Dan Slott’s decade on Amazing Spider-Man is coming to an end next month. Before he “Goes Down Swinging” and takes over Invincible Iron Man, we take a look at some of our favorite stories from ten years of Slott on ASM.
“A Blind Eye/Run Goblin, Run” (Superior Spider-Man #14-16)
All of Dan Slott’s run on Superior is some of his finest and boldest work. It’s one of the best examples of bad guy taking over for good guy that we’ve seen so many times throughout comic book history. Initially met with death threats, Scott delivered the Spidey comic you didn’t know you needed.
It was at this point in the series that Slott went all-in on Doc Ock being Spider-Man. Octavius ordered an army of minions, turned The Raft into his own Spider-Island base of operations, giant spider-tanks, and covered the city in his spider-bot drone patrols. He also fully redesigned the Spidey suit, complete with four mechanical legs on his back. This is when the series solidified itself into Spider-Man history.
This was also when Norman Osborn and his underground Goblin Nation really started to take shape behind Spidey’s back.
“Spider-Verse” (Amazing Spider-Man #9-15)
Things may have gotten out of hand with way too many Spider-People running around the 616, but the story that started it all was a major triumph of fun. Slott’s story about Morlun and his family chasing down all the Spider-Totems across the multiverse is spectacular.
Getting all the different Spider-People together to fight for their lives across time and space is an undeniably fun team assembly. This is the event that gave us Spider-Gwen, Spider-Punk, Assassin Spidey, and countless others. It’s definitely Hasbro’s favorite story of all-time because they’ve been pumping out tons of different Spidey toys ever since.
The ending may have fizzled out a bit, but goddamn was this a fun ride. We also got to see the final showdown between Peter (in his own body) and Superior Spidey.
“Big Time” (Amazing Spider-Man #648-651)
This was a big moment for Slott’s ASM, Pete finally had things going right for him. Landing a job at Horizon Labs, being an Avenger, having a better handle on his love life and time management. For anyone looking to get back into modern Spidey comics, this is always the best starting point.
“Big Time” has also the first big story for Phil Urich as Hobgoblin, one of the best new villains in Slott’s tenure. His redesign, along with that beautifully neon stealth Spidey suit gave the series a fresh set of visuals to go along with the new era for Peter Parker.
“Danger Zone” (Amazing Spider-Man #695-697)
Hobgoblin versus Hobgoblin! Roderick Kingsley comes back to challenge the newbie running around in his Goblin persona. Dan Slott definitely had a sweet spot for the Hobgoblin, there’s no shortage of pumpkin bombs throughout his ten years on the title.
This story is special in that it brought Kingsley back into the picture and gave Urich a more prominent and effective role. At the end of this arc, Kingsley starts his villain franchising business. He lets Phil continue as the Hobgoblin if he pays him a portion of his earnings. If he fails to meet these requirements, the punishment is of course death.
This short arc is a modern favorite for any Hobgoblin fan. It’s an underrated example of Slott getting creative with his cast of characters.
“Spider-Island” (Amazing Spider-Man #666-673)
The Jackal is one of the best Spidey villains of all-time, despite being the source of all the cloning nonsense that went way too far. Slott delivers one of the biggest and best stories with the furry, green mad-scientist at the center of it all.
“Spider-Island” saw the entire island of Manhattan affected by the Jackal, giving every ordinary citizen Spider-Man’s powers. It’s pure chaos for our favorite wall-crawler, especially when those citizens start turning into spider monsters. This huge story impacted continuity long after it’s completion.
With J. Jonah Jameson having recently been elected Mayor of NY, this was an entertaining stress test as he now had an entire island full of “menaces.” The aftermath of this story also brought fan-favorite Kaine back into the picture and spawned his underrated Scarlet Spider series.
What are YOUR favorite Dan Slott stories from his decade on Amazing Spider-Man?
