Spider-Man and Kingpin's fight gets Giant-Sized in May

Cover of Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man: King's Ransom #1 — (Image credit: Marvel Comics)

To go along with its mega-sized villain the Kingpin (all that bulk is muscle!), the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man arc 'King's Ransom' will conclude with an oversized special one-shot arriving in May. Clocking in at an unspecified – but "oversized" – page count, May 12's Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man: King's Ransom #1 is written by Nick Spencer, with art from Rogê Antoniô, and concludes the arc which kicks off in March 10's Amazing Spider-Man #61.

"With twists and turns in every issue, Nick Spencer's Amazing Spider-Man has become one of the most unpredictable books on stands today! And now, readers will finally witness Spidey's long-awaited confrontation with Kingpin in an explosive new arc titled 'King's Ransom'," reads Marvel's announcement of the one-shot. "Kicking off next month in Amazing Spider-Man #61, 'King's Ransom' will be an arc so momentous, it will conclude in a special, giant-sized finale issue in May."

Oddly enough, what this means is that the arc itself won't conclude in the Amazing Spider-Man title proper – not an unprecedented move in modern comic book storytelling. What's more, the special costume Spider-Man will don in the arc's kick-off, doesn't appear on the cover of the one-shot.

"If you thought 2020 held some huge Spidey surprises (the return of the Green Goblin, the reveal of Kindred as Harry Osborn, the Sin-Eater's reign of terror), you ain't seen nothing yet," states editor Nick Lowe in the announcement of Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man: King's Ransom #1. "Nick Spencer is telling the biggest stories in Amazing Spider-Man history and they can't fit in a normal comic, so we're Giant-Sizing, starting with the cacophonous climax of 'King's Ransom'!"

"Find out Kingpin's goal and how it violates all natural law. Learn more about the years' old enmity between Tombstone and Robbie Robertson," teases Marvel Comics about the one-shot. "And discover what's next for the fan-favorite frenemy, Boomerang. All this and more as Spider-Man's whole status quo is turned upside down in one explosive showdown!"

The note about Kingpin's plan violating "all natural law" is interesting, especially considering that Kingpin's plan to breach dimensions was at the heart of the animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse film.

Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man: King's Ransom #1 is due out May 12. Watch for Marvel's full May 2021 solicitations later this month on Newsarama.

Will 'King's Ransom' wind up as one of the best Spider-Man stories ever? Only time will tell.

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011, and now I'm the Entertainment Writer at GamesRadar+. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)