Spider-Man is a
superhero appearing in
American comic books published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
. Created by writer-editor
Stan Lee and artist
Steve Ditko
Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...
, he
first appeared in the
anthology comic book ''
Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the
Silver Age of Comic Books
The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an in ...
. He has since been featured in films, television shows, novels, video games, and plays. Spider-Man is the alias of Peter Parker, an orphan raised by his
Aunt May
Maybelle "May" Parker-Jameson (née Reilly), commonly known as Aunt May, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. Making her first full appeara ...
and
Uncle Ben
Benjamin Franklin Parker, usually referred to as Uncle Ben, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually in association with the superhero Spider-Man. He is the husband of May Parker and the pat ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
after his parents
Richard and Mary Parker
Richard and Mary Parker are fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are the parents of Peter Parker, the superhero known as Spider-Man.
Richard and Mary Parker have been adapted to appear in se ...
died in a plane crash. Lee and Ditko had the character deal with the struggles of adolescence and financial issues and gave him many
supporting characters
Support may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Supporting character
Business and finance
* Support (technical analysis)
* Child support
* Customer support
* Income Support
Construction
* Support (structure), or lateral support, a ...
, such as
Flash Thompson
Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 196 ...
,
J. Jonah Jameson, and
Harry Osborn;
romantic interest
Romance or romantic love is a feeling of love for, or a strong attraction towards another person, and the courtship behaviors undertaken by an individual to express those overall feelings and resultant emotions.
The ''Wiley Blackwell Encyc ...
s
Gwen Stacy,
Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane "MJ" Watson is a Character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and made her first appearance in ''The Amazing Spider-Man' ...
, and the
Black Cat; and
foes such as
Doctor Octopus
Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in ''Th ...
, the
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first and best-known incarnation Norman Osborn, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, is generally regarded as one of the a ...
, and
Venom
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a st ...
. In his
origin story
In entertainment, an origin story is an account or backstory revealing how a Character (arts), character or group of people become a protagonist or antagonist, and it adds to the overall interest and complexity of a narrative, often giving reason ...
, Spider-Man gets superhuman spider-powers and abilities from a bite from a radioactive spider; these include clinging to surfaces and ceilings, superhuman strength, speed, and agility, and detecting danger with his precognition ability called "spider-sense." He also builds wrist-mounted "web-shooter" devices that shoot artificial
spider-webs of his own design that were meant to be used for fighting his enemies and web-swinging across the city. After his personal tragedy of his late Uncle Ben, Peter began using his spider-powers to fight against crime as Spider-Man.
When Spider-Man first appeared in the early 1960s, teenagers in superhero comic books were usually relegated to the role of
sidekick
A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany.
Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...
to the
protagonist. The Spider-Man series broke ground by featuring Peter Parker, a high school student from
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, New York, as Spider-Man's
secret identity
A secret identity is a person's alter ego which is not known to the general populace, most often used in fiction. Brought into popular culture by the Scarlet Pimpernel in 1903, the concept was widespread in pulp heroes and is particularly prevalen ...
, whose "self-obsessions with rejection, inadequacy, and loneliness" were issues to which young readers could relate.
While Spider-Man had all the makings of a sidekick, unlike previous teen heroes such as
Bucky and
Robin, Spider-Man had no superhero mentor like
Captain America and
Batman; he thus had to learn for himself that "
with great power comes great responsibility
"With great power comes great responsibility" is an adage popularized by Spider-Man in Marvel comics, films, and related media. Introduced by Stan Lee, it originally appeared as a closing narration in the 1962 ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15, and was ...
" — a line included in a text box in the final panel of the first Spider-Man story but later
retroactively attributed to his guardian, his late Uncle Ben Parker.
Marvel has featured Spider-Man in several
comic book series
a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...
, the first and longest-lasting of which is ''
The Amazing Spider-Man
''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bimonthly per ...
''. Over the years, the Peter Parker character developed from a shy, nerdy New York City high school student to a troubled but outgoing college student, to a married high school teacher to, in the late 2000s, a single freelance photographer. In the 2000s, he joins the
Avengers. Doctor Octopus also took on the identity for a story arc spanning 2012–2014, following
a body swap plot in which Peter appears to die. Marvel has also published books featuring
alternate versions of Spider-Man, including ''
Spider-Man 2099
Spider-Man 2099 is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Peter David and Rick Leonardi in 1992 for the Marvel 2099 comic book line, and is a futuristic re-imagin ...
'', which features the adventures of Miguel O'Hara, the Spider-Man of the future; ''
Ultimate Spider-Man
''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate ...
'', which features the adventures of a teenaged Peter Parker in
an alternate universe; and ''
Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man'', which depicts the teenager
Miles Morales
Miles Gonzalo MoralesAhmed, Saladin (w), Garrón, Javier (a). ''Miles Morales: Spider-Man'' #1 (2018) Marvel Comics (New York). () is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, and is one o ...
, who takes up the mantle of Spider-Man after Ultimate Peter Parker's supposed death. Miles later became a popular superhero in his own right and was brought into the mainstream continuity, where he sometimes works alongside Peter.
Spider-Man is one of the most popular and commercially successful superheroes. He has appeared in countless
forms of media, including several animated TV series, a
live-action
Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
,
syndicated newspaper
comic strips, and multiple
series of films. The character was first portrayed in live-action by Danny Seagren in ''
Spidey Super Stories
"Spidey Super Stories" is a live-action, recurring skit on the original version of the Children's Television Workshop series ''The Electric Company''.
Overview
Episodes featured the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, provided to the Children's Te ...
'', a ''
The Electric Company
''The Electric Company'' is an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW, now known as Sesame Workshop). It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. The ...
'' skit which ran from 1974 to 1977. In films, Spider-Man has been portrayed by actors
Tobey Maguire
Tobias Vincent Maguire (born June 27, 1975) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing the title character from Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007), a role he later reprised in '' Spider-Man: No Way Hom ...
,
Andrew Garfield
Andrew Russell Garfield (born 20 August 1983) is an English and American actor. He has received various accolades, including a Tony Award, a BAFTA TV Award and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards. ''Time' ...
, and in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
by
Tom Holland
Thomas Stanley Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor. His accolades include a British Academy Film Award, three Saturn Awards, a Guinness World Record and an appearance on the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 Europe list. Some publications h ...
. He was voiced by
Chris Pine
Chris Pine (born August 26, 1980) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' reboot film series (2009–present), Steve Trevor in the DC Extended Universe films ''Wonder Woman'' (2017) and '' Wo ...
and
Jake Johnson
Mark Jake Johnson Weinberger (born May 28, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, film producer and screenwriter best known for his role as Nick Miller in the Fox sitcom ''New Girl'' (2011–2018), for which he was nominated for the Critics' C ...
in the animated film ''
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'' (2018), with Johnson reprising the role in its sequel ''
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse'' (2023).
Reeve Carney
Reeve Jefferson Carney (born April 18, 1983) is an American actor and singer-songwriter. He is best known for originating the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in '' Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'' on Broadway and playing Orpheus in the original B ...
starred originally as Spider-Man in the 2010
Broadway musical
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
''
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark''. Spider-Man has been well-received as a superhero and comic book character, and he is often ranked as one of the most popular and iconic comic book characters of all time and one of the most popular characters in all fiction.
Publication history
Creation and development
![Spider Strikes v1n1 i05 Wentworth](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Spider_Strikes_v1n1_i05_Wentworth.png)
In 1962, with the success of the
Fantastic Four, Marvel Comics editor and head writer
Stan Lee was casting about for a new superhero idea. He said the idea for Spider-Man arose from a surge in teenage demand for comic books, and the desire to create a character with whom teens could identify.
As with Fantastic Four, Lee saw Spider-Man as an opportunity to "get out of his system" what he felt was missing in comic books. In his autobiography, Lee cites the non-superhuman
pulp magazine crime fighter the
Spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
as a great influence,
and in a multitude of print and video interviews, Lee stated he was further inspired by seeing a
spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
climb up a wall—adding in his autobiography that he has told that story so often he has become unsure of whether or not this is true.
Besides the name, the Spider was wanted by both the law and the criminal underworld (a defining theme of Spider-Man's early years), and had through years of ceaseless struggle developed a "sixth sense" which warns him of danger, the apparent inspiration for Spider-Man's "spider-sense".
[ Although at the time teenage superheroes were usually given names ending with "boy", Lee says he chose "Spider-Man" because he wanted the character to age as the series progressed, and felt the name "Spider-Boy" would have made the character sound inferior to other superheroes.] He also decided to insert a hyphen
The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. ''Son-in-law'' is an example of a hyphenated word. The hyphen is sometimes confused with dashes ( figure ...
in the name, as he felt it looked too similar to Superman, another superhero with a red and blue costume that starts with an "S" and ends with "man" (although artist Steve Ditko
Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...
intended the character to have an orange and purple costume). At that time Lee had to get only the consent of Marvel publisher Martin Goodman for the character's approval. In a 1986 interview, Lee described in detail his arguments to overcome Goodman's objections.['']Detroit Free Press
The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...
