5 Times Spider-Man Overcame Great Odds (And 5 Times He Quit)

3. The Final Chapter

In the late 90s, Marvel was in the midst of rebooting most of its core titles. As a precursor to this fresh take on Spider-Man, the publisher released 'The Final Chapter' - a four-part storyline that pits Spidey against his arch-foe the Green Goblin one more time.

During the battle, the Goblin reveals that he staged the death of Peter's Aunt May. He also somehow implants a genetic bomb in May's brain that will detonate if someone tries to remove it. Spidey manages to beat the Goblin, but is fed up with constantly being vilified as a menace by J. Jonah Jameson and the Daily Bugle, and the rest of the general public.

After Reed Richards saves Aunt May and removes the bomb, Spider-Man makes a groundbreaking decision. He throws his Spidey outfit into a burning trashcan and vows to hang up the webs for good. A second volume of Amazing Spider-Man is launched by Marvel (aka the Howard Mackie/John Byrne reboot). A new Spider-Man is seen fighting crime and doing a poor job at it. By the second issue of the rebooted series, Peter realizes that he is the one true Spider-Man, so he dusts off the old costume and gets to being a superhero again.