Swinging through 50 years!

For 50 years, Spider-Man has patrolled the panels of comicdom and kept fans’ Spider senses tingling. Here are some of the highlights — and some missteps:

Aug. 1962:

Nerdy Peter Parker and his costumed alter-ego, the Amazing Spider-Man, debut in “Amazing Fantasy No. 15,” courtesy of writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko.

Sept. 1965: Peter graduates from high school — kind of in real time.

Sept. 1967: The initial animated “Spider-Man” cartoon series starts the first of three seasons on ABC. The show has a theme song that still echoes in fans’ heads, and is the first of several animated Spidey shows.

May-June 1971:

Stan Lee and artist Gil Kane tackle the oncetaboo subject of illegal drugs in a story line for “The Amazing Spider-Man,” issues No. 96-98. June 1973:

In the controversial story line “The Night Gwen Stacy Died,” Parker’s true love dies after she’s tossed off the Brooklyn Bridge (it’s the George Washington Bridge in the text, though) by arch-nemesis the Green Goblin. It’s a seminal moment in American comics.

Oct. 21, 1974: A live-action, non-speaking Spider-Man debuts on the children’s TV series “The Electric Company.”

Sept. 14, 1977:

The liveaction drama “The Amazing Spider-Man” TV series debuts on CBS, starring Nicholas Ham-

mond as a college-age Peter Parker (still employed at the Daily Bugle) and with minimal special effects. The show is canceled after two seasons.

Dec. 1984:

On the cover of “Secret Wars” No. 8, fans were shocked to see Spider-Man shed his red and blue tights for a new black costume. This was the comics’ equivalent of New Coke. The new threads turned out to be an evil symbiotic alien.

June 5, 1987:

Stan Lee officiates a mock wedding at Shea Stadium to commemorate the comic-book wedding between Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. The union divides fans. Many prefer to see Spidey alone and miserable.

Thanksgiving 1987: The Spider-Man balloon debuts at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Oct. 1994:

In an effort to get Spidey back to his roots, Marvel brings back a Peter Parker clone (Ben Reilly) from a ’70s story line — but then shocks readers by revealing that Peter was really the

clone. It’s a flagrant attempt to get Spider-Man single and miserable again. But when the readers became miserable, it turns out to be a Green Goblin “hoax.”

Nov. 14, 2001:

Just a few months after Sept. 11, Marvel rushed to produce a powerful issue where Spider-Man stands in the devastation of the twin towers and tries to make sense of it all. Other than the logo, the cover is entirely black.

May 3, 2002: Director Sam Raimi brings “Spider-Man” to the big screen, with Tobey Maguire as the wall-crawling hero. The film nets more than $820 million. “Spider-Man 2” is released in 2004, and “Spider-Man 3” — a commercial hit but critical flop — hits theaters in 2007.

Nov. 2007: Peter’s marriage is cosmically undone in a controversial “retcon” (that is, a redo of history). Once again, fans get to have Spider-Man nice and miserable again.

Nov. 28, 2010:

Previews for “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” begin on Broadway to almost universal critical gripes. But the show, which seemed destined to be a bust, is famously revamped and becomes one of the most lucrative shows on the Great White Way.

July 3, 2012:

“The Amazing Spider-Man” opens with a new man — Andrew Garfield — behind the mask.