The Essential Spider-Man #1
"Spider-Man!" kicks off with Peter Parker hit hard by the 24-hour flu, leaving him vulnerable when Doc Ock kidnaps Betty Brant to lure the web-slinger into a trap. Though weakened, Peter still tries to fight—only to be beaten and unmasked, leaving the public convinced he’s just pretending to be Spider-Man. When he recovers, the real hero must face off against Doc Ock’s chaos, battling wild animals released from the zoo in a high-stakes showdown. Written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Steve Ditko, with inks by Ditko and letters by Art Simek, this 1996 essential issue features a classic clash of wits and willpower, all wrapped in a cover by Nghia Lam and Jason Rodriguez.
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Peter has the 24 hour flu when Doc Ock captures Betty Brant in hopes of luring Spider-Man into battle. Ock beats the under the weather web-head and unmasks him, but everyone thinks it is just Peter trying to be brave by impersonating Spidey. Once he has recovered, Spider-Man battles through the wild animals Ock has released from the zoo to take on old six-arms himself.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).