Simply the most important comic of all time. Seriously. It changed everything. Teens acting like teens. A severely flawed superhero whose own greed kills the man he loves the most. A great cover, and a great splash page.
It’s about a nerd who gets bit by a spider…
…gets powers, uses them for personal monetary gain as a wrestler…
…fails to stop a robber…
…who then kills his beloved uncle. Spider-Man then catches him.
Note the eyeballs. Marvel’s first official typo! (See the typos tag for more.)
It also established the Aunt May character as a wholesome, loving, and supportive adult.
Indeed, Peter’s comfortable life–and the unexplained absence of his parents–made him feel instantly “real” to us. And the absence of a super-villain made this an atypical tale.
Also, lyrics for the 1970s cartoon theme song, “Here comes the Spider-Man…”
And this last panel, the final panel from the series, shows a little-known fact: Uncle Ben never told Peter that with great power comes great responsibility. Stan Lee said that, in a panel caption.
So how did Peter hear it?
Comics don’t get better than this! It’s one of the best comics of all time, according to this objectively accurate list of the 100 best Marvel issues of all time.