The Amazing Spider-Man #500
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeAmazing Spider-Man #500 marks the genuine 500th consecutive issue of one of Marvel's flagship titles — a milestone made possible only because Volume 2's numbering was deliberately rolled back to sync with the original run's count, giving the anniversary real historical weight rather than a reset-era artifact. The issue serves as a guided tour through forty years of Spider-Man continuity, forcing Peter Parker to literally re-fight every major villain of his career as he navigates his own timeline, making it one of the most comprehensive retrospectives the character had received up to that point. Its emotional climax — a five-minute reunion between Peter and Uncle Ben, arranged by Doctor Strange as a birthday gift — gave J. Michael Straczynski's run a defining character moment that fans still cite as among the most affecting in the modern era of the title. The involvement of both John Romita Sr. and John Romita Jr. as pencillers on the same issue was itself a once-in-a-generation artistic event, with father and son dividing the story's tones — epic battle sequences and intimate family reunion — between them.
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The issue is the third and final chapter of the 'Happy Birthday' arc, preceded by Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2 #57–58, which were the direct story predecessors published under the volume two numbering before the series formally re-adopted legacy numbering for the milestone. Writer J. Michael Straczynski had been steering the title since 2001, and Marvel structured the renumbering specifically so that what would have been Vol. 2 #59 instead landed as #500, honoring the unbroken publishing lineage stretching back to Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's 1963 debut. The cover was supplied by J. Scott Campbell — separate from the interior art team — and Dynamic Forces produced signed and numbered editions authenticated by both Campbell and John Romita Sr. to mark the occasion. The issue also contained an in-story footnote teasing a Doctor Strange miniseries continuation of the Baron Mordo subplot; that specific follow-up never materialized as described, though Straczynski did later write Strange-adjacent comics work.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Released October 22, 2003 (cover-dated December 2003); written by J. Michael Straczynski, pencilled by John Romita Jr. and John Romita Sr., inked by Scott Hanna, with a cover by J. Scott Campbell.
- Represents the 500th issue of the Amazing Spider-Man series, achieved by Marvel deliberately re-adopting legacy numbering mid-run during Volume 2 — what would have been Vol. 2 #59 was published as #500 to honor the title's unbroken publishing history back to 1963.
- The story concludes the three-part 'Happy Birthday' arc (ASM Vol. 2 #57–58 + #500): Spider-Man, displaced in time after a battle alongside Doctor Strange against Dormammu, is forced to re-fight virtually every villain from his career chronologically while navigating his own past to reach the present.
- Peter is presented with the opportunity to prevent his own origin — he witnesses the radioactive spider descending on his younger self and must decide whether to intervene — ultimately choosing not to, affirming his identity as a hero.
- The emotional centerpiece of the issue is a five-minute reunion with Uncle Ben, conjured by Doctor Strange as a birthday gift, rendered in pencils by John Romita Sr. — who drew the original run of Amazing Spider-Man alongside Stan Lee decades earlier.
- Guest stars in the main narrative include Doctor Strange, Thor, Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, and Cyclops battling Dormammu's Mindless Ones; dozens of Spider-Man villains appear as Peter passes through his own timeline, including the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Venom, Carnage, Sandman, Vulture, Lizard, Electro, Mysterio, Rhino, Shocker, Chameleon, Molten Man, Morlun, and many others.
- The issue ends with a subplot hook: Baron Mordo confronts Doctor Strange, with a footnote promising resolution in an upcoming Doctor Strange miniseries — a project that was ultimately not produced as described.
- Collected in The Amazing Spider-Man by J. Michael Straczynski: Ultimate Collection Vol. 2, which reprints Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #46–58 and #500–502.
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Reprinted in Spider-Man #7/2004 (2004), Spider-Man #7/2004 (2004), Marvel : Les Incontournables #1 [album] (2008), Amazing Spider-Man by JMS Ultimate Collection #2 (2009), Je suis Spider-Man #[nn] (2014), Amazing Spider-Man by J. Michael Straczynski Omnibus #1 (2018), Amazing Spider-Man Modern Era Epic Collection #2 (2025), Amazing Spider-Man Magazine #1
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