It's easy to assume a five-issue Marvel limited series that started back in June is already wrapped up, but Spider-Man: Long Way Home still has one issue left.
Jonathan Hickman and Adam Kubert's out-of-continuity brawl between Spider-Man, the Punisher, and the Hulk has four issues out, with the confirmed finale landing December 23, 2026.
If you assumed this one already finished, you're not alone — the irregular gaps between issues make it look done well before it actually is.
Here's the complete reading order so far, what's confirmed about the finale, and how to protect single issues while you catch up.
Issue 1 opens on an alternate version of the Marvel Universe where the Punisher's existence is barely a rumor and the Hulk is unknown, with A.I.M. having just developed a Cosmic Cube in the South American jungle.
Frank Castle, Bruce Banner, and Peter Parker all converge on the Cube at once, setting up a three-way fight for cosmic power instead of a straightforward hero-versus-villain story.
Issue 2 keeps the three leads scattered through the jungle, with the Punisher shown actually holding the Cosmic Cube at one point as the hunt turns more brutal.
This issue is where Hickman starts pulling back from a straight action structure toward something closer to the slower, chess-like plotting he's known for on other Marvel work.
Issue 3 landed with a two-month gap after issue 2, the first real sign the series was running on an irregular schedule instead of a tight monthly cadence.
It pushes the three-way conflict further from a simple chase and closer to a real reckoning over who actually deserves the Cube's power.
Issue 4, confirmed for November 11, is billed as three paths converging, with the solicitation describing a certified free-for-all where it's unclear if any of the three leads can still call themselves heroes afterward.
That framing matters heading into the finale, since it suggests the ending isn't a clean hero win so much as a verdict on all three characters.
Marvel's own solicitation for issue 5 calls it the finale fans have been waiting for, closing out the fight over who takes hold of the Cosmic Cube's power.
At 32 pages instead of the standard 28, it's built as a longer closing chapter rather than a same-length wrap-up to the arc.
With roughly five weeks between issues 1 and 2, nearly two months before issue 3, and almost two more before issue 4, this is one of the more irregular release schedules of any current Marvel limited series.
That's exactly why a full issue-by-issue reading order matters more here than on a tightly monthly book — a current-age comic backer board behind each issue also keeps a longer-than-usual wait from meaning a bent cover by the time issue 5 arrives.
Because Long Way Home sits outside regular Marvel continuity, none of its outcomes carry forward into the ongoing Amazing Spider-Man or Punisher books, which frees Hickman to let any of the three leads actually lose.
That's a real structural difference from a standard crossover event, where editorial mandates about which characters need to look strong going into their next series usually limit how far a fight can actually go.
It's also why the solicitation for issue 4 openly questions whether the three leads can still call themselves heroes afterward, a line that would be unusual framing for a story required to protect its cast's status quo.
2026 has been a crowded year for Spider-Man in print, with the ongoing Amazing Spider-Man and the newer Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day both running alongside Long Way Home on shop shelves.
Long Way Home is the only one of the three billed as out-of-continuity, so nothing that happens to Peter Parker here needs to line up with what's happening in either ongoing title that same month.
No, the confirmed finale is issue 5 on December 23, 2026.
Jonathan Hickman writes and Adam Kubert draws the full five-issue run.
No, it's billed as an out-of-continuity story.
A Cosmic Cube that A.I.M. developed in the South American jungle.
Four of five issues are already out, which makes now the easiest point to read the whole Spider-Man: Long Way Home arc in order before December 23 settles who actually keeps the Cosmic Cube.
Keep single issues from fading or creasing while you track down the run with EVORETRO's current-age comic bags.
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