The Amazing Spider-Man#300

The Amazing Spider-Man #300

May 1988 · Marvel

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★ 1st appearance — Venom★ Milestone — Spider-Man

About this Issue

The Amazing Spider-Man #300 (May 1988) is the first full appearance and complete origin of Venom — Eddie Brock fused with the alien symbiote — making it the defining birth of what became one of Marvel's most enduring and culturally far-reaching characters. The issue simultaneously closed the book on Spider-Man's years-long black-costume era, as Mary Jane's traumatic encounter with Venom prompted Peter Parker to permanently retire the symbiote-derived suit and return to his classic red-and-blue costume on a triumphant final splash page. As both a 300th-anniversary milestone for the series and the inaugural battle between two characters who would clash for decades across comics, animation, and film, the issue represents a genuine inflection point in Marvel's Copper Age storytelling. Venom's design — physically overpowering Spider-Man while exploiting the unique psychological horror of wearing his hero's own face — introduced a new template for the 'dark mirror' villain that shaped superhero comics well into the 1990s.

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (VF) $365

CGC 9.8 $2,601*

CGC 9.6 $1,309

CGC 9.4 $836

CGC 9.2 $809

CGC 9.0 $531

CGC 8.5 $531

Show all 22 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 $418

CGC 7.5 $381

CGC 7.0 $381

CGC 6.5 $366

CGC 6.0 $316

CGC 5.5 $293

CGC 5.0 $293

CGC 4.5 $269*

CGC 4.0 $269

CGC 3.5 $128*

CGC 3.0 $93*

CGC 2.5 none in existence

CGC 2.0 $61*

CGC 1.5 $39*

CGC 1.0 none in existence

CGC 0.5 $27*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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History

Writer David Michelinie had been developing the concept of a villain who could neutralize Spider-Man's spider-sense since before taking over the title; after editors rejected ideas based on cybernetic interference, he settled on the alien symbiote itself as the natural solution, since it had already bonded with Peter and would not register as a threat. Artist Todd McFarlane, who joined the book at issue #298, has recounted that his primary motivation was simply to get Spider-Man out of the black costume so he could draw the classic red-and-blue — he created the visual template for Venom and handed the character concept to Michelinie, though Michelinie later maintained in a 1993 Wizard Magazine letter that he was the character's primary creative originator, while acknowledging McFarlane's visual contribution was essential to Venom's popularity. Editor Jim Salicrup specifically designated the 300th issue as the correct landmark occasion to finally deploy the new villain and resolve the black-costume subplot, giving the creative team a built-in narrative and marketing event. The issue was published at a double-sized page count fitting its anniversary status, with both pencils and inks by McFarlane — one of the earlier instances in his Marvel run where he inked his own work — and colors by Bob Sharen.

Trivia · 8 facts

First full appearance and first told origin of Venom (Eddie Brock bonded with the alien symbiote), credited by the Marvel Database, Key Collector Comics, and the Grand Comics Database, among others.
Venom had a contested prior appearance: a single-page, last-panel cameo ending Amazing Spider-Man #299 (same creative team) is classified by most of the hobby as a 'cameo' or partial first appearance, while #300 is universally recognized as the first full appearance with complete origin and motivations revealed.
The issue marks Spider-Man's last appearance in the black alien symbiote costume — Mary Jane's terror at Venom's intrusion into their home leads Peter Parker to permanently return to the red-and-blue suit, which he dons on the book's final splash page.
Written by David Michelinie; pencils, inks, and cover by Todd McFarlane; colors by Bob Sharen; letters by Rick Parker; edited by Jim Salicrup under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco.
The story establishes Eddie Brock's full backstory: a disgraced Daily Globe reporter who falsely identified the Sin Eater, was humiliated when Spider-Man captured the real killer, and encountered the rejected symbiote while praying at Our Lady of Saints Church.
The Thing (Ben Grimm) makes a supporting appearance, taking custody of the defeated Venom at the Fantastic Four's Four Freedoms Plaza until a specialized cell at the Vault can be prepared.
The issue is a double-sized 300th-anniversary special, published cover-dated May 1988.
Marvel has reprinted the issue multiple times: as a True Believers: Venom vs. Spider-Man #1 reprint, as part of the Amazing Spider-Man by David Michelinie & Todd McFarlane Omnibus (2011), in the Spider-Man: Birth of Venom trade paperback (2007), and as a full facsimile edition (2023) re-presented with original advertisements.