Every Milestone Amazing Spider-Man Comic That Honored Marvel's Greatest Hero

Spider-Man stands as a beacon of the superhero genre and one of the greatest fictional characters of the modern age. His comedic wit, amazing powers, menacing villains, relatable problems, and deep lessons on responsibility have made him an inspiration to countless people worldwide. The Web-Head’s stories have long been featured in the Amazing Spider-Man comic series. After nearly 65 years of publication history, Marvel Comics has finally reached the milestone Amazing Spider-Man #1000. To celebrate this crowning achievement, now’s the perfect time to look back at every significant centennial issue that helped make Spider-Man the beloved icon that he is today.

Videos by ComicBook.com

Centennial issues almost always bring big narrative shifts or compelling tributes to the character’s long legacy. Amazing Spider-Man milestone comics can range from groundbreaking to forgettable. Yet no matter the quality, these Amazing Spider-Man milestone comics have helped define what it means to be Spider-Man.

10) Amazing Spider-Man #100

Milestone comics are always important, but reaching that first #100 issue always feels special because it’s the first major hurdle any comic series has to clear. Stan Lee wrote Amazing Spider-Man #100, and Gil Kane illustrated it. “The Spider or the Man?” centers on Peter contemplating his life and wishing that he could live peacefully with Gwen Stacy. To free himself of Spider-Man, Peter develops a potential cure that would erase his powers. The serum makes him pass out, and he begins to dream about everyone he’s lost and saved, along with the many villains he’s battled over the years. The story brilliantly examines how Peter’s responsibility as Spider-Man is both a blessing and a curse. In one of the most shocking panels in Spider-Man history, Peter wakes up to find the serum has caused him to grow four extra arms. What better way to celebrate 100 issues than to have Peter become more spider than man?

9) Amazing Spider-Man #200

The defining moment of Spider-Man’s life is when he callously let a burglar get away, who would then go on to murder his Uncle Ben. It was a heartbreaking development that cemented the central idea that great power comes with great responsibility. In Amazing Spider-Man #200, written by Marv Wolfman and Stan Lee and illustrated by Keith Pollard, the Web-Head finally has his long-awaited reunion with the man who killed his father figure. “The Spider and The Burglar…A Sequel” starts with Mysterio using a drug to suppress Spider-Man’s powers temporarily. Things get even worse when Peter discovers that the Burglar has returned to try to get his hands on loot hidden underneath the Parker house. Even without powers, Peter’s rage and guilt lead him to confront the Burglar in a nail-biting and emotionally charged battle. Few times in history have we seen Peter feel such overwhelming hatred, and his climactic rematch with Uncle Ben’s killer is everything readers had hoped for.

8) Amazing Spider-Man #300

Written by David Michelinie and illustrated by Todd McFarlane, Amazing Spider-Man #300 ushered in a new age for the Wall-Crawler by introducing one of his most iconic and powerful villains. “Venom” starts with Peter returning home to find his wife, Mary Jane, crying and cowering in the corner, saying that she was attacked by a monster that looked like him. That monster was none other than Eddie Brock, a Daily Bugle reporter whom Spider-Man inadvertently discredited, causing him to lose his job and to seek revenge against the Web-Head. After Eddie merged with Spider-Man’s alien Symbiote suit, he made his first full appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #300 as the menacing villain Venom. With the Symbiote granting Eddie knowledge of Spider-Man’s secret identity, the pair sought to make the hero suffer. After being attacked by his new nemesis, Spider-Man quickly discovers that Venom is far stronger than he is. Venom’s breakout issue quickly cemented him as one of Spider-Man’s greatest villains, and he would remain prominent in Marvel Comics decades later.

7) Amazing Spider-Man #400

From the beginning, Aunt May has been Peter’s surrogate mother. However, in Amazing Spider-Man #400, Peter is forced to confront the fact that he can’t save everyone. Written by J.M. DeMatteis and illustrated by Mark Bagley, “A Death in the Family” centers on Aunt May suffering from a stroke and Peter trying to help her recover. After getting out of the hospital, May reveals that she could tell Peter and Mary Jane were expecting their first child, and she was excited for them. But that’s not all May reveals she knew. May admits to her nephew that she had known for years that he was Spider-Man, which changes everything we thought we knew about the character. Unfortunately, May suffers from another stroke and peacefully passes on surrounded by her loved ones. From Mary Jane’s pregnancy to Aunt May’s death, Amazing Spider-Man #400 was an emotional roller-coaster that promised a groundbreaking new chapter for the Web-Head’s life that would unfortunately be scrapped and undone a few years later.

6) Amazing Spider-Man #500

Amazing Spider-Man #500 serves as the fitting, tearjerking finale to one of the most underrated Spider-Man stories of all time: “Happy Birthday.” Written by J. Michael Straczynski and illustrated by John Romita Sr. and Jr., “Happy Birthday” centers on Spider-Man and Doctor Strange accidentally getting flung outside of space and time when Dormammu invades New York. The only way to get back and save the world is for Spider-Man to relive many of his most significant milestones, tragedies, and battles. This incredible tribute to Spider-Man’s history sees him grapple with his greatest victories and failures while contemplating if he can or should change the past. After returning to the present and thwarting Dormammu, Doctor Strange gives Spider-Man a birthday present: a few minutes to reunite with a temporarily resurrected Uncle Ben. Amazing Spider-Man #500 pulls all the heartstrings in the best ways possible as we see how far Spider-Man has come as a person and how he’s grown to love his life.

