The History of Spider-Man: 2003
Spidey learns surprising info from Ezekiel and has an international adventure with Wolverine.
For over 50 years, Spider-Man has been a sensational standout in the Marvel Universe and the web-slinger will swing onto the silver screen once again in Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Infinity War” this May! In celebration of his memorable history, we present Spidey’s spectacular step-by-step story…
The demonic Shathra drew Spider-Man out into the open by posing as an Earth woman in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #47, and after their fight our hero withdrew into a cocoon woven by a clutch of actual spiders. Soon after, the enigmatic Ezekiel whisked him off to a hidden temple in Africa in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #48 where another battle with Shathra occurred, this one to her detriment.
Ezekiel told the webslinger that he possessed arcane powers in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #49 and that another mystical menace would attack him. Spidey slipped off to Los Angeles to find Mary Jane, but she’d already left to fly to New York to find him. After their paths finally crossed, they tried to talk out their troubles in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #50, but a terrorist plot against Doctor Doom kept getting in the way.
Peter Parker finally told his Aunt May everything about his alter-ego in PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN #50. Shocker and Hydro-Man cooked up a new scheme in PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN #51, but they washed out of the running in PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN #52.
A police detective asked Spidey to investigate a weird gamma-powered gangster from the 1950s in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #51, and a mob boss wanted protection from the same menace in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #52. The wallcrawler went toe-to-toe with the Digger in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #53, and figured out a way to dispel it in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #54.
When the criminal Boomerang attacked Spidey in PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN #53, he realized the battle was being filmed. A subsequent assault in PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN #54 by the Scorpion and a robot led our hero to a bar with betting on the battles. The Rocket Racer joined the filmed fun in PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN #55 and Spidey concocted a scheme of his own to foil the millionaires behind the games.
Nick Fury sent the webslinger on a wild goose chase with Wolverine to a Japanese island in SPIDER-MAN AND WOLVERINE #1, the streets of Paris in SPIDER-MAN AND WOLVERINE #2, and finally to Switzerland in SPIDER-MAN AND WOLVERINE #3, before they eventually learned the reasons behind it all in SPIDER-MAN AND WOLVERINE #4.
Several separate Sandmans appeared on a beach in PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN #56, prompting the wallcrawler to help the former villain reintegrate all his selves back into one in PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN #57.
A rash of strange murders preceded Spidey’s latest meeting with Venom in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #1. The symbiote reunited with his original host Eddie Brock in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #2, but it became apparent in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #3 that he really desired Spidey as a host. The Fantastic Four aided our hero in holding Venom off in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #4, and when he learned of Eddie’s mortal illness in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #5, he convinced the symbiote to save the man’s life by bonding with him again.
Peter helped a troubled student with a wayward brother in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #55 and discovered a gang Ezekiel was assembling from ex-cons in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #56. Spidey joined with other heroes versus the Mindless Ones in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #57, which led to a big throwdown between Dr. Strange and the dread Dormammu.
In AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #58, our hero wandered through twists and turns in time because of that big battle, and after being presented with scenes from his own life in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #500, he received a birthday gift of five precious minutes with his late Uncle Ben.