'' interview with Stan Lee, quoted in ''The Steve Ditko Reader'' by Greg Theakston
Greg Allen Theakston (November 21, 1953 – April 22, 2019) was an American comics artist and illustrator who worked for numerous publishers. He is known for his independent publications as a comics historian under his Pure Imagination impri ...
(Pure Imagination, Brooklyn, NY; ), p. 12 (unnumbered). "He gave me 1,000 reasons why Spider-Man would never work. Nobody likes spiders; it sounds too much like Superman; and how could a teenager be a superhero? Then I told him I wanted the character to be a very human guy, someone who makes mistakes, who worries, who gets acne, has trouble with his girlfriend, things like that. oodman replied,'He's a hero! He's not an average man!' I said, 'No, we make him an average man who happens to have super powers, that's what will make him good.' He told me I was crazy". Goodman eventually agreed to a Spider-Man tryout in what Lee in numerous interviews recalled as what would be the final issue of the science-fiction and supernatural anthology series ''Amazing Adult Fantasy'', which was renamed '' Amazing Fantasy'' for that single issue, #15 (cover-date
The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unu ...
d August 1962, on sale June 5, 1962).[''Amazing Fantasy'' (Marvel, 1962 series)](_blank)
at the Grand Comics Database: "1990 copyright renewal lists the publication date as June 5, 1962"; " e decision to cancel the series had not been made when it went to print, since it is announced that future issues will include a Spider-Man feature." In particular, Lee stated that the fact that it had already been decided that ''Amazing Fantasy'' would be canceled after issue #15 was the only reason Goodman allowed him to use Spider-Man. While this was indeed the final issue, its editorial page anticipated the comic continuing and that "The Spiderman ... will appear every month in ''Amazing''."[
Regardless, Lee received Goodman's approval for the name Spider-Man and the "ordinary teen" concept and approached artist ]Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...
. As comics historian
Comics studies (also comic art studies, sequential art studies or graphic narrative studies) is an academic field that focuses on comics and sequential art. Although comics and graphic novels have been generally dismissed as less relevant pop cul ...
Greg Theakston
Greg Allen Theakston (November 21, 1953 – April 22, 2019) was an American comics artist and illustrator who worked for numerous publishers. He is known for his independent publications as a comics historian under his Pure Imagination impri ...
recounts, Kirby told Lee about an unpublished character on which he had collaborated with Joe Simon in the 1950s, in which an orphaned boy living with an old couple finds a magic ring that granted him superhuman powers. Lee and Kirby "immediately sat down for a story conference", Theakston writes, and Lee afterward directed Kirby to flesh out the character and draw some pages. Steve Ditko would be the inker.[ "'Stan said a new Marvel hero would be introduced in #15 ]f what became titled ''Amazing Fantasy''
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
Hist ...
He would be called Spider-Man. Jack would do the penciling and I was to ink the character.' At this point still, Stan said Spider-Man would be a teenager with a magic ring which could transform him into an adult hero—Spider-Man. I said it sounded like the Fly, which Joe Simon had done for Archie Comics. Stan called Jack about it but I don't know what was discussed. I never talked to Jack about Spider-Man... Later, at some point, I was given the job of drawing Spider-Man'". When Kirby showed Lee the first six pages, Lee recalled, "I ''hated'' the way he was doing it! Not that he did it badly—it just wasn't the character I wanted; it was too heroic". Lee turned to Ditko, who developed a visual style Lee found satisfactory. Ditko recalled:
Although the interior artwork was by Ditko alone, Lee rejected Ditko's cover art and commissioned Kirby to pencil a cover that Ditko inked.[ As Lee explained in 2010, "I think I had Jack sketch out a cover for it because I always had a lot of confidence in Jack's covers."
In an early recollection of the character's creation, Ditko described his and Lee's contributions in a mail interview with Gary Martin published in ''Comic Fan'' #2 (Summer 1965): "Stan Lee thought the name up. I did costume, web gimmick on wrist & spider signal."][ Additional, February 28, 2012.] At the time, Ditko shared a Manhattan studio with noted fetish artist Eric Stanton
Eric Stanton (September 30, 1926 – March 17, 1999; born Ernest Stanzoni Jr.) was an American underground cartoonist and fetish art pioneer.
While Stanton began his career as a bondage fantasy artist for Irving Klaw, the majority of his later ...
, an art-school classmate who, in a 1988 interview with Theakston, recalled that although his contribution to Spider-Man was "almost nil", he and Ditko had "worked on storyboards together and I added a few ideas. But the whole thing was created by Steve on his own... I think I added the business about the webs coming out of his hands." Ditko claimed in a rare interview with Jonathan Ross that the costume was initially envisioned with an orange and purple color scheme rather than the more famous red and blue.
Kirby disputed Lee's version of the story and claimed Lee had minimal involvement in the character's creation. According to Kirby, the idea for Spider-Man had originated with Kirby and Joe Simon, who in the 1950s had developed a character called the Silver Spider for the Crestwood Publications
Crestwood Publications, also known as Feature Publications, was a magazine publisher that also published comic books from the 1940s through the 1960s. Its title ''Prize Comics'' contained what is considered the first ongoing horror comic-book fea ...
comic ''Black Magic'', who was subsequently not used.[Jack Kirby in "Shop Talk: Jack Kirby", '']Will Eisner
William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series '' The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was no ...
's Spirit
Spirit or spirits may refer to:
Liquor and other volatile liquids
* Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks
* Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol
* Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
Magazine'' #39 (February 1982): "Spider-Man was discussed between Joe Simon and myself. It was the last thing Joe and I had discussed. We had a strip called 'The Silver Spider.' The Silver Spider was going into a magazine called ''Black Magic''. ''Black Magic'' folded with Crestwood (Simon & Kirby's 1950s comics company) and we were left with the script. I believe I said this could become a thing called Spider-Man, see, a superhero character. I had a lot of faith in the superhero character that they could be brought back... and I said Spider-Man would be a fine character to start with. But Joe had already moved on. So the idea was already there when I talked to Stan". Simon, in his 1990 autobiography, disputed Kirby's account, asserting that ''Black Magic'' was not a factor, and that he (Simon) devised the name "Spider-Man" (later changed to "The Silver Spider"), while Kirby outlined the character's story and powers. Simon later elaborated that his and Kirby's character conception became the basis for Simon's Archie Comics superhero the Fly. Artist Steve Ditko
Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...
stated that Lee liked the name Hawkman from DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
, and that "Spider-Man" was an outgrowth of that interest.
Simon concurred that Kirby had shown the original Spider-Man version to Lee, who liked the idea and assigned Kirby to draw sample pages of the new character but disliked the results—in Simon's description, " Captain America with cobwebs".[Simon, Joe, with Jim Simon. ''The Comic Book Makers'' (Crestwood/II, 1990) . "There were a few holes in Jack's never-dependable memory. For instance, there was no ''Black Magic'' involved at all. ... Jack brought in the Spider-Man logo that I had loaned to him before we changed the name to The Silver Spider. Kirby laid out the story to Lee about the kid who finds a ring in a spiderweb, gets his powers from the ring, and goes forth to fight crime armed with The Silver Spider's old web-spinning pistol. Stan Lee said, 'Perfect, just what I want.' After obtaining permission from publisher Martin Goodman, Lee told Kirby to pencil-up an origin story. Kirby... using parts of an old rejected superhero named Night Fighter... revamped the old Silver Spider script, including revisions suggested by Lee. But when Kirby showed Lee the sample pages, it was Lee's turn to gripe. He had been expecting a skinny young kid who is transformed into a skinny young kid with spider powers. Kirby had him turn into... Captain America with cobwebs. He turned Spider-Man over to Steve Ditko, who... ignored Kirby's pages, tossed the character's magic ring, web-pistol and goggles... and completely redesigned Spider-Man's costume and equipment. In this life, he became high-school student Peter Parker, who gets his spider powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider. ... Lastly, the Spider-Man logo was redone and a dashing hyphen added".] Writer Mark Evanier
Mark Stephen Evanier (; born March 2, 1952) is an American comic book and television writer, known for his work on the animated TV series ''Garfield and Friends'' and on the comic book ''Groo the Wanderer''. He is also known for his columns and b ...
notes that Lee's reasoning that Kirby's character was too heroic seems unlikely—Kirby still drew the covers for ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 and the first issue of ''The Amazing Spider-Man''. Evanier also disputes Kirby's given reason that he was "too busy" to draw Spider-Man in addition to his other duties since Kirby was, said Evanier, "always busy". Neither Lee's nor Kirby's explanation explains why key story elements like the magic ring were dropped; Evanier states that the most plausible explanation for the sudden change was that Goodman, or one of his assistants, decided that Spider-Man, as drawn and envisioned by Kirby, was too similar to the Fly.
