Marvel Comics has teased a special Spider-Man event for 2022 in celebration of the hero's 60th anniversary! First appearing in Amazing Fantasy #15 back in 1962, Spider-Man has held an important place in the hearts of pop culture fanatics of all ages. And, now, with the web-slinger's diamond anniversary around the corner, Marvel is preparing some pretty exciting things for 2022!
There's no doubt that Spider-Man is among the most popular Marvel characters. In fact, in a 2018 survey, Peter Parker came out on top with 22% of the vote when people were asked about their favorite Marvel superhero. His initial comic book appearance sold for $405,000 one of the last times it was up for sale. For being just a photographer from Queens, Spider-Man certainly packs a punch when it comes to winning over the hearts of comic book fans. With all of this in mind, it's no surprise that Marvel is planning something huge. Beginning August 1 - also known as Spider-Man Day - Marvel began hinting at some exciting upcoming events celebrating the web-slinger.
Marvel is no stranger to unusual events celebrating Spider-Man (remember the real-life wedding of Peter and MJ?) In a video published by Marvel Comics, the events for the 60th anniversary are described with some pretty specific - and exciting - adjectives. "Beyond sensational," "beyond spectacular," "beyond ultimate," and "beyond amazing" are all phrases used in the 26-second video to describe the 60th anniversary. Each of these five words carry special significance for Spider-Man. First, the word "beyond," referring to the upcoming "Beyond" era in Marvel comics, where Spider-Man will become incapacitated in some way, allowing Ben Reilly (a '90s Peter Parker clone) to take up the Spider-Man mantel again. "Sensational," "spectacular," and "ultimate" have all been used in titles of Spider-Man comics over the last 60 years and - most excitingly - "amazing," a reference to both Spider-Man's first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15 and his longest-running series The Amazing Spider-Man. It's clear from Marvel's announcement that this celebration will be an all-encompassing Spider-Man celebration.
With Spider-Man being as large of a property as it is for Marvel (and, by extension, Disney), the company will likely be pulling out all the stops for this celebration. While Marvel has not released all of the details of the year-long celebration, its initial announcement of the event on Twitter stated that it would include "favorite Marvel comics, games, shows, collectibles, fashion and more!" In terms of Spider-Man appearing on your screen in 2022, it's an excellent coincidence - or perhaps masterful planning at Marvel - that the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse is planned to release in 2022 and, while the sequel to Spider-Man: Far from Home is slated to come out in late 2021, Marvel has revealed that this film will tie into 2022's Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.
The sky seems to be the limit for Marvel when it comes to celebrating the diamond anniversary of one of its signature superheroes. Fans can expect new content over many different formats. The idea of several comics celebrating one event - Spider-Man's 60th - brings to mind what Marvel has done with the Hellfire Gala. Will there be an in-universe gala for Spider-Man? Only time will well what Marvel has in store for everyone's favorite web-slinger. Follow the #SpideyBeyondAmazing hashtag on Twitter to learn more about the 2022 offerings for Spider-Man's 60th anniversary.