Web of Spider-Man Annual #5

History

The issue was produced during a period when Marvel's annuals pipeline was being marshalled by editor Jim Salicrup and editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco into a coordinated 14-part serial, continuing and expanding the cross-annual format pioneered by the 1988 Evolutionary War. Gerry Conway — the writer who earlier in the decade had helped revitalize the Web of Spider-Man monthly title alongside artist Alex Saviuk — scripted the lead Atlantis Attacks chapter and co-wrote the Captain Universe backup, while historian-editor Peter Sanderson supplied the Serpent Crown Saga installment with art by Mark Bagley. Notably, Steve Ditko — who by this point had declined to draw Spider-Man himself — contributed pencils to the Captain Universe backup, giving readers one of the very few late-1980s opportunities to see Ditko artwork inside a Spider-Man comic book.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Published on-sale June 27, 1989 (cover-dated November 1989); the fifth annual of the Web of Spider-Man series (1985–1994) and Chapter 11 of the 14-part Atlantis Attacks crossover.
• Lead story 'War Zone: New York,' written by Gerry Conway with art by Javier Saltares and Randy Emberlin, depicts the Atlantean invasion of Battery Park; Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four (including a powerless Ben Grimm) repel Attuma's army before the destruction of Atlantis ends the battle.
• First appearances in this issue include reporter Trish Fox, Atlantean General Epititus (who also dies in the issue), and the creature called Megasaur.
• A second backup story written by Gerry Conway and drawn by Steve Ditko features ESU physics professor Evan Swann being chosen as the new host of the Unipower and becoming Captain Universe to defeat the Quantum Mechanic — a direct narrative lead-in to the Cosmic Spider-Man arc in Amazing Spider-Man #326–329.
• The issue contains a chapter of the 'Serpent Crown Saga,' the 14-part backup feature running through every Atlantis Attacks annual, written by Peter Sanderson with art by Mark Bagley; this installment (part 11 of 14) traces the history of the Crown across Earth-616 and Earth-712, featuring the Squadron Supreme and the cross-dimensional Serpent Cartel.
• A Fred Hembeck-written-and-drawn comedy strip satirizes Spider-Man's oddest allies and enemies, presenting a meta-humorous tour through the catalogue of obscure Marvel characters that includes Spider-Ham, Frog-Man, Hypno-Hustler, Razorback, Humbug, and others — Peter even grumbles about the existence of his funny-animal counterpart Spider-Ham.
• The issue has been collected in the Atlantis Attacks Omnibus (Marvel, 2011), Atlantis Attacks: The Original Epic (Marvel, 2021), the Squadron Supreme Classic Omnibus (Marvel, 2016), and Captain Universe: Power Unimaginable (Marvel, 2005), reflecting the issue's relevance across multiple corners of Marvel continuity.
• Steve Ditko's contribution to the Captain Universe backup is historically notable: by 1989 Ditko had long refused to draw Spider-Man himself, making his appearance as penciller inside a Spider-Man-branded title a rare and conspicuous exception.

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