SPIDER-MAN'S GREATEST BLACK SUIT MOMENTS
Our top picks from Spider-Man’s Black Suit Saga! Back in 1985, Spider-Man returned from the Beyonder’s SECRET WARS with a hitchhiker in tow. This souped-up “costume” was actually a bonded alien symbiote, a life-form that would nearly topple Spidey’s life, and give rise to Venom!
BACK IN BLACK
Alien Saga Reboot
In Symbiote Spider-Man (2019) #1
What happened BEFORE Peter Parker discovered the black suit’s sinister secret? Comics legends Peter David and Greg Land spill all! Set during the original Black Suit Saga, this modern tale pitted the Wall-Crawler against that most mystifying of menaces—Mysterio!
A Strange, Strange World
In Symbiote Spider-Man: Alien Reality (2019) #1
The creative team from SYMBIOTE SPIDER-MAN returned for their next installment from the Alien Costume Saga! When Hobgoblin gained the power of the Sorcerer Supreme, Spidey, Doctor Strange, and Black Widow were all in to restore balance to Earth’s mystical forces.
Camera Ready
In The Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #252
The issue that established the suit’s abilities. In the safety of Peter’s apartment, the costume transformed into an ordinary civilian outfit. It even spat out Peter’s camera almost as soon as he thought of it. That really should have tipped him off that the threads were sentient, but Spider-Man had bigger webs to spin.
The Kissable Spider-Man
In Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) #91
It took a little convincing for Spidey to assure Black Cat that he was still her boyfriend under the new suit! Once he did, the two pushed the costume to its outer limits in a heated battle against Blob.
Night Creeper
In The Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #255
After another hard day of being a hero, Peter clocked out for sleep. But as soon as he dozed off, the symbiote crept towards him in a genuinely unsettling way. It wasn’t until AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #258 that readers realized that the suit was taking Spidey’s body out for joy rides at night!
It’s Alive!
In The Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #258
A visit to Mister Fantastic confirmed Spidey’s worst nightmare: The costume was alive and it wasn’t coming off. The Fantastic Four had to take quick action to keep the symbiote from bonding permanently. Peter left the symbiote as a prisoner in Reed Richards’ care, but no container could hold the symbiote for long...
Symbiote Stalker
In Web of Spider-Man (1985) #1
This series opener kicked off the second Black Suit era by reuniting Spidey with the symbiote against his will. From the first page, the symbiote waited inside Peter’s closet until it had the perfect opportunity to reclaim its favorite host…
Birth of Venom
In The Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #300
In this now-classic issue, the inheritor of the symbiote became disgraced journalist Eddie Brock, a one-track-minded antihero who blamed Spider-Man for his career going up in flames. Venom was unleashed, and the rest is history.