Marvel Action: Spider-Man

Marvel Action: Spider-Man is an all-ages comic book that is a joint-venture between Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing. Similar to the Marvel Panini UK comics, Marvel Action: Spider-Man was released alongside the show (it's second season) with it's own original storylines that do not require prior knowledge of the Spider-Man mythos to pick up and read.

In 2021, Marvel Action: Spider-Man will be relaunched and start over from issue 1, focusing on a teenage Peter Parker as Spider-Man during high school. Because of this, the storyline after Shock to the System will go unreleased.

In September of 2021, it was announced that the entire Marvel Action was canceled.

Story Arcs[]

A New Beginning (Volume 1)[]

A Marvelous New Era Begins Here!

Peter Parker has thrown down with deadly villains and legendary heroes, but high school life might be his greatest challenge yet. Luckily, he has a shot at making the grade with a little help from his new friends... Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy! A New Beginning is the perfect opportunity for middle grade readers to get tangled up in these new adventures of Spider-Man and his astonishing friends!^[1]

Spider-Chase[]

Well, maybe nothing except homework and an internship at the Daily Bugle, not to mention being stalked by a new dangerous foe...Kraven the Hunter! One by one, the Spiders fall into Kraven's web, but the final showdown looms on a battlefield of the hunter's choosing. Could this be the end for Peter, Miles, and Gwen?

Bad Luck[]

After a devastating encounter with the Black Cat and her bad luck powers, the Spidey team is down on their luck and at each other's throats. Will Peter, Miles, and Gwen learn to overcome their bad luck and work together again, or is this the end of the line for the Marvelous Spider-Trio?

Venom[]

Yet another Spider-Man arrives on the scene, but this one is big, bad, and wreaking havoc all across the city. The action continues in this graphic novel adventure for middle-grade readers featuring Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy, and Miles Morales!

Shock to the System (Volume 2)[]

Your favorite wall-crawler is back in action, and he's not alone! Middle-grade readers can get tangled up in these all-new adventures of Spider-Man and his amazing friends!

A sinister new villain appears! Miles and Gwen are preparing for the biggest test of their high school careers, but will they stay focused with the team all shook up over their newest foe, the Shocker? And can they overcome his bad vibes with the exam putting their very futures at stake?

The Marvel Action line from IDW makes the world's most popular super heroes accessible to middle-grade readers through stories that emphasize humor and fun alongside action and super-powered heroics.

Other Marvel Action Titles[]

Marvel Action: Origins Issue #1[]

A retelling of how Peter Parker's became the Amazing Spider-Man for a younger audience.

Marvel Action: Avengers[]

Spider-Man appears in Issues 10-12 of volume 1, having been one of the heroes to be captured and mind-controlled my M.O.D.O.K and A.I.M.

Marvel Action: Captain Marvel (2021)[]

Ghost-Spider is to make an appearance in the first and second issues of Marvel Action: Captain Marvel (2021) that was originally slated for 2020, but was rescheduled to March 3, 2021 and April 4, 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The plot involves Ghost-Spider and Captain Marvel working together to investigate the trendy new app ClickClok^[2] and stop the Mad Thinker and the Awesome Android.^[3]

Marvel Action: Chillers[]

Spider-Man appears in issue three of Marvel Action: Chillers. In their search for the Darkhold Manuscript, Iron Heart and Doctor Strange come across a tale of Spider-Man and the Wasp (Nadia Pym). Spider-Man and Wasp are at Midtown High, working on a cure for The Lizard, until someone impersonating Iron Man transforms Spider-Man in his worst fear—the Venom Symbiote!

Trivia[]

While featuring original stories, Marvel Action: Spider-Man takes inspiration from multiple incarnations of the Spider-Man mythos:
- A few of the character designs are based on the promotional artwork Patrick Brown made for the 2017 Marvel's Spider-Man Animated Series.
- The spider that bit Miles bit him in his Uncle Aaron's apartment just like in the Ultimate comics, but this time the same spider also bit Gwen while her band was practicing in the same apartment buildings basement.
- Gwen's pink hair dye and the Ghost-Spider name originate from her Marvel Rising counterpart.
- Eddie Brock appearance in this series is inspired by the actor Tom Hardy from the 2018 Venom movie.
- Tony Stark watching over Peter, Miles, and Gwen's heroics is similar to how his counterpart from the Marvel Cinematic Universe mentored that version of Peter Parker.
- S.H.I.E.L.D's heavy presence during super-human criminal activity and Doctor Octopus' involvement (not the creation) with the Venom symbiote could be a nod to the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series and the Ultimate comics.
Unlike the Marvel's Spider-Man Animated Series Peter is a few years older than Miles and Gwen. This is brought to attention during volume 2 of Marvel Action: Spider-Man when Miles and Gwen are seen taking a test for college while Peter is not.
IDW Publishing refer to Peter, Miles, and Gwen as the Spider-Trio.
The first twelve issues of Marvel Action: Spider-Man are consider to be a season one for the comic book series. A second series was release in 2020 with the debut of the villain Shocker.
Because of the Coronavirus pandemic, there was a three month gap between issues 2 and 3 of volume 2. This also resulted in issue 4, the beginning of a new story arc, being pushed back multiple times until it was cancelled in favor of a soft-reboot of the comic series with a different writer and artist.
- Scorpion was to be the villain of issues 4-6's story arc according to the cover artwork.
Artist Sanford Greene draws Miles in his Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse suit on his covers for the books.
Unlike their relation in the main Marvel Comic continuity, Spider-Man and Wasp (Nadia Pym) are good friends instead of Nadia having a dislike of him.
Both Marvel Action Chillers and Marvel Action Origins have conflicting continuity with Marvel Action: Spider-Man.
- The story of Marvel Chillers Issue 4 alludes to Spider-Man having bonded to the Venom symbiote, but this contradicts Marvel Action: Spider-Man where only Eddie Brock has worn the symbiote.
- Marvel Action Origins also contradicts Marvel Action: Spider-Man by having Peter's Highschool, for the first time in any Spider-Man series, be a different one other than Midtown High, P.S. 163 High School. Though with Marvel Action: Spider-Man undergoing a soft-reboot, this origin might be canon now.
- Both comic book series also feature the design of the traditional Spider-Man suit and not Patrick Brown's design of the suit.
Comic book artist and co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kevin Eastman, has drawn a variant cover for Marvel Action: Spider-Man issue 1.^[4]
In 2021, Marvel Action: Spider-Man will be start over from issue one and focus solely on Peter Parker as Spider-Man in high school. As such, none of the concepts or character designs from the previous issues are being kept in the relaunch due to a change of writer and artist.