Every so often, more often than some Spider-Man fans appreciate, a mini-series comes along to boost Marvel’s sales and to add chapters into Spider-man history that there might not be time for in the core titles. This format is usually four or five issues long, as long as any other arc in the core titles. This overview is designed to give you a sense of what happens in these mini-series in order to keep you updated on any important events that may take place in them that may be referred to at a later date. This chronological overview currently begins with mainstream titles in Winter 2004.

Mini series highlight – Spider-Man Reign is utterly superb! One my all time favourite Spidey stories as it captures the desperate nature of the character as well as the fun, sacrificial and passionate sides of out favourite webspinner! And Kaare Andrews comes into his own as a mature creator. Buy this, trust me.

Spider-Man/Red Sonja
1-5 written by Michael Avon Oeming
1-5 pencilled by Mel Rubi

This pantomimic mini series takes place before Civil War but it is hard to position in correct chronology as Hobgoblin is present in New York but there are pop culture references to make this series seem more modern than the time Hobgoblin was last seen free in Hobgoblin Lives #3 (1997). Continuity is hard… sigh!

- Using an ancient amulet, the evil sorcerer Kulan Gath enters our world and turns it into his own Hyboria (a medieval place filled with monstrous creatures and ruled by his army!). In order to prevent Spider-Man from stopping him he summons Red Sonja’s spirit to take over Mary Jane’s body and fight the webspinner! As the two heroes fight each other, Gath takes over the Venom symbiote and becomes the ever powerful Kulan Venom! Using the magics at his disposal, Kulan Venom sets Hyborian versions of Lizard, Scorpion and Hobgoblin onto Spidey and Sonja once they realise that they share a bond and that they both should be fighting the same foe! They defeat the foes but Sonja gets shot and Spidey succumbs to Kulan venom’s magic. The love that Sonja feels inside MJ’s body rouses her and she comes to Spidey’s aid and they are eventually successful in destroying the amulet and returning New York to its former glory. Red Sonja is transported back to Hyboria and Peter and MJ return to normality. Rating – 2 / 5

Spider-Man And The Black Cat: The Evil Men That Do
1-6 written by Kevin Smith
1-6 pencilled by Terry Dodson

This series (although only completed in 2006) takes place around the time of Daredevil #37 when he was first outed in the press.

What’s New, Pussycat?, A Ruse By Any Other Name…, Hate Crimes, A Study In Scarlet, Trickle Down & One In Four
- Black Cat and Spidey become team mates as they try to track down Mister Brownstone who is trafficking drugs and responsible for multiple deaths. After taking on Scorpia, they learn that he is none other than eccentric millionaire Garrison Klum. Cat goes to take down Klum alone but is incapacitated with drugs that he teleports into her bloodstream… Two days later she is in Ryker’s Penitentiary and on trial for Klum’s murder! Spidey gets Daredevil to break her out but they are beaten to it by Garrison’s younger brother Francis who turns out to be a teleporter… and a telekinetic! Francis takes Cat to Queensboro Bridge where he confesses that Garrison sexually abused him and that it was he who killed him the night he attacked Cat. In order to get Francis the help he needs, Cat confesses to him that she was raped in college and it was that which drove her to crime. Meanwhile, with Nightcrawler’s help, Spidey tracks down Francis and Cat. Francis sees this as an act of aggression and, as he fights with Spidey and Cat, is knocked backwards off the bridge! As he falls, he teleports somewhere… Days later, Cat finally tells Peter about her ordeal. Elsewhere, The Kingpin offers Francis a Mysterio costume! Rating 3½ / 5

Venom vs. Carnage
1-4 written by Peter Milligan
1-4 illustrated by Clayton Henry

This mini series takes place after the events of the latest Venom series (written by Daniel Way).

