There have been several Spider-Man writers who worked for long periods, but few were around as long as Dan Slott. While Stan Lee served as the longest-running Spider-Man writer of all time, with over 100 issues to his name, Dan Slott ranks second. Slott worked on The Amazing Spider-Man from the Brand New Day event and worked on Spidey titles, including Amazing Spider-Man, Superior Spider-Man, and other volumes that restarted numbering. In all, he wrote Spider-Man from 2010 to 2018 and had a hand in some major event storylines that changed everything about the Wall-Crawler and defined his status in Marvel Comics to this day.
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From events like Spider-Island and Spider-Verse to some great, smaller storylines, here are the best Spider-Man stories Dan Slott told during his impressive run.
10) “Learning to Crawl”
Learning to Crawl was a storyline that told a story from the early days of Spider-Man’s career. The story saw a young boy who was a Spider-Man fan who created a costume and sonic weapons, only to put innocent people in danger. It was up to a young, inexperienced Spider-Man to stop the boy. This boy ended up becoming Clash, who would eventually set out to be a mob boss when he grew up after getting released from juvie. It was a short series, but it was also an excellent story, and Aunt May proved her worth here as she got Peter Parker back on track by reminding him of Uncle Ben’s life lessons.
9) Spider-Verse
Spider-Verse debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #9 in 2014. Dan Slott used this storyline to bring in just about every variant of a spider-hero who has shown up in the multiverse over the 50 years since Peter Parker debuted as Spider-Man. This is because Morlun and the Ineritors were attacking. There were a lot of Spider-Verse stories over the years since this original one, but none of them matched up to the first storyline, where Slott showed how enjoyable the entire Spider-Family really was when they were together.
8) “Go Down Swinging”
The very last Dan Slott storyline in Spider-Man comics before he departed the title was “Go Down Swinging.” This sees Norman Osborn looking for a way to beat Spider-Man, and it involves getting his powers back. This is when he stole the Carnage symbiote, and Red Goblin was created. This was also where Norman remembered that Peter Parker was Spider-Man and set out to destroy his long-time enemy. There isn’t too much here other than the action, but it was great in that area, and the fight between Spider-Man and Norman was fantastic. This was a great story that wrapped up Slott’s run on the title in style.
7) “Fall of Parker”
After Superior Spider-Man, Peter Parker returned, and he was on top of the world. He ran Parker Industries and was finally successful for the first time in his life. However, since Marvel Comics hates it when Spider-Man is happy, it was time to destroy him again, and that happened in “Fall of Parker.” He loses his company in this storyline, despite saving the entire city. This led him to start a new chapter in his life, moving away from the Parker Industries drama and moving forward into Peter being more about Spider-Man once again.
6) “New Ways to Die”
“New Ways to Die” was one of the first big Dan Slott storylines after Brand New Day reset things in Spider-Man’s universe. This was the first big battle for him after the world forgot his identity and Mephisto erased his past with Mary Jane Watson. The antagonists here were Norman Osborn and Venom, and the plot device saw Spider-Man framed for murder and then Osborn’s Thunderbolts coming after him. There is a lot to love here, from the exciting fights to Eddie Brock becoming the new Anti-Venom for the first time.
5) “Last Legs”
“Last Legs” was the 600th issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, so it was only fair for him to battle one of his most prominent villains, Doctor Octopus. This was shortly after Doc Ock learned he was dying, and he wanted to strike out one more time while he still could. This wasn’t the battle where Doc Ock transferred his soul into Peter’s body, but it was the story that planted the seeds that would lead to it. With the New Avengers and Fantastic Four involved, this was very much an anniversary issue and a great standalone story by Dan Slott.
4) Brand New Day
One of the most hated Spider-Man events in history was One More Day, which saw Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson trade their marriage and history for Aunt May’s life. However, what happened next was interesting. While fans hated seeing Peter rebooting his life without Mary Jane, the Brand New Day storyline was actually pretty good. This was Dan Slott’s introduction on The Amazing Spider-Man, where he brought back Harry Osborn from the dead, reconfigured Peter and MJ’s lives, and introduced a new twist into the Spider-Man lore. One More Day was terrible, but Brand New Day should never be clumped in with it.
3) “No One Dies”
“No One Dies” was a two-issue Dan Slott Spider-Man storyline that remains his best small story in Spidey’s comics. J. Jonah Jameson’s wife, Marla, died in the previous story arc, and Peter remains overcome with grief and guilt because he couldn’t stop it. He thinks back on all the people in his life who have died that he couldn’t save, and he makes a promise to himself that he will never be able to keep — that no one will ever die again on his watch. It is a small and poignant story, and while it is not as big as his event storylines, this is one of Slott’s finest moments in comics.
2) Spider-Island
There is no way that Spider-Island should have worked as well as it did, but that is a testament to Dan Slott’s writing that he was able to pull this off. The primary plot device sees almost everyone in Manhattan infected with a strain that gives everyone powers like Spider-Man. When everyone is special, no one is special, but everyone can cause lots of problems. The entire storyline is ridiculous, but this is a comic book, and sometimes the more ridiculous the better. Slott cut loose here and showed how much fun comic books can be when he isn’t taking everything so seriously.
1) Superior Spider-Man
Dan Slott’s greatest creation in his time writing Spider-Man comics was Superior Spider-Man. When Doc Ock switches his soul into Peter Parker’s body and takes over as Spider-Man, he does something shocking. He decides to be a hero, albeit a very violent one. When remnants of Peter remain in his subconscious, he ends up guiding Otto onto a journey where the former supervillain becomes one of Marvel’s best heroes. By the time this ended, Doc Ock made everything in Peter’s life better and proved he was a better Spider-Man than even Parker, although he wasn’t always as moral.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
