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The Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer, a Fresh Start Reading Order

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After his controversial run on Captain America, which culminated in the Secret Empire crossover event, writer Nick Spencer was chosen to succeed long-time writer Dan Slott to relaunch The Amazing Spider-Man as part of Marvel’s Fresh Start Initiative.

It was a classic back-to-the-basics approach for Marvel’s favourite superhero that stripped Peter of his credentials and work at the Daily Bugle. He was, once again, broke and had to return to the University to earn his college degree while sharing an apartment with Randy Robertson and Frederick Myers, also known as the super-villain Boomerang. On the positive side, Peter had recently rekindled his relationship with Mary Jane, the first time since their relationship was retconned during the infamous One More Day storyline.

Nick Spencer’s run lasted three years, a period during which the Spider-Family was once again in peril during Spider-Geddon, the original Doctor Octopus returned, and major events such as One More Day, Sins Past and Kraven’s legacy were revisited.

Following is our Spider-Man comic guide to Nick Spencer’s run on the character, collected in Omnibus and trade paperbacks, along with issue-by-issues reading order for the events!

Previously on Spider-Man…

… Dan Slott’s decade-long run! During those years, Peter lost control of his body to Doctor Octopus, faced the return of the Green Goblin and his Goblin Nation, and worked at Horizon Labs before founding Parker Industries. He also met Miles Morales, Silk, and many other Spider-heroes during the Spider-Verse event, revealed his true identity to J. Jonah Jameson, and discovered he had a “sister,” Teresa. Among many other things!

But Peter Parker wasn’t the only one going through the wringer, and his friends, family, and enemies have also lived through some massive events. One of the most important is that Otto Octavius became the Superior Spider-Man after swapping minds with Peter, with Otto taking over the main series for a time, where he started a relationship with Anna Maria Marconi while inhabiting Peter’s body. 

It’s also during those times that Flash Thompson became Agent Venom. Black Cat turned to a life of crime following a traumatic event and took over the New York underworld as the “Queenpin”. J. Jonah Jameson even became mayor of New York before ultimately resigning from the position. Mary Jane Watson briefly worked as Tony Stark’s assistant in Iron Man, and Aunt May was diagnosed with cancer, although her health improved towards the end of this era. 

After all this, it was time for a new start. For a Fresh Start with Nick Spencer that relaunches the Spider-Man series to make it a possible new entry point for new readers! You can jump in right now! 

What to Read Before Nick Spencer’s Spider-Man? 

Before becoming the main writer on Spider-Man, Nick Spencer found success in the Spider-Man Universe with Superior Foes of Spider-Man (Omnibus), a comedic series focusing on D-list villains that can’t stand each other but unite to prove they’re worthy enemies of Spider-Man! 

This series can be read as a prequel to Spencer’s run with Boomerang (Fred Myers) as a key player in it, and highlighting Spencer’s tone and comedic sensibility. Some plotlines established in this comic are picked up again in his Spider run.

Amazing Spider-Man By Nick Spencer Omnibus Collection

Nick Spencer’s run on Spider-Man has been collected in the Omnibus format by Marvel Comics in two volumes.

  • Amazing Spider-Man By Nick Spencer Omnibus Vol. 1 
    Collects Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #1-43, 16.HU, 18.HU, 19.HU, 20.HU; Amazing Spider-Man: Full Circle (2019) #1; material from Free Comic Book Day 2018 (Amazing Spider-Man/Guardians of the Galaxy) #1.
  • Amazing Spider-Man By Nick Spencer Omnibus Vol. 2 
    Collects Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #44-73, #74 (A-B Stories) And #50.Lr-54.Lr; Amazing Spider-Man: Sins Rising Prelude; Amazing Spider-Man: The Sins Of Norman Osborn; Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man: King’s Ransom; Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man: The Chameleon Conspiracy; and Sinister War #1-4.

Want More Spider-Man Omnibus? 
Check out our Complete Spider-Man Omnibus Guide

Amazing Spider-Man, The Complete Reading Order Guide

This guide is focused on Nick Spencer’s run, with a few optional readings that tie in and share a connection with his story. To discover all Spidey’s adventures during this era, check out our Complete Spider-Man Reading Guide!

Part I: Spider-Man Back to the Basics

Nick Spencer’s run starts with a back-to-basics approach, establishing a new status quo for our web-slinger with his new living arrangement, his relationship with Mary Jane, his long-running guilt, and daily misfortune! 

  • Amazing Spider-man Vol. 1: Back To Basics
    Collects Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #1-5 and material from Free Comic Book Day 2018 (Amazing Spider-Man).

