Superior Spider-Man #1

History

Marvel announced the third Superior Spider-Man volume at San Diego Comic-Con 2023, timed to the tenth anniversary of the original series, with original writer Dan Slott returning to helm the book. The announcement confirmed that a bridging one-shot, Superior Spider-Man Returns #1 (October 2023), written by Christos Gage from Slott's plot and illustrated by original-volume artists Ryan Stegman, Humberto Ramos, Giuseppe Camuncoli, and Mark Bagley, would flow directly into this ongoing, which officially launched on November 15, 2023 with a January 2024 cover date. Bagley, who had been partnering with Slott on the preceding Spider-Man ongoing series, continued as series artist, while Nathan Stockman illustrated a ten-page backup story in the oversized first issue. The series replaced that prior Spider-Man title on Marvel's schedule, giving the creative team an immediate narrative throughline from their existing run.

Trivia · 7 facts

• Written by Dan Slott with main art by Mark Bagley (inks: John Dell, colors: Edgar Delgado); a 10-page backup story is written by Slott and drawn by Nathan Stockman; edited by Ellie Pyle.
• This is the third volume of Superior Spider-Man — the first ran January 2013–September 2014 (written by Slott, art by Stegman/Ramos/Camuncoli); the second debuted in 2018 as part of Spider-Geddon (written by Christos Gage, art by Mike Hawthorne).
• Supernova (Estrella Lopez) — a former lab assistant of Otto Octavius who absorbed the energy of a miniature star he forced her to create, was imprisoned by him in a dodecahedron containment unit, and now seeks revenge — appears in this issue in her second-ever appearance, her first having been in the Superior Spider-Man Returns #1 one-shot (October 2023).
• The main story's central plot engine is Doctor Octopus rediscovering his memories of the Superior Spider-Man era: seeing Spider-Boy in action triggers the recognition that he was once Peter Parker, and he regains those suppressed memories.
• The issue opens with Spider-Man and Spider-Boy (Bailey Briggs) apprehending holographic-duplicate villain Mirage (Desmond Charne) before Supernova attacks; the backup story is a 10-page 'retroactive' tale set during Otto's Superior era that re-examines what would have happened had Spider-Boy been present then.
• The series received a second printing of issue #1, indicating strong initial demand; it ran for 8 issues total (November 2023–August 2024), collected in two trade paperbacks: Vol. 1: Supernova (issues #1–4 plus Superior Spider-Man Returns #1) and Vol. 2: Superior Spider-Island (issues #5–8).
• The Superior Spider-Man Returns Omnibus HC, collecting the entire Vol. 3 run, was solicited for 2026, confirming Marvel's ongoing archival commitment to the Slott–Bagley era.

Cast · 19 characters

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Variants (9)