Spider-Man Solicitation Spoiler Special!

[Sean Whitmore]

Figured I'd try something new. And by new, I mean stolen from the X-Boards again.

Here's the thread to discuss all the hints, clues, and other assorted tidbits that we can gleam from solicitations for upcoming Spidey books! Cover pics can be found here. (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=9136)

A note about spoiler tags: anything revealed in the ad copy (i.e. this post) doesn't need 'em. For any other info, gained from any other source, normal spoiler rules apply.


AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #540
Written by J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Pencils and Cover by RON GARNEY
"BACK IN BLACK " PART 2
No one's paid the price for Civil War more than Peter Parker. Now, one of his worst fears has been realized. A tragedy from which he might never recover. And if that weren't enough - he's a fugitive, hunted, on the run. Black isn't just the color of his costume - it's a state of mind. Get on board here, True Believer, as we gear up for an event that will forever change the life of your favorite web-slinger. There IS no going back.
32 PGS./Rated A …$2.99

FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #18
Written by PETER DAVID
Penciled by TODD NAUCK
Cover by MIKE WIERINGO
BACK IN BLACK continues as Spider-Man finds himself faced with a bizarre ally: The Sandman, seeking Spider-Man's aid in saving an innocent man on death row. A man who is accused of the recent killing of...Uncle Ben?!?
32 PGS./Rated A …$2.99

SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #36
Written by ROBERTO AGUIRRE-SACASA
Pencils and Cover by ANGEL MEDINA
"THE STRANGE CASE OF..." PART 2 (OF 2)
The mystery of the multiple Spider-Men deepens. Who are these men -- these boys, really -- crawling around the city of New York? And where did they acquire their powers and why? And what does Peter's student Jordan Harrison have to do with it? Mad scientist Dr. Calvin Zabo may have the answers, but asking him risks
the wrath of...HYDE!
32 PGS./Rated A …$2.99

SPIDER-MAN: BACK IN BLACK HANDBOOK
Written by MIKE FICHERA, RONALD BYRD, AL SJOERDSMA, STUART VANDAL, ANTHONY FLAMINI, MICHAEL HOSKIN, JEFF CHRISTIANSEN, SEAN MCQUAID & MADISON CARTER
Cover by AARON LOPRESTI
Are the rumors of Uncle Ben's return from the grave true? How many people has J. Jonah Jameson hired and fired? Who is that armored Spider-Man from the future with six arms? You know the Lizard - but who's the Iguana? Can you name all the alien symbiotes besides Venom and Carnage? Spidey's ex-girlfriend Deb Whitman is back! What's her story, anyway? All these questions and more will be answered in the SPIDER-MAN: BACK IN BLACK HANDBOOK, spotlighting everyone's favorite wall-crawler sporting his enigmatic ebony attire, with an in-depth look at Spider-Man's fantastic powers. This issue also features the return of fan-favorite classic Handbook illustrator Eliot R Brown with tech-specs on Tony Stark's Spider-Man costume.
48 PGS./NO ADS/Rated T+ …$3.99

MARVEL SPOTLIGHT: SPIDER-MAN
Written by JOHN RHETT THOMAS
Marvel's most iconic character gets this issue of SPOTLIGHT all to himself! It's wall-to-wall wall-crawler as we talk to Spider-Man creators past, present and future! We'll get an up-close look at the current stable of Spidey writers and artists - including the creative teams on FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD and SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN, SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE, and, of course, AMAZING and ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN! And we'll take a look back at the Spidey stories available through MASTERWORKS, ESSENTIALS and classic trade paperbacks, talking to some of the fabled creators who told them! At 48 pages, no ads and all-Spidey, this is one web-spinning SPOTLIGHT special you won't want to miss!
48 PGS./No Ads/Rated T+ …$2.99

SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE #16
Written by SEAN MCKEEVER
Penciled by DAVID HAHN
Cover by TAKESHI MIYAZAWA
Team MJ welcomes new series artist David Hahn (ROBIN, FABLES)! In the aftermath of last issue's shocking revelation, what's the story between Mary Jane and Peter? Between Peter and Gwen? Between Liz and-- Oh, who CARES?! That's FIRESTAR on the cover! What's the second most awesome redhead in the world got planned for Spidey this time? Well, we're sure not gonna tell you here!
32 PGS./All Ages …$2.99

AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL #6
Written by TOM DEFALCO
Pencils and Cover by RON FRENZ
The Black Tarantula lays a trap, Mad Dog takes aim and Spider-Girl battles the Hobgoblin for the life of a counterfeit web-stunner! Plus: Mayday Parker also confronts her parents and finally answers the question, "Whatever happened to the daughter of Spider-Man?"
32 PGS./Rated A …$2.99

SPIDER-MAN: REIGN #4 (of 4)
Written by KAARE ANDREWS
Pencils & Cover by KAARE ANDREWS
A searing vision of Spider-Man's future, brought to you by rising star Kaare Andrews (INCREDIBLE HULK). He was hiding in plain sight, waiting to dash the spark of hope whenever it came. Venom is back and you won't believe how he's changed. For Peter Parker, it all comes down to this. How much fight does he have left in him? Who can he turn to if he can't do it himself?
48 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

[Gamma Burst]

Covers from both Sensational and AMS are great!

[Sean Whitmore]

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #540

I know they keep saying they're not gonna kill Mary Jane...but wow, what else are we supposed to think based on this?


FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #18

Sandman, Uncle Ben, black costume, and a murder with a wrongful identity.

Honestly, they should just sell the trade for this story AT the movie theater.


Are the rumors of Uncle Ben's return from the grave true? How many people has J. Jonah Jameson hired and fired? Who is that armored Spider-Man from the future with six arms? You know the Lizard - but who's the Iguana? Can you name all the alien symbiotes besides Venom and Carnage? Spidey's ex-girlfriend Deb Whitman is back! What's her story, anyway?

I think of how many of these I actually know the answer to, and it just makes me sad.


SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE #16

Young love with Firestar? I've never read an issue, but this does sound fun.


SPIDER-MAN: REIGN #4 (of 4)

Oooooh. So was Eddie the vegetable dude in the first issue?


SEAN

[Sparda]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looking foward to spidey in black in all the titles as well as Spider-man Reign. You forgot Ultimate spidey though :(

[TransformersFan]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looking foward to spidey in black in all the titles as well as Spider-man Reign. You forgot Ultimate spidey though :(

Uncle Ben is alive? How? I smell a retcon coming, and it stinks.

[Sean Whitmore]

You forgot Ultimate spidey though :(

Technically that'd go on the Ultimate Board...buuuut, what the hell, I'm a rebel:

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #106 & #107
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Penciled by MARK BAGLEY
Covers by MARK BAGLEY & RICHARD ISANOVE
"ULTIMATE KNIGHTS" PART 1&2 (OF 3)
If you thought Peter would get some time off after the soul-shattering changes that came at the end of "Clone Saga," think again! Things keep heating up, as Ultimate Daredevil attempts to enlist Spider-Man in a crusade to bring down the Kingpin-permanently. But with his Aunt's life hanging by a thread and his serious girl problems…not to mention the new student at Midtown High…crime-busting may be the last thing on young Mr. Parker's mind. So what happens when the rest of Daredevil's new super-team shows up? Learn who stands with Peter-and who stands against him!
32 PGS. (each)/Rated A …$2.99 (each)


SEAN

[streator]

the only spidey title i'm getting is reign, and i have to say that issue 4's cover doesn't really seem like it would normally be a cover for the last issue of a mini series. it's an alright cover, but something about it doesn't seem fitting to me. maybe that's the point. i don't know.

[Hi-Fi]

I know they keep saying they're not gonna kill Mary Jane...but wow, what else are we supposed to think based on this?


That boring old lady, maybe?

[Sean Whitmore]

Hey, crazy thought. If Reign continues on in the style of DKR...

Does Venom = Superman?


SEAN

[stillanerd]

^^^^
But instead of Spidey faking his death, my guess is that the symbiote, as Brock kicks the bucket, wants to bond with Peter one last time and at the end does so, and that a newly energized Peter now makes his first step to reclaim America and inact a peaceful rule, hence where the "Reign" of the title comes from and thus making it a last ditch effort to convince readers it's not a rip-off of DKR...okay yeah that sounds corny.


Uncle Ben is alive? How? I smell a retcon coming, and it stinks.

