Spider-Man Homecoming: 5 Comics To Read First

Last week, eager fans were treated to a new trailer for Spider-Man: Homecoming, the first Spider-Man movie to take place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The new trailer presented the most cohesive explanation of what exactly Spider-Man: Homecoming is all about. Spider-Man is still in high school, he’s being mentored by Iron Man, and he’s going head-to-head with the villain known as the Vulture.

Now that we have an idea of what to expect from Spider-Man: Homecoming, it’s time to look at which Marvel Comics fans should read to prepare for the movie. Spider-Man: Homecoming isn’t based on any one particular Marvel Comics story, but there are plenty of tales from the marvel Universe that touch on all of the themes that Spider-Man: Homecoming will.

Keep reading through the slides to learn what Marvel Comics you should read before Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Spider-Man: Homecoming currently has a 4.10 out of 5 ComicBook User Anticipation Rating, making it the sixth most anticipated upcoming comic book movie among ComicBook.com readers. Let us know how excited you are about Spider-Man: Homecoming by giving it your own ComicBook User Anticipation Rating below.

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Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, young Peter Parker (Tom Holland) returns home to live with his Aunt May. Under the watchful eye of mentor Tony Stark, Parker starts to embrace his newfound identity as Spider-Man. He also tries to return to his normal daily routine — distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just a friendly neighborhood superhero. Peter must soon put his powers to the test when the evil Vulture emerges to threaten everything that he holds dear.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is directed by Jon Watts, from a screenplay by Jonathan M. Goldstein & John Francis Daley and Watts & Christopher Ford and Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers, and stars Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Tyne Daly, Bokeem Woodbine, Marisa Tomei, and Robert Downey Jr.

Spider-Man: Homecoming opens in theaters July 7, 2017.

MORE SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING: Marisa Tomei Wanted To Be An Older Aunt May / Tom Holland Says He’s Not Secretive Enough / Director Describes Film’s Unique Tone

Ultimate Spider-Man

Besides being set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the thing that most sets Spider-Man: Homecoming apart from previous Spider-Man movies is Peter Parker’s age. He’s still a high school kid in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and that’s a game changer.

Readers could go back and read some of the earliest Stan Lee and Steve Ditko Amazing Spider-Man comics. Those are classics and worthy of any Spider-Man fans time, but Peter graduates high school fairly early on in that series and the experience of a high school student in the 1960s may not reflect the experience of a modern student attending a magnet school like Peter in Spider-Man: Homecoming does.

Ultimate Spider-Man was launched in the early 2000s as a reimagining of Spider-Man for the 21st century. Brian Michael Bendis wrote every issue of the series and was joined for most of that run by Mark Bagley. The series sees Peter Parker at high school age living the modern teenager’s life while also trying to be a superhero.

The series has all of the heightened emotion and heartbreak you’d expect from a teen hero series. It is also set in a separate universe from the mainstream Marvel Continuity, which makes it entirely new reader friendly as well.

Spidey

As mentioned, Spider-Man didn’t actually stay in high school for very long during the early days of Amazing Spider-Man. Luckily for fans, Marvel Comics took the opportunity to go back and flesh out some of Spider-Man’s earliest adventures.

Spidey is a 12-issue series from writer Robbie Thompson and artists Nick Bradshaw. André Lima Araújo, and Nate StockmanThe series reveals untold stories of a young Peter Parker’s adventures as a teen Spider-Man. The creative team brings a lot of energy to the series, which pits Spidey up against classic supervillains like Green Goblin, Doctor Doom, and Sandman.

Spidey #6 may be the issue most relevant to Spider-Man: Homecoming, as it sees the young Spidey teaming up with Iron Man to take on the Vulture, a battle that seems likely to take place in the film as well.

Spider-Man Vs. The Vulture

This trade paperback collection doesn’t release until May, but that still gives fans plenty of time to digest it and its perfect one-stop shopping for learning everything you need to know about Spider-Man: Homecoming‘s villain, the Vulture.

Spider-Man vs. The Vulture collects various stories by such Marvel Comics greats as Stan Lee, J.M DeMatteis, Louise Simonson, Roger Stern, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, and John Romita Sr.

All of the stories revolve around the most important stories from the Vulture’s career. These include the Vulture being hired to kill Spider-Man, the Vulture being impersonated by his own former cellmate, and the Vulture having his youth restored to him.

Of course, Spider-Man is always there to spoil the Vulture’s fun.

The Road to Civil War

It may seem like looking backward so to suggest fans read “The Road to Civil War” stories ahead of a film set after the events of Captain America: Civil War, but these stories put Peter Parker’s relationship with Peter Parker on full display.

Written by J. Michael Straczynski and drawn by Ron Garney and Tyler Kirkham, the plot of this story, which takes place in Amazing Spider-Man #529-531, sees Tony Stark taking Peter Parker with him to Washington D.C. to lobby for the Superhero Registration Act.

This takes place in the era of the New Avengers when Peter Parker is living in Stark Tower. Peter and Tony’s shared background in science has given them something to bond over, and Tony becomes a mentor to Peter and even designs a new suit for him, much like in the events of Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming.

New Avengers is also worth any fan’s time, especially if they’re interested in seeing more of Spider-Man interacting with other major Marvel heroes. Invincible Iron Man #7 is also worth checking out to see how Peter and Tony’s relationship changed after Spider-Man defect to Captain America’s side during the Superhero Civil War.

Damage Control

Marvel fans were pleasantly surprised to learn that the relatively obscure Marvel group known as Damage Control will be making their cinematic debut in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Conceived of by Dwayne McDuffie as a sitcom set in the Marvel Universe, Damage Control is the company that cleans up after every major superhero battle. Whenever New York City gets flattened by a falling helicarrier or an alien invasion, Damage Control is the group props it back up.

Damage Control: The Complete Collection includes Damage Control doing business after events likes “Acts of Vengeance” and World War: Hulk, and even standing up to Doctor Doom when the dictator fails to pay his bill.