11 Essential Storylines To Read If You Love Spider-Man
They don't call him 'amazing' for nothing.
Arguably no character in Marvel's endless lineup of superheroes and super-villains is as famous or as easily recognizable as Spider-Man.
Spidey has a long history in comics that goes all the way back to 1962 and since then, there have been countless iterations of the webslinger, spanning several different comic book series. And that's not even counting the seven films the character has appeared in since 2002, with no end in sight, or the various Spider-Man cartoons and video games.
Of course, however, it all goes back to the comics. And while Spider-Man's bibliography is absolutely massive, there are certain storylines from the comics that every fan must take the time to read for themselves at some point. Stories that were either incredibly good, influential, contentious, or all of the above.
Sure, comics can be a real pain to get into, but thanks to the internet and collected editions, it's easier than ever to get a hold of old comics if you're just in them for the story. And if you're a burdgeoning Spidey-fanatic who wants a firsthand look at some of his most pivotal moments from the medium that started it all, these are some good places to start.
11. Reign
Spider-Man: Reign is a controversial story, to say the very least. However, sometimes controversy is important when exploring a beloved character's history.
Published under the Marvel Knights imprint, it was essentially Spider-Man's own version of The Dark Knight Returns. It follows an elderly Peter Parker in a dystopian future where New York is at the mercy of a brutal military police force called the Reign.
It's a brutally grim story that sees a decrepit Spider-Man having to battle his greatest enemies one last time, all while being haunted by the memory of Mary Jane Watson, his deceased wife.
It's also a very divisive story, with some praising its darker look at the character of Spider-Man, and others rejecting it and its more questionable elements. However, it's not a comic you should just take someone's word for, no matter what side of the fence they land on.
It's simply series you must experience for yourself and form your own opinion on. You may love it, you may hate it, but there's only one way to find out.