While the SDCC Comic-Con Museum is celebrating Spider-Man’s 60th anniversary with a brand new exhibit, the first item on display is a comic that actually stars Marvel’s original radioactive spider. Predating Peter Parker’s Webslinger, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby wrote a story that was essentially a prototype for Spider-Man’s origins. Meanwhile, Steve Ditko was creating two of the most influential people in Peter Parker’s life (before Peter even existed). Screen Rant got the opportunity to attend the new experience, capturing exclusive photos of some of the exciting pieces on display.,Located in Balboa Park, the new Comic-Con Museum is just a short drive away from the San Diego Convention Center and Hall H where the biggest pop culture news gets announced annually by the entertainment industry’s biggest studios. SDCC’s new Spider-Man exhibit Beyond Amazing opened to the public on July 1st and will remain open daily until January 3rd. Additionally, the Comic-Con Museum will be hosting an induction ceremony for Spider-Man who will join SDCC’s Character Hall of Fame on July 20th. Co-curated by Professor Ben Saunders and Patrick A. Reed, Beyond Amazing is an exciting exploration of the Webslinger’s entire transmedia history, highlighting his impact across comics, films, television, video games, and more.,Related: Even Spider-Man Fans Don’t Realize How Strong Doc Ock Originally Was,Set up as an interactive timeline for guests to experience Spider-Man’s entire 60-year history, the first rare piece on display at the exhibit is surprisingly 1961’s Journey Into Mystery #73 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Featuring a story entitled “Where Will You Be, When…The Spider Strikes!”, the issue tells the tale of a spider who got caught in the atomic rays of a science experiment. However, rather than biting a nearby teenager the spider grew to be incredibly large and gained the ability to think and speak, attacking nearby humans. Published a year before 1962’s Amazing Fantasy #15 (Spider-Man’s first appearance), this issue served as the proving ground for the origins of Peter Parker’s powers. The radioactive spider’s eyes even resemble those on the Webslinger’s mask.,Interestingly enough, the Spider-Man exhibit also displays artwork from Steve Ditko who was working on Strange Tales #97 with Lee in 1962 (only a few months before Spider-Man’s first appearance). In this issue, a story about a disappearing girl featured two characters named Aunt May and Uncle Ben (looking exactly like the couple who raised Peter Parker). As a result, May and Ben Parker entered the Marvel Universe back when Spider-Man was just a concept.,Combined with the early introduction of a radioactive spider in Journey into Mystery, both issues are largely unsung yet very important parts of Spider-Man’s history that many fans might not know about. As such, it’s great to see them featured at the very beginning of the exhibit even before the installation celebrating Amazing Fantasy #15 or the issue of Amazing Spider-Man #1 that’s also on display. They were the early inspiration and prototypes for what would eventually become the origins of one of Marvel’s greatest superheroes. Check out Screen Rant’s exclusive images of the issue and artwork on display at the SDCC Museums’s new Spider-Man exhibit:,San Diego Comic-Con’s new Spider-Man exhibit Beyond Amazing is now open to the public until January 3rd. Spider-Man will be inducted into the Comic-Con Museum Character Hall of Fame on July 20th. If you’re interested, please check out our other exclusive images and coverage from the SDCC Comic-Con Museum,More: Spider-Man’s First MCU Villain is Unknowingly his Greatest Comic Ally