A Child Is Born: Baby Please Don’t Go, Cops and Monsters, The Monster Inside Me and Do The Right Thing
- Carnage is pregnant and not happy about it. He wants the spawn dead. Venom knows that the spawn will be the hundred thousandth symbiote and wants to use it against Spider-Man. Seeing as the two disagree they battle across the city until Carnage plants his seed in policeman Patrick Mulligan and then tries to kill him. Black Cat, Venom and then Spidey all intervene and it is not until Carnage finally tracks Pat down later that the symbiote within him emerges as Toxin! Pat first struggles with the creature living within him, and is unable to be around his new born baby with this thing living inside him. He soon embraces it, to some degree, but finds it hard to control. He refuses to kill Carnage in cold blood and then nearly kills several bank robbers. All these events come to a head when Venom and Carnage team up to bring the threat of Toxin down. Black Cat, Spidey and Toxin battle Venom and Carnage in a graveyard and Toxin is able to sway the battle and win. As he goes home, Pat realises that the being he has become is too much of a threat to his new child and wife, so he leaves to learn how to live with his new being… alone. Rating 3 / 5

Secret War
1-5 written by Brian Michael Bendis
1-5 painted by Gabrielle Dell’Otto

This beautiful series was a long time coming (spanning 18 months from #1 to #5) but triggered a series of events that fed into House Of M and continues to feed into New Avengers. The events take place in present day and one year previous.

- One year ago Nick Fury discovered that Lucia von Bardas, the head of the Latverian government, was funding high-tech super-villains. Breaking Presidential orders in an attempt to prevent a super-villain terrorist attack, Fury recruited Spider-Man, Captain America, Luke Cage, Daredevil, Black Widow, Wolverine and Daisy Johnson (a girl who can generate powerful vibrations) to literally take down and destroy the Latverian government. Fury erased everyone’s memory apart from Johnson. Now: After Luke Cage is viciously attacked by a mysterious woman and the other heroes all come under attack by villains all kitted out in new high-tech gear, they gather at the New York docks. Fury doesn’t have time to explain before a cybernetic Bardas (somehow kept alive by technology after the attack a year ago) activates an anti-matter bomb created by linking all of the villain’s equipment together. The heroes fail to stop her and New York seems doomed until Agent Johnson arrives and destabilises Bardas’s power source and kills her, stopping the bomb. Fury is pressured into now revealing all to the heroes he used and is forced into hiding, having broken the law and the trust of his colleagues. The only person to know where he is is Agent Johnson… Rating 4½ / 5

Spider-Man: Breakout
1-5 written by Tony Bedard
1-5 pencilled by Manuel Garcia

This mini is based on the events of New Avengers, with Spider-Man finding his place in the group and him dealing with the repercussions of the breakout that takes place in #1 and #2 of New Avengers.

Spider-Man: Breakout – Issues 1-5
- Years previously, in the prison facility The Vault, The U-Foes (Vector, Vapor, Iron Clad and X-Ray) and Crossfire’s Crew (Crossfire, The Controller, The Corrupter, Mandrill and Mister Fear) plan of escape is betrayed by someone. The two sides vow to destroy each other. Once the breakout at The Raft occurs, where the gangs are now held, the rivalry continues and they begin to wage war in the streets of New York. Spider-Man gets caught in the middle of the fighting and investigates why these two gangs are gunning for each other. He finds out that Rozalind Backus, a previous superintendent at The Vault, is the key to this and learns that she once had a relationship with William Cross (Crossfire) and took revenge on him by robbing him and Vector of thousands and setting the two upon each other. Crossfire’s Crew and the U-Foes eventually catch up with Roz and Spidey at Haven House. It is into Haven House that Roz has ploughed all of the stolen money. We also learn that when Crossfire and Vector were working together, before they were incarcerated, they made a machine that would nullify mutant powers. Vector wants this to return him and his friends to their original human form but Roz has destroyed it. In fury, Vector destroys Haven House as Iron Man and Captain America arrive on the scene to help Spidey subdue Crossfire’s Crew. The U-Foes escape and Roz goes to jail. Rating: 4 / 5

Spider-Man/Human Torch
1-5 written by Dan Slott
1-5 pencilled by Ty Templeton

This mini spans years. The five issues take place: 1) very early in Spidey’s career; 2) when Spidey was hanging out at the Coffee Bean with the gang; 3) shortly after Gwen Stacy was killed; 4) whilst black-costumed Spidey was dating the Black Cat; 5) present day.

