Spider-Boy

Spider-Boy (Bailey Bartholomew Briggs) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Dan Slott and artist Humberto Ramos, the character first appeared in ''Spider-Man'' vol. 4 #7 (April 2023). He is a child superhero with spider-like abilities. He was erased from existence and forgotten by everyone who knew him before being brought back. The character is also an ally of the superhero Peter Parker / Spider-Man and Gwen / Kidpool and the main character of the comic book series ''Spider-Boy'' and ''Kidpool & Spider-Boy''.

Development

Concept and creation

Spider-Boy creator Dan Slott stated "So, the idea came from when we were writing. I said to my editor, "Wouldn't it be funny if there was one more guy? And now, no one remembers him." And we started talking about who that ouldbe, what kind of character they would be. I was pitching really hard for it to be Spider-Boy. Why? This all-new character would be the youngest spider character we'd ever done because both Miles and Peter, when they got bit, were teenagers. I thought it would be really fun to see the adventures of a preteen Spider-Man character, someone Spider-Man won't want running around. It's child endangerment 'laughs'' If you're Spider-Man, you're all about responsibility, and what kind of responsible hero would you be if you let this nine or ten-year-old kid run around and fight crime? So that's kind of where that came from." Slott later said Spider-Boy was created to be an entertaining ''Spider-Man'' supporting character, but became popular enough to get his own comic series.

Publication history

Spider-Boy debuted in ''Spider-Man'' vol. 4 #7 (April 2023), created by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos. He later appeared in the 2023 ''Edge of Spider-Verse'' series, and in the 2023 ''Spider-Boy'' series, his first solo comic book series. The first monthly issue was released in November 2023. He also appeared in the 2023 ''Superior Spider-Man'' series, and in the 2023 Marvel Unlimited exclusive ''Infinity Comic'' series.

Slott left Marvel in 2025 to work for DC Comics, in the comic ''Superman Unlimited'', part of the ''Summer of Superman'' relaunch of Superman. As a result, he ended the ''Spider-Boy'' comic he was writing.

Fictional character biography

Bailey Briggs was originally a normal boy before being kidnapped by Madame Monstrosity. He and fellow prisoner Eli Hartman are respectively spliced with the DNA of a spider and an elephant and rhinoceros, with Eli being dubbed Hellifino.''Spider-Boy'' #1 (January 2024). Marvel Comics. Eventually, Bailey managed to escape and, after training with Daredevil to gain control of his powers, became Spider-Boy, Spider-Man's sidekick.

In " End of the Spider-Verse", following the defeat of Shathra and Morlun, Bailey is among their victims who are resurrected. After realizing that nobody remembers his existence, he leaves and ends up living at a F.E.A.S.T. building after saving a young girl named Christina Xu from Mister Negative's Inner Demons. Spider-Boy had encounters with Squirrel Girl when it came to fighting Balloon Man and received aid from Santa Claus, helped Captain America fight Taskmaster when he targeted Super-Adaptoid, persuaded Toy Soldier into not working for Killionaire, and helped Thor reunite Ulik with his pet giant spider.

Spider-Boy later battles Madame Monstrosity, who sends Hellifino and her creation Boy-Spider to capture him.''Spider-Boy'' #4 - 7 (April - July 2024). Marvel Comics. He also reunites with his mother Tabitha Briggs, who has no memory of him and was transformed into a tabby cat Humanimal by Madame Monstrosity. Madame Monstrosity captures Spider-Boy and transforms herself into a chimera to battle him when he attempts to escape with help from Spider-Man, Miles Morales, Squirrel Girl, Captain America, Thor, and Toy Soldier. The rest of the Humanimals learned the truth about Madame Monstrosity unable to restore them to normal completely. However, she is saved by the High Evolutionary who plans to experiment on her.

After Madame Monstrosity is defeated, the people she transformed into Humanimals are returned to normal after her husband Jeremy, who she transformed into an owl, works with her former henchmen Squeakerton and Mr. Cricket, Spider-Man, and the android Toy Soldier to modify her transformation chamber. Boy-Spider, Jeremy, and Hellifino are unable to be returned to a human form, so they choose to live on Madame Monstrosity's farm with Tabitha.

Afterwards, Bailey returns to school and begins learning everything that happened while he was missing. Tabitha also joins the F.E.A.S.T. staff, regains her memories, and learns Bailey's secret identity, but allows him to continue being a superhero.

Spider-Boy and Daredevil later travel to Madripoor to take part in the Challenge of the Jade Dragon tournament after gaining the entry item from Hulkette and her master Enormo. There, they take on different opponents, including Bullseye and Spider-Girl (whom Spider-Boy and Ms. Marvel previously fought under the alias of Funhouse). After the tournament, Spider-Boy finds that Boy-Spider is living with Tabitha after gaining the ability to assume a humanoid form. They have a brief fight until Tabitha breaks it up.

Spider-Boy then meets a female variant of Kidpool whose the same age as him and falls in love at first sight with him. The two of them then fight Archon and Stegron.

