Spider-Man has had an incredibly huge decade, both on the big screen and in the comics, and as we near the beginning of a new decade it's time to look back at one of our favorite characters and his growth over the last few years.
Peter Parker entered the 2010s fresh from his "Brand New Day" under the watch of Dan Slott, who guided the character for most of the decade until Nick Spencer recently took the reigns of Amazing Spider-Man. Today we are going to re-examine some of Spider-Man's most influential storylines from the last decade that have kept him in the hearts of Marvel fans everywhere. Here are the webslinger's 10 most important stories of the decade, ranked.
10 BIG TIME
"Big Time" was a larger event that took place in Amazing Spider-Man in 2010 that elevated Peter Parker to new heights as he began a new job with Horizon Labs and finally put his brilliant intellect to use, both as a scientist and a superhero. Peter developed a number of new costumes during this time period thanks to the resources of Horizon.
Spider-Man dealt with a number of huge events, including the evolution of the heroic Phil Urich into the villainous Hobgoblin, the death of Marla Jameson at the hands of Alistair Smythe, and Peter's resulting vow that from that moment on, as long as he's around "no one dies."
9 ULTIMATE COMICS: SPIDER-MAN
While Slott was steering the mainstream Peter Parker's adventures, Brian Michael Bendis was still telling his own version of the story in Ultimate Spider-Man, which updated the hero for the modern day in an alternate Marvel universe. However, Bendis had just killed the fan-favorite Peter Parker in the Ultimate Universe following the devastating Ultimatum event.
However, fans were soon rewarded with a brand new Spider-Man who would quickly become one of the biggest breakout stars from Marvel Comics in the last 10 years, Miles Morales. Morales would become the new Ultimate Spider-Man and begin his own adventures with Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man.
8 SPIDER-ISLAND
Miles Warren/Jackal returned to Spider-Man's life during the "Spider-Island" event, when he infected the citizens of Manhattan with a virus that gave them all spider-powers just like Peter Parker. Spider-Man teamed up with the Avengers to deal with the situation as those infected began to transform further into monstrous spider-creatures.
"Spider-Island" was one of the biggest Spidey events in the early decade that brought in the rest of the Marvel Universe, and included other related characters like Flash Thompson/Agent Venom, Eddie Brock/Anti-Venom, and Kaine Parker, who would become the new Scarlet Spider due to the events of "Spider-Island." Plus, we got to see Mary Jane with powers for the first time!
7 SPIDER-MEN
Miles Morales had established himself as the new Spider-Man in the Ultimate universe and started his rise in popularity among the fans when Bendis and Sara Pichelli introduced the mainstream Peter Parker to his alternate reality successor in Spider-Men.
Spider-Men was the first crossover between the mainstream and Ultimate Marvel universes and would herald the beginning of the end for Miles Morales' universe. Thankfully the character would survive and join the mainstream Marvel universe after Ultimate End and Secret Wars erased his reality.
6 ENDS OF THE EARTH
Peter Parker's elevation of his Spider-Man gear and mission led to a similar escalation with his greatest enemies, the Sinister Six. During the "Ends of the Earth" storyline, Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus re-assembles the team he initially founded in one of his final missions to hold the Earth ransom.
However, when it is revealed that Octavius is dying and the Sinister Six were being used as pawns, Spidey is able to eke out a win by commanding a global team of Avengers and creating a new Spider-Armor specifically tasked with neutralizing the Six's abilities. Unfortunately, this storyline saw the loss of Silver Sable, a longtime friend and ally of Spider-Man.
5 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN
"Dying Wish" would feature the biggest moment in Spider-Man's entire decade as Doc Ock manages to swap bodies with Peter Parker, becoming Spider-Man as Peter was trapped in Otto's dying body. Peter died in Otto's body, though not before he managed to inject Otto's mind with all the lessons he had learned as Parker/Spider-Man.
Otto set out to outdo his old foe and become a Superior Spider-Man, which ended up improving both of their lives. Otto found love and responsibility while also earning a doctorate and founding Parker Industries before Peter inevitably regained control thanks to a heroic sacrifice from Otto to save his new love, Maria.
4 SPIDER-VERSE
The biggest Spider-Man crossover fans had ever seen occurred in 2014 as Spider-Verse claimed to feature every Spider-Man ever, which was quite a statement considering the numerous versions of the character that existed across the Marvel multiverse. The Spider-Verse event loosely inspired the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse animated film.
Spider-Verse managed to gather them all in a reality-spanning battle for survival against the incredibly powerful and demented Inheritors. This epic crossover saw Peter Parker work together alongside a time-displaced Superior Spider-Man, Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Woman, Scarlet Spider, and almost every other Spidey you can think of.
3 GO DOWN SWINGING
Dan Slott wrapped up a decade with Spider-Man with his monumental "Go Down Swinging" storyline, which effectively tied up a few of the threads of his run with the return of Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, who bonded with the Carnage symbiote to become the deadly Red Goblin.
Norman's attack on Spider-Man and New York saw the return of a number of characters who had factored into Slott's run, including the returned Otto in his new cloned Superior Octopus body as he saved Aunt May from a Carnage-possessed Normie Osborn/Goblin Childe. While Spider-Man would rebond with the Venom symbiote to save the day, Flash Thompson's story would end in sacrifice.
2 BACK TO BASICS
When Nick Spencer took over Spidey after Slott, it was with the storyline "Back To Basics" that appeared to return Peter Parker to some semblance of his status quo prior to the events of "One More Day." This meant that Peter was again struggling for work, his doctorate was in question, and he was once again in a relationship with Mary Jane, though their marriage was not restored.
While we had all gotten used to the idea of a solo Peter Parker and Mary Jane when the two reunited it seemed to close off a chapter of their lives and move forward in an exciting new way while still maintaining the comfort and familiarity of their former married selves. "Back To Basics" was a breath of fresh air long-time Spidey fans had been waiting a long time for.
1 MY DINNER WITH JONAH
However, while much of Peter Parker's life was returning to normal in Amazing Spider-Man, Chip Zdarksy was changing things up in a big way in the relaunched Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man. Not only had Peter's sister Teresa returned (first introduced in the Family Business graphic novel) but Spider-Man and J. Jonah Jameson's relationship took a massive step.
In "My Dinner With Jonah," Spider-Man finally agrees to an interview with his long-time hater and rival. Surprisingly, the meeting turns into an emotional back and forth that ultimately results in Peter revealing his identity to the shocked Jameson. The two have only just begun to move forward and work together, though this spectacular reveal is undoubtedly one of the most important storylines of the last decade.