The Amazing Spider-Man #93
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeAmazing Spider-Man #93 arrives at one of the most emotionally turbulent stretches of Stan Lee's long run on the title — the immediate aftermath of Captain George Stacy's death in issue #90 — and it functions as the hinge that swings Gwen Stacy out of Peter Parker's life entirely, setting in motion the aching romantic tragedy that culminates in her murder in #121. The issue introduces Arthur Stacy, George's brother, a supporting character who would resurface decades later in the late-1990s as a semi-regular presence in Peter's world and a living reminder of the Stacy family's complicated relationship with Spider-Man. Simultaneously, it delivers a genuinely affecting moral beat for Hobie Brown (the Prowler), who returns not out of villainy but out of a tormented conscience over whether impersonating Spider-Man in #87 made him complicit in a good man's death — a nuanced motivation unusual for a Bronze Age antagonist. Taken together, the issue is a compact study in the human cost of Peter Parker's double life, and its thematic DNA echoes forward through every major Spider-Man story about secret identity and romantic sacrifice.
In "The Lady and -- the Prowler!", Peter Parker faces a double threat: the return of the Prowler and the heart-wrenching news that Gwen Stacy is leaving for England to stay with her uncle—permanently. Written by Stan Lee and brought to life with dynamic art by John Romita, this 1971 issue captures the emotional weight of growing up, all while the web-slinger battles a familiar foe. The cover by John Romita perfectly encapsulates the tension and longing of the moment.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 22 grades ▾
This exact issue on ebay
CGC 7.5 ▾ $180 2 listings
CGC 6.5 ▾ $105–$107 2 listings
Raw — VF ▾ $63.75–$125 4 listings
Raw — FN/VF ▾ $60–$115 2 listings
Raw — FINE ▾ $33.95–$80 3 listings
Raw / ungraded ▾ $5–$150 12 listings
Read it digitally
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The issue was written by Stan Lee and both pencilled and inked by John Romita Sr., the creative team that had defined the visual and emotional texture of the book since 1966. It was published with a February 1971 cover date, placing it squarely in the early Bronze Age period when the Lee–Romita partnership was winding toward its conclusion — Lee would depart the title after issue #110, and this run of issues in the low-90s represents some of his final character-driven, soap-opera-heavy work on the series. The story grew directly out of threads Lee had planted in earlier issues: Gwen's grief after #90 and Hobie Brown's earlier impersonation of Spider-Man in #87, demonstrating the serialized continuity discipline that distinguished Marvel's line from its competitors at the time. Lettering was handled by Artie Simek, a longtime Marvel bullpen stalwart.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover-titled 'The Lady and — the Prowler!'; written by Stan Lee, pencilled and inked by John Romita Sr., lettered by Artie Simek; published February 1971 (Marvel).
- First appearance of Arthur Stacy — brother of the late Captain George Stacy and uncle to Gwen Stacy — who would become a recurring supporting character in later Spider-Man comics, particularly during the Howard Mackie era of the late 1990s.
- First appearance of Nancy Stacy (Arthur's wife), who makes a cameo alongside her husband in this issue.
- The Prowler (Hobie Brown) returns not as a straightforward villain but driven by moral guilt: having impersonated Spider-Man in front of Captain Stacy (in ASM #87), Hobie fears he may be indirectly responsible for Stacy's death and sets out to bring Spider-Man to justice.
- Gwen Stacy departs New York for England at the close of the issue — invited by her Uncle Arthur — with Peter Parker arriving at the airport too late to stop her, a key step in the deterioration of their relationship before her death in ASM #121.
- A parallel emotional throughline runs through the issue: Spider-Man's decision, prompted by witnessing Mindy McPherson's unconditional loyalty to the injured Hobie, to finally reveal his identity to the woman he loves — only to find Gwen already gone.
- The story was reprinted in Marvel Tales #74 (December 1976), making it accessible to a second generation of readers well into the Bronze Age.
- The issue falls in the heart of the early Bronze Age (classified as such by the collector community) and is part of the direct narrative bridge between the death of Captain Stacy (#90) and the death of Gwen Stacy (#121), making it a structurally significant chapter in what many regard as Spider-Man's defining tragic arc.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Seriepressen (Serie-pressen) #6/1972 (1972), Spindelmannen #3/1974 (1974), Spider-Man Comics Weekly #124 (1975), Marvel Tales #74 (1976), Strange #90 (1977), Eks almanah #294 (1981), El Hombre Araña / El Asombroso Hombre Araña #87 (1981), L'Uomo Ragno Classic #27 (1993), Marvel Selects: Spider-Man #6 (2000), Spiderman de John Romita #40 (2002), Spider-Man [pocket] #1 (2004), Spider-Man kjempepocket #[nn] (2005), Spider-Man Classic #5 (2013), The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus #3 (2017), Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection #6 (2021), Die Spinne #94, El Hombre Araña [Spider-man] #2, El Sorprendente Hombre Araña #112, L'Uomo Ragno [Collana Super-Eroi] #94, Spider-Man #17, Spider-Man kæmpepocket #1
Key issues in The Amazing Spider-Man
★
★
★
★
★
★
★
★Variants (1)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.