Marvel Comics will release Amazing Spider-Man #1000 at the end of next month, but despite being billed as "the biggest issue in Spider-Man history," all fans have been promised so far is the introduction of a new villain, Ravage.
Amazing Spider-Man #900 was a little underwhelming, and the last time something truly impactful happened in an anniversary issue was arguably #700. That saw Doctor Octopus controversially steal Peter Parker's body and become the "Superior" Spider-Man.
Way back in Amazing Spider-Man #400, Aunt May died. It was an emotional farewell, later undone when the Green Goblin revealed that he'd hired an actress to pose as May Parker. Since then, she's learned her nephew's biggest secret, been shot by a sniper, forgotten he's Spider-Man, battled cancer, and most recently, learned she has a son.
It started when Peter Parker discovered that he has a cousin named Cormac Crane, later confirmed as May and Ben Parker's son. They were told he was stillborn, but in reality, the baby was taken from them. Cormac knows Peter is Spider-Man, and the web-slinger has been struggling to come to terms with where this revelation leaves him in May's life.
In today's Amazing Spider-Man #999, Peter and May reconcile. It's an emotional moment in a run that's really emphasised how much of a mother May is to her nephew, but tragedy strikes on the comic's final page.
As you can see below, May's new partner calls Peter to tell him that she's in the hospital after suffering a stroke. Could Amazing Spider-Man #1000 be the end of the line for one of Marvel Comics' most enduring characters? It certainly seems that way.
"I looked at all the Spidey ones. I really was curious to see how they all played out," writer Joe Kelly recently told Popverse about how he prepared for issue #1000. "And it was interesting to see that there was kind of a balance of 'let's celebrate the character' and also 'let's have a chapter.'"
"Sometimes they're mutually exclusive. Sometimes it was just like, hey, let's just talk about Spider-Man and his history. And other times it was an important milestone or whatever," he continued. "I wanted to see if there was a way to merge those in our story. And I think we've done that. It was a good challenge; it was a good puzzle."
"I wanted to still do some of the greatest hits, but I didn't want to get bogged down in it. And I think we have a way to do that, which, especially in the hands of Pepe Larraz, looks exceptional. It's an outstanding issue."
Stay tuned for more on Amazing Spider-Man #1000 as we have it.
DAMAGE CONTROL COMES WITH A COST! With only one issue before AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1000, Spidey will be tested like never before...by GHOST-SPIDER?! DAMAGE CONTROL's latest target creates bad blood with the wall-crawler - just how far is Spidey willing to go?!
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #35/#999
Written by JOE KELLY
Art by FRANCESCO MANNA
Cover by ED MCGUINNESS
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