5) Amazing Spider-Man #600

Doctor Octopus has been one of Spider-Man’s archenemies for decades, and Amazing Spider-Man #600 saw the villain try to take the Web-Head to the grave with him. The main story, “Last Legs,” by Dann Slott and John Romita Sr., is about Doc Ock. He discovers that he’s dying of a terminal illness, and he tries to beat Spider-Man before he dies. This plotline also intersects with Aunt May marrying her second husband, J. Jonah Jameson Sr. Naturally, Doc Ock crashes the preparations and kidnaps Jameson Sr. before the wedding. Spider-Man isn’t alone in fighting Doc Ock, with both the Fantastic Four and New Avengers coming to his aid. The comic also features several backup stories by other writers and artists, ranging from hilarious to heartwarming. Although Amazing Spider-Man #600 was a lackluster milestone issue overall, it planted the seeds of Doc Ock stealing the Web-Head’s body in Superior Spider-Man a hundred issues later.

4) Amazing Spider-Man #700

Few centennial issues changed Spider-Man’s life more than his death. The story of Amazing Spider-Man #700 by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos is titled “Dying Wish: Suicide Run” and was the third and final part of the “Dying Wish” storyline. In this storyline, the dying Doctor Octopus swaps bodies with Spider-Man and steals the hero’s life for himself. And while Peter is left in Doc Ock’s terminally ill body, the villain parades as New York’s Wall-Crawler. However, a side effect of the body swap is that Doc Ock is flooded with Peter’s memories, and the villain realizes the error of his ways. Unfortunately, Doc Ock can’t save Peter, and the hero dies in his arms while asking his former enemy to protect New York in his absence. Peter’s death was a gut-punch narrative turn that also offered a quick yet compelling redemption arc for Doc Ock. And of course, this issue leads directly into the iconic Superior Spider-Man series, where Doc Ock tries to live up to Peter’s legacy.

3) Amazing Spider-Man #800

The Green Goblin has always been Spider-Man’s deadliest and most sadistic enemy, and Amazing Spider-Man #800 by Dan Slott and Nick Bradshaw shows the villain in his most terrifying form. In the lead-up to this comic, Norman Osborn merges with the Carnage Symbiote to become the Red Goblin. In Amazing Spider-Man #800 the finale of the “Go Down Swinging” arc, the Red Goblin uses his overwhelming power to battle Spider-Man and his friends. Many of Spider-Man’s allies, including Agent Anti-Venom, Flash Thompson, Venom, and Doctor Octopus, all help fight Red Goblin. Spider-Man even dons the Venom Symbiote once again to have a chance against Red Goblin. Every panel is filled with thrilling action. Although Spider-Man ultimately emerges victorious against Red Goblin, the battle isn’t without its losses, as Flash dies from injuries he sustained while protecting his friends. It’s a comic of epic scope and action that offers an emotionally charged farewell to one of Peter’s best friends.

2) Amazing Spider-Man #900

Whereas previous centennial issues feature a major shake-up in Spider-Man’s life or an unparalleled threat, Amazing Spider-Man #900 feels more like an average story featuring the Web-Head. Written by Zeb Wells and illustrated by Ed McGuinness, the main plot of Amazing Spider-Man #900 has the villain Ultra Living Brain kidnap the Sinister Six and transfer their powers into the Super Adaptoid robot to destroy Spider-Man. After the Wall-Crawler frees the Sinister Six, they enter an uneasy alliance to destroy the Super Adaptoid. Nothing really groundbreaking or impactful happens in the story, and Spider-Man isn’t given any deep character introspection as in previous milestone issues. The backup stories range from being slightly more significant to being completely bizarre. In one short story, Peter rekindles his relationship with Black Cat. Another backup story has Spider-Man meet Jimmy Kimmel for some reason. Overall, the plot feels like a waste of what Amazing Spider-Man #900 could have been.

1) Amazing Spider-Man #1000

One thousand issues is a feat that few comics in history have achieved, and Amazing Spider-Man #1000 celebrated this milestone in a pretty underwhelming way. The comic’s main plot, “Ravaged,” by Joe Kelly and Pepe Larraz, has Aunt May suffer a stroke that makes her forget Peter. However, her amnesia is quickly revealed to be caused by her recently introduced son, Cormac Crane, who debuts as the villain Ravage. He then literally beats Spider-Man with Aunt May’s memories of her nephew before the villain runs away. After an underwhelming main plot with stakes left incomplete and unlikely to have any long-term effects, Amazing Spider-Man #1000 features seven backup stories from various acclaimed writers and artists. Some of these stories, such as Spider-Man meeting the cop who told Peter Uncle Ben had died, were incredibly poignant and tragic. Others, like an elderly Peter still pinning Gwen Stacy, feel like Marvel is idolizing a version of the character that never existed. Overall, Amazing Spider-Man #1000 was a mostly lackluster anniversary comic that did little that felt bold or unexpected for Marvel’s greatest hero.