Actually, he's still dead. This Uncle Ben is an evil counterpart from an alternate dimension, who also killed a good Uncle Ben from another alternate dimension. Confused? So were a lot of people who read the "Jumping the Tracks" story in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man where this took place.

As for my guesses:

Amazing Spider-Man #540: Seriously, when the unmasking happened, how could anyone NOT see this coming? The most obvious guess is Mary Jane, but I'm thinking it could very well be Aunt May. After all, she was the one who convinced her nephew to go public with his identity, and it would be ironic that as a result of that, she end's up close to death. Either way, I'm guessing MJ or Aunt May will be in a coma rather than killed, although if Aunt May, there's a good chance she'll kick the bucket...AGAIN. If it's MJ, expect a scene where Peter verbally lashes out at Aunt May in his agony.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #18: or "how we can captialize even more on Spider-Man 3." Oh, the real killer of Uncle Ben is...Uncle Ben. Or the evil Uncle Ben from one parallel universe killed the good Uncle Ben from the parallel universe, the cops found the body, and somebody else got accused of the crime--maybe Sandman's former partner from back in the day--and so they both team up against the evil Uncle Ben. Geez, does anyone's head hurt now?

Sensation Spider-Man #36--First it was Gerry Conway, then it was Terry Kavanaugh, now Salvador Larca brings you THE THIRD CLONE SAGA.

[wingsofdamnation]

do we know why hes back in the symbiot suit again yet? i keep seeing solicits of him in black but dont know why. i guess its kinda obvious why he ditches the iron suit after reading civil war 5 but how does the symibiot get back to him?

[wingsofdamnation]

Uncle Ben is alive? How? I smell a retcon coming, and it stinks.
yeah and last time i checked sandman was dead and so was norman osborn. how did they come back to life?

[Sophisticated_Gamer]

The only thing i don't like about these solicitations is that they are so much ahead, we can't really peace anything together because it's a 4 issue gap, can we start with a little closer issue solicitations?

[Nosgoth Phantom]

The only thing i don't like about these solicitations is that they are so much ahead, we can't really peace anything together because it's a 4 issue gap, can we start with a little closer issue solicitations?

The link Sean put up has links from months September till next February. Just click on the month you'd like to see.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f278/midnightwolfrose/solicitations.jpg

[genesis]

yeah and last time i checked sandman was dead and so was norman osborn. how did they come back to life?

Wow. You are behind the times. Not sure about Sandman, but Norman was brought back in the Clone Saga and he is playing a seemingly important role in Civil War and will head the new Thunderbolts when they start in January.

[mattx110]

yeah and last time i checked sandman was dead and so was norman osborn. how did they come back to life?

norman almost died, but really fled to europe to become a crimelord. he returned to NY, bought the bugle, and convinced everyone he was a kind businessman who had spiderman ruin his life. the glider still went into his chest, it just umm... yea.... his hearts really fricken sturdy. it stopped a glider with a sharp thingy on it going X00 MPH.
there were also some fun goblin things with hobby coming back, retiring, and norman hiring some guy to act as the green goblin and his lackey. there was a mystery of who the guy hired to be the goblin was but well... i don't remember who it was, and i'm not sure but it might have the same effect as "and it was really ned leeds! wait, damn that sucks... it was really this other guy... we fooled you"

and sandman is made of sand... that makes him tricky to kill.

[Dèjá vu]

Get on board here, True Believer, as we gear up for an event that will forever change the life of your favorite web-slinger. There IS no going back.

How many times have we read something like this? :p Either way, this seems exciting.

[Will.S]

Sandman, Uncle Ben, black costume, and a murder with a wrongful identity.

Honestly, they should just sell the trade for this story AT the movie theater.
I still don't know why Marvel hasn't done that yet, it certainly wouldn't hurt to try.

Anyway, I guess I shouldn't be surprised at how well they synched this up for the movie. I'm still wondering if the move really factored into the black costume coming back despite Marvel saying that it was coincidental.

[stillanerd]

yeah and last time i checked sandman was dead and so was norman osborn. how did they come back to life?

