Issue Description

Spider-Man’s been robbed of his youth! In a twist of weird science, the Vulture restores his youth by stealing years from Peter Parker! Plus, will Spidey reveal his secret identity to his parents?

Peter has had recent showdowns with the Jury and Hulk, and he's pretty much in one piece - which is a good thing, especially for the Hulk part. He's now very attached to his returned parents, and has only reasons to smile. MJ gave up smoking after seeing Nick Katzenberg in the hospital, suffering from lung cancer. Of course, as we know, whenever all goes well in Spidey's life, a storyarc comes to shake the whole foundations. Enter "Lifetheft".

Plot

The Vulture becomes young and heals his cancer. He tells to an astounded Dr. Sanchez that her rejuvenator worked, and then decides to leave Spider-Man to die of old age (Peter would have been very happy if every villain had tried that before the life transfer) and flies away. The Doc approaches Spider-Man, who is very weak, and he flees, telling the Dr. not to worry, that it wasn't her fault. A janitor enters to clean the office, and the Dr. orders him to go away and bring the police. The janitor seems indignant, but, with an evil glance and a sadistic smile he agrees. Hmm...

Spider-Man climbs to the top of the building, and asserts that his body is now very old. He swings home, spraining a muscle and realising it's going to be a long trip.

Across town, the Vulture is trying out his rejuvenated body, and is very pleased with the results. He goes to his hideout, and grabs a new uniform, with a new power source, that won't cause cancer as the old one did. In the shadows, a misterious smiling figure observes unnoticed. Double hmm...

Peter arrives home, and MJ arrives shortly after. Inside the studio, Peter's thinking how much he wants - he needs - to speak with MJ, and he stops staring at the mirror. He tells her not to enter because he's developing a film. She reluctantly tells her last issue incident from the outside, but she loses her patience and barges in, to find no one inside. She says he's never there when she needs him. Outside, he thinks how much he also needs her, but she couldn't see him like this. Pete doesn't know where to turn now.

In the hideout, the Vulture is thrilled with his new costume and weapons, but he suddenly starts having painful convulsions. Triple hmm...

At that moment, in Queens, old Peter leaves the bus, with the driver telling him not to forget his senior pass the next time. Three bullies shove him out of the way, and Peter feels unsure he could beat them. He approaches his aunt's house thinking there were many things he didn't do, and that he could have diminished May's suspicions about his parents just because she's old. He thinks in talking to her, but, watching her through the window, he realizes he can't talk to her like this. Then, he starts having convulsions too. May hears his scream, but when he reaches the window, he's already left the yard. He punches a light post out of pain, and breaks it in two. He realizes that the effects of the rejuvenator must be temporary, because he's young again. And what about the Vulture?... And what if there was anybody else in the street?

Back at the hideout, Toomes is literally back to his old self, and he doesn't seem much happy about it. The shadow figure reveals itself as the Janitor (no, not an old Spidey villain, just the guy in Dr. Sanchez office early in this issue). Toomes remembers him from the University, and asks him how did he know where to find him. The Janitor brags about being few things he doesn't know about, and offers his help to the Vulture. Toomes scoffs at the offer, from a simple janitor, but the misterious man answers he is much more than that. Quadruple hmm...

One hour later, Peter heads for the E.S.U.and arrives to see some guys loading the rejuvenator onto a truck. The Vulture shows up, blazing with a powerful gun, and yells at Spidey he should've let him die when he wanted to. They fight, the truck leaves, Spider-Man throws a Tracer to the truck, and gets kicked by the Vulture. He recovers and hears a scream from Dr. Sanchez's office. He enters and sees two (Aha!) Doctors: one holding the other as hostage with a gun. The fake says that the Doctor's expertise can only be helpful if she escapes, so she pushes her out the window. Spider-Man saves the Doc, and tells her the fake escaped, and that they took the rejuvenator. She says that without her, it'll take hours to set up the device, and asks him to find it, to which he promptly agrees.

Late at night, at May's, Mary is trying to persuade her husband to dress a sports jacket, when Spider-Man comes through the open window. He asks them not to be afraid, that he has something to tell them. He says life is too short not to share with the people we love, and that means sharing everything... and pulls off the mask! His parents are stunned, as he tells them he is Spider-Man, and they thank him for trusting them. Downstairs, May Parker announces she has arrived, and Peter asks his parents to tell nothing to Aunt May, because she has been acting weird lately. They agree, and state how happy they are. Peter jumps away, thinking he feels free, and that everything is going to get better now. He couldn't be more wrong...

