Spider-Man has been amazing for 50 years. In 2013, he becomes superior.

The wall-crawling superhero and Marvel Comics icon is the natural star of the brand-new Superior Spider-Manseries launching in January as part of the "Marvel NOW!" initiative. It replaces Amazing Spider-Man in the lineup following a landmark 700th issue out Dec. 26.

However, this "enormous" change is an all-new development for the decades-old character and will result in a far darker Spider-Man than fans have ever seen, promises Dan Slott, the Amazing Spider-Manwriter who's heading up Superior Spider-Man. "The one thing that does not go with this Spider-Man is the term 'Friendly neighborhood.' No. That's gone.

"I've always been the omniscient hand that's been protecting Peter Parker and Spider-Man, and not letting anything too bad happen to him," he adds. "And now I've become this cruel god. There's something exciting about that, about going, 'Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha, here is what's going to happen to you, Spider-Man!' And it's drastic and it's big and it's exciting and it's never been done before."