Author and Ditko scholar Blake Bell writes that it was Ditko who noted the similarities to the Fly. Ditko recalled that "Stan called Jack about the Fly", adding that " ys later, Stan told me I would be penciling the story panel breakdowns from Stan's synopsis." It was at this point that the nature of the strip changed. "Out went the magic ring, adult Spider-Man and whatever legend ideas that Spider-Man story would have contained." Lee gave Ditko the premise of a teenager bitten by a spider and developing powers, a premise Ditko would expand upon to the point he became what Bell describes as "the first work for hire
A work made for hire (work for hire or WFH), in copyright law in the United States, is a work that is subject to copyright and is created by employees as part of their job or some limited types of works for which all parties agree in writing to th ...
artist of his generation to create and control the narrative arc of his series". On the issue of the initial creation, Ditko stated, "I still don't know whose idea was Spider-Man". Ditko did, however, view the published version of Spider-Man as a separate creation to the one he saw in the five pencilled pages that Kirby had completed. To support this Ditko used the analogy of the Kirby/Marvel Thor, which was based on a name/idea of a character in Norse mythology: "If Marvel’s Thor is a valid created work by Jack, his creation, then why isn’t Spider-Man by Stan and me valid created work, our creation?"
Kirby noted in a 1971 interview that it was Ditko who "got ''Spider-Man'' to roll, and the thing caught on because of what he did". Lee, while claiming credit for the initial idea, has acknowledged Ditko's role, stating, "If Steve wants to be called co-creator, I think he deserves t. He has further commented that Ditko's costume design was key to the character's success; since the costume completely covers Spider-Man's body, people of all races could visualize themselves inside the costume and thus more easily identify with the character.
Commercial success
A few months after Spider-Man's introduction, publisher Goodman reviewed the sales figures for that issue and was shocked to find it was one of the nascent Marvel's highest-selling comics. A solo ongoing series followed, beginning with ''The Amazing Spider-Man
''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bimonthly per ...
'' #1 (cover-date
The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unu ...
d March 1963). The title eventually became Marvel's top-selling series with the character swiftly becoming a cultural icon; a 1965 '' Esquire'' poll of college campuses found that college students ranked Spider-Man and fellow Marvel hero the Hulk alongside Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
and as their favorite revolutionary icons. One interviewee selected Spider-Man because he was "beset by woes, money problems, and the question of existence. In short, he is one of us." Following Ditko's departure after issue #38 (July 1966), John Romita Sr.
John V. Romita (; born January 24, 1930) is an American comic book artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and for co-creating characters including the Punisher and Wolverine. He was inducted into the Will Eis ...
replaced him as penciller
A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...
and would draw the series for the next several years. In 1968, Romita would also draw the character's extra-length stories in the comics magazine ''The Spectacular Spider-Man
''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' is a comic book and magazine series starring Spider-Man and published by Marvel Comics.
Following the success of Spider-Man's original series, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', Marvel felt the character could support ...
'', a proto-graphic novel
A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
designed to appeal to older readers. It only lasted for two issues, but it represented the first Spider-Man spin-off publication, aside from the original series' summer ''Annual''s that began in 1964.
An early 1970s Spider-Man story ultimately led to the revision of the Comics Code
The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA allowed the comic publishers to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. T ...
. Previously, the Code forbade the depiction of the use of illegal drugs
The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the recreational use of certain intoxicating substances.
While some drugs are illegal to possess, many governments regulate the ...
, even negatively. However, in 1970, the Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
administration's Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...
asked Stan Lee to publish an anti-drug message in one of Marvel's top-selling titles. Lee chose the top-selling ''The Amazing Spider-Man;'' issues #96–98 (May–July 1971) feature a story arc
A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vid ...
depicting the negative effects of drug use. In the story, Peter Parker's friend Harry Osborn becomes addicted to pills. When Spider-Man fights the Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first and best-known incarnation Norman Osborn, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, is generally regarded as one of the a ...
(Norman Osborn, Harry's father), Spider-Man defeats him by revealing Harry's drug addiction. While the story had a clear anti-drug message, the Comics Code Authority refused to issue its seal of approval. Marvel nevertheless published the three issues without the Comics Code Authority's approval or seal. The issues sold so well that the industry's self-censorship was undercut and the Code was subsequently revised.
In 1972, a second monthly ongoing series starring Spider-Man began: ''Marvel Team-Up
''Marvel Team-Up'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series featured two or more Marvel characters in one story. The series was originally published from March 1972 through February 1985, and featured Spider-Man as ...
'', in which Spider-Man was paired with other superheroes and supervillains. From that point on, there have generally been at least two ongoing Spider-Man series at any time. In 1976, his second solo series, ''Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man
''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' is a comic book and magazine series starring Spider-Man and published by Marvel Comics.
Following the success of Spider-Man's original series, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', Marvel felt the character could support ...
'' began running parallel to the main series. A third series featuring Spider-Man, ''Web of Spider-Man
''Web of Spider-Man'' is the name of two different monthly comic book series starring Spider-Man that have been published by Marvel Comics since 1985, the first volume of which ran for 129 issues between 1985 and 1995, and the second of which ran ...
'', launched in 1985 to replace ''Marvel Team-Up
''Marvel Team-Up'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series featured two or more Marvel characters in one story. The series was originally published from March 1972 through February 1985, and featured Spider-Man as ...
''. The launch of a fourth monthly title in 1990, the "adjectiveless" '' Spider-Man'' (with the storyline "Torment
Torment may refer to:
* The feeling of pain or suffering
* Causing to suffer, torture
Films
* ''Torment'' (1924 film), a silent crime-drama
* ''Torment'' (1944 film) (''Hets''), a Swedish film
* ''Torment'' (1950 British film), a British thr ...
"), written and drawn by popular artist Todd McFarlane
Todd McFarlane (; born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian comic book creator, artist, writer, filmmaker and entrepreneur, best known for his work as the artist on ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and as the creator, writer, and artist on the superhero horro ...
, debuted with several different covers, all with the same interior content. The various versions combined sold over 3 million copies, an industry record at the time. Several miniseries, one-shot issues, and loosely related comics have also been published, and Spider-Man makes frequent cameos and guest appearance
In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...
s in other comic book series. In 1996, ''The Sensational Spider-Man
''The Sensational Spider-Man'' is a comic book series starring Spider-Man published by Marvel Comics for 35 issues (#0–33, with # -1 published in July 1997 between #17 and #18), from January 1996 until November 1998.
Publication history
'' ...
'' was created to replace ''Web of Spider-Man''.
In 1998 writer-artist John Byrne revamped the origin of Spider-Man in the 13-issue limited series '' Spider-Man: Chapter One'' (Dec. 1998 – Oct. 1999), similar to Byrne's adding details and some revisions to Superman's origin in DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
' '' The Man of Steel''. At the same time, the original ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' was ended with issue #441 (Nov. 1998), and ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' was restarted with vol. 2, #1 (Jan. 1999). In 2003, Marvel reintroduced the original numbering for ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and what would have been vol. 2, #59 became issue #500 (Dec. 2003).
When the primary series ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' reached issue #545 (Dec. 2007), Marvel dropped its spin-off ongoing series and instead began publishing ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' three times monthly, beginning with #546–548 (all January 2008). The three times-monthly scheduling of ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' lasted until November 2010, when the comic book was increased from 22 pages to 30 pages each issue and published only twice a month, beginning with #648–649 (both November 2010). The following year, Marvel launched '' Avenging Spider-Man'' as the first spin-off ongoing series in addition to the still-twice monthly ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' since the previous ones were canceled at the end of 2007. The ''Amazing'' series temporarily ended with issue #700 in December 2012, and was replaced by ''The Superior Spider-Man
''The Superior Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics that ran between January 2013 and September 2014. It was written by Dan Slott, with artwork by Ryan Stegman, Humberto Ramos, and Giuseppe Camuncoli. The seri ...
'', which had Doctor Octopus
Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in ''Th ...
serve as the new Spider-Man, his mind having taken over Peter Parker's body. ''Superior'' was an enormous commercial success for Marvel, and ran for 31 issues before the real Peter Parker returned in a newly relaunched ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #1 in April 2014.
Following the 2015 ''Secret Wars
''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'' for short, is a twelve-issue American comic book crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter, with ...
'' crossover event, a number of Spider-Man-related titles were either relaunched or created as part of the "All-New, All-Different Marvel
All-New, All-Different Marvel (ANADM) is a 2015–2019 branding for Marvel Comics' entire main line of comics. Taking place after the crossover storyline " Secret Wars", it details the new Marvel Universe, with nearly 60–65 titles relaunched w ...
" event. Among them, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' was relaunched as well and primarily focuses on Peter Parker continuing to run Parker Industries, and becoming a successful businessman who is operating worldwide.
