Web Shooters

Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Silver Age of Comic Books. Considered one of the most popular and commercially successful superheroes, he has been featured in comic books, television shows, films, video games, novels, and plays.

Spider-Man has the secret identity of Peter Benjamin Parker. Initially, Peter was depicted as a teenage high-school student and an orphan raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben in New York City after his parents, Richard and Mary Parker, died in a plane crash. Lee, Ditko, and later creators had the character deal with the struggles of adolescence and young adulthood and gave him many supporting characters, such as Flash Thompson, J. Jonah Jameson, and Harry Osborn; romantic interests Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, and the Black Cat; and enemies such as Doctor Octopus, the Green Goblin, and Venom. In his origin story, Peter gets his superhuman spider powers and abilities after being bitten by a radioactive spider. These powers include superhuman strength, speed, agility, reflexes, stamina, durability, coordination, and balance; clinging to surfaces and ceilings like a spider; and detecting danger with his precognition ability called "spider-sense". He builds wrist-mounted " web-shooter" devices that shoot artificial spider-webs of his own design, which he uses both for fighting and travel, or "web swinging" across the city. Peter Parker initially used his powers for personal gain, but after his Uncle Ben was killed by a thief that he could have stopped but did not, Peter began to use his powers to fight crime as Spider-Man.

Before Spider-Man first appeared in the early 1960s, teenagers in superhero comic books were usually relegated to the protagonist's sidekick role. The Spider-Man comic series broke ground by featuring Peter Parker, a high school student from the Queens borough of New York City, as Spider-Man's secret identity, whose "self-obsessions with rejection, inadequacy, and loneliness" were issues to which young readers could relate. While Spider-Man was a quintessential sidekick, unlike previous teen heroes Bucky Barnes and Robin, Spider-Man had no superhero mentor like Captain America and Batman; he had learned the lesson for himself that " with great power comes great responsibility" —a line included in a text box in the final panel of the first Spider-Man's origin story, but later retroactively attributed to the late Uncle Ben Parker.

Marvel has featured Spider-Man in several comic book series, the first and longest-lasting of which is ''The Amazing Spider-Man''. Since his introduction, the main-continuity version of Peter has gone from a high school student to attending college to currently being somewhere in his late 20s. Peter has been a member of numerous superhero teams, most notably the Avengers and Fantastic Four. 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 comic books featuring alternate versions of Spider-Man, including ''Spider-Man 2099'', which features the adventures of Miguel O'Hara, the Spider-Man of the future; ''Ultimate Spider-Man'', which features the adventures of a teenage Peter Parker in the alternate universe; and '' Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man'', which depicts a teenager named Miles Morales who takes up the mantle of Spider-Man after Ultimate Peter Parker's apparent death. Miles later became a superhero in his own right and was brought into mainstream continuity during the ''Secret Wars'' event, where he sometimes works alongside the mainline version of Peter.

Spider-Man has appeared in countless forms of media, including several animated TV series: the first original animated series ''Spider-Man'', with Paul Soles voicing the titular character, a live-action television series, syndicated newspaper comic strips, and multiple series of films. Spider-Man was first portrayed in live-action by Danny Seagren in '' Spidey Super Stories'', a recurring skit on ''The Electric Company'' from 1974 to 1977. In live-action films, Spider-Man has been portrayed by actors Tobey Maguire in Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Man'' trilogy, by Andrew Garfield in two films directed by Marc Webb, and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Tom Holland. Reeve Carney originally starred as Spider-Man in the 2010 Broadway musical '' Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark''. Spider-Man was also voiced by Jake Johnson and Chris Pine in the animated film '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'', with the former reprising his role in the sequel, '' Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse''.

Publication history

Creation and development

In 1962, with the success of the Fantastic Four, Marvel Comics editor and head writer Stan Lee was casting 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 as a great influence, and in a multitude of print and video interviews, Lee stated he was inspired by seeing a spider 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 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 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 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'' interview with Stan Lee, quoted in ''The Steve Ditko Reader'' by Greg Theakston (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, and 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 superpowers, 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 issue #15 (cover-dated August 1962, on sale June 5, 1962).''Amazing Fantasy'' (Marvel, 1962 series)
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 the final issue, its editorial page anticipated the comic continuing and that "The Spider-Man ... will appear every month in ''Amazing''."

