In the history of Spider-Man, the name Dan Slott is forever etched as being one of the lead writers for the series. Slott remained in the role for a long time, during which time he received a mixed response for sometimes delivering highly memorable stories while other times being too bold and ruining characters.
Some stories lasted a good while and had time to develop, but others came across as too forced, to the point where they weren’t worth reading. In the end, the result might just be split between Slott’s high and low points, with both of these aspects worth taking a deeper look into.
10 Best: Goblin Nation (W/ Christos Gage & Javier Rodriguez) — Pits Octavius & The Goblin King Against Each Other
The Green Goblin has always been seen as comparable to the Batman villain Joker as both of them are totally insane. This storyline saw him go even crazier and call himself the Goblin King while also forcing Otto Octavius to take over Peter’s body.
Moreover, the story serves as the conclusion of the first volume of The Superior Spider-Man, as Otto realizes he has failed in the role and that Peter was always the true Spider-Man. Even if fans weren't happy with Dan Slott for bringing the Superior Spider-Man forward, the conclusion is still worth checking out.
9 Worst: Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy (W/ Christos Gage & Jim Cheung) — There Are Too Many Retcons & Convoluted Plots
This was written by Slott along with Christos Gage, and received a mixed-to-negative reception due to the many retcons involved. It not only brought the character of Ben Reilly back in a convoluted plot of having multiple clones but introduced a number of clones of other characters.
These clones were of people's dead loved ones, all of whose returns feel cheap due to the abundance of these clones. The story gets more progressively over-the-top as the series goes on with little payoff, making the entire arc forgettable.
8 Best: Renew Your Vows #1 (W/ Adam Kubert) — Peter Finally Has A Normal Life
While subsequent volumes were taken over by other writers, Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #1 was written by Slott and it was the best of that series.
The story takes place in the alternate universe of Earth-18119. It sees Peter Parker with a family in hopes of giving up being Spider-Man but having to deal with the threat of Regent who is out to defeat superheroes. The story has a fine balance between heavy and light elements, seeing Peter as a family man in a good grown-up story that sees the character get a well-deserved ending for once.
7 Worst: Power Play (W/ Giuseppe Camuncoli) — There's Too Much Relationship Drama
This story sees Mary Jane and Peter’s close associates become very close to Tony Stark, which more than annoys Peter who feels his life is being intruded on by Stark. It’s not heavy-handed, but the problem is that there’s a lot of lame relationship drama.
With Regent stirring up trouble again, the only interesting thing is Mary Jane putting on the Iron Spider armor. Apart from that, Spider-Man doesn’t seem to factor in much in the story, making it a weak storyline that doesn’t highlight his strengths.
6 Best: Spider-Man/Human Torch: I'm With Stupid (W/ Ty Templeton) — The Friendship Between The Characters Is Heartwarming
It’s always fun to see superheroes team up, with this storyline bringing just that. While there are some that Spider-Man can’t stand, the Human Torch turned out to be a fun partner. It was written by Slott and Ty Templeton and has the focus on the heroes' friendship.
There’s not one storyline in particular that dominates the story, as the dynamic between the two heroes is what it’s about as the plot follows their time through their youths up to where they ended up. The best thing about it is that it’s suitable for readers of all ages as the classic superhero style is brought forward.
5 Worst: Amazing Spider-Man #692-694 (W/ Humberto Ramos) — Trying To Make A Sidekick Out Of Alpha Failed Miserably
Fans don’t take it kindly when a comic book sidekick overshadows the main hero. This story falls under this problem, with Alpha being the one in focus as his dynamic with Spider-Man begins here. The criticism from fans stemmed from how Alpha seemed bland and was a poor rehash of Spider-Man’s story.
Another glaring problem was the unlikable nature of Alpha, as he had none of the charm of Spider-Man nor a hook to his story to keep readers interested. It’s no wonder the arc ran for a short time since Alpha’s irresponsible show of heroics got old too quick.
4 Best: Spider-Island (W/ Humberto Ramos & Stefano Caselli) — Reaffirms Peter Parker's "Relationship" To Spider-Man
This arc is a fun take on the idea of everyone having Spider-Man’s abilities to the point where his own unique nature is put into question. Slott used this story to show the value that Peter Parker brought to the role and succeeded in doing so.
The plot shows the Queen and the Jackal as villains, as they are able to give most of New York similar powers to Spider-Man. What’s good about this story is how it keeps the humor intact while delivering the heartwarming conclusion of Peter embracing his worth as Spider-Man.
3 Worst: My Own Worst Enemy (W/ Ryan Stegman & Giuseppe Camuncoli) — The Superior Spider-Man Comes Across More Like A Villain Than A Hero
With Spider-Man seeing renewed popularity lately thanks to his inclusion in the MCU, the angle of Peter’s conscience being trapped in his body wouldn’t fly well today. This was the opening arc of The Superior Spider-Man comic and it didn’t do a good job in establishing Otto Octavius as the titular “superior” version of the character.
Instead, he basically ruined all of Peter’s relationships due to his arrogance and turned Spider-Man into something of an evil version of the character. Later arcs carved out a better character for Otto, but the first story was a miss and failed to connect the reader to the new version of the character.
2 Best: Spider-Verse (W/ Giuseppe Camuncoli & Olivier Coipel) — It Brings Every Spider-Man Variant Together For An Epic Story
This will always be seen as the crowning achievement of Dan Slott’s time as lead writer as it happens to be one of the best Spider-Man stories overall. With every version of the character being pulled into the situation, there were so many Spider-Men (and women) that it was a great bit of fan service.
The main plot saw the Spider-People take on the Inheritors as they look to bring down the superheroes in one fell swoop. The actual hook is seeing so many versions of the same character interact, with many of these going on to star in their own comic book series.
1 Worst: Dying Wish (W/ Humberto Ramos & Richard Elson) — It's Too Rushed For A Change In The Status Quo
In every version of Doctor Octopus seen so far, he’s been shown as a villain who ultimately loses to Spider-Man. However, this one showed him swap bodies with Peter Parker and even dying in Octavius’ deteriorating body as Otto then became Spider-Man.
The reception was so bad that Dan Slott received death threats for removing Peter as Spider-Man. While that was a very needless overreaction, the story itself was a very lazy way to change the status quo as it was obvious Peter would be back somehow. With only three issues playing this story out, it was very little time for readers to get accustomed to the angle, and was too outlandish to be believable.