Fictional character biography
Early years
In Forest Hills, Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, New York City,[ Midtown High School student Peter Benjamin Parker is a science-whiz orphan living with his ]Uncle Ben
Benjamin Franklin Parker, usually referred to as Uncle Ben, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually in association with the superhero Spider-Man. He is the husband of May Parker and the pat ...
and Aunt May
Maybelle "May" Parker-Jameson (née Reilly), commonly known as Aunt May, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. Making her first full appeara ...
. As depicted in '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (Aug. 1962), he is bitten by a radioactive
Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consi ...
spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
(erroneously classified as an insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...
in the panel) at a science exhibit and "acquires the agility and proportionate strength of an arachnid
Arachnida () is a class of joint-legged invertebrate animals (arthropods), in the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, camel spiders, whip spiders and vinegar ...
". Along with heightened athletic abilities, Parker gains the ability to adhere to walls and ceilings. Through his native knack for science, he develops a gadget that lets him fire adhesive webbing of his own design through small, wrist-mounted barrels. Initially seeking to capitalize on his new abilities, Parker dons a costume and, as "Spider-Man", becomes a novelty television star. However, "He blithely ignores the chance to stop a fleeing thief
Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...
, ndhis indifference ironically catches up with him when the same criminal later robs and kills his Uncle Ben." Spider-Man tracks and subdues the killer and learns, in the story's next-to-last caption, "With great power there must also come—great responsibility!"[ Daniels, Les. ''Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics'' (Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1991) , p. 95.]
Despite his superpowers, Parker struggles to help his widowed aunt pay the rent, is taunted by his peers—particularly football star Flash Thompson
Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 196 ...
—and, as Spider-Man, engenders the editorial wrath of newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...
publisher J. Jonah Jameson.[Saffel, Steve. ''Spider-Man the Icon: The Life and Times of a Pop Culture Phenomenon'' (]Titan Books
Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and c ...
, 2007) , p. 21. As he battles his enemies for the first time,[''Amazing Spider-Man, The'' (Marvel, 1963 Series)](_blank)
at the Grand Comics Database
The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...
Parker finds juggling his personal life and costumed adventures difficult. In time, Peter graduates from high school and enrolls at Empire State University (a fictional institution evoking the real-life Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
and New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
),[Saffel, p. 51] where he meets roommate and best friend Harry Osborn and girlfriend Gwen Stacy, and Aunt May introduces him to Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane "MJ" Watson is a Character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and made her first appearance in ''The Amazing Spider-Man' ...
.[Saffel, p. 27] As Peter deals with Harry's drug problems, and Harry's father is revealed to be Spider-Man's nemesis the Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first and best-known incarnation Norman Osborn, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, is generally regarded as one of the a ...
, Peter even attempts to give up his costumed identity for a while. Gwen Stacy's father, New York City Police
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
detective Captain George Stacy
George Stacy is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually in stories depicting the superhero Spider-Man. He is Gwen Stacy's father and a former police captain from the New York City Police Departm ...
, is accidentally killed during a battle between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus
Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in ''Th ...
(issue #90, November 1970).[Saffel, p. 60]
1970s
In issue #121 (June 1973),[ the Green Goblin throws Gwen Stacy from a tower of either the Brooklyn Bridge (as depicted in the art) or the ]George Washington Bridge
The George Washington Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting Fort Lee, New Jersey, with Manhattan in New York City. The bridge is named after George Washington, the first president of the United S ...
(as given in the text). She dies during Spider-Man's rescue attempt; a note on the letters page of issue #125 states: "It saddens us to say that the whiplash effect she underwent when Spidey's webbing stopped her so suddenly was, in fact, what killed her."[Saffel, p. 65] The following issue, the Goblin appears to kill himself accidentally in the ensuing battle with Spider-Man.
Working through his grief, Parker eventually develops tentative feelings toward Watson, and the two "become confidants rather than lovers".[Sanderson, ''Marvel Universe'', p. 85] A romantic relationship eventually develops, with Parker proposing to her in issue #182 (July 1978), and being turned down an issue later. Parker went on to graduate from college in issue #185,[ and becomes involved with the shy Debra Whitman and the extroverted, flirtatious costumed thief Felicia Hardy, a.k.a. the Black Cat,][Sanderson, ''Marvel Universe'', p. 83] whom he meets in issue #194 (July 1979).[
]
1980s
From 1984 to 1988, Spider-Man wore a black costume with a white spider design on his chest. The new costume originated in the ''Secret Wars
''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'' for short, is a twelve-issue American comic book crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter, with ...
'' miniseries, on an alien planet where Spider-Man participates in a battle between Earth's major superheroes and supervillains. He continues wearing the costume when he returns, starting in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #252. The change to a longstanding character's design met with controversy, "with many hardcore comics fans decrying it as tantamount to sacrilege. Spider-Man's traditional red and blue costume was iconic, they argued, on par with those of his D.C. rivals Superman and Batman."[Leupp, Thomas]
"Behind the Mask: The Story of Spider-Man's Black Costume"
, ReelzChannel.com, 2007, n.d
WebCitation archive
The creators then revealed the costume was an alien symbiote which Spider-Man is able to reject after a difficult struggle, though the symbiote returns several times as Venom
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a st ...
for revenge.[
Parker proposes to Watson in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #290 (July 1987), and she accepts two issues later, with the wedding taking place in ''The Amazing Spider-Man Annual'' #21 (1987)—promoted with a real-life mock wedding using actors at ]Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City. , with Stan Lee officiating, on June 5, 1987.[Saffel, p. 124] David Michelinie
David Michelinie (; born May 6, 1948) is an American comic book writer best known for scripting Marvel Comics' '' The Amazing Spider-Man'' and '' Iron Man'' and the DC Comics feature Superman in ''Action Comics''. Among the characters he create ...
, who scripted based on a plot by editor-in-chief Jim Shooter
James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor and publisher for various comic books. He started professionally in the medium at the age of 14, and he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comic ...
, said in 2007, "I didn't think they actually should ave gotten
''Alta Velocidad Española'' (''AVE'') is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . As of December 2021, the Spanish high-speed rail network, on part of which the AVE ...
married. ... I had actually planned another version, one that wasn't used."[ Parker published a book of Spider-Man photographs called ''Webs''. and returned to his Empire State University ]graduate studies
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree.
The organization and stru ...
in biochemistry
Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...
in #310 (Dec. 1988).[
]
1990s
In the controversial 1990s storyline the "Clone Saga
The "Clone Saga" is an extended comic-book storyline published by Marvel Comics, revolving around the superhero Spider-Man and clones of him, as well as of other characters. The second and best-known story arc of this name ran from October 1994 t ...
", a clone of Parker, created in 1970s comics by insane scientist Miles Warren
The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...
, a.k.a. the Jackal, returns to New York City upon hearing of Aunt May
Maybelle "May" Parker-Jameson (née Reilly), commonly known as Aunt May, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. Making her first full appeara ...
's health worsening. The clone had lived incognito as "Ben Reilly
Benjamin "Ben" Reilly (), also known as the Scarlet Spider, is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Grown in a lab by the Miles Warren / Jackal, he is a clone of Peter Parker / Spider-Man tasked ...
", but now assumes the superhero guise the Scarlet Spider
The Scarlet Spider is an alias used by several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most notably Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker, both of whom are genetic replicates of the superhero Spider-Man.
Both the ...
and allies with Parker. To the surprise of both, new tests indicate "Reilly" is the original and "Parker" the clone. Complicating matters, Watson announces in ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' #220 (Jan. 1995) that she is pregnant with Parker's baby.[ Later, however, a resurrected ]Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first and best-known incarnation Norman Osborn, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, is generally regarded as one of the a ...
(Norman Osborn) has Watson poisoned, causing premature labor and the death of her and Parker's unborn daughter.[Saunders, et al., ''Chronicle'', p. 281] The Green Goblin had switched the results of the clone test in an attempt to destroy Parker's life by making him believe himself to be the clone. Reilly is killed while saving Parker, in ''Peter Parker: Spider-Man'' #75 (Dec. 1996), and his body immediately crumbles into dust, confirming Reilly was the clone.[
In issue #97 (Nov. 1998) of the second series titled ''Peter Parker: Spider-Man'', Parker learns his Aunt May was kidnapped by Norman Osborn and her apparent death in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #400 (April 1995) had been a hoax.][''Amazing Spider-Man, The'', Marvel, 1999 Series](_blank)
(''The Amazing Spider-Man'' vol. 2) at the Grand Comics Database Shortly afterward, in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (vol. 2) #13 (#454, Jan. 2000), Watson is apparently killed in an airplane explosion.[Ruby, Sam]
SamRuby.com (fan site)
She turns up alive and well in (vol. 2) #28 (#469, April 2001),[ but she and Peter become separated in the following issue.
]
2000s
''Babylon 5
''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tele ...
'' creator J. Michael Straczynski began writing ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', illustrated by John Romita Jr.