Spider-Boy saves Christina Xu from the Inner Demons where one member was revealed to have been fused with an earthworm by Madame Monstrosity. Due to a key that Christina has, Spider-Boy plans to raid a bank that is owned by Mister Negative. Spider-Man confronts them in the bank and learns of why they are "robbing it". Just then, Mister Negative enters with some brainwashed police officers. Once in the vault, Spider-Boy and Christina find the files on the Humanimals that Madame Monstrosity made for Mister Negative. Spider-Boy as Bailey Briggs pretends to get brainwashed in order to help defeat Mister Negative and freeing everyone from the brainwashing. After Mister Negative is arrested, Spider-Man tells Spider-Boy that their partnership is done after he broke the "No A-List Villains" rule as he confiscates his Spider-Boy gear.

After an argument with Spider-Man over some lives being endangered, Bailey summons the Gaping Maw and leaves telling Spider-Man to give his Spider-Boy outfit to another kid. After coming across a shoe, Bailey traces the guy who is being attacked by a villain called Card Shark as he summons the Gaping Maw to deal with him. Spider-Boy and the Gaping Maw bring Mr. Krupke and some people to Stillwell Farms. As Mr. Krupke is restored to normal, Spider-Boy persuades Hellifino to become a superhero and takes the name of Captain Pachyderm. They alongside Boy-Spider, Hulkette, Ms. Marvel, and Spider-Girl work to fight Balloon Man and his minions as Spider-Man and Daredevil show up and help to defeat Balloon Man. After some persuasion from Daredevil and the arrival of Toy Soldier, Spider-Boy releases the Gaping Maw from his control. Toy Soldier states that he possesses the powers of the Avengers including Spider-Man and states that he is proud of him. Spider-Man allows Bailey to be Spider-Boy again as they go on patrol.

Powers and abilities

Spider-Boy possesses superpowers similar to those of Spider-Man. He can transform into a spider hybrid at will, gaining paralyzing venom, enhanced vision, and the ability to communicate with spiders. Additionally, he has a variety of the Spider-Sense that manifests as psychometry.

Supporting characters

Enemies

Spider-Boy has his own rogues gallery:

Other versions

An alternate future timeline variant of Spider-Boy appears during the ''Venom War'' event.

Reception

Critical response

Casey Donahue of ''Screen Rant'' named Bailey Briggs one of the best new heroes of 2023. D. R. Bickham of ''Comic Book Resources'' called Bailey Briggs one of the most interesting incarnations of Spider-Man, writing, "While his youth, quirkiness, and awkward similarities to his mentor make him immediately endearing to fans, another contributing factor to Spider-Boy's newfound popularity and staying power lies in his unique rogues gallery." George Marston of ''Newsarama'' referred to Bailey Briggs as one of Marvel's newest breakout characters.

Impact

In 2023, the introduction of Bailey Briggs as Spider-Boy in ''Spider-Man'' vol. 4 #7 was credited as one of the main reasons the comic book sold out. Matt Devoe of '' ComicBook.com'' ranked the comic book 1st in their "Top 10 Comic Books Rising in Value in the Last Week Include Midnight Sons and Tons of Spider-Verse" list. His appearance in ''Edge of Spider-Verse'' #3 was also credited as one of the key reasons the comic book sold out.

Literary reception

Volumes

''Spider-Boy'' (2023)

Diamond Comic Distributors reported that ''Spider-Boy'' #1 was the 3rd top advance-reordered comic book by retailers between November 20 to November 6, 2023. ComicHub reported that ''Spider-Boy'' #1 was the best-selling comic in November 2023. The ComicHub Top 200 Comics sales chart reflects sales data collected from the ComicHub system at comic shops across the globe that sell American comics. This report was created based on information from more than 125 stores that used the ComicHub system during the reporting period.

Sayantan Gayen of ''Comic Book Resources'' called ''Spider-Boy'' #1 a "positive debut issue," asserting that it offers the freshest take on an old formula from Marvel in recent history. He praised the potential for the character, noting that Bailey's future looks bright if the creators invest the necessary love to help him grow. Matthew Aguilar of '' ComicBook.com'' gave ''Spider-Boy'' #1 a score of 4 out of 5 stars, praising the emotional depth of Bailey's origin story and the poignant reunion that unfolds, calling it a "heartfelt" experience. He noted that the villains in the series have an appealing absurdity, which adds to its charm, with artist Paco Medina and colorist Erick Arciniega effectively embracing this whimsical style in their artwork and character designs. Aguilar also highlighted the entertaining second story, "Balloonacy," by Ty Templeton and Dee Cunniffe, appreciating the inclusion of Squirrel Girl and Tippy-Toe. He remarked that when Spider-Boy takes center stage, the series evokes a unique quality that feels special, leaving him eager to see where the story goes next.

Collected editions

References

{{Spider-Man characters

Characters created by Dan Slott
Comics characters introduced in 2023
Fictional characters with precognition
Fictional genetically engineered characters
Fictional hybrids
Genetically engineered characters in comics
Marvel Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds
Marvel Comics characters with accelerated healing
Marvel Comics characters with spider powers
Marvel Comics characters with superhuman senses
Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength
Marvel Comics male superheroes
Marvel Comics mutates
Marvel Comics teenage superheroes
Spider-Man characters
Spiders in popular culture
Superheroes with alter egos
Teenage characters in comics