Picture Perfect, Catch You On The Flipside, Auto Motives, Cat’s Paws & Together Again
- Johnny Storm, The Human Torch, decides he needs some better press so hires Peter Parker as his personal photographer. As Peter follows him around, Torch is called into action against some robbers. Peter cannot resist and butts in as Spider-Man. Torch is not pleased and tries to outdo himself by going after Doctor Doom alone. Spidey works out what he has done and manages to rescue him.

- After a spat at the Coffee Bean, Spidey suggests to Torch that they trade lives for a while. It ends up that Torch has to deal with Kraven The Hunter and Spidey has to explore another dimension with the Fantastic Four. Torch is a lot more successful than Spidey and they continue to fight.

- Peter Parker gets a job working with Reed Richards on a device to localise gravity. Peter gets an idea and fits the technology onto the Spider-Mobile that he and Torch have been working on. As they joyride around the city, the Red Ghost and his Superapes attack and they chase after them, causing havoc. After hi-jinks, the villains are easily apprehended.

- Black Cat tries to convince Spidey to join her on a job, stealing something from the Wakandan Embassy. He refuses and she ends up recruiting Torch instead. During the open evening, Peter is unsuccessful in stopping the two and they manage to break into the case holding a ceremonial mask. Black Cat manages to set Spidey up, making the Black Panther pursue him. Once they all escape, it turns out that Cat just wanted a pin from the case and not the mask at all!

- Spidey and Torch meet on top of the Statue of Liberty again to discuss the day’s events. Peter and MJ turned up at a talk given by Torch, but it was interrupted by criminals looking to claim the ransom on a teenager in the audience. As they look for their target, Peter conveyed to Torch that he is Spidey and they planned their attack. The men were easily taken out and we come back to the present. Jonny and Peter tell each other how jealous of each other they have always been. It all ends happily, when Torch asks Peter, MJ and May round to dinner at the Baxter Building with the rest of the FF. Rating 5 / 5

Toxin
1-6 written by Peter Milligan
1-6 pencilled by Darick Robertson

This mini is based on the events of New Avengers: Breakout and continues from the events in Venom vs. Carnage, with Pat Mulligan beginning to come to terms with the Toxin symbiote and using it for good, namely to take down some of the escaped inmates from The Raft.

The Strange Case of Pat Mulligan and Mr. Hyde, Cut To The Chase, The Answer, My Friend, Walking Man, Good Luck, Mulligan, Thanks For The Formaldehyde and The Razor’s Edge
- Pat Mulligan (and Toxin) decides to help bring down The Raft escapees. His task begins with King Cobra whom he tracks down and apprehends using his new symbiote and information from Mister Hyde. Spidey then sets him on the tail of Razor-Fist, a man whose arms have been replaced by giant slicing blades. As Pat struggles to control Toxin, he learns that Razor-Fist is recruiting children that self harm to do his bidding. As he faces Razor-Fist down, Toxin refuses to give Pat power until he tells him that he needs him. Pat complies and Razor-Fist runs away. Pat and Toxin continue to argue and fight for control, Pat even tries to commit suicide at the advice of super-criminal The Answer. Once he manages to bring down The Wrecker, Toxin creates another persona for Pat, in order that he can be near the family he left. Pat once again tries to bring Razor-Fist down but Pat’s father gets involved and is killed. On a psychotic mission of revenge, Toxin tracks Razor-Fist down and succeeds in disarming him of his blades, without killing him, and sends him to Ryker’s Island. On the final page, Pat reveals his symbiote to the wife he left… Rating 3½ / 5

Spider-Man: House Of M
1-5 written by Mark Waid & Tom Peyer
1-5 pencilled by Salvador Larroca

Set in the House of M world, this (hotly debated) mini series takes place before the events of House of M #5 and Peter’s awakening. It tells the story of Peter’s new life.