John Salvatore Romita (; born August 17, 1956), known professionally as John Romita Jr., is an American comics artist best known for his extensive work for Marvel Comics from the 1970s to the 2010s. He is the son of artist John Romita Sr.
Early ...
, beginning with (vol. 2) #30 (#471, June 2001). Two issues later, Parker, now employed as a teacher at his old high school, meets the enigmatic Ezekiel, who possesses similar spider powers and suggests that Parker having gained such abilities might not have been a fluke—that Parker has a connection to a totem
A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or '' doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system.
While ''the ...
ic spider spirit. In (vol. 2) #37 (#478, Jan. 2002), May discovers her nephew Parker is Spider-Man, leading to a new openness in their relationship.[ Parker and Watson reconcile in (vol. 2) #50 (#491, April 2003),][ and in #512 (Nov. 2004)—the original issue numbering having returned with #500—Parker learns his late girlfriend Gwen Stacy had had two children with ]Norman Osborn
Norman Osborn is a fictional character, fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July ...
.[''Amazing Spider-Man, The'', Marvel, 2003 Series](_blank)
(renumbering to return to original numbering from 1963) at the Grand Comics Database
He joins the superhero team the The New Avengers (comics), New Avengers in ''New Avengers'' #1–2. After their respective homes are destroyed by a deranged, superpowered former high-school classmate, Parker, Watson, and May move into Stark Tower, and Parker begins working as Tony Stark's assistant while again freelancing for ''The Daily Bugle'' and continuing his teaching. In the 12-part 2005 story arc "Spider-Man: The Other, The Other", Parker undergoes a transformation that Spider-Man's powers and equipment#Powers after "Disassembled" and "The Other", evolves his powers. In the comic ''Civil War (comics), Civil War'' #2 (June 2006), part of the company-wide Fictional crossover, crossover arc of that title, the U.S. government's Registration acts (comics), Superhuman Registration Act leads Spider-Man to reveal his true identity publicly. A growing unease about the Registration Act prompts him to escape with May and Watson and join the anti-registration underground.
In issue #537 (Dec. 2006), May is critically wounded by a sniper hired by Kingpin (character), Wilson Fisk and enters into a coma. Parker, desperate to save her, exhausts all possibilities and makes a Deal with the Devil, pact with the demon-lord Mephisto (comics), Mephisto, who saves May's life in exchange for Parker and Watson agreeing to have their marriage and all memory of it disappear. In this changed reality, Spider-Man's identity is secret once again, and in #545 (Jan. 2008), Watson returns and is cold toward him.
That controversial[Weiland, Jonah]
storyline "The 'One More Day' Interviews with Joe Quesada, Pt. 1 of 5"
, ''Newsarama'', December 28, 2007
WebCitation archive
storyline, "One More Day", rolled back much of the fictional continuity at the behest of editor-in-chief Joe Quesada, who said, "Peter being single is an intrinsic part of the very foundation of the world of Spider-Man".[ It caused unusual public friction between Quesada and writer Straczynski, who "told Joe that I was going to take my name off the last two issues of the [story] arc", but was talked out of doing so.][Weiland, Jonah]
"The 'One More Day' Interviews with Joe Quesada, Pt. 2 of 5"
, ''Newsarama'', December 31, 2007
WebCitation archive
At issue with Straczynski's climax to the arc, Quesada said, was
In this new continuity, designed to have very limited repercussions throughout the remainder of the Marvel Universe, Parker returns to work at the ''Daily Bugle'', which has been renamed ''The DB'' under a new publisher. He soon switches to the Alternative newspaper, alternative press paper ''Front Line (comics), The Front Line''. J. Jonah Jameson becomes the Mayor of New York City in issue #591 (June 2008).[ Jameson's estranged father, J. Jonah Jameson Sr., marries May in issue #600 (Sept. 2009).][
During the "Secret Invasion" by shape-shifting extra-terrestrials, the Skrulls, Norman Osborn shoots and kills the Skrull queen Veranke.] He leverages this widely publicized success, positioning himself as the new director of the S.H.I.E.L.D.-like paramilitary force H.A.M.M.E.R. to advance his agenda, while using his public image to start his own Dark Avengers. Norman himself leads the Dark Avengers as the Iron Patriot, a suit of armor fashioned by himself after Iron Man's Iron Man's armor, armor with Captain America's colors.
Harry is approached by Norman with the offer of a job within the Dark Avengers. It is later revealed that it is a ruse to coerce Harry into taking the American Son armor, whom Norman had planned to kill, in order to increase public sympathy. When Harry has the option of killing Norman, Spider-Man says to decapitate him, since Norman's healing factor may repair a blow to the head. Spider-Man also cautions Harry that killing Norman will cause Harry to "become the son Norman always wanted". Harry instead backs down, and turns away from his father forever.
2010s
At Loki (Marvel Comics), Loki's suggestion, Norman Osborn Siege (comics), creates a rationale to invade Asgard (comics), Asgard, claiming the world poses a national security threat. During a pitched battle with several superheroes, Osborn fights with the recently-resurrected Steve Rogers, however, Iron Man removes Osborn's Iron Patriot armor remotely, revealing Osborn used green facepaint to create a goblin-like look. Osborn screams that the Avengers do not know what they have done, only for Spider-Man to knock him down. He ends up incarcerated in the Raft penitentiary, blaming his Goblin alter-ego for ruining his chance to protect the world.
Sometime after ''Siege'', MJ invites Peter over so the two of them could gain closure over the marriage that did not happen and the breakup. Later, a massive war ensued between Doctor Octopus and Spider-Man to get Lily Hollister's and Osborn's son, in which Spider-Man found that the child was actually Harry's, who later leaves town to raise him. Spider-Man assisted the Avengers in defeating Doctor Octopus' army of Macro-Octobots. He then faced a new Hobgoblin and the Kingpin, but days later, he lamentably lost Marla Jameson in a fight between Alistair Alphonso Smythe's Spider-Slayers.
After helping Anti-Venom (Eddie Brock) reveal Mr. Negative's true identity, The Queen (Marvel Comics), Queen was revealed as the true mastermind: she wanted to turn the whole human race into spiders. Mr. Fantastic created a cure using the Anti-Venom Symbiote which Peter's clone Kaine accidentally cured from his mutations, turning him into a perfect clone.
While he and the Avengers battled the Spider-Queen in Central Park, Kaine killed her and Peter managed to get the cure to every citizen via Doctor Octopus's Octobots. He met with Jay and May while they were leaving for Boston.
Because of revealing he had spider-powers, Peter's psychic blind spot was weakened, letting Charlie Cooper know he was Spider-Man, causing Peter to be single once again. Peter gives a last cure sample to MJ, who briefly attempted to keep some spider-powers and then look at the Empire State Building, lit in red and blue in his honor.
In the middle of a fight, Spider-Man was unsuspectedly pinched by one of Doctor Octopus' Octobots programmed to swap consciousness between the two, causing Peter to become trapped in the dying body of his foe while Doctor Octopus claimed Peter's life for himself. In an attempt to take back his life with the little time he had left, Peter broke out of Octopus's cell in the Raft, leading to a final confrontation between the two in the Avengers Tower. Though Peter failed to reverse the change, he managed to establish a weak link with Otto's mind using an Octobot. In his final moments, Peter forced Otto Octavius to relive all of his memories. Having experienced in a flash all of Peter's trials and tribulations, Otto learned his lesson of power and responsibility and swore to carry on with Peter's life with dignity as a "Superior" Spider-Man.
A portion of Peter survived in his original body in the form of a subconsciousness. Though Otto attempted to rid of this remnant of Peter, he decided to seek its help sometime later after being overwhelmed by the returned Green Goblin and his Goblin Nation. Realizing that he failed in his role as the "Superior" Spider-Man, having pushed his allies aside and lost his resources in the process, Otto willingly allowed Peter to reclaim his body in order to defeat Osborn once and for all and save Anna Maria Marconi, Otto's love. In the aftermath of Otto's possession of his body, Peter began to amend the relationships damaged by Otto's arrogance and negligence, both as Peter Parker and Spider-Man. He additionally took up the reins of Parker Industries, a small company founded by Otto after leaving Horizon Labs.
While adjusting to his new status quo, especially his position as the CEO of his very own company, Peter learned a second person has been bit by the radioactive spider, Cindy Moon. Spider-Man tracked her down and freed her from a bunker owned by the late Ezekiel Simms, where Cindy had spent over a decade in voluntary confinement shortly after getting her powers, in order to avoid drawing Morlun's attention. While Peter notified Cindy that Morlun was dead, he had in fact survived his last encounter against Spider-Man.
