'Amazing Spider-Man': Everything That's Happened So Far
Find out what Nick Spencer, Ryan Ottley, and company are putting the Wall-Crawler through!
It hasn’t quite been a year and a half since Nick Spencer and artist Ryan Ottley took the reigns of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (2018). But things are about to come to a head on Wednesday, March 11 when AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #41 reveals just what his Super Villain roommate, Boomerang, has been up to since the first issue of this series...
There won’t be any easy solutions for Spidey, especially since he’s actually come to care about his roomie, regardless of his moral shortcomings.
Ahead of this turning-point issue, Marvel.com is taking a look back at Spencer and Ottley’s run to bring everyone up to speed with the latest developments in the wild life of the Web-Spinner.
The Roommate From Figurative Hell
This whole thing kicked off with Peter Parker, badly in need of a new place to stay, reuniting with his old roommate Randy Robertson in order to land an apartment. Unfortunately, Randy added a third roommate to the mix: Fred Myers, AKA Boomerang. At first, Peter was aghast at sharing his home with a known Super Villain. But Pete warmed up to Fred during a trivia night at the Bar With No Name in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (2018) #6-7. It made Parker see him in a whole new light, and Boomerang insisted that he’d started turning over a new leaf.
Unfortunately, Boomerang had already stolen something valuable from Mayor Wilson Fisk, AKA Kingpin. Since then, Kingpin has been gunning for Boomerang...but Fisk has also been under strict orders to leave Peter alone. Because even the mayor of New York bows to Kindred.
The Demon From Literal Hell
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (2018) #1 marked the debut of Kindred, but we wouldn’t be shocked if he turns out to be someone from Spidey’s past. This demon was apparently once a man, and he has quite a grudge against both Peter Parker and Norman Osborn. Kindred also has Kingpin under his thumb, and he’s resurrected both Mysterio and the Sin-Eater as well.
More alarmingly, Kindred knows all of Peter’s secrets, and he’s been subtly manipulating him for months. Kindred represents an insidious threat to both Peter and his long time love, Mary Jane Watson.
Peter and Mary Jane Forever
The current run of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (2018) has firmly reunited Peter and MJ as comics’ favorite couple. By this point in their lives, Peter and Mary Jane have a firm understanding of each other and an unshakable love. So much so that Peter came very close to proposing to MJ again. But AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (2018) #25 gave Mary Jane the chance to be a hero in her own right, and it kickstarted her long dormant acting career. Now, MJ has temporarily moved to California to star in a movie written by Mysteiro. She’s also headlining her own comic, AMAZING MARY JANE!
Reconciling With Black Cat
Peter’s had a tense relationship with Felicia Hardy, AKA Black Cat, since Superior Spider-Man (Doc Ock in Peter’s body) brutally took her down, which in turn led Felicia to backslide into villainy. But AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (2018) #6-8 marked a turning point for both of them. Black Cat and Spider-Man finally came to terms with their shared past, and he once again revealed his secret identity to her. Now their friendship has been renewed.
Black Cat also showed off her heroic side in the “Hunted” story arc from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (2018) #16-23 when she put herself in harm’s way to protect Billy Connors, the son of the Lizard. Additionally, Felicia has landed her own series again with BLACK CAT!
Back To School With the Lizard
Early in this AMAZING SPIDER-MAN run, Peter was stripped of the doctorate he “earned” when he was possessed by Doctor Octopus in SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN (2013). This cost Peter his gig as the Daily Bugle’s Science Editor and disgraced his name. Fortunately, Dr. Curt Connors, AKA the Lizard, gave Peter a chance to redeem himself by re-enrolling in Empire State University.
Curt was also given more control of his Lizard persona thanks to an implant in his spine. But during the “Hunted” arc, Curt convinced him to remove the implant so he could find and save Billy. Spidey went on to talk Curt out of locking himself away and facilitated the Conners’ family reconciliation. Subsequently, Peter accepted Curt’s offer to go back to school.
All-New Kraven
The “Hunted” storyline also marked the debut of the new Kraven the Hunter. The original Kraven created several clones of himself to make a new heir, and only his most dangerous and unpredictable progeny survived. Then Kraven teamed up with Arcade to capture almost all of the animal and insect themed heroes and villains before placing them in an enclosed hunting ground.
Kraven tried to force Peter to kill him, but Spider-Man’s innate goodness couldn’t be broken. Instead, Kraven tricked his son into doing the deed. This caused Kraven’s son to briefly despair, before he decided to honor his father’s wishes by becoming the new Hunter.
F.E.A.S.T. For the Soul
Aunt May has been battling cancer, but she’s not letting that slow her down. May is trying to reopen F.E.A.S.T., the homeless shelter once run by Mister Negative. Randy Robertson took a new job at the shelter to help realize May’s vision, but that was nearly derailed by Randy’s new girlfriend, Janice Lincoln, AKA the Beetle. In AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (2018) #26-28, Janice and her all-female Syndicate nearly destroyed F.E.A.S.T. while trying to capture Boomerang for Kingpin. But Janice’s love for Randy led her to throw her resources into fixing what was broken and repairing their relationship.
Sister Act
Teresa Parker, Peter’s sister, has once again become a major part of his life. Teresa was introduced in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: FAMILY BUSINESS (2013), but her familial ties with Peter were reconfirmed in PETER PARKER: THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN (2017). Teresa reentered the picture in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (2018) #29 when she enlisted Peter’s help to find her lost lover and take down Chameleon. She has also stuck around to help Spidey investigate a larger conspiracy which has already drawn Silver Sable, Foreigner, and even Doctor Doom into the web of the Countess.
Jonah LOVES Spidey
Perhaps the biggest change to Spidey’s mythology is the fact that J. Jonah Jameson is the number one booster of Spider-Man. That also began in PETER PARKER: THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN (2017), when Peter revealed his secret identity to Jonah. Subsequently, Jonah has tried to “help” Peter in a very self-aggrandizing way. They came to terms with each other in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (2018) #11-13. However, Jonah’s newest gig has come between them in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (2018) #38, when he reported about Peter and Teresa’s operation before it'd even been finished.
The Future is Broken
To top things off, the very future of the Marvel Universe is at stake. Spider-Man 2099 has once again returned to the present to warn Peter that something has broken the timeline. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (2018) #36-37 hinted that this temporal disturbance may be linked to a device that Peter helped create which can predict the future by scanning the Multiverse for various possibilities. Peter and Teresa used that device to save the city from Doctor Doom’s Doombots, but it could mean big trouble if it falls into the wrong hands...
Find out what’s coming next by pre-ordering AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #41 with your local comic book store now, then pick it up on Wednesday, March 11!
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