In a sequence that lasts for a whole five pages, determined not to fail her in the way he failed Uncle Ben, he summons the strength to lift the nearly insurmountable weight. Aunt May is on the verge of death, her only hope being a serum that Spidey has. Spider-Man starts the issue trapped under heavy machinery in Doctor Octopus’ underwater lair. The “If This Be My Destiny” arc runs for three issues, but it’s the final one that cements the story as a classic.

If Steve Ditko has a most famous issue on Spider-Man aside from Amazing Fantasy #15, it would surely have to go to Amazing Spider-Man #33, which features one of the best known sequences in superhero comics. Join us for our third look at the essential issues of Marvel! Today we’re looking at some of the most important story developments for Marvel Comics before they wrapped up the ’60s. 1968 would see the likes of Iron Man, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Nick Fury, Namor and the Silver Surfer getting their own magazines, proliferating the Marvel line and making their cultural footprint larger than before.

Long-standing flagship properties like Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers were already becoming household names, allowing Marvel to make the refinements that led to some of their strongest and most famous Silver Age stories, such as the Galactus Trilogy, the Green Goblin discovering Spider-Man’s secret identity, and Doctor Doom stealing the power of the Silver Surfer.ĭuring this time, many characters who were using the split book format were given their own series.

By the back half of the 1960s, Marvel had fully settled into a groove and introduced the majority of their key players.

Roy thomas neal adams