Not long after rescuing Cindy, who went on to adopt her own superheroic identity as Silk, Spider-Man was approached by a contingent of spider-people from all over the Multiverse that banded together to fight the Inheritors, a group of psychic vampires and the family of Morlun that had begun to hunt down the spider-totems of other realities. During a mission to gather more recruits in A.D. 2099, the Spider-Army stumbled upon another party of spider-people led by Otto Octavius, or rather a version of him from the recent past who had been plucked out of time. With the help of Spider-Woman, who had previously infiltrated the Inheritor's base on Earth-001, the Spider-Army learned of a prophecy in which the Inheritors planned to sacrifice three key spiders: the Other, the Bride, and the Scion. These individuals were Kaine, Moon, and Benjamin "Benjy" Parker of Earth-982, respectively.
With the help of even more recruits from other realities and even a deviant Inheritor named Karn, the Spider-Army, including a version of Gwen Stacy with spider-powers known as "Spider-Gwen", launches one final attack on the Inheritors' home of Earth-001. The ritual was stopped, and the Inheritors were exiled with no means to return home to the radioactive wasteland that had become the world of Earth-3145. With the Inheritors neutralized, most of the spider-totems were sent home.
Following the Secret Wars (2015 comic book), revival of the Multiverse, Octavius secretly created a digital backup of his mind that ended up inhabiting of the metallic body of Parker Industries' robotic assistant, the Living Brain. Octavius routinely hacked into the systems of the market share to manipulate its numbers in favor of Parker Industries. As a consequence of this, the company managed to expand into a global conglomerate with numerous bases in different countries, with the company's trademark invention being a mobile device called the Webware. By 8 months after the revival, Spider-Man officially became the mascot of Parker Industries under the guise of being Peter's bodyguard.
Peter discovered New U as a front of operations for the Jackal, who claimed to have found a way to bring people back from the dead using cloning technology.[''Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy'' (vol. 1) #1–5.] In the turn of events, the Jackal was revealed to be Ben Reilly, who had been brought to life by the original Jackal before taking his place. The Jackal's plan eventually fell apart following the triggering of cellular decay in the clones created by New U, which led to the release of the Carrion Virus worldwide.
After the events of "Go Down Swinging (comic book), Go Down Swinging," Peter's life was plagued with problems on both sides. As Spider-Man, Mayor Fisk publicly supported him, condemning all other vigilantes in order to isolate him from his superhero peers. As Peter Parker, his academic credentials were revoked after being accused of plagiarizing his doctoral dissertation from Octavius, resulting in his firing from the ''Daily Bugle''. On the other hand, Peter became romantically involved again with Mary Jane. For a brief time, Peter Parker and Spider-Man were split into separate beings due to an accident involving the reverse-engineered Isotope Genome Accelerator.
However, the separation split Peter down the middle, so both individuals did not share Peter's sense of responsibility, resulting in a reckless and vain Spider-Man. Peter eventually managed to reverse the process, and merge his two halves back together before the side-effects could worsen and result in their death. Later, Spider-Man becomes plagued by visions of a mysterious villain known as "Kindred (Marvel Comics), Kindred" who has seemingly been working with Mysterio. As this happened, villains the Black Ant and the Taskmaster captured animal-themed supervillains for Kraven the Hunter as part of a plan to destroy unworthy hunters. Spider-Man was tasked with finding Kraven the Hunter, whose ultimate goal through the hunt was to anger Spider-Man and lead him to kill him, ending his curse. After Spider-Man refused and Dr. Connors saved his child Billy, Kraven lifted the force field from Central Park, allowing Spider-Man, Connors, Billy, and the Black Cat to escape while the Avengers rounded up all the loose criminals.
2020s
"Last Remains"
Kindred uses the Sins Rising (comics), resurrected Sin-Eater's sins to create constructs that attack the ship Spider-Man is on underwater with Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Woman, Anya Corazon, and Julia Carpenter. The sins possess the other spider-heroes, and they attack Spider-Man, with Doctor Strange managing to hold down a demon-possessed Silk. Spider-Man admits that the Sin-Eater is not controlling his friends, but "Kindred" is. Spider-Man tells Doctor Strange that he will take on Kindred, but he needs Doctor Strange's help since demon possession is not what Spider-Man is used to fighting. Doctor Strange agrees to Spider-Man's offer, and gives him the Hand of Vashanti.
Finally encountering Kindred, Peter identifies the loved ones who died in his life morbidly arranged in attendance, provoking him to attack Kindred for his desecration of their remains. Peter frantically cries that Kindred stop what he is doing to them and kill him in place of their suffering. Owing to his end of the deal, Kindred then snaps Peter's neck, stating they will go and face the truth together. During the time Peter was dead, Peter's consciousness remembered the fateful day of the start of ''Spider-Man: One More Day, One More Day'' and Kindred accepts to resurrect Peter.
Personality and themes
Sally Kempton for the ''Village Voice'' opined in 1965 that "Spider-Man has a terrible identity problem, a marked inferiority complex, and a fear of women. He is Antisocial personality disorder, anti-social, Castration anxiety, castration-ridden, racked with Oedipus complex, Oedipal guilt, and accident-prone ... [a] functioning neurosis, neurotic".[Kempton, Sally, "Spiderman's Dilemma: Super-Anti-Hero in Forest Hills", ''The Village Voice'', April 1, 1965] Agonizing over his choices, always attempting to do right, he is nonetheless viewed with suspicion by the authorities, who seem unsure as to whether he is a helpful vigilante or a clever criminal.[Daniels, p. 96]
Notes cultural historian Bradford W. Wright,
The mid-1960s stories reflect the political tensions of the time. Early 1960s Marvel stories often deal with the Cold War and Communism. As Wright observes,
Powers, skills, and equipment
Peter Parker has superhuman spider-powers and abilities derived from mutations resulting from the bite of a radioactive spider.[Gresh, Lois H., and Robert Weinberg. "The Science of Superheroes" (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002) ]
preview
) Since the original Stan Lee, Lee-Steve Ditko, Ditko stories, Spider-Man has had the ability to cling to wall surfaces and ceilings. ''The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe'' speculated that this was based on a distance-dependent interaction between his body and surfaces, known as the van der Waals force, though in the 2002's ''Spider-Man (2002 film), Spider-Man'' film, his hands and feet are lined with tiny clinging cilia in the manner of a real spider's feet. Spider-Man's other powers include superhuman strength, speed, agility, stamina, reflexes, durability, coordination and balance, and a precognitive sixth sense referred to as his "spider-sense," which alerts him to danger.
Spider-Man has a healing factor that allows him to recover from injuries sustained during battle. In the aftermath of the 1989 "Acts of Vengeance" storyline, Spider-Man was said to have "superhuman recuperative abilities" that sped up his recovery from the exhaustion he suffered in defeating the Tri-Sentinel.
The character was originally conceived by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko as intellectually gifted, but later writers have depicted his intellect at genius level. After years of crime-fighting, Spider-Man honed his skill into an equivalent of martial arts that is unique to his powers. Academically brilliant, Peter has expertise in the fields of applied science, chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, mathematics, and mechanics.
With his talents, Peter sews his own costume to conceal his identity, and he constructs many devices that complement his powers, most notably mechanical web-shooters that allow him to shoot webs, swing at high speeds throughout the city, to help navigate, and trap his enemies with his webs, as well as with a spider-signal as a flashlight and a warning beacon to criminals. Thomas Fireheart's scientists, among the best in the world, are unable to replicate the fluid Parker created while in high school.
Supporting cast
Spider-Man has had a large range of supporting characters introduced in the comics that are essential in the issues and storylines that star him. After Richard and Mary Parker, his parents died, Peter Parker was raised by his loving aunt, Aunt May, May Parker, and his uncle and father figure, Uncle Ben, Ben Parker. After Uncle Ben is murdered by a Burglar (comics), burglar, Aunt May is virtually Peter's only family, and she and Peter are very close.
J. Jonah Jameson is the publisher of the ''Daily Bugle'' and Peter Parker's boss. A harsh critic of Spider-Man, he constantly features negative articles about the superhero in his newspaper. Despite his role as Jameson's editor and confidant, Robbie Robertson (comics), Robbie Robertson is always depicted as a supporter of both Peter Parker and Spider-Man.
Flash Thompson, Eugene "Flash" Thompson is commonly depicted as Parker's high school tormentor and Bullying, bully, but in later comic issues he becomes a friend to Peter and adopts his own superhero identity, Agent Venom, after merging with the Venom
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a st ...
symbiote.[ Meanwhile, Harry Osborn, son of Norman Osborn, is most commonly recognized as Peter's best friend, although some versions depicted him as his rival.][
]
Enemies
Writers and artists over the years have established a rogues gallery of supervillains to List of Spider-Man enemies, face Spider-Man, in comics and List of Spider-Man enemies in other media, in other media. As with the hero, the majority of the villains' powers originate with scientific accidents or the misuse of scientific technology, and many have animal-themed costumes or powers. The most notable Spider-Man villains are listed down below in the ordering of their original chronological appearance:
Indicates a group.
