Classic Spider-Man Characters Return in Marvel's Spectacular Spider-Men

03/11/2024 08:00 pm EDT

"No Spider-Men. No team-ups," Spider-Man says in a conversation between web-slingers in The Spectacular Spider-Men #1. "Just plain ol' Peter Parker meets up with mild-mannered Miles Morales." In the new ongoing series penned by Greg Weisman (TV's The Spectacular Spider-Man) and penciled by Humberto Ramos (Spectacular Spider-Man), Miles and Peter plan weekly get-togethers without "Arachnobatics." But in "Chapter 1: Regulars," the Spider-Men encounter a regular member of Peter's rogue's gallery — a hulked-out Miles Warren, a.k.a. the Jackal — and a few "regulars" from Weisman's corner of the Spider-verse.

The non-Arachnobatics half of the issue revolved around a Coffee Bean on the E.S.U. college campus, where Peter attempted to be recognized as a regular customer by the baristas: Kenny Kong and Shelly Conklin, two characters who appeared in the Weisman-penned series Starbrand & Nightmask. Kenneth "Kenny" McFarlane, a.k.a. Kong, originated in Brian Michael Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man as Peter's classmate-slash-bully and Flash Thompson's best friend in the Ultimate Universe.

Peter then ran into an old acquaintance: Sha Shan Nguyen, Earth-616 Flash's former girlfriend. Created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., Sha Shan debuted in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #108 in 1972. After Flash enlisted in the Vietnam War, he met and befriended Sha Shan at a sacred hidden temple in the jungles of Vietnam. 

She resurfaced in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man as Sister Sun, co-leader of the Legion of Light, but was freed from her father's cult with help from Flash and Spider-Man. Her romantic relationship with Flash eventually ended in 1986's Amazing Spider-Man #276, around the time Flash was framed as the Hobgoblin. It would be years before the exes would reunite: Sha Shan returned as Flash's physical therapist after he had his legs amputated from a war injury.

Yet another familiar face appeared at the Coffee Bean: Peter's high school science teacher, Professor Raymond Warren, brother of Professor Miles Warren. The character first appeared, albeit unnamed, in 1962's Amazing Fantasy #15 — Spider-Man's debut issue — and made sporadic appearances as Peter's teacher at Midtown High School in Lee and Steve Ditko early issues of Amazing Spider-Man.

Kong, Sha Shan, and the Warren brothers (Miles and his older brother, named Aaron rather than Raymond) all appeared as part of the cast of Weisman's animated series The Spectacular Spider-Man. It's a small world, after all.

The Spectacular Spider-Men #1 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.

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