Issues 1-7

Power and Responsibility

While on a field trip to Oscorp Industries, High Schooler Peter Parker is bitten by a genetically mutated spider, granting him extraordinary powers. At first, Peter uses is powers irresponsibly, hurting his high school bully and earning money as an anonymous wrestler. However, his life changes forever as his Uncle Ben is shot and killed by a robber. Peter catches him, now realizing Uncle Ben’s final message to him: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility.

Meanwhile, Norman Osborn is made aware of Peter’s abilities, injecting his own super-drug Oz into himself, resulting into the monstrous transformation known as the Green Goblin. The Goblin attacks Midtown High, forcing Peter to go public as Spider-Man for the first time! Spider-Man successfully defeats the Goblin, but the latter escapes, with Spider-Man wondering how the creature knew his name.

Did You Know?

• Marvel, Brian Micheal Bendis, and Mark Bagley were all initially hesitant on the project for various reasons, such as the failure of the previous origin retelling; Spider-Man Chapter One, the fan backlash to the last writer of Spider-Man, and the recent hiring of Bendis digging up old wounds, as Bagely got his position at Marvel via a tryout contest that Bendis participated in.
• While the original origin for Spidey, Amazing Fantasy #15, lasted for 15 pages, Bendis stretched it out to 6 issues, emphasizing his dialogue-heavy, character driven writing style that he's known for, often dubbed "Bendis-isms".
• Brian Micheal Bendis was originally brought on to write stories for the Marvel Knights imprint, which had a focus on self contained stories about the lower profile heroes at the time, such as Punisher, The Inhumans, and Black Panther. Bendis created an ultimately scrapped story revolving around SHIELD Director and Super-Spy Nick Fury, but did work on Marvel Knights Daredevil and eventually moved onto the main series over time. When Bendis asked about his artwork for the books, editor-in-cheif Joe Quesada told him: “Art? Your art sucks. I want you for your writing.” [Quesada]