind of sad, but inspirational, with a great ending. I also enjoyed Black Cat's issue of her getting revenge in a new way for her after what happens to Pete.
Overall, nothing amazing but all solid one shots that give us a little bit more of the Spider-fun we get before the horrible ONE MORE DAY.
June 19, 2025
"GENTLEMEN. NO ONE APPRECIATES A GOOD TIME MORE THAN ME, BUT THIS ISN'T IT. GO TO YOUR SHIP. GO TO THE HUSTLER CLUB. HELL, GO TO A BROADWAY SHOW. BUT JUST -- GO!!!"
- Black Cat to three sailors about to get smashed by Rhino.
This tie-in to Civil War focuses on the people in Peter's life.
A boy discovers that his high school science teacher is Spider-Man.
Spidey's enemies start targeting Peter's friends, family, and known associates.
An emotional story for each of Spidey's enablers: MJ, May, and Black Cat.
Drunk sailors at Fleet Week.
Chock-full of ordinary life occurrences. Four stars.
- Black Cat to three sailors about to get smashed by Rhino.
This tie-in to Civil War focuses on the people in Peter's life.
A boy discovers that his high school science teacher is Spider-Man.
Spidey's enemies start targeting Peter's friends, family, and known associates.
An emotional story for each of Spidey's enablers: MJ, May, and Black Cat.
Drunk sailors at Fleet Week.
Chock-full of ordinary life occurrences. Four stars.
August 19, 2020
There are some good moments in this volume, specifically the story with Aunt May and Peter, but overall I felt kind of "meh" about most of the stories and the art. The last two stories were probably the strongest of the ones included here, but the first three left more to desire, especially with the art.
December 5, 2025
In the wake of the Superhuman Registration Act, Pete ruins his life and the lives of his supporting cast by unmasking and going on the run. Featuring Swarm, Puma, and Sanka decaffeinated coffee.
"But... those were normal bees. And these are bees and wasps controlled by a dead Nazi scientist's reanimated skeleton." !!!
"But... those were normal bees. And these are bees and wasps controlled by a dead Nazi scientist's reanimated skeleton." !!!
August 31, 2017
This was an action packed adventure from civil war (comic book version). I enjoyed though I was a bit confused on bits, but I really did enjoy it!
December 1, 2017
So there was nothing huge happening here, but the stories were still deep and built on deepening the characters and their relationships with each other.
February 21, 2018
Anything with spiderman in it is worth a 5-star reading for me; and maybe even more if Felicia is in there, as well :)
April 1, 2018
3,5
Très sympa
Très sympa
April 8, 2018
A story that's focused on the impact to friends & family of Peter's "coming out" as Spider-Man. I liked the writing, and the art was good if a bit uneven between stories.
May 18, 2018
The Civil War stories I wanted to read; what do the Spider-Foes do when they find out Peter Parker is their nemesis; what do MJ, Aunt May and the Black Cat make of all this; where was Madame Web?
November 26, 2020
how is it that the Riverdale man’s tenure on Sensational Spider-Man is one of the last times that a creator’s run on the webhead was reliably Good, Actually?
Read
May 4, 2021Read
July 18, 2021
Recreational reading. Good illustration and witty conversation in the story
August 30, 2021
A solid few stories that feel like they’re leading up to the Brand New Day storyline.
November 11, 2021
One of the best Civil War tie-in
September 29, 2025
3,5 - 09.2025
March 8, 2017
It's nice knowing what all the heroes were up to during the Civil War, but this was unnecessary. We know Spidermans arc. Did we really need a comic that has Aunt May trick the Chameleon with cookies while knitting a sweater that says "gotcha"? I think not.
February 6, 2020
Fun read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews