The Essential Spider-Man #4 [Third Edition]

In "The Parents of Peter Parker," a young man confronts the painful legacy of his past when long-buried secrets about his parents come to light. What begins as a shocking revelation—his father and mother as traitors working for the Red Skull—unravels into a deeper, more complex truth that challenges everything he thought he knew. As Peter pieces together the fragments of their hidden lives, he discovers a legacy far more heroic than he ever imagined.

In "Mission: Crush The Kingpin!", Spider-Man takes on the Kingpin in a high-stakes showdown that ends with the criminal mastermind felled by his own weapon. With the priceless tablet secured, Spider-Man tries to return it to authorities—only to be met with gunfire, leaving him caught between justice and betrayal.

In "Spider-Man Wanted!", Peter Parker is still on the run, hiding a crucial tablet in his closet as the Kingpin escapes jail, vowing revenge. When the two finally confront each other in a brutal clash, chaos erupts—Jonah Jameson, driven by Ned Leeds, calls for the police, and a mysterious woman in a car pulls the Kingpin away, leaving Spider-Man to face the fallout. With Jameson’s rage escalating, Spider-Man snaps back with a furious outburst that leaves the editor seemingly dead—leaving the hero to wonder if he’s just become a murderer.

In "The Speedster and the Spider!", Quicksilver, seeking redemption after his time with Magneto, sets out to capture the villain the Daily Bugle has dubbed Spider-Man—only to find the hero is not the criminal he was made out to be. When the truth behind the golden tablet case begins to unravel, Quicksilver must decide whether to uphold the headlines or follow his own instincts.

In "If This Be Bedlam!", Spider-Man races to stop Silvermane’s dangerous quest for eternal youth, as the villain forces Dr. Connors to decode an ancient tablet believed to hold the secret of the Fountain of Youth. With the serum now activated and Silvermane transformed, chaos erupts as Spider-Man must confront not only the power-hungry Maggia leader but also the unintended consequences rippling through New York—while Dr. Connors, his son Billy, and Martha Connors remain caught in the crossfire.

In "Death Without Warning!", Spider-Man races to protect Dr. Connors and his family from the Maggia, only to find chaos unfolding as the elderly Silvermane insists he's actually younger than he appears, and Billy Connors's father transforms into the Lizard mid-escape. With Man-Mountain Marko and Caesar Cicero caught in the crossfire, Spider-Man must navigate a battle where age, identity, and science collide.

Spider-Man tries to spend time with Gwen Stacy, only to find her seemingly on a date with Flash Thompson. Meanwhile, Hobie Brown, frustrated after his safety ideas are rejected by his boss, secretly develops high-tech gear as a window-washer—and becomes the masked vigilante known as the Prowler. When the Prowler targets the Daily Bugle, Spider-Man confronts him, and the resulting chaos brings J. Jonah Jameson face-to-face with Peter Parker in the middle of the heist—just as the safe is empty.

In "To Prowl No More!", Spider-Man faces off against the Prowler, a masked thief whose reckless antics blur the line between villain and hero. When the Prowler escapes with a gas bomb and schemes to turn his crimes into a heroic act, Spider-Man anticipates his next move—only to discover the truth behind the mask: a young man driven more by desperation than malice.

In "On the Trail of... the Chameleon!", Spider-Man races to stop a string of high-profile art thefts at a gala, where the Chameleon outsmarts Captain Stacy and leaves the city’s finest baffled. With Harry Osborn and Flash Thompson pushing Peter to clear up tensions with Gwen Stacy, the web-slinger finds himself tangled in a mystery that leads straight to his own identity—when the Chameleon’s disguise finally slips, revealing a shocking truth only Peter Parker could know.

In "The Coming of the Kangaroo!", Peter Parker’s quiet evening takes a wild turn when Aunt May, convinced he’s ill, puts him to bed. But when a fugitive kangaroo—mistakenly believed to be a criminal—steals a mysterious vial, Peter sneaks out to stop him, only to return and find Aunt May collapsed, believing the web-swinging hero had abandoned her. The weight of responsibility settles hard as Peter grapples with a new kind of fear: not from a villain, but from the cost of being Spider-Man.

In "And Then Came Electro!", Peter Parker tries to boost his public image by appearing on a live TV talk show—only to find himself facing Max Dillon, a guest with a shocking secret. When Electro attacks Spider-Man in front of a national audience, the battle turns chaotic, leaving both hero and villain battered and the stage in ruins.

In "The Schemer!", a cunning new player rises in the shadows of New York, challenging the Kingpin for control of the city's underworld. As the criminal landscape shifts, Flash Thompson faces the harsh realities of war in Vietnam, while Gwen Stacy struggles to recover from a devastating traffic accident.

In "The Kingpin Strikes Back!", Spider-Man takes on a high-stakes chase for a $5,000 reward, tracking the elusive Schemer through city streets and into the heart of the Kingpin’s mansion. What begins as a straightforward capture mission unravels into a mystery when both Schemer and the Kingpin’s enigmatic ally Vanessa disappear without a trace. With the stakes rising and the pieces not adding up, Spider-Man finds himself caught in a web far bigger than he first thought.

In "The Secret of the Schemer!", Peter Parker races to protect his identity while Spider-Man uncovers a web of deception that leads straight to the Kingpin’s inner circle. With Captain Stacy and Gwen Stacy caught in the crossfire, Spider-Man must outthink a cunning foe whose true identity shocks even the most seasoned hero.

In "Beware the Black Widow!", Natasha Romanoff returns to New York with a striking new look and a mission to prove her worth—by facing off against Spider-Man, who’s already pushed to his limits by illness. As their clash unfolds, the stakes rise not just in combat, but in the shadows of past alliances and hidden motives.

In a high-stakes showdown that pits brains against brawn, Doctor Octopus escapes prison with a chilling plan: hijack a plane and hold an Asian general hostage for ten million dollars. With Spider-Man racing to stop him, the battle unfolds across the skies, testing both hero and villain in a tense game of wits and strength. As tensions rise, old alliances and secrets from Peter Parker’s past begin to surface—especially when Gwen Stacy and Miles Warren find themselves drawn into the chaos.