Meanwhile, Richard and Mary Parker come to a surprising conclusion. You'd think they'd be happy to see that their son has given the ultimate proof of unconditional love and trust, but nooo! Instead, they say something like this: Richard: "Do you know what this means, Mary honey?" Mary: "Of course I know... Peter must die!"

The Amazing Spider-Man (1963)

Publisher

Marvel

Volume Description

After the success of Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962) a few months later the same creative team came back to start an ongoing series focusing on the character the two of them created.

The book's run continued until issue number 441 (Nov. 1998) when Marvel relaunched the title as Amazing Spider-Man Volume 2 with a new number 1 in January 1999. After issue #30 (#471) Marvel used a dual numbering system, yet the indicia still stated The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2. On the title's 40th anniversary the numbering was reverted to go from issue 58 to issue 500 (Dec. 2003) as The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1.

This volume ends with #700 and is picked up by the Marvel Now! revolution volume Superior Spider-Man.

Collected EditionsMarvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 (#1-10)Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2 (#11-19)Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 3 (#20-30)Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 4 (#31-40)Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 5 (#41-50)Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 6 (#51-61)Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 7 (#62-67)Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 8 (#68-77)Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 9 (#78-87)Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 10 (#88-99)Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 11 (#100-109)Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 12 (#110-120)Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 13 (#121-131)Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 14 (#132-142)Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 15 (#143-155)Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 16 (#156-168 and Annual #10)Spider-Man vs. Black Cat (#194-195, 204-205, 226-227.)Spider-Man: Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut (#224-230)Birth of Venom (#252-259, #298-300)The Amazing Spider-Man: The Complete Alien Costume Saga Book 1 (#252-258)The Amazing Spider-Man: The Complete Alien Costume Saga Book 2 (#259-263)Kraven's Last Hunt (#293-294)The Amazing Spider-Man: Life in the Mad Dog Ward (#295)Amazing Spider-Man by David Michelinie & Todd McFarlane (#296-329)Sinister Six (#334-339)Powerless (#341-343)Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Round Robin (#351-360)Round Robin (#353-358)Maximum Carnage (#378-380)

Collection of sequentially numbered trades, Amazing Spider-Man.

Spider-Man: Mark of the Tarantula (#231-237)Coming Home (#471-476)Revelations (#477-480)Until the Stars Turn Cold (#481-486)Life and Death of Spiders (#487-491)Unintended Consequences (#492-497)Happy Birthday (#498-502)The Book of Ezekiel (#503-508)Sins Past (#509-514)Skin Deep (#515-518)New Avengers (#519-524)

Individual trades with their own volumes because of sub-titles.

The Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Great Power (#1-17)Punisher vs. the Marvel Universe (#161-162)The Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Ghosts of the Past (#259-272)The Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Return of the Sinister Six (#334-350)Spider-Man: The Gathering of Five (#440-441)The Other (#525-528)The Road to Civil War (#529-531)Civil War (#532-538)Back in Black (#539-543)One More Day (#544-545)Brand New Day Vol 1 (#546-551)Brand New Day Vol 2 (#552-558)Brand New Day Vol 3 (#559-564)Kraven's First Hunt (#565-567)New Ways to Die (#568-573)Crime and Punisher (#574-577)Death and Dating (#578-583)Election Day (#584-588)24/7 (#589-594)American Son (#595-599)Died in Your Arms Tonight (#600-601)Red-Headed Stranger (#602-605)Return of The Black Cat (#606-611)The Gauntlet, Vol 1 (#612-616)The Gauntlet, Vol 2 (#617-621)The Gauntlet, Vol 3 (#622-625)The Gauntlet, Vol 4 (#626-629)The Gauntlet, Vol 5 (#630-633)The Grim Hunt (#634-637)One Moment in Time (#638-641)Origin of the Species (#642-647)Big Time (#648-651)Matters of Life and Death (#652-657)The Fantastic Spider-Man (#658-662)Big Time Ultimate Collection (#648-662)The Return of Anti-Venom (#663-665)Amazing Spider-Man: Big Time - The Complete Collection vol. 2 (#663-676)Spider-Island (#666-673)Flying Blind (#674-677)Amazing Spider-Man: Big Time - The Complete Collection vol. 3 (#677-687 and 679.1)Trouble on the Horizon (#678-681, #679.1)Ends of the Earth (#682-687)No Turning Back (#688-691)Amazing Spider-Man: Big Time - The Complete Collection vol. 4 (#688-697)Danger Zone (#692-697)Dying Wish (#698-700)Amazing Spider-Man: Peter Parker The One And Only (#700.1-700.5)

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