For a large portion of the 1990's, Marvel and DC's blue chip heroes were each spread pretty thin by multiple monthly series, minis, and other gimmick-laden specials like 3-D issues and "secret files" issues. Having four (or more) monthly series devoted to a single character is beyond redundant, and different editorial houses found different methods of making each individual series matter. Superman's books were a weekly soap opera, with each issue flowing into the next and writers and artists literally passing the story to one another as if they were in some comic making relay race. The Batman titles of the time chose to stay separate (that is, until No Man's Land) and emphasize different "takes" on Batman, from the gothic horror of the main title to the action and espionage of Chuck Dixon's Detective Comics.
On the other side of the fence, Marvel's Spider-Man had branched into four monthly books, with 1996's Sensational Spider-Man joining the line near the tail end of the Clone Saga. For the most part, the four titles minded their own businesses, with each creative team being dealt a hand of rogues to deal with from editor Bob Harras and a string of never-ending subplots moving along at an equally glacial pace in all four books. Each book would focus on one aspect of Spidey's setting--Spectacular Spider-Man featured the Daily Bugle supporting cast while Peter Parker: Spider-Man featured the NYU crew, for example-- but these were never concrete.
Rolling into 1998, the writers working on the Spidey books were scrambling for the next buzz-worthy event to drive sales since the Clone Saga had wrapped up in the Revelations story arc the previous year. Peter Parker was back in the saddle as Spider-Man full time, most of his "classic" rogues had been done to death and removed from the field of play. Peter and Mary Jane Watson-Parker are on the grind, living with Anna Watson. Peter had returned to college, where he encountered the mutant-hating Friends of Humanity, as well as the remnants of the late Gwen Stacy's family. The New York underworld scene was creeping back into the titles more and more, reminiscent of the 1980's Spider-Man books.
There's one huge development I neglected to mention: Norman Osborn was back. In a post-Iron Patriot world, it's hard to imagine him not being a mover and shaker in the Marvel universe, but at the time, returning Osborn from the dead during the aforementioned Revelations arc was a bold move that divided the fans. Some (like me) were happy to see a classic nemesis return to the fold, while others felt it undid one of the all-time classic Spider-Man tales. While Osborn was creeping around the Parkers' lives month in and month out, he rarely did so under his Goblin garb; at this point in time, he'd become more of a Lex Luthor type. His interactions with J. Jonah Jameson at the Bugle weren't too different from Luthor's own misery making at the Daily Planet. Osborn sought new and more sinister ways to torment Peter Parker, and during one particularly mob-flavored story, one fell into his lap.
The death of small-time hood named Joey Z would send shockwaves through the Spider-verse for nearly a year, culminating in the four-part "Spider-Hunt" crossover. Osborn framed Peter for the crime, and once word got around in the underworld that Spidey was "out for blood", a price was put on his head. Combine that with the NYPD turning on our hero and an onslaught of hitmen and former members of Spidey's rogues looking to make a name for themselves (and a quick buck), and you have an avalanche of action and drama crushing our hero under its girth.
"Spider-Hunt" is an interesting curio from the time. It's pretty indicative of the Marvel house style at the time on the writing side; plenty of wordy captions and ceaseless exposition designed to follow Stan Lee's old philosophy that any comic can be somebody's first. The characters chosen to appear in the story and their respective designs are holdovers from the grim and gritty era of comics. One needs to look no farther than John Romita Jr.'s Electro redesign to see that "dark" was still the word of the day. C-List hitmen like Shotgun and Jimmy Six litter the story as well, and one could see this story as the editors and writers "cleaning out the closet" a little.
Also present is little Normie Osborn, grandson to Norman and the son of Peter's friend Liz Allen and his former roommate, Harry. Harry and Norman's relationship is a tumultuous one at best (see an upcoming episode of my podcast for more on that), but the idea of Norman wanting to use the smokscreen of the Spider-man manhunt to secure (kidnap) his grandson and bring him into the Goblin fold is a terrifying meditation of the idea of legacy.
And who else remembers the "imposter" Green Goblin? Yeah, I didn't either.
Of course, things turn out (mostly) okay in the end for our hero, and for little Normie and Liz, but the saga of the Osborns would go on until the reboot just a year later and "The Final Chapter" arc. This story was the beginning of a water treading period for the books, followed by a three year stint by John Byrne that never managed to move the needle in any real way. Personally, I like to think of Spider-Hunt as the swan song of the Howard Mackie/Todd DeZago era of Spidey books, since the material that follows and leads into the Byrne revamp is sub-par at best. This was a thrilling little crossover and quite a way to start '98.
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