AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 700: Celebrating Peter Parker

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN writer Dan Slott teased months ago on Twitter that he'd have to go into hiding when readers reached the final page of the 700th (and final) issue of the iconic book, which celebrated fifty years this August. During this year's New York Comic Con, Slott added even more intrigue at the Spider-Man panel when he said about the upcoming "Superior Spider-Man" book: "This ain't Peter Parker." When advanced copies leaked on the internet before the December 26 drop date, the writer began to receive death threats. Fans took to social media sites to praise and criticize the final issue.

It is widely known (but if you still haven't read about it, I urge you to stop because it's SPOILER City up ahead) that Peter Parker breathed his last in the final pages of ASM 700 and that long-time nemesis Doctor Octopus has staked a claim on Peter's life, body, and mantle as Spider-Man. While I waxed poetic about this shocking conclusion on Tumblr and Geeks OUT yesterday, and while others are crying outrage about it, I will use this space instead to celebrate my favorite Peter Parker moments:

The Death of Uncle Ben
Sometimes who we are is defined more by what we would've done rather than what we actually do. A single moment like this defines the rest of Peter's life. Still unsure of what to do with his newly acquired powers, young Peter Parker allows a criminal to escape the scene of a crime. Not one page later in his debut appearance in Amazing Fantasy 15, Peter is confronted with the death of his father figure Uncle Ben at the very hands of the man he allowed to escape. The last panel of this issue (along with a secret pledge to never let an innocent die) yields the infamous creed that defines Peter's life: "With great power, comes great responsibility."

September 11, 2001 Issue
We all felt helpless after the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. As the nation struggled to move forward and pick up the pieces, entertainment outlets grappled with how to address the issue. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #36 (note: the series was renumbered in 2000) was the first Marvel comic out of the gate to address the tragedy head on. With its all black over, ASM #36 captured the feeling of helplessness mixed with rage and the urge to do more through the eyes of Peter as he arrived on the scene directly after and helped the NYFD find survivors. I was halfway across the country when the tragedy happened, but when an emotional citizen cries out to Peter, "Where were you?" I was right there with them.

Meeting Mary Jane Watson
Peter's never been lucky with the ladies. As a bespectacled teenager he pined over Liz Allen. As an adult, he had tumultuous relationships with partner/burglar The Black Cat and forensics cop Carlie Cooper. It was in college that he met the redhead that fans would most associate as Peter's true love. Unlike her "girl next door" origin in film and TV adaptations, Mary Jane Watson is the niece of Aunt May's next door neighbor Anna Watson. While Peter was juggling webslinging, college, and freelance photography for the Daily Bugle, Anna and May were constantly trying to set the two up, much to Peter's chagrin. The way she was described (and the hilarious ways the artists/writers found to obscure her face) Peter and readers believed her to be less than attractive. So it was much to the surprise of all when the soon-to-be supermodel was waiting on the other side of the door with her infamous line, "Face it Tiger, you just hit the jackpot."

Peter Parker Comes Out...
... as Spider-Man. For his whole career, Peter took great pains to make sure his identity remained secret to protect his loved ones. When the Superhuman Registration Act passed, forcing anybody with super powers to register with the government, a Civil War divided the super hero community. At the onset, Peter fell on the side of those in support of the bill. Tony Stark convinced Peter to register and publicly announce his identity, with the support of Aunt May who was proud to finally be able to celebrate her nephew's accomplishments. As the war waged on, Peter followed his heart and joined Captain America's anti-registration faction. When the dust settled, everything that Peter feared would happen happened, but for one glorious moment the public loved and adored Peter Parker as Spider-Man.

One More Day
Peter and his loved ones became walking targets after the Civil War. He was on the run from both the government who wanted to arrest him for going against the Superhuman Registration Act and every super villain he ever fought and now knew his identity. When a stray bullet meant for Mary Jane claimed Aunt May as its unwitting target, Peter's world fell apart. Losing the race against time to save his dying aunt, Peter makes the penultimate deal with the devil in the controversial arc "One Day More." Mephisto's price for saving Aunt May's life: his one true source of happiness, his marriage to Mary Jane would be erased from history. A retcon of epic proportions, this bold change to the status quo brought on the storyline "Brand New Day" which gave us a more down-to-earth, back to the basics Peter Parker.

The Other
In this storyline that crossed every book in the Spidey franchise, Peter Parker is diagnosed with a disease brought on by the radioactive spider bite and his body begins to give out on him. Pair that with a supernatural force that feeds on the souls of totemic people and you've got an amazingly epic story. The dramatic death/rebirth of Peter Parker as he struggles with balancing "the spider with the man" gives us a Peter Parker with biological webbing (as opposed to the mechanical ones he built in his origin and returns to in "Brand New Day") and stingers that appear when a mystic threat appears.

The Bromance of Peter and Johnny
Spider-Man and the Human Torch (of the Fantastic Four) were the youngest heroes on the Marvel block before the X-Men arrived on the scene. Where Peter represented the geeky, loner outsider in all of us, Johnny represented the popular, charismatic golden boy we all aspired to be. But they were both heroic and hilarious. From their first team up in "Strange Tales" to their recent attempt at cohabitation, the bromance of Johnny Storm and Peter Parker has provided many in the geek community a brotherhood they longed for. And pages of fodder for slash writers.

The Death of Gwen Stacy
Besides the death of Uncle Ben, nothing defined Peter Parker more than losing his first love Gwen Stacy. Captured by his ultimate arch-nemesis the Green Goblin, Peter was haunted with the possibility that he caused her death by snapping her neck in his attempt to save her from being thrown off the Washington Bridge. It would not be a mistake he'd make twice, when he saved Mary Jane from a similar fate in the pages of "Marvel Knights: Spider-Man" thirty years later.

Maybe Next Year
This particular story is very personal to me. When my father died, I turned to the pages of Spider-Man for comfort. In issue 33 of PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN, Peter sets out to honor the anniversary of Uncle Ben's death by heading to the ballpark and reliving the greatest lesson Uncle Ben ever taught him: hope.

Peter Comes Out... Again...
Every LGBT person can relate to this particular story. Since he was fifteen years old, Peter hid his secret identity from the one person that loved him most in the world: his mother figure Aunt May. He quietly endured her criticisms of "that menace Spider-Man" in an attempt to protect her from the truth of his true-self. When she makes an unexpected call and finds him passed out in his Spidey suit, battered from a fight, she discovers the truth. What unfolds in the quiet and honest pages of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 478 is a beautifully simple and honest story between two people who love each other very much, reconciling years of hidden secrets, and learning who the other truly is. Every LGBT person should hope for a coming out story as welcoming and loving.

It's no secret to those who read this column or follow me on Twitter that Spider-Man is one of my personal heroes. Scratch that, it isn't Spider-Man, it's Peter Parker. Because Spider-Man will go on, with or without Peter Parker. But it's not the mask but the man behind it that makes the hero. The classic comic book hero story isn't about some guy or gal that gets superpowers but what that person does with them. Peter Parker was a great man with great power that he used responsibly. He was an everyman: we could all relate to him. He wasn't stalwart like Superman or debonair like Batman, he was just a guy trying to get by, who used humor in the face of adversity. Though I'm wary of what lies ahead for the Spider-Man franchise, I know in my heart that it will not be the same without Peter Parker. He was a hero for us all. And most importantly, he was my hero.