The following contains spoilers for Amazing Fantasy #1000, on sale now from Marvel Comics.

For Spider-Man's 60th birthday, Marvel assembled a huge team of A-list creators to revisit the title in which he debuted -- Amazing Fantasy. From his origin story to his multiversal exploits, Amazing Fantasy #1000 (by Anthony Falcone, Rainbow Rowell, Dan Slott, Ho Che Anderson, Ryan Stegman, Todd Nauck, Marco Checchetto, Terry Dodson, and John Romita Jr.) does a great job of exploring who the character is and what he means to people. However, it's missing a huge part of what makes Spider-Man great.

The issue cover key aspects of Spider-Man's personality. He fights villains and takes photos, he's late for dates, and he bemoans his lack of cash. The stories in this special show his ability to always get back up again and the way he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. He's an inspiration to not only the Marvel Universe but also the real world. The issue doesn't just handle the thematic elements of the character, it focuses on the history of the hero, too. Amazing Fantasy #1000 also features every variant of Peter Parker that has ever appeared in comics. But despite, or perhaps because of, all the care and attention taken to cover every aspect of his personality, a big part of his life is missing from the issue -- his supporting players.

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Flash Thompson, Aunt May, Peter Parker, Betty Brant, Liz Allan

From the very start of his career, Spider-Man's stories have been grounded in real-world problems and his relationships -- making him very relatable. Peter was a down-on-his-luck, every day man. Not someone to be admired or envied, but someone to sympathize with. Key to this dynamic was his supporting cast. His world was filled with normal people -- relatives, landlords, bosses, and girlfriends. People who relied on him or who he relied on, people who made him feel real to readers.

Amazing Fantasy #1000 is not entirely devoid of these people. An elderly Mary Jane Watson is in a story, waiting at a restaurant to celebrate Peter's birthday. Another features Aunt May and J Jonah Jameson as well. This handful of supporting companions fills out the world of the issue somewhat, offering a window into Spider-Man's relationships. His classically antagonistic banter with J Jonah Jameson is a perfect encapsulation of the character and his casual, warm phone conversation with Aunt May.

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Aunt May Slap Happy

However, other important characters did not get the recognition they deserved. Betty Brant is a character with a history nearly as long as Spidey's own. Starting out as a timid, love-struck secretary who went through a series of traumatic events that led to a mental breakdown and her re-emergence as a fearless, intrepid investigative reporter. In Amazing Fantasy #1000, she has a single line, reduced to simply being Peter's current girlfriend. Robbie Robertson has a similar past, tangling with villains and gangsters, getting paralyzed, and even going to prison. He also only had a single line in the issue.

The most overlooked, however, is Mary Jane Watson. While not as old of a character as Betty, MJ's history with Spider-Man has taken her from girl next door to superhero, and everything in between. She and Peter's relationship has gone through every problem imaginable. Her role in Peter's life has never been simple or unchallenging. While it's lovely to see the two as a couple in their old age, Mary Jane's character deserves a lot more than the ancient trope of being stood up by Spider-Man.

While MJ's appearance leaves much to be desired, many of Peter's other friends don't even get an appearance despite their importance in defining Spider-Man stories. Flash Thompson, who appeared in the very issue this one is celebrating, and who has an ongoing history in the Marvel Universe doesn't even get a mention. Neither does Peter's long-time best friend and Green Goblin's son, Harry Osborne.

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Peter Parker punches Flash Thompson

Perhaps the biggest oversight is the absence of Gwen Stacy. Outside a brief mention and a visual appearance, one of the most important figures in Spider-Man's life is completely absent. Although mainly remembered today either for her dramatic death or her surprising second life as a popular alternate universe hero, her impact on Spider-Man goes much deeper than that. As Peter's girlfriend for over a decade, many of his early stories involved Gwen. As a key part of those early years, Gwen's presence was essential to establishing the mixture of relationship drama and real-life stakes that define great Spider-Man stories to this day.

It is not only Peter's civilian friends who have had an impact on his life. More than most heroes, Spider-Man's story is intertwined with other superheroes. He has been a member of almost every super team in the Marvel Universe, joining The Fantastic Four and the Avengers. He was even a member of the X-Men for a time (despite not being a mutant). While both the Fantastic Four and the Avengers are briefly mentioned, there's no real recognition of the role Spidey played on these teams. Other heroes, like Black Cat and Iron Man, who have had huge impacts on not only Spider-Man's heroic career but Peter's personal life are completely absent.

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A three way images showing covers from Marvel's Civil War II, Secret Wars, and Spider-Verse

Of course, the pages of a single issue, no matter how large, will never be able to pay sufficient tribute to every one of these characters and ideas. The history of Spider-Man spans six decades and fitting in every aspect of that history would be impossible. The choice to omit side characters is therefore very understandable. However, there is one subset of supporting players whose absence is very sorely felt -- the villains.

Spider-Man is not the only hero to be defined by his rogues' gallery. Batman, The Flash, and the X-Men all come to mind as characters whose villains are iconic in their own right. He may, however, be the only hero to be shaped by his relationship with his foes. Every significant rogue has a unique and personal relationship with the hero, from his friend and mentor Curt Connors to his best friend's father Norman Osborne. Spider-Man villains have always been tragedies -- even the characters who are villains by choice are portrayed in a sympathetic light. This almost always makes their battles with Spider-Man not just superpowered throwdowns but emotional and ideological struggles, affecting the hero just as much as the villain. Stories like Kraven's Last Hunt and the Symbiote Saga are classics because of their iconic villains and the lasting impressions they made on the hero.

All of this is to say that Spider-Man would be nothing without his supporting cast both good and bad. Anything paying tribute to his life needs to include at least a few of the characters who have shaped him and his stories for decades. And while some of them did appear, they were merely an afterthought. The friends and foes of Peter Parker truly deserved more recognition for their part in his successful career both in-universe and out.