Unlike most superheroes, Spider-Man does not have a single villain with whom he has come into conflict the most. Instead, he is often regarded as having three archenemies, and it can be debated as to which one is the worst:
# Doctor Octopus (a.k.a. Doc Ock) is a highly intelligent mad scientist who utilizes four mechanical appendages for both movement and combat. He has been described as Spider-Man's greatest enemy, and the man Peter Parker might have become if he had not been raised with a sense of responsibility. Doc Ock is infamous for defeating him the first time in battle and for almost marrying Peter's Aunt May
Maybelle "May" Parker-Jameson (née Reilly), commonly known as Aunt May, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. Making her first full appeara ...
. He is also the core leader of the Sinister Six, and at one point adopted the "Master Planner" alias. ("If This Be My Destiny...!") Later depictions revealed him in Peter Parker's body where The Superior Spider-Man, he was the titular character for a while.
# The Norman Osborn version of the Green Goblin is most commonly regarded as Spider-Man's archenemy. While Norman is usually portrayed as an amoral Business magnate, industrialist and the head of the Oscorp scientific corporation, the Goblin is a psychopathic alternate personality, born after Norman's exposore to some unstable chemicals that also increased his strength and agility. The Goblin is a Halloween-themed villain, dressing up like an actual goblin and utilizing a large arsenal of high tech weapons, including a glider and pumpkin-shaped explosives. Unlike most villains, who only aim to kill Spider-Man, the Goblin also targeted his loved ones and showed no remorse in killing them as long as it caused pain to Spider-Man, therefore making him not only Spider-Man's worst enemy, but also Peter Parker's. His most infamous feat is killing Gwen Stacy, Spider-Man's girlfriend in what became The Night Gwen Stacy Died, one of the most famous Spider-Man stories of all time and helped end the Silver Age of Comic Books
The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an in ...
and begin the Bronze Age of Comic Books. While the Goblin was killed in the same story, he returned in the 1990s to plague Spider-Man once again, committing more heinous acts (such as being involved in the murder of Aunt May). He also came into conflict with Dark Reign (comics), other heroes, such as the Avengers. Norman is sometimes depicted as an enemy of Spider-Man even when not being the Green Goblin.
# The Eddie Brock incarnation of Venom is often regarded as Spider-Man's deadliest foe, and has been described as an evil mirror version of Spider-Man in many ways. He is also among Spider-Man's most popular villains. Originally a reporter who grew to despise Spider-Man, Eddie later came into contact with the Venom symbiote, which had been rejected by Spider-Man. The symbiote merged with Eddie and gave him the same powers as Spider-Man, in addition to making him immune to the web-slinger's "spider-sense". Venom's main goal is usually to ruin Peter Parker's life and mess with his head in any way he can. Despite this, Venom is not a traditional criminal, as he is only interested in hurting Spider-Man and does not engage in criminal acts, lacking the typical supervillain desires for wealth and power. The character also has a sense of honor and justice, and later starred in his own Venom (Marvel Comics character), comic book stories, where he is depicted as an antihero and has a desire to protect innocent people from harm. On several occasions, he and Spider-Man even put their differences aside and became allies.
Romantic interests
Peter Parker's romantic interests range between his first crush, fellow high-school student Liz Allan, to having his first date with Betty Brant,[Lee, Stan, ''Origins of Marvel Comics'' (Marvel Fireside Books, Simon and Schuster/Fireside Books, 1974) p. 137] secretary to the ''Daily Bugle'' newspaper publisher J. Jonah Jameson. After his breakup with Betty Brant, Parker eventually falls in love with his college girlfriend Gwen Stacy, daughter of New York City Police Department detective Captain George Stacy
George Stacy is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually in stories depicting the superhero Spider-Man. He is Gwen Stacy's father and a former police captain from the New York City Police Departm ...
, both of whom are later killed by supervillain enemies of Spider-Man. Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane "MJ" Watson is a Character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and made her first appearance in ''The Amazing Spider-Man' ...
eventually became Peter's best friend and then his wife. Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat, is a reformed cat burglar who had been Spider-Man's sole superhuman girlfriend and partner at one point.
Alternate versions of Spider-Man
Within the Marvel Universe there exists a Multiverse (Marvel Comics), multiverse with many variations of Spider-Men. An early character included in the 1980s is the fictional anthropomorphic animal parody of Spider-Man in pig form named Spider-Ham (Peter Porker). Many imprints of Spider-Men were created, like the futuristic version of Spider-Man in Marvel 2099 named Spider-Man 2099, Miguel O'Hara. In the Marvel Comics 2, MC2 imprint, Peter marries Mary Jane and has a daughter named Mayday Parker, who carries on Spider-Man's legacy and Marvel Noir has a 1930s version Spider-Man Noir, of Peter Parker. Other themed versions exist within the early 2000s, such as a Marvel Mangaverse version and an Indian version from ''Spider-Man: India'' named Pavitr Prabhakar.
''Ultimate Spider-Man
''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate ...
'' was a popular modern retelling of Peter Parker. The version of Parker would later be depicted as being killed off and replaced by an Black Hispanic and Latino Americans, Afro-Latino Spider-Man named Spider-Man (Miles Morales), Miles Morales.
The storyline "Spider-Verse" brought back many alternate takes on Spider-Man and introduced many newly inspired ones, such as an alternate world where Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy), Gwen Stacy gets bitten by a radioactive spider instead, along with a British-themed version named Spider-UK called Billy Braddock from the Captain Britain Corps.
Cultural impact and legacy
In ''The Creation of Spider-Man'', comic book writer-editor and historian Paul Kupperberg calls the character's superpowers "nothing too original"; what was original was that outside his secret identity, he was a "nerdy high school student". Going against typical superhero fare, Spider-Man included "heavy doses of soap-opera and elements of melodrama". Kupperberg feels that Lee and Ditko had created something new in the world of comics: "the flawed superhero with everyday problems". This idea spawned a "comics revolution". The insecurity and anxieties in Marvel's early 1960s comic books, such as ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', ''The Incredible Hulk'', ''The Fantastic Four'', and ''The X-Men'' ushered in a new type of superhero, very different from the certain and all-powerful superheroes before them, and changed the public's perception of them. Spider-Man has become one of the most recognizable fictional characters in the world, and has been used to sell toys, games, cereal, candy, soap, and many other products.
Spider-Man has often been used as the company mascot. When Marvel became the first comic book company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1991, ''The Wall Street Journal'' announced "Spider-Man is coming to Wall Street"; the event was in turn promoted with an actor in a Spider-Man costume accompanying Stan Lee to the Stock Exchange. Since 1962, hundreds of millions of comics featuring the character have been sold around the world. Spider-Man is the world's most profitable superhero. In 2014, global retail sales of licensed products related to Spider-Man reached approximately $1.3 billion. Comparatively, this amount exceeds the global licensing revenue of Batman, Superman, and the Avengers combined.
Spider-Man is also List of highest-grossing media franchises, one of the highest-grossing franchise titles being the highest-grossing American comic book superhero worldwide.
Spider-Man joined the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from 1987 to 1998 as one of the balloon floats,["Spider-Man Returning to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade"](_blank)
Associated Press via WCBS (AM), August 17, 2009, designed by John Romita Sr.
John V. Romita (; born January 24, 1930) is an American comic book artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and for co-creating characters including the Punisher and Wolverine. He was inducted into the Will Eis ...
,[Spurlock, J. David, and John Romita. ''John Romita Sketchbook''. (Vanguard Productions: Lebanon, N.J. 2002) , p. 45: Romita: "I designed the Spider-Man balloon float. When we went to Macy's to talk about it, Manny Bass was there. He's the genius who creates all these balloon floats. I gave him the sketches and he turned them into reality".] one of the character's signature artists. A new, different Spider-Man balloon float also appeared from 2009 to 2014.
When Marvel wanted to issue a story dealing with the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the company chose the December 2001 issue of ''The Amazing Spider-Man''.
In 2006, Spider-Man garnered major media coverage with the revelation of the character's secret identity, an event detailed in a full-page story in the ''New York Post'' before the issue containing the story was even released.
In 2008, Marvel announced plans to release a series of educational comics the following year in partnership with the United Nations, depicting Spider-Man alongside the UN Peacekeeping Forces to highlight UN peacekeeping missions. A ''BusinessWeek'' article listed Spider-Man as one of the top 10 most intelligent fictional characters in American comics.
In 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States decided ''Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment, LLC'', a case concerning royalties on a patent for an imitation web shooter. The opinion for the Court, by Justice Elena Kagan, included several Spider-Man references, concluding with the statement that "with great power, there must also come—great responsibility".
Spider-Man has become a subject of scientific inquiry. In 1987, James Garbarino, researchers at Loyola University Chicago, Loyola University conducted a study into the utility of Spider-Man comics for informing children and parents about issues relating to Sexual abuse#Children, child abuse.
