Original Recreation Of One Of Spider-Man’s Most Heartbreaking Panels Just Sold For More Than Some Vintage Comics

Haters gonna’ hate. No matter how much good you do, there will always be some people who will twist the narrative to make sure you come across as a bad guy. Perhaps nobody encapsulates this better in the Marvel universe than The Daily Bugle’s editor-in-chief, J. Jonah Jameson. The man harbors a generational beef with Spider-Man, always projecting him as a menace despite the fact that he has saved the day on countless occasions. While Spidey usually brushes it off, everyone succumbs to pressure now and then. 

Perhaps the biggest example of this is in The Amazing Spider-Man #50, when Jameson manages to turn the entire city against Spider-Man, on top of what has already been a tough few days for the Webcrawler. The pressure eventually gets too much for Peter Parker, who literally throws his Spider-Man costume in the trash, giving us one of the most heartbreakingly iconic images from his comics. In fact, the scene was even recreated in the live-action Spider-Man 2 movie.

Original Artwork Of One Of Spider-Man’s Most Defining Moments Goes For Over $11,000 At An Auction

Over on Heritage Auctions an original recreation of this iconic moment recently went for $11,250. It must be noted that this is not the original artwork for the comic by John Romita Sr., but a recreation for a 1978 Mighty Marvel Comics Calendar by Larry Lieber. While it’s not the original, it’s arguably the next best thing, by an equally iconic artist, who co-created the likes of Iron Man, Thor, and Ant-Man. Lieber also worked on The Amazing Spider-Man newspaper comic strip between 1986 and 2018. 

The scene is powerful not because it shows that even the mightiest heroes fall, but because it teaches us to pick ourselves back up again. With Spider-Man missing, the original issue revealed that New York descended into chaos, thanks to Kingpin, who made his first appearance in this comic. After watching the city burn, Peter realised that he had a great responsibility due to his great power, and swung back into action. It was a defining moment for the character and an important lesson for the readers. 

It’s easily one of the most recognisable pieces of superhero artwork, and Larry Lieber’s homage to it was unsurprisingly brilliant. His version added a few more details, like J.J.’s poster on the left and a cute alley cat near the trash. Not to mention, the floating image of Spidey incorporated into it. With that image on the calendar, it reminded fans that any failure is temporary, as long as you dust yourself off and carry on. 

Which is your favorite comic book panel of all time? Let us know with a comment below, and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!