Spider-Man House of M Parts 1-5
-After reality is altered in the pages of House of M Peter Parker is now married to Gwen Stacy, has a son called Richie and is publicly known as a professional wrestler, scientist, film star and super-hero Spider-Man. Uncle Ben is his publicist, Rhino is his bodyguard and a badly treated JJJ works for him. Peter, under the guise of The Green Goblin, publicizes his own journal which outs him, Peter Parker Spider-Man, as a sapien. His world crumbles apart, he vanishes and his desperate family searches for him and the journal that has caused them so much grief. Peter has to deal with rampaging mutant mobs, furious that a sapien could achieve such success, a rampaging Rhino and a Spider-Slayer whilst trying to keep his journal away from those he loves. He is unsuccessful and Gwen, May, Ben and Gwen’s father Captain Arthur Stacy discover the stories that Peter has been writing about them. Peter later gets in touch, explaining that the stories became justification for the guilt he woke up with every morning, a guilt (presumably) felt because he had been given everything he ever wanted through the actions of Wanda Maximoff. He stages Spider-Man’s death and moves with his family to a remote location to live out his life as Peter Parker. Until House of M #5… Rating 2½ / 5

House Of M
1-8 written by Brian Micael Bendis
1-8 pencilled by Olivier Coipel

These events take place mere weeks after the New Avengers are assembled and features an array of character from Astonishing X-Men and New Avengers, Spidey (obviously) included.

House of M Parts 1-8
-After the devastation of Chaos (Avengers #500-3), the X-Men and Avengers gather to decide the fate of Wanda Maximoff. They travel to Genosha where Xavier, Magneto and (Pietro) Quicksilver are trying to help her. On arrival they find no sign of anyone, but upon entering a decimated church there is a massive flash of white and the world changes. All of the heroes have exactly what they always wanted (Peter is married to Gwen and is popular, Wolverine remembers his entire life and is head of SHIELD, Hawkeye is alive again etc.) but the whole world is under the rule of the House of M; Magneto’s mutant power base. Mutants have privileges over sapiens (humans) and they live in insecure harmony. Wolverine is the first to realise what happened and he finds Layla Miller, a girl who is able to “awaken” people from Wanda’s magic. A group of heroes gather (Avengers and X-Men), all awoken and aware of what Wanda and Magneto have done. They travel to Genosha to confront the House of M and learn the whereabouts of Xavier. Once there, the battle rages as the search for Wanda and Xavier begins. Doctor Strange finds Wanda looking after her children and learns that this entire concept was not Magneto’s idea, but Pietro’s. Wanda then begins to lose control over everything and puts the world back, with one slight change; No more mutants… The world flashes white. When the heroes awaken in the real world, the majority of mutants have lost their powers, Magneto included and there is no sign of Pietro, Wanda or Xavier… Rating 4 / 5

Spider-Man And The Fantastic Four
1-4 written by Jeff Parker
1-4 pencilled by Mike Wieringo

This mini takes place between Amazing Spider-Man #50 (Vol. 2) and Civil War #1 (MJ and Peter live together and May knows Peter is Spider-Man) and sadly contains the last published pencils of Mike Wieringo before he passed in August 2007.

