Are Spider-Man's web-slinging days behind him? Peter Parker has been suiting up as Spider-Man for 60 years, with Marvel celebrating Spider-Man's anniversary with the release of Amazing Fantasy #1000. A list of visionary creators such as Neil Gaiman, Dan Slott, Jim Cheung, Jonathan Hickman, and more will contribute to the oversized one-shot, which explores Spider-Man's past and future that promises to leave an impact on his mythos. One of those stories will find Spider-Man contemplating retirement to someone off the page after recounting his many failures and personal tragedies.
One of the preview pages for Amazing Fantasy #1000 by Daredevil artist Marco Checchetto finds Spider-Man in mid-monologue, speaking in a six-panel grid. He begins by mentioning the death of Uncle Ben, which became the catalyst for his superhero origin story. "I get busy doing the right thing--saving lives, fighting crime, being a relentless force for good," Spider-Man says. "I believe that if I can just do enough, it'll be enough..."
Spider-Man would then meet "an amazing woman" who is either Gwen Stacy or Mary Jane Watson. It's hard to tell which character Spider-Man is referring to, but he does acknowledge that he screwed things up with her. Add on top of that Aunt May getting sick, his best friend Harry Osborn turning on him, and the hits just keep on coming. No matter how many positive steps forward Spider-Man takes, he takes even more negative steps back.
"I never win," Spider-Man admits while staring up at the sky. "And I'm just now sure how much longer I can take it."
This wouldn't be the first time Peter Parker has given up being Spider-Man. The recently-concluded "Beyond" era saw Peter wounded and replaced by his clone Ben Reilly, now going the supervillain moniker Chasm. Stan Lee and John Romita Sr.'s classic "Spider-Man No More!" storyline also featured another short-lived retirement.
AMAZING FANTASY #1000
NEIL GAIMAN, ARMANDO IANNUCCI, JONATHAN HICKMAN, DAN SLOTT, HO CHE ANDERSON, KURT BUSIEK, ANTHONY FALCONE, RAINBOW ROWELL AND MORE! (W)
JIM CHEUNG, OLIVIER COIPEL, MICHAEL CHO, GORAN PARLOV AND MORE! (A)
Cover by JOHN ROMITA JR.
WRAPAROUND VARIANT COVER BY JOE QUESADA
VARIANT COVER BY J. SCOTT CAMPBELL
VIRGIN VARIANT COVER BY J. SCOTT CAMPBELL
RETRO VARIANT COVER BY J. SCOTT CAMPBELL
VARIANT COVER BY STEVE MCNIVEN
VARIANT COVER BY TAURIN CLARKE
VARIANT COVER BY PEACH MOMOKO
The comic that brought you SPIDER-MAN hits issue #1000!
We're going big to celebrate in this, our thousandth issue of AMAZING FANTASY! An ALL-STAR roster of creators are coming together to celebrate Peter Parker and Spider-Man's birthdays!
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