User blog comment:StanLee4Ever/Spidey/@comment-61022-20120927223722

Two words: Marketing Gimmick.

Not the first time with Spider-Man either. In the 90's they had a storyline called "The Final Chapter" which was billed the same way, Spider-Man's final battle with the Green Goblin, blah de blah blah blah. It was just a gimmick to relaunch.

Spider-Man is their most iconic and marketable character, if they do anything with Peter Parker, it'll be short lived until the hype of this is over and sales start to flag.

See the Death of Captain America and the Human Torch as great examples of this.