Reception
In 2005, Bravo (U.S. TV network), Bravo's ''Ultimate Super Heroes, Vixens, and Villains'' TV series declared that Spider-Man was the number 1 superhero. ''Empire (magazine), Empire'' magazine ranked him the fifth-greatest comic book character of all time. ''Wizard (magazine), Wizard'' magazine placed Spider-Man as the third-greatest comic book character on their website. In 2011, Spider-Man placed third on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time, behind DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
characters Superman and Batman. and sixth in their 2012 list of "The Top 50 Avengers". In 2014, IGN identified Spider-Man the greatest Marvel Comics character of all time. A 2015 poll at Comic Book Resources named Spider-Man the greatest Marvel character of all time. IGN described him as the common everyman that represents many normal people but also noted his uniqueness compared to many top-tiered superheroes with his many depicted flaws as a superhero. IGN noted that, despite being one of the most tragic superheroes of all time, he is "one of the most fun and snarky superheroes in existence." ''Empire'' praised Spider-man's always-present sense of humor and wisecracks in the face of the many tragedies he faces. The magazine website appraised the depiction of his "iconic" superhero poses describing it as "a top artist's dream".
George Marston of ''Newsarama'' called Spider-Man's origin the greatest origin story of all time, opining that "Spider-Man's origin combines all of the most classic aspects of pathos, tragedy and scientific wonder into the perfect blend for a superhero origin."
Real-life comparisons
Real-life people who have been compared to Spider-Man for their climbing feats include:
*In 1981, skyscraper-safety activist Dan Goodwin, wearing a Spider-Man suit, scaled the Sears Tower in Chicago, Illinois, the Renaissance Tower (Dallas), Renaissance Tower in Dallas, Texas, and the John Hancock Center in Chicago.
*Alain Robert, nicknamed "Spider-Man", is a rock and urban climber who has scaled more than 70 tall buildings using his hands and feet, without using additional devices. He sometimes wears a Spider-Man suit during his climbs. In May 2003, he was paid approximately $18,000 to climb the Lloyd's building to promote the premiere of the movie ''Spider-Man'' on the United Kingdom, British television channel Sky Movies.
*"The Human Spider", alias Bill Strother, scaled the Lamar Building in Augusta, Georgia in 1921.
* In Argentina, Crime in Argentina, criminals that climb buildings and trespass into private property through the open balconies are said to use the "Spider-Man method" (in Spanish, "el Hombre Araña").
In other media
Spider-Man has appeared in comics, cartoons, films, video games, coloring books, novels, records, children's books, and The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, theme park rides. On television, he first starred in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC animated series ''Spider-Man (1967 TV series), Spider-Man'' (1967–1970), ''Spidey Super Stories
"Spidey Super Stories" is a live-action, recurring skit on the original version of the Children's Television Workshop series ''The Electric Company''.
Overview
Episodes featured the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, provided to the Children's Te ...
'' (1974–1977) on PBS, and the CBS live-action series ''The Amazing Spider-Man (TV series), The Amazing Spider-Man'' (1978–1979), starring Nicholas Hammond. Other animated series featuring the superhero include the Broadcast syndication, syndicated ''Spider-Man (1981 TV series), Spider-Man'' (1981–1982), ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981 TV series), Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' (1981–1983), Fox Kids' ''Spider-Man (1994 TV series), Spider-Man'' (1994–1998), ''Spider-Man Unlimited'' (1999–2000), ''Spider-Man: The New Animated Series'' (2003), ''The Spectacular Spider-Man (TV series), The Spectacular Spider-Man'' (2008–2009), ''Ultimate Spider-Man (TV series), Ultimate Spider-Man'' (2012–2017) Disney XD's ''Spider-Man (2017 TV series), Spider-Man'' (2017–2020), and ''Spidey and His Amazing Friends'' (2021–present).
A tokusatsu series featuring Spider-Man was produced by Toei Company, Toei and aired in Japan. It is commonly referred to by its Japanese pronunciation "Spider-Man (Toei TV series), Supaidā-Man". Spider-Man also appeared in other print forms besides the comics, including novels, Children's literature, children's books, and the daily newspaper comic strip ''The Amazing Spider-Man (comic strip), The Amazing Spider-Man'', which debuted in January 1977, with the earliest installments written by Stan Lee and drawn by John Romita Sr.
John V. Romita (; born January 24, 1930) is an American comic book artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and for co-creating characters including the Punisher and Wolverine. He was inducted into the Will Eis ...
Spider-Man has been adapted to other media including games, toys, collectibles, and miscellaneous memorabilia, and has appeared as the main character in numerous Spider-Man video games, computer and video games on over 15 gaming platforms.
Spider-Man was featured in a Spider-Man in film, trilogy of live-action films directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire
Tobias Vincent Maguire (born June 27, 1975) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing the title character from Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007), a role he later reprised in '' Spider-Man: No Way Hom ...
as the Peter Parker (Sam Raimi film series), titular superhero. The first ''Spider-Man (2002 film), Spider-Man'' film of the trilogy was released on May 3, 2002, followed by ''Spider-Man 2'' (2004) and ''Spider-Man 3'' (2007). A third sequel was originally scheduled to be released in 2011; however, Sony later decided to Reboot (fiction), reboot the franchise with a new director and cast. The reboot, titled ''The Amazing Spider-Man (2012 film), The Amazing Spider-Man'', was released on July 3, 2012, directed by Marc Webb and starring Andrew Garfield
Andrew Russell Garfield (born 20 August 1983) is an English and American actor. He has received various accolades, including a Tony Award, a BAFTA TV Award and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards. ''Time' ...
as the Peter Parker (The Amazing Spider-Man film series), new Spider-Man. It was followed by ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' (2014). In 2015, Sony and Disney made a deal for Spider-Man to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
. Tom Holland
Thomas Stanley Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor. His accolades include a British Academy Film Award, three Saturn Awards, a Guinness World Record and an appearance on the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 Europe list. Some publications h ...
made Peter Parker (Marvel Cinematic Universe), his debut as Spider-Man in the MCU film ''Captain America: Civil War'' (2016), before later starring in his standalone film ''Spider-Man: Homecoming'' (2017), directed by Jon Watts. Holland reprised his role as Spider-Man in ''Avengers: Infinity War'' (2018), ''Avengers: Endgame'' (2019), ''Spider-Man: Far From Home'' (2019), and ''Spider-Man: No Way Home'' (2021); Maguire and Garfield reprise their roles as past Spider-Men in the latter film. Jake Johnson
Mark Jake Johnson Weinberger (born May 28, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, film producer and screenwriter best known for his role as Nick Miller in the Fox sitcom ''New Girl'' (2011–2018), for which he was nominated for the Critics' C ...
voiced an alternate universe version of Spider-Man in the animated film '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'', and will reprise the role in its sequel in '' Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse'' (2023). Chris Pine
Chris Pine (born August 26, 1980) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' reboot film series (2009–present), Steve Trevor in the DC Extended Universe films ''Wonder Woman'' (2017) and '' Wo ...
also voiced another version of Peter Parker in ''Into the Spider-Verse''.
Following a brief contract dispute over financial terms, in 2019 Sony and Disney reached a deal to allow Spider-Man to return to the MCU, with the two studios jointly producing Spider-Man films.
A Broadway musical
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
, '' Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'', began previews on November 14, 2010, at the Foxwoods Theatre on Broadway theatre, Broadway, with the official opening night on June 14, 2011.[Lustig, Jay]
"''Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark''"
. New Jersey On-Line. January 18, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2011.[Gans, Andrew]
"Reeve Carney, Jennifer Damiano, Patrick Page to Star in Spider-Man; Performances Begin in November"
. Playbill.com, August 10, 2010 The music and lyrics were written by Bono and The Edge of the Rock music, rock group U2, with a book by Julie Taymor, Glen Berger, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. ''Turn Off the Dark'' is currently the most expensive musical in Broadway history, costing an estimated $70 million.[Hetrick, Adam]
"Troubled ''Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark'' Delays Broadway Opening Again"
. Playbill.com. January 13, 2011. Retrieved January 15, 2011. In addition, the show's unusually high running costs are reported to have been about $1.2 million per week.
In the fine arts, and starting with the Pop art, Pop Art period and on a continuing basis since the 1960s, the character of Spider-Man has been "appropriated" by multiple visual artists and incorporated into contemporary artwork, most notably by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Mel Ramos, Dulce Pinzon, Mr. Brainwash, F. Lennox Campello, Vijay_(actor), Vijay, and others.
See also
* List of Spider-Man storylines
* List of Marvel Comics superhero debuts
* With great power comes great responsibility
* The Leopard from Lime Street
Notes
References
*
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Spider-Man characters
Spider-Man,
Spiders in popular culture
Superheroes who are adopted
Superheroes with alter egos
Teenage characters in comics
Teenage characters in film
Teenage superheroes
Venom (character)
Vigilante characters in comics