After Death, What's the Next Big Thing for Marvel's Spider-Man?

Big things are apparently afoot for Marvel's Spider-Man -- and, considering he died in last year's Amazing Spider-Man #700, that's saying something. Superior Spider-Man writer Dan Slott has been teasing the start of a new storyline that will impact the character for years to come.

On Twitter, Slott -- who was responsible for last year's controversial "Dying Wish" storyline that saw Spider-Man's nemesis Doctor Octopus take over the wall-crawler's body, essentially killing Peter Parker in the process -- told fans "there are SO many [What The Hell] moments with SSM #20!" adding that "SO many things in this issue will be felt in the [pages] of Spider-Man books for YEARS to come!"

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He later added, "In 2014, when Spider-Man fans ask 'When did that start?' or 'When did that first show up?' They'll be talking about SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #20."

While this kind of thing can often be considered empty hype from most, Slott has earned some level of credibility when making these kinds of promises -- his "Dying Wish" arc was the endpoint for a storyline that had started 100 issues earlier, proving that he's no stranger to long-term planning, and killing off Peter Parker turned out to be exactly the kind of thing that lives up to the hype of a big comic book event (especially as there's still no sign of his return a year later).

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It helps that Marvel's Spider-Man line is apparently heading towards some kind of relaunch; companion titles Scarlet Spider and Venom are both ending over the next few months, with Venom himself due to appear in Superior Spider-Man in a storyline starting in November's #22.

Slott's suggestions of dramatic events in upcoming issues would appear to be prescient. The only question is, how worse can things get than death?