Nothing trivialises death quite like mainstream superhero comics. I prefer it when ‘dead’ means ‘dead’. Yeah, there can be exceptions, but death should really be permanent, otherwise it trivialises the hero’s struggle.
‘The Other: Evolve or Die’ offers up Spider-Man‘s impending demise, but it’s really designed to bring him back with new powers and, subsequently, a new costume. All seems a little overblown, especially knowing these changes wouldn’t hang around for too long. It wasn’t the first time he’d been killed off and brought back and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
The story itself could’ve been told in fewer chapters and that first act really drags. But this tale paved the way for Peter Parker‘s close relationship with Tony Stark during CIVIL WAR (2006-2007) and for his rematch with Morlun in SPIDER-VERSE (2014-2015), further down the line.
Major Crossover: This is a 12-part storyline spanning three titles, making it a major crossover.
Must-Reads: In the Full Reading Order and the Fallout section, story arcs/issues marked with a ✔ are essential reading.
Spoilers: The issue descriptions and fallout section contain spoilers, so be warned!
Previous events that directly impact this story:
- AVENGERS DISASSEMBLED (2004-2005) – Spider-Man gains organic web-shooting powers
- BREAKOUT (2005) – Spider-Man’s powers start to malfunction
Want to keep it simple? Here’s the chronological reading order without story descriptions, or spoilers:
- Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1
- Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #19
- Amazing Spider-Man #525
- Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #2
- Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #20
- Amazing Spider-Man #526
- Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #3
- Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #21
- Amazing Spider-Man #527
- Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #4
- Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #22
- Amazing Spider-Man #528
| Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1 Spider-Man‘s powers have been on the fritz, lately. Weird dreams and a failed confrontation with new villain Tracer, convince Peter Parker to visit a doctor. She warns Pete that there’s something very wrong with him. Later, Tracer outsmarts Spider-Man again. But little does he know Morlun‘s back in town and Spidey’s in his sights! 1st appearance: Dr Castillo, Tracer/Tommy |
| Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #19 Even with Iron Man‘s help, Spider-Man fails to catch Tracer again. Morlun observes Mary Jane Parker fending off a stalker. When she gets home, Peter admits he’s got some major health problems. |
| Amazing Spider-Man #525 Tracer sneaks into Avengers Tower and sits with May Parker, pretending to be a reserve member of the Avengers. Morlun warns Spider-Man he’s coming for him. Spidey returns to Avengers Tower where Tracer has learned the web-slinger’s not well and feels cheated out of a decent fight. Tracer leaves his body, revealing himself to be some kind of robot. May demands honesty from Peter. |
| Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #2 Peter Parker reveals to his wife and aunt that he’s dying. Iron Man, Mister Fantastic, Yellowjacket and Goliath start looking for a cure. After failing to get help from Bruce Banner, they send Peter to Wakanda to see the Black Panther. When this effort also fails, Spider-Man takes his frustrations out on his old enemy the Ox, who’s saved from the brutal beating by Daredevil. Finally, Spidey visits Doctor Strange who tells him to accept he’s going to die. |
| Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #20 Peter Parker decides to treat Aunt May and Mary Jane to some good times before he dies. First, he takes them to Doctor Doom‘s castle for a go on his time machine so they can see (but not interact with) Peter’s parents and Uncle Ben once more. Then he takes MJ to see Earth from space in a Stark Pod. But it looks like Morlun plans on killing Peter before whatever he’s dying from takes effect. |
| Amazing Spider-Man #526 Morlun was tough enough for Spidey to beat, last time. This time, he seems more powerful and Peter’s on his last legs. Morlun attacks Spider-Man as their furious battle tears through the middle of New York. Morlun rips out one of Spider-Man’s eyes before battering him almost to death. |
| Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #3 Spider-Man is rushed to hospital where Morlun shows up to finish the job. Mary Jane steps up, but Morlun breaks her arm which triggers a response from the near comatose wall-crawler. Spider-Man’s remaining eye is now a glowing red orb and he sprouts two bone ‘stingers’ from his wrists, then proceeds to devour Morlun whose remains blow away like dust. Peter Parker returns to human form before dying in Mary Jane’s arms. Iron Man arrives (now that all the action’s over) and flies Peter’s body to Avengers Tower. |
| Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #21 Mary Jane, Aunt May and the Avengers deal with the loss of Spider-Man. When Avengers Tower’s alarms go off, Mary Jane finds Peter’s body is just an empty husk. Down on the pier, there’s a cocoon with something human-sized inside it… |
| Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| Amazing Spider-Man #527 Inside the cocoon, Peter Parker confronts the Great Weaver who convinces him to embrace the spider. Five days after his death, Peter is rebon and returns to Avengers Tower to reunite with his loved ones. |
| Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #4 Iron Man, Mister Fantastic and Yellowjacket run tests on Peter Parker and discover he has some new abilities. Under the pier, spiders devour the skin Peter shed and form a female humanoid shape. When Spider-Man investigates the cocoon, the creature escapes, forcing him to give chase… 1st appearance: The Other/Ero (unnamed) |
| Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #22 The spider-female is called the Other and has been created as Peter Parker’s opposite. After a brief confrontation, she turns into spiders and escapes. Spider-Man visits Doctor Strange again. Strange reveals Spider-Man is now at the centre of a cosmic web. |
| Amazing Spider-Man #528 Spider-Man rescues people trapped in a collapsed building, learning more new aspects to his powers; feeling vibrations along his web-lines, night vision and… a sticky back. Later, Tony Stark makes the finishing touches to the new costume he’s made for the Web-Slinger! 1st appearance: War-Man (voice) |
| Must Reads | Issue & Fallout | Event / Crossover |
| ✔ | Amazing Spider-Man #529 (2006) Tony Stark gives Spider-Man his costume upgrade. | THE ROAD TO CIVIL WAR |
| ✔ | Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #7-10 (2006) Uncle Ben appears to return from the dead, but is revealed to be from an alternate universe, namely Earth-6078. | |
| ✔ | Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #11 (2006) ‘Miss Arrow‘ is employed as a nurse at Midtown High School; Miss Arrow’s true nature as the Other is hinted at by Mysterio. Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #14 (2006) Spider-Man and Beast investigate the Other’s cocoon. | CIVIL WAR SPIDER-MAN UNMASKED |
| What If?: Spider-Man – The Other #1 (2007) On Earth-70134, Peter Parker rejects the spider and rejoins the Symbiote to become Poison. | ||
| ✔ | Friendly-Neighborhood Spider-Man #20-22 (2007) Miss Arrow’s real name is revealed as Ero; the Other is revealed to be made of pirate spiders; the Other reveals she’s chosen Flash Thompson as her mate; the Other is killed by Spider-Man; Flash Thompson leaves Midtown High School. | BACK IN BLACK |
| ✔ | Amazing Spider-Man #545 (2008) A deal with Mephisto removes Spider-Man’s new powers and organic web-shooters. | ONE MORE DAY |
| Dark Reign Files #1 (2009) Norman Osborn considers employing Tracer. | DARK REIGN | |
| ✔ | Black Panther #3 (2009) Morlun is resurrected to kill the Black Panther. | DARK REIGN |
| Amazing Spider-Man #635-637 (2010) Kaine (Spider-Man’s first clone) is sacrificed in a ritual to resurrect Kraven the Hunter; Kraven is also resurrected. | THE GRIM HUNT | |
| ✔ | Scarlet Spider #14 (2013) The Other returns, offering her power to the Scarlet Spider (Kaine) and revealing herself to be responsible for his resurrection. | |
| ✔ | Free Comic Book Day: Guardians of the Galaxy #1 (2014) Superior Spider-Man #33 (2014) Amazing Spider-Man #14-15 (2015) Morlun begins killing the spider avatars of other realities; Morlun’s extended family of spider avatar killers, the Inheritors, are introduced; in his role as the Other, Kaine is killed by Morlun; Morlun and the Inheritors are defeated by spider avatars from multiple alternate universes; Kaine is resurrected by the Master Weaver without his Other abilities. | SPIDER-VERSE |
| ✔ | Spider-Geddon #5 (2019) The Other selects Peter Parker of Earth-982 (the MC2 Universe) as its next host. | SPIDER-GEDDON |
| Collected Edition Title | Collects… |
| Spider-Man: The Other | Amazing Spider-Man #525-528 Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1-4 Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #19-22 |
| Collected Edition Title | Includes… |
| Amazing Spider-Man by J Michael Straczynski Omnibus vol.2 Amazing Spider-Man by J Michael Straczynski Ultimate Colelction vol.4 | Amazing Spider-Man #525-528 Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1-4 Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #19-22 |
Reading Order © Omniverse Comics Guide 2026
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