Marvel Comics will release Amazing Spider-Man #1000 this September, but can the landmark issue possibly live up to expectations? It won't be easy, and so far, we've seen nothing to suggest that Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson will finally renew their wedding vows.
Instead, it seems the comic will mostly focus on introducing an intriguing new villain, Ravage. While his identity hasn't been revealed, we can't help but wonder whether he's secretly the recently revealed son of Ben and May Parker (which would strike a major blow to the web-slinger).
Thanks to ComicBook.com, we have a first look at Amazing Spider-Man #1000's main story, along with comments from writer Joe Kelly and artist Pepe Larraz.
Asked what fans can expect from Ravage, Kelly said they should be "very braced" and explained, "We engineered Ravage in a lab to terrify and enrage and torture Peter at maximum potential. Aiming for 'that guy you love to hate' and hoping that he’ll haunt readers for a long time."
Larraz added, "About our villain, you’re absolutely right: visuals really sell the baddie. We wanted Ravage to look like nothing we had seen before in a Spider-Man book. His powers are pretty amazing by themselves, so I wanted to create a look that shows the threat he implies for Spidey’s life."
"We had a lot of discussion about the design, long video talks, Joe and I talking while I was sketching, until we got what we wanted. I like this issue very much, it was my first collaboration with Federico Blee on colors, and he did a magnificent job," the artist enthused. "No matter how difficult the panel was, he nailed it."
What's happened in previous milestone issues of Amazing Spider-Man? In #100, Spidey grew an additional four arms. In #200, he confronted Uncle Ben's killer, and in #300, the wall-crawler fought Venom for the first time. #400 featured the death of Aunt May, and #500 reunited Peter with Ben for just a few minutes on his birthday.
#600 featured a clash with Doctor Octopus that laid the groundwork for the Superior Spider-Man's debut, and in #700, Doc Ock killed Peter and took over his mantle as Spidey. #800 pitted Spider-Man against Norman Osborn's Carnage—Flash Thompson also died—and #900 was a relatively low-key tale that saw the hero fight a Super-Adaptoid with the Sinister Six's powers.
Check out this first look at Spidey's clash with Ravage in Amazing Spider-Man #1000 below.
THE BIGGEST ISSUE IN AMAZING SPIDER-HISTORY!
Spider-Man faces his greatest fear and his most frightening new villain in decades... RAVAGE! Plus, some of the greatest creative minds on Earth honor one thousand issues of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN! NOAH HAWLEY (Alien: Earth, Fargo, LEGION) makes his comic book debut, Frank Miller and Peach Momoko collaborate for the first time, Stuart Immonen and Brian Michael Bendis return to Spider-Man together, and some of the best ASM creators return to the title!
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1000
Written by JOE KELLY NOAH HAWLEY, FRANK MILLER, DAN SLOTT, J.M. DEMATTEIS, BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS & LARRY LIEBER
Art by PEPE LARRAZ, PATRICK GLEASON, PEACH MOMOKO, MARCOS MARTIN, HUMBERTO RAMOS, STUART IMMONEN & GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI
Cover by JOHN ROMITA JR. & PAOLO RIVERA
Cover by PEPE LARRAZ
On Sale 9/16