Well, Norman Osborn has been back ever since the end of the Clone Saga. As for how Sandman came back, here's what wikipedia has to say about it:


Sandman's body and mind scattered with the grains of sand. The major part of his mind merges with the beach and begins swallowing people in an attempt to piece himself back together. Spider-Man tries to free the captured people from Sandman's beach consciousness, which is his evil mindset, and succeeds when Marko explodes from too many clashing mindsets. Soon the sand of the beach begins to spread to different areas around New York, and all of the different aspects of Sandman's shattered mind form individual beings - Marko's good side, evil side, feminine side and childlike side. Spider-Man locates all of the different versions of Sandman and attempts to convince them to return to one being. Sandman's evil side merges with his child and feminine sides, but Sandman's good side doesn't want to allow evil to become a part of him again. The new Sandman responds by abandoning his good side completely, which eventually crumbles into lifeless sand and blows away. While the new Sandman is not the sadistic monstrosity that his purely evil side was, he is a criminal and seems to lack any desire to become a hero or do good.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandman_%28Marvel_Comics%29

[Mikl C]

GAH. The STUPID story when they made Sandman a villain again made my blood boil.
And dear god, KILL MAY not MJ! I'll be SERIOUSLY pissed if it's MJ.

[chickrockguitar]

Spidy Loves MJ, Rocks! It sounds good. Looks like someone may find out Pete's Secret.

[Erik B]

How many times have we read something like this? :p Either way, this seems exciting.

about 17 times in the last 2 years. its not just you. i just realized there was a never ending rollercouaster thats been going on for about 2 years in spidey comics and i honestly thought i was rereading the clone saga but it turns out i was just reading the modern books. im so upset:evilangry

[Erik B]

GAH. The STUPID story when they made Sandman a villain again made my blood boil.
And dear god, KILL MAY not MJ! I'll be SERIOUSLY pissed if it's MJ.

i have a feeling its going to be aunt may INJURED not dead no one is going to die. if marvel kills Mj there will be a real civil war between the fans and Marvel will get the backlash. And if it was may then what are they going to do - Have JMS conduct a story where it turns out Norman has her hidden and she was never hurt? That crap already happened twice in a decade. Lightning isnt supposed to strike the same crap twice

[Magneto Rocks]

"There is No Going Back." Seems to be the tagline for Back in Black.

Why do I somehow suspect we'll see a funeral in the next issue of.. . well, all the spider-books?

[wingsofdamnation]

Wow. You are behind the times. Not sure about Sandman, but Norman was brought back in the Clone Saga and he is playing a seemingly important role in Civil War and will head the new Thunderbolts when they start in January.
i kinda ignored the whole clone saga and just went by what i heard of it instead of reading it. anyway last i remember venom bites sandman and sandman dies from it.

[Venom]

God bless you Kaare Andrews! What a way he's going to end the "Reign" series with the return of Venom.

[Crimson]

So for the March ones it seems MJ bites it... or Joe has thrown a curveball with all the MJ hate being tossed about and its actually Aunt May.

It'll be an interesting month


Uncle Ben is alive? How? I smell a retcon coming, and it stinks.

Nope. It's an Uncle Ben from a different reality, it's part of an ongoing plot.

[MakeshiftHero]

Oooooh. So was Eddie the vegetable dude in the first issue?


SEAN

I strongly believe that it's Kingpin. Note all the saggy skin, bald head, and the talk about eating and how he looks like the de-powered Blob.

[Cody H]

So for the March ones it seems MJ bites it... or Joe has thrown a curveball with all the MJ hate being tossed about and its actually Aunt May.I think we're getting the Aunt May swerve.

[Red Lotus]

there was a mystery of who the guy hired to be the goblin was but well... i don't remember who it was, and i'm not sure but it might have the same effect as "and it was really ned leeds! wait, damn that sucks... it was really this other guy... we fooled you"
.


I think it was a clone of Harry.

[Sean Whitmore]

I think it was a clone of Harry.

That's everyone's best guess, but we'll never know for sure thanks to the almost passive-aggressive way the writer chose to "reveal" the mystery.


SEAN

[Crimson]

I think it was a clone of Harry.

It was a clone of some guy...

We didn't find out who but we did find out it was a clone. It was a terrible answer if you ask me, I'm sure I read that was editorial influence and that it had been intended to be Phil Urich.