Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man swings onto the glass in his menacing black suit — Stern’s 2007 Spider-Man Black Suited LE is the sought-after limited edition of one of the modern era’s most acclaimed family machines, designed by the legendary Steve Ritchie with Lyman Sheats code. With just 500 of this black-suit variant built, it’s a genuine collector’s prize, pairing Ritchie’s flowing, shootable geometry with the brooding symbiote aesthetic that fans clamor for.
The rules are a masterclass in approachable depth. Complete the white spiders and shoot either outer loop to start one of four villain battles, and here’s the engine that drives great scores: after finishing a mode, your next major shot is tripled for the rest of the ball, and completing the white spiders again doubles the next shot you make. Stack those doublers and triplers onto multiball and your jackpots swell dramatically. Doc Ock multiball is the place to risk the dangerous “Light Lock” target to arm Black Suit multiball, and a backhand from the right flipper is the safer way to start Doc Ock in the first place. Defeating all four villains once lights an extra ball, twice lights Battle Royale, and three times is your stepping stone toward the Super Hero wizard mode. The veterans even skip the super skill shot here, since the two-times bonus from the regular skill shot simply pays better.
Spider-Man is fast, fair, and endlessly satisfying — the kind of machine that flatters a beginner and rewards a master in equal measure, which is exactly why it’s a perennial tournament favorite. In this rare black suit, it’s also a thing of beauty. Stack the multipliers, ride the multiballs, and web up a monster score.