Lee received Goodman's approval for the name Spider-Man and the "ordinary teen" concept and approached artist Jack Kirby. As comics historian Greg Theakston 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'' 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 that 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 an art 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, 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 recognizable 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 comic ''Black Magic'', but the character was left unused.Jack Kirby in "Shop Talk: Jack Kirby", ''Will Eisner's Spirit 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 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 stated that Lee liked the name Hawkman from DC Comics, 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 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 entire concept of the strip went through a major overhaul. "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, where Ditko would expand upon to the point he became what Bell describes as "the first work for hire 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 or 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, had 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 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'' #1 (cover-dated 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 and Che Guevara 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. replaced him as penciller 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'', a proto-graphic novel designed to appeal to older readers. It lasted for two issues and 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 Authority. Previously, the Code forbade the depiction of the use of illegal drugs, even negatively. However, in 1970, the Nixon administration's Department of Health, Education, and Welfare 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 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 (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'', 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'', began running parallel to the main series. A third series featuring Spider-Man, ''Web of Spider-Man'', launched in 1985 to replace ''Marvel Team-Up''. The launch of a fourth monthly title in 1990, the "adjectiveless" ''Peter Parker: Spider-Man, Spider-Man'' (with the storyline "Torment (comics), Torment"), written and drawn by popular artist Todd McFarlane, debuted with Variant cover, several different covers, all with the same interior content. All four versions combined sold over three million copies, an industry record at the time. Several Limited series (comics), miniseries, One-shot (comics), one-shot issues, and loosely related comics have also been published, and Spider-Man makes frequent Cameo appearance, cameos and guest appearances in other comic book series. In 1996, ''The Sensational Spider-Man'' was created to replace ''Web of Spider-Man''.

In 1998, writer-artist John Byrne (comics), 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' ''The Man of Steel (comics), The Man of Steel''. During that time, the original ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' ended with issue #441 (Nov. 1998), and ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' started with volume 2, #1 (Jan. 1999). In 2003, Marvel reintroduced the original numbering for ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and what would have been volume 2, #59, became issue #500 (Dec. 2003).

When the main 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 scheduling of ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' lasted until November 2010, when the comic book expanded from 22 pages to 30 pages for each issue. Later on, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' was published 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 Amazing Spider-Man'', since the previous ones were canceled at the end of 2007. The ''Amazing'' series temporarily ended with Dying Wish, issue #700 in December 2012 and was replaced by ''The Superior Spider-Man'', which had Doctor Octopus serve as the new Spider-Man by taking 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 (2015 comic book), Secret Wars'' Crossover (fiction), crossover event, a number of Spider-Man-related titles were either relaunched or created as part of the "All-New, All-Different Marvel" event. Among them, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' was relaunched and primarily focuses on Peter Parker continuing to run Parker Industries and becomes a successful businessman who is operating worldwide.

Fictional character biography

Early years

In Forest Hills, Queens, Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, Midtown High School (comics), Midtown High School student Peter Benjamin Parker is a science-whiz orphan living with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. As depicted in ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (Aug. 1962), he is bitten by a radioactive spider (erroneously classified as an insect in the panel) at a science exhibit and "acquires the agility and proportionate strength of an arachnid". Along with heightened athletic abilities, Parker gains the ability to adhere to walls and ceilings. Through his 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, "[h]e blithely ignores the chance to stop a fleeing Burglar (comics), thief, [and] his 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!"Les Daniels, Daniels, Les. ''Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics'' (Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1991) , p. 95.

In the first issue of ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (March 1963), despite his superpowers, Peter struggles to help his widowed Aunt May pay the rent, is taunted by Flash, and continues fighting crime and saving the city as Spider-Man, but his heroic deeds engender the editorial wrath of newspaper publisher of the ''Daily Bugle'', J. Jonah Jameson, holds a grudge against Spider-Man, and continues making false statements about Spider-Man despite his heroism. Peter gets hired as a Freelancer, freelance photographer by Mr. Jameson to take pictures of Spider-Man, with him being unaware that Spider-Man is Peter Parker.Saffel, Steve. ''Spider-Man the Icon: The Life and Times of a Pop Culture Phenomenon'' (Titan Books, 2007) , p. 21. Spider-Man fights his enemies, including superpowered and non-superpowered supervillains—his archenemy, archenemy and nemesis Green Goblin and then Doctor Octopus, Sandman (Marvel Comics), Sandman, Chameleon (Marvel Comics), Chameleon, Lizard (Marvel Comics), Lizard, Vulture (Marvel Comics), Vulture, Kraven the Hunter, Electro (Marvel Comics), Electro, and Mysterio, defeating them one by one''Amazing Spider-Man, The'' (Marvel, 1963 Series)
at the Grand Comics Database—but Peter finds juggling his personal and superhero life difficult. In time, Peter graduates from high school and enrolls at Empire State University (a fictional institution evoking the real-life Columbia University and New York University),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.Saffel, p. 27 As Peter deals with Harry's drug problems, and Harry's father, Norman Osborn, is revealed to be the Green Goblin, Peter attempts to give up his costumed identity for a while. Gwen Stacy's father, New York City Police detective Captain George Stacy, is accidentally killed during a battle between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus (issue #90, November 1970).Saffel, p. 60

