10 Greatest Spider-Man Writers Not Named Stan Lee Or Steve Ditko
9. Brian Michael Bendis
Brian Michael Bendis never got a chance to script a solo Spider-Man title as part of the mainstream Marvel Universe (aka, Earth-616), but his reimagining of the character for the Ultimate Universe makes him one of the most influential Spidey writers of all time. The publication of Ultimate Spider-Man #1 in 2000 marked the launch of Marvels Ultimate imprint an alternative universe the featured updated versions of the companys most famous heroes. Bendis brought Peter Parker back to his roots in high school, and arguably captured teenage angst and interpersonal relationships with more realism than the early Stan Lee/Steve Ditko issues of Amazing Spider-Man. Under Bendis, Peter felt more like an average teenager who just so happened to acquire extraordinary powers. His relationships to such pivotal supporting characters as his Aunt May, Mary Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy, came across as being incredibly honest and sincere. He had a well-defined nemesis in Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, and the way Bendis connected the majority of Spideys rogues gallery to Osborn is an integral plot point in The Amazing Spider-Man film franchise. Bendis does kill off the Ultimate version of Peter Parker, but the Ultimate Spider-Man imprint continues to break barriers with Miles Morales. In Miles, Bendis has created a wholly original teenage character who is just as likeable and relateable as Peter. Bendis did get a chance to script Spidey in Earth-616 as well, as part of the writer's prodigious run on The Avengers. The launch of New Avengers in 2005, which added Spidey and Wolverine to the superteam, is considered a definitive moment in comic book history.
Mark is a professional writer living in Brooklyn and is the founder of the Chasing Amazing Blog, which documents his quest to collect every issue of Amazing Spider-Man, and the Superior Spider-Talk podcast. He also pens the "Gimmick or Good?" column at Comics Should Be Good blog.
