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Amazing Spider-Man #121 & 122 was the culmination of what seemed inevitable in the world of Spider-Man for a couple of years before it...Ask any Comic Historian or fan and they will tell you that this story was and still is one of the greatest and most dramatic storylines ever...It still to this day generates a lot of controversy as to the origins of the tale...The visuals have been copied many times over in comics since with Spider-Man holding the love of his life in his arms after her fall from the George Washington Bridge and the after effects including the Green Goblin's apparent death...A death of this nature was extremely rare in comics at this time, so it was very hard-hitting when it hit the stands...Gwen Stacy has been Peter Parker's love for a long time at this point after her introduction in Amazing #31...She never knew that Peter was Spider-Man and blamed him for killing her Father Captain George Stacy in Amazing #90...John Romita was not part of the finished product in this epic 2 parter but was a big part in the stories that led up to it...I cant think of a better way to end what I call the 2nd "Era" of Spider-Man than this tragedy and the unfortunate happenings leading up to it.

When a little 3 parter begun in September of 1970 involving Doctor Octopus, no one knew what the ramifications in a couple of years would be...This could very well be the TRUE first time that a hero's life has been torn apart so much a la Daredevil and Green Lantern and so many others, and we seem to take for granted what Peter Parker really went through in this time period...Stan Lee was still writing until issue #100, and #105 - 118 with a mammoth stretch hardly ever matched in the history of comics...Roy Thomas added a classic Morbius/ Lizard tale in #101 & 102 and a 2-part Ka-Zar and Kraven tale the next issues...Gerry Conway took the reigns after #118 including the great #121/122...

Back to Amazing #88-90...The ending to this story was a classic in itself as Doctor Octopus was on a mad rampage against Spider-Man...To make a long story short, A child was in the way of falling debris from the battle and the courageous Captain George Stacy leapt and saved the boy but received the blow from the rubble...Spider-Man rushes to his aid only to see the great man dies in his arms with a dying plea of "Be good to her Son Be Good to her...She loves you so very much"...What does this mean? He was referring to Gwen Stacy and how do we know this? Because Captain Stacy Called Spider-Man "Peter"!...He knew Spider-Man was Peter all along and took the secret to his grave...Peter compared this death to that of his late Uncle Ben so many years ago.

This began a somewhat wild ride for Spider-Man as he was blamed for the death of Captain Stacy that wasn't cleared up many years later till Amazing Spider-Man #186 by the police...Spider-Man went on to face the Iceman solo for the first time and against the Prowler and Beetle again with an Origin issue thrown in as well...Amazing Spider-Man #96-98 was a risky move for Marvel in those days...It dealt with a drug story involving Harry Osborn, the son of Norman the 1st Green Goblin and the ramifications here are the obvious instability of Harry and his eventually becoming the 2nd Green Goblin...The Comics Code Authority did not approve this story arc and the comics did not display the stamp of the CCA...These issues are very educative on the issue of drug awareness and dealt with the issue well...They are also valued more for the same reason...Issue #100 was an anniversary issue featuring the infamous six-arm Spidey at the end and eventually featured the Lizard and introduction of Morbius...Ka-Zar and Doctor Strange made guest appearances in the next few issues as Spidey went up against Kraven, The Spider-Slayer, Doctor Octopus again, and the Gibbon who was introduced in Amazing #110 and Hammerhead who debuted in #113...Amazing #117 & 118 featured a story 1st played out in the short-lived Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine couple years before...The "Calm before the Storm" in Amazing #119 & 120 gave us even another classic in a Spidey - Hulk battle...Then the Comic World was forever shaken!

The cover to Amazing Spider-Man #121 states that someone close to Spidey will die in this issue...Pictured in the background are Gwen Stacy, Aunt May, Mary Jane Watson, Flash Thompson, Norman Osborn (Green Goblin) - How is HE close?, J. Jonah Jameson and others...It was a "Your guess is as good as mine" back then as to whom the unfortunate victim was...Remember these were the days without previews, chatrooms, and any advance information on future issues and storylines....People were shocked to see the last couple pages of the story with a murdered Gwen in Spidey's arms...A death of this magnitude arguably has not been matched to this date and so far Gwen has stayed dead (apart from her clone and dream sequence appearances)...Although Peter Parker went on to marry Mary Jane Watson, his life was never the same as he went through the hardest period of his life!

Next, we take a look at an Era I for now call "Ghosts and Goblins" as Spider-Man's past comes back to haunt him in the form of Clones, Burglars, New Green Goblins, a Black Cat, and a Hobgoblin!

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