1970s

In The Night Gwen Stacy Died, 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 (as given in the text). She dies during Spider-Man's rescue attempt, and Spider-Man swears revenge against his nemesis; a note on the letters page of issue #125 states: "It saddens us to say that the Whiplash (medicine), whiplash effect she underwent when Spidey's webbing stopped her so suddenly was, in fact, what killed her."Saffel, p. 65 The following issue, Spider-Man vengefully attacks and overpowers the Green Goblin, who kills himself accidentally in the ensuing battle with Spider-Man.

Working through his grief, Peter eventually develops tentative feelings toward Mary Jane, 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. Peter 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, 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'' Limited series (comics), 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 (comics), symbiote, which Spider-Man rejects after a difficult struggle, though the symbiote returns several times as Venom (Marvel Comics character), Venom for revenge. Peter proposes to Mary Jane in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #290 (July 1987), and she accepts two issues later, with The Wedding! (comics), the wedding taking place in ''The Amazing Spider-Man Annual'' #21 (1987)—promoted with a real-life mock wedding using actors at Shea Stadium, with Stan Lee officiating, on June 5, 1987.Saffel, p. 124 David Michelinie, who scripted based on a plot by editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, said in 2007, "I didn't think they actually should [have gotten] married. ... I had actually planned another version, one that wasn't used." Peter publishes a book of Spider-Man photographs called ''Webs'', and returns to his Empire State University graduate school, graduate studies in biochemistry in #310 (Dec. 1988).

1990s

In the controversial 1990s storyline the "Clone Saga", a clone of Parker, created in 1970s comics by insane scientist Jackal (Marvel Comics), Miles Warren, a.k.a. the Jackal, returns to New York City upon hearing of Aunt May's health worsening. The clone had lived incognito as Ben Reilly, but now assumes the superhero guise the Scarlet Spider and allies with Parker. To the surprise of both, new tests indicate Ben is the original and Peter is the clone. Complicating matters, Mary Jane announces in ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' #220 (Jan. 1995) that she is pregnant with Peter's baby. Later, however, a resurrected Green Goblin (Norman Osborn) has Mary Jane poisoned, causing Preterm birth, premature labor and the death of her and Peter's unborn daughter.Saunders, et al., ''Chronicle'', p. 281 It is later revealed that The Green Goblin switched the results of the clone test in an attempt to destroy Peter's life by making him believe himself to be the clone. Ben is killed while saving Peter, in ''Peter Parker: Spider-Man'' #75 (Dec. 1996), and his body immediately crumbles into dust, confirming Ben was the clone.

In issue #97 (Nov. 1998) of the second series titled ''Peter Parker: Spider-Man'', Parker learns his Norman Osborn kidnapped Aunt May and her apparent death in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #400 (April 1995) had been a hoax.''Amazing Spider-Man, The'', Marvel, 1999 Series
(''The Amazing Spider-Man'' vol. 2) at the Grand Comics Database Shortly afterward, in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (vol. 2) #13 (#454, Jan. 2000), Mary Jane is killed in an airplane explosion.Ruby, Sam

SamRuby.com (fan site)

She is revealed to be alive in volume 2, issue #28 (#469, April 2001), but she and Peter are completely separated in the following issue.

2000s

''Babylon 5'' creator J. Michael Straczynski began writing ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', illustrated by John Romita Jr., beginning with volume 2, #30 (#471, June 2001). Two issues later, Peter, now employed as a teacher at his old high school, meets the enigmatic Ezekiel Sims, who possesses similar spider powers and suggests that Peter, having gained such abilities, might not have been a fluke—that Parker has a connection to a totemic spider spirit. In vol. 2, #37 (#478, Jan. 2002), Aunt May discovers her nephew is Spider-Man. Peter and Mary Jane 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 Green Goblin, Norman Osborn.''Amazing Spider-Man, The'', Marvel, