Fanboys Anonymous

With Peter Parker returning to The Amazing Spider-Man, Dan Slott is taking the opportunity to update Spidey's famous origin. This is most likely a tie-in to the upcoming "Original Sin" storylines, which look to retcon much of the Marvel Universe as we know it.

J. Scott Campbell exclusive covers for issue 1.1

The book relaunches after Otto Octavious spent a year as a self-proclaimed Superior Spider-Man, confusing his fellow heroes, making a few enemies, and nearly destroying New York City in the process. Peter will have plenty of cleaning up to do, especially with his friends and family. These issues will have to wait, however, as longtime writer Dan Slott takes us back in time with "Learning to Crawl." This retcon of Spidey's famous origin may include some tweaks that lead into this summer's "Original Sin" crossover event, where we learn Peter wasn't the only one granted spider powers by that radioactive spider. It's not clear whether this new character, Silk, will either be friend or foe, but she will be fully explored this summer. Most likely, we're going to be getting another antihero who struggles with her abilities but struggles even more to always do the right thing (after getting a dose of Peter's infectious moral code).

Also notable will be the return of Peter's first love, Gwen Stacy. In flashbacks, everyone who was dead is alive again, and we may learn some new things about her that might endear her to us even more. If Slott is smart, he will officially remove any connection to her and Norman Osborn having a sexual affair (which I believe is still canon unless someone can correct me). It's no coincidence this story is happening at the same time The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is hitting theaters. New readers looking for Gwen will get her and will also feel like they've arrived at a perfect "jumping-on point" for the spider-books.

I'm mostly looking forward to Peter having to deal with Doc Ock's actions while he ran things. Doc Ock all but ruined his relationship with Mary Jane (constantly referring to her as "woman") and completely ignored Aunt May. Aside from all the relationship drama, Ock spent all of Peter's hard-earned money on spider-tech and "Parker Industries," a company he started, ignored, and then allowed to be blown up.

Issue #1 is already on shelves with a huge array of alternate cover options. Here is the official write-up for #1.1:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1.1
DAN SLOTT (W) • RAMÓN PERÉZ (A)
COVER by Alex Ross
Sketch variant by Alex Ross
Variant by John Romita Jr.
YEAR ONE: LEARNING TO CRAWL!
• He sought revenge…and found responsibility. From that night on, a new life began.
• Join Peter Parker as he takes his first steps towards finding his way in the world as Spider-Man.
• The chapter you never knew about the story you know by heart.
• Dan Slott (SPIDER-MAN/HUMAN TORCH) and Ramón Peréz (the Eisner winning TALE OF SAND & WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN) bring you a new & reverent spin on the first 60 days of Spider-Man.
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

Did you follow Superior Spider-Man? Are you back on the Peter Parker bandwagon or have you had enough spider-adventures for now?