The New Silver Age (Parts 1-4)
- The Impossible Man appears in New York to warn The Fantastic Four of the end of the Earth. He runs into Spider-Man first and tells him… but it’s too late as The Imperator arrives and begins to prepare the world for The H’Mojen invasion! The Imperator evaporates the Impossible Man and knocks Spidey out. Spidey eventually gets The FF to come and help but the human race are already being transformed into H’Mojen and they are not complaining about it (as was the design of the invasion). Reed goes off in search of solutions from the previous worlds the H’Mojen have invaded and Spidey, Torch, Thing and Sue Storm try to find other heroes, battle some H’Mojen bugs and eventually find a simple solution to prevent the transformation via the High Evolutionary and Doctor Doom’s help. They end up in Africa, facing The Imperator when Spidey is sick… and out comes The Impossible Man who was inhaled by Spidey when he was originally evaporated! Reed returns to Africa to find The Impossible Man transformed into The P’oppup’ian race and attacking the H’Mojen with fury with the heroes in the middle! Spidey finally comes up with a solution – The Imperator retires, the H’Mojen merge with the P’oppup’ians making them both constantly adaptable and the human race are returned to normal! Rating 4½ / 5

Civil War
1-7 written by Mark Millar
1-7 pencilled by Steve McNiven

This massive series of 2006-07 spanned months of stories, was intrinsically tied to the events of The War At Home (Amazing Spider-Man #532-8) and contained one of the most important moments of Spider-Man history!

- When The New Warriors become responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians in Stamford the government calls for all superheroes to be registered under their true identities. Iron Man and Congress draft The Registration Act and it is soon illegal to be unregistered. Captain America forms the Secret Avengers to fight against the Act and Iron Man’s allies, which include Spider-Man. In the boldest move ever, Peter shows his support for the Act by publicly declaring that he is Spider-Man! The Secret Avengers face off against the others and a cyborg clone of Thor which kills Bill Foster (Goliath)! The New Thunderbolts are drafted by Iron Man when Spider-Man changes sides. Joining the Secret Avengers with him is The Punisher who is influential in gaining access for Cap’s group to the secret 42 prison area of The Negative Zone where Iron Man is holding those that have not signed the Act. Iron Man and Cap meet at 42, with their respective teams, and Hulkling (who has been impersonating Hank Pym) frees the prisoners. The fight spills onto the street of NYC when Cloak transports them all there. Iron Man, with Thunderbolts, Champions and Thor-clone face Cap and his Secret Avengers, freed prisoners and Namor’s Atlantian forces in a brutal fight. Hercules destroys the clone and ultimately Cap stands over Iron Man ready to deliver the final blow. When he realises how the civilians have been drawn in and how much impact the fight has had on them he surrenders and is arrested. Rating 4 / 5

Spider-Man Reign
1-4 written and illustrated bby Kaare Andrews

This stunning and dark series takes place in a possible future where Spider-Man nor masks have not been seen in years. This is Spider-Man at it’s darkest and one of the best stories I have read in years!

- Peter Parker lives alone, aged and ill. He longs for his dead wife, Mary Jane and no longer has the fire in his heart, the desire to be a hero that he once had as Spider-Man. The people of New York need a hero to overcome the dictatorship of Mayor Waters and his army, The Reign. JJJ returns to Peter as an old man, delivers him a black mask and urges him to join him to fight the power of Waters before it is too late. This sparks Peter to overcome his age and become Spider-Man again but he is soon faced by his old enemies, under the power of Waters who has explosives planted in each of them. It takes the corpse of Doctor Octopus, controlled by his mechanical arms, to deliver Peter to his senses and the graves of MJ, Ben and May before Peter dons the red and blue costume that he buried the day he lost MJ. Meanwhile, JJJ rallies children to his cause and they begin ringing out bells across the city. Peter arrives at Waters’ tower as Water’s assistant transforms into Venom and welcomes dozens of other symbiotes to feast on the people of the city! The bells repel the symbiotes but only for so long so Spidey must face his enemies again and, atop the tower, dozens of symbiotes. With Sandman’s help, Spidey detonates the explosives in each of his enemies to destroy the tower, all those in it and save the city. With the dictatorship over, the city is free… and Spider-Man can reign once more… Rating – 5 / 5

Spider-Man / Power Pack
1-4 written by Marc Sumerak
1-4 illustrated by Gurihiru

These events are in continuity with the previous Power Pack mini-series but struggle to fit into Spider-continuity (the basic problem being that the Iron-Spider costume appears but SHIELD have the venom symbiote in isolation and it should be with Mac Gargan in the Thunderbolts).

