Spider-Man: Red-Headed Stranger #[nn]
The 'Red-Headed Stranger' arc (Amazing Spider-Man #601–605 and Annual #36, 2009) marks the first sustained reintegration of Mary Jane Watson into Amazing Spider-Man following the controversial 'One More Day'/'Brand New Day' restructuring that had kept her largely off-panel for over a year. By threading MJ's emotional return alongside a reinvigorated Chameleon threat and the debut of the dinosaur-DNA mutate Raptor (Damon Ryder) in Annual #36, the arc demonstrated that the thrice-monthly 'Brand New Day' model — with its rotating Brain Trust of writers — could carry genuine character weight, not just plot momentum. Annual #36 in particular serves as a key-issue bridge, seeding the 'Who Was Ben Reilly?' arc that followed in issues #608–610 and reactivating the Clone Saga's emotional residue for a new generation of readers.
In "Red-Headed Stranger [Part 2]: Tenth of September," Spider-Man faces a twist no one saw coming when the villain Slyde reveals himself as an NYPD officer in disguise—leading to a chaotic showdown with armored police and a desperate escape. Written by Fred Van Lente and illustrated by Barry Kitson, with inks by Rick Ketcham and coloring by Jeromy Cox, the issue sharpens Peter Parker’s struggles both as a hero and a new employee at the Daily Bugle, where tensions flare with coworker Glory Grant. Cover by Adi Granov captures the high-stakes tension as the Chameleon’s trap closes in, leaving Peter trapped in a vat of acid and his phone ringing with a dangerous new twist.
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Editor Stephen Wacker, who had previously coordinated the multi-writer weekly series 52 at DC, assembled the 'Spider-Man Brain Trust' to sustain Amazing Spider-Man's punishing three-issues-per-month schedule; the Red-Headed Stranger arc rotated Mark Waid on #601 and Fred Van Lente on #602–605, with Marc Guggenheim writing Annual #36. The arc emerged directly out of the milestone Amazing Spider-Man #600, which ended with Mary Jane's surprise reappearance at Aunt May and Jay Jameson Sr.'s wedding reception — making #601 the natural, long-awaited morning-after. Guggenheim crafted the Annual as a standalone lead-in to his own subsequent arc, using the engagement party setting to stage Raptor's first attack and plant the Ben Reilly mystery.
Trivia · 8 facts
- The 'Red-Headed Stranger' story arc runs across Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #601–605 (cover-dated August–November 2009), with the thematically linked Amazing Spider-Man Annual #36 (September 2009) introducing the arc's new villain.
- Amazing Spider-Man Annual #36 contains the first appearance of Raptor (Damon Ryder), a former biology professor and research scientist who mutated himself with recombinant dinosaur DNA; the issue was written by Marc Guggenheim and penciled by Patrick Olliffe, with a cover by Olivier Coipel.
- The annual's cover was by Olivier Coipel; the main arc's covers were by J. Scott Campbell (#601) and Adi Granov (#602–605 collected edition), with interior art by Mario Alberti (#601), Barry Kitson, Robert Atkins, Javier Pulido, Luke Ross, and Yanick Paquette across #602–605.
- Amazing Spider-Man #601 — written by Mark Waid and penciled by Mario Alberti — opens the named arc and features Mary Jane Watson's first full return as an active supporting character after being sidelined post-'One More Day'; it also includes a backup story by Brian Michael Bendis and Joe Quesada.
- Raptor's driving motivation is revenge against Ben Reilly, Peter Parker's clone, whose identical DNA leads Raptor to repeatedly mistake Peter for Ben — directly exploiting the Clone Saga's unresolved legacy within the Brand New Day continuity.
- The arc runs concurrent with the Dark Reign era: Norman Osborn's Iron Patriot authority over the superhero community forms part of the backdrop, and several Dark Reign-era characters (including members of the Dark Avengers roster such as Ares, Ms. Marvel/Karla Sofen, Noh-Varr, and Mac Gargan as Venom/Spider-Man) appear in the extended cast.
- The collected edition — issued in both hardcover (December 2009, ISBN 978-0785141587) and trade paperback (May 2010) — gathers Amazing Spider-Man #602–605 (the HC omits #601, which was part of a separate Brand New Day Complete Collection); the HC cover was by Adi Granov.
- The Brain Trust writing model, coordinated by editor Stephen Wacker, was explicitly modeled on his experience editing DC's weekly '52' series and is the editorial framework within which 'Red-Headed Stranger' was produced.
Cast · 34 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Spider-Man takes on Slyde who turns out to actually be an officer of the NYPD in disguise. Spider-Man barely escapes the false Slyde and a cadre of police officers equipped with Mandroid armor. Peter gets a job with J. Jonah Jameson but fellow employee Glory Grant chews him out for not showing his new boss the proper respect. Peter is knocked out by the Chameleon who takes him to his lair and makes a cast of his face so that he and get close to those in power. Peter is dropped in a vat of acid and, when his cellphone rings, Chameleon answers as Peter Parker and makes a date with Mary Jane.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).