"The Avengers" and "The Dark Knight Rises" were the two most financially successful movies of the year. Hot on their heels was another comic book flick -- this one coming courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Even if "The Amazing Spider-Man" doesn't quite measure up to 2012's aforementioned superhero juggernauts, it's worth the price of admission for Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone alone, easily one of the most electric couples on screen (and off it) all year long. Throw in a gargantuan genetic nightmare and you have yourself one heck of a summer blockbuster.

If you missed out on the "Spider-Man" craze this year, fear not -- that's what our "Amazing" GIF guide is here for!

1. This is the hero of our story. His name is Peter Parker.

2. He gets bit by a genetically-modified spider and becomes a superhero named Spider-Man. He looks like this:

3. Being Spider-Man is super-rad and gives Peter enough confidence to start dating this girl, Gwen Stacy:

4. She's really cool, and she knows Peter's secret. She's pretty much up for anything, including this:

5. Peter, on a search to find out more about his parents, meets up with his father's old colleague, the one-armed Doctor Curtis Connors:

6. Doctor Connors hopes to use reptilian DNA to achieve medical breakthroughs -- like regrowing limbs, for instance. He has a breakthrough after a conversation with Peter.

7. But Connors' experiment has unintended side-effects, turning him into a reptilian monstrosity known as The Lizard.

8. The Lizard learns that Peter Parker and Spidey are one and the same. The two are at odds:

9. And it leads to a big high school battle featuring the greatest Stan Lee cameo ever:

10. Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and Lizard duke it out on a rooftop:

11. After some major and minor tragedies (Spidey gets shot! Gwen's father dies!), our hero manages to subdue the Lizard and takes Doctor Connors into custody. The day is saved!

12. And (almost) everybody lives happily ever after -- both on and off-screen.

Did you enjoy the "Spider-Man" reboot this year? Why or why not? Tell us in the comments section below or hit us up on Twitter!

"The Big & Best of 2012: A Year End Celebration Presented by T-Mobile" goes LIVE at 12 p.m. ET on 12/12/12. Watch at BigAndBestOf2012.com for eight hours of live performances from stars like Bruno Mars and Miguel, special editions of "RapFix Live" with Ma$e and A$AP Rocky, "Big Morning Buzz Live," "MTV After Hours" with Norman Reedus, "You Oughta Know," surprise guest appearances, prize giveaways and much much more!

Stick with MTV as we count down the Best of 2012, including the Best Songs of 2012, Live Performances, Movies and EDM Videos of the year.