The New Kid Parts 1-2 & Fashion-Sense Tingling! Parts 1-2
- The Power Pack (Jack – Mass Master, Julie – Lightspeed, Alex – Zero-G and Katie – Energizer) move to New York. They go out patrolling straight away and find The Sandman robbing a bank! Spidey swings down and they all manage to wash him away. Meanwhile, The Vulture breaks into a factory where a cosmetics company have accidentally created an age-reversing serum. Spidey is on his tail but is beaten by the bird and takes a bath in the serum. He finds himself Power Pack age so goes to them for help. They redesign his costume and join him in beating down Vulture, Lizard, Electro, Shocker, Rhino and Mysterio! When the TV tips them off, they head to the beach to face Sandman again. They defeat him and Spidey’s de-aging effects are reversed by the salt water in the sea.
- As a thank you for their help, Spidey sends them all passes to MJ’s latest fashion show. Six months ago, a designer called Rudolpho encountered Venom and managed to steal the symbiote costume. Now it is Rudolpho’s fashion show and he showcases a material that can change shape at will. The material, obviously the symbiote, recognises Peter Parker (who is watching his wife) and takes control of MJ and the other models. Spidey and Power Pack successfully control the symbiote but one tendril attaches itself to Energizer! Without her knowing, the symbiote calls upon the Sinister Six to take out Spidey and it is up to the rest of Power Pack to save him and remove the costume from Energizer without hurting her. This they do and the symbiote goes back into SHIELD custody. Rating 4½ / 5

Spider-Man Fairy Tales
1-4 written by C. B. Cebulski
1 illustrated by Ricardo Tercio
2 illustrated by Niko Henrichon
3 illustrated by Kei Kobayashi
4 illustrated by Nick Dragotta

This series does not come into mainstream continuity as each story takes an element of Spider-Man and retells it in a completely new context. These stories span from Little Red Riding Hood, African and Japanese tradition to Cinderella and knighthood and all contain very likeable elements.

Off The Beaten Path, The Spirits Of Friendship, Eclipse & What You Wish For
- Peter has to live up to expectations to protect Mary Jane as her husband. When he is out chopping wood one day, MJ visits Aunt May but is attacked by a vicious wolf. When he corners her in May’s cottage, Peter comes to her aid and together they kill the wolf. As Peter walks away he thinks about using MJ’s torn red cloak as a mask for his face… - Kwaku Anansi, the Spider God, is sent on a quest by his Uncle Nebasti to find the Spider Orchid. On the way Anansi has to face and overcome spirits representing wind, water, earth and fire. Anansi earns the respect of each spirit so that when he falters at the last moment, as he faces a swarming bee spirit, his friends return to help him. - Izumi lives with his Aunt Satsuki and Uncle Masuru until he makes a terrible mistake and steps outside the safety of their home to face the evil Yokai. The Yokai poisons Izumi, kills his Uncle and kidnaps his Aunt. The poison begins to turn him into a spider and become more animalistic as he tries to rescue his Aunt. He controls his power, saves his Aunt and kills the Yokai but painfully remembers all that he has lost… - Peter works as a slave for the knight Norman Osborn until he learns of a ball and a chance to capture the heart of Princess Gwendolyn. He disguises himself as the Prince of Arachne and woos the Princess, to the hatred of the Osborns. Peter leaves in a hurry and forgets his armguard so the following day a decree calls for the owner to wed the Princess. The Osborns plan to kill the Prince and have Harry take his place but Mary Jane (a slave in love with Peter) helps Peter to get to the Princess first. Norman becomes mad with rage so fights Peter. Norman and Gwendolyn are killed and Peter remains a lonely champion of the kingdom. Rating 3½ / 5

Reviewed by Adam Rivett

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