mike
5 Issues
Jun 6, 2026
Staff
Ranked
Most Iconic Comic Book Moments of All Time
The panels, pages, and scenes that defined comics history, from first appearances to shocking deaths to final pages that left readers breathless for decades.
#1
Superman, Champion of the Oppressed
Action Comics (1938)
Apr 18, 1938
1
Action Comics #1 is the moment everything started, the debut of Superman in 1938 that launched an entire genre and whose cover image remains the most recognizable in comics history.
#121
The Night Gwen Stacy Died
The Amazing Spider-Man (1963)
Apr 01, 1973
2
Amazing Spider-Man #121 is the death of Gwen Stacy, the single most important moment in Marvel history for proving that heroes could fail permanently and that stakes were real.
#1
Issue #1
Batman: The Killing Joke (1988)
Jul 01, 1988
3
Batman: The Killing Joke contains the most debated pages in superhero comic history, a Joker origin story that raised fundamental questions about heroism, villainy, and creative responsibility.
#15
Spider-Man!; The Bell Ringer; The Man in the Mummy Case; There are Martians Among Us
Amazing Fantasy (1962)
Jun 05, 1962
4
Amazing Fantasy #15 is the first appearance of Spider-Man, the issue that introduced one of the most beloved characters in pop culture history and the defining "with great power" moral foundation.
#1
Watchmen
Watchmen (1987)
5
Watchmen #1 opens one of the most celebrated works in comics history, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons constructing a dense, formally inventive story that permanently changed what superhero comics could be.
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