    • Free Comic Book Day 2018 (Amazing Spider-Man) is a prelude to the run.
    • Optional read: The Spider-Geddon event is set at the beginning of the run. It’s full of Spiders, though the lead is not Peter, but Miles Morales. The event ties into The Spectacular Spider-Man
    • Optional read: Tom Taylor’s Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is launched after the Spider-Geddon event. It is a stand-alone series, with a few connections to Spencer’s run.
  • Amazing Spider-man Vol. 2: Friends and Foes
    Collects Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #6-10.
  • Amazing Spider-man Vol. 3: Lifetime Achievement
    Collects Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #11-15.

Part II: Hunted

Spider-Man is facing some classic foes, starting with Kraven, who made his return and has started to collect animal-themed superhumans. The Lizard, Vulture, Electro, and Mysterio are also cooking up some problems for Spider-Man as a new version of the Sinister Syndicate emerges. If that wasn’t enough, there is an Absolute Carnage just around the corner…

  • Amazing Spider-man Vol. 4: Hunted
    Collects Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #16-23, #16.HH and #18.HU-20.HU.

    • Hunted is the first major arc in Spencer’s run, presented as a spiritual successor to the classic Kraven’s Last Hunt.
    • Each .HU issues follow a different character.
    • During that time in the Marvel Universe… Spider-Man fought for New York during the War of Realms event, set around the beginning of the Hunted storyline. This has no impact on Spencer’s run.
  • Amazing Spider-man Vol. 5: Behind the Scenes
    Collects Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #24-28.

Amazing Mary Jane! This is a complementary and optional piece to Spencer’s run, focusing on MJ’s solo adventures far away from Spider-Man. Coming from Leah Williams and Carlos Gomez, The Amazing Mary Jane follows MJ in Los Angeles after her departure in issue #25 for taking a Hollywood starring role. The redhead came back to the main title in issue #50.

Part III: Back to the future! 

80 years ago, the Marvel Universe was born. 80 years from now, will it die?! The Future is in peril in Amazing Spider-Man. Something has happened in the year 2099 that caused the timeline to crumble. The heroes of 2099, including Miguel O’Hara, will need the help of the present-day Spider-Man to figure out what’s going on and to save their world. This storyline introduced a new version of Marvel 2099.

  • Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 7: 2099
    Collects Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #32-36.
  • Amazing Spider-Man: 2099 Companion
    Collects 2099 Alpha (2019) #1, 2099 Omega (2019) #1, Conan 2099 (2019) #1, Doom 2099 (2019) #1, Fantastic Four 2099 (2019) #1, Ghost Rider 2099 (2019) #1, Punisher 2099 (2019) #1, Spider-Man 2099 (2019) #1, And Venom 2099 (2019) #1.

2099 Event, A Issue by Issue Reading Order
The important issues written by Nick Spencer are in bold

Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #32-34 | 2099 Alpha | FF 2099 | Punisher 2099 | Conan 2099 | Ghost Rider 2099 | Doom 2099 | Venom 2099 | Spider-Man 2099 | 2099 Omega | Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #35-36

Part IV: Sins Rising/Last Remains

Getting out of the shadows, the demon known as Kindred is finally ready to take his revenge on Peter Parker! he has resurrected one of Spidey’s most disturbing foes, the fanatical Sin-Eater, to help him carry out his grand plans! While Peter is facing his new enemy, Julia Carpenter brings together several Spider-People, including Ghost-Spider, Silk, and Miles, as the Order of the Web to help Peter in his fight.

Last Remains, A Issue by Issue Reading Order:
You need to alternate with the LR issues

Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #50 | #50.LR | #51 | #51.LR | #52 | #52.LR | #53 | #53.LR | #54 | #54.LR | #55

Part V: Going into Sinister War

Nick Spencer’s run is slowly coming to an end with Spider-Man working to stop Wilson Fisk to secure the Lifeline tablet, then team up with his “sister” to uncover a conspiracy before one finale arc where Peter Parker has to stop a feud between Doctor Octopus’s Sinister Six and the Vulture’s Savage Six.

How did Otto Octavius become his old self again? A complementary and optional read, the Superior Spider-Man (2018) comic book series from Christos N. Gage happens in parallel to Nick Spencer’s run on Spider-Man and explains how Otto returns to his Doctor Octopus persona.

Sinister War, A Issue by Issue Reading Order:

Amazing Spider-Man #70 (Prelude) | Sinister War #1 | Amazing Spider-Man #71 | Sinister War #2-3 | Amazing Spider-Man #72 | Sinister War #4 | Amazing Spider-Man #73-41

After Nick Spencer’s Spider-Man

After Nick Spencer’s departure from the main title, the adventures of Spider-Man continue in the company of multiple writers and artists. To discover more Spider-Man stories, check out: 

Go back to the Complete Spider-Man Comics Guide

Note: An earlier version of this guide appeared on our site in 2020. It has been refreshed and updated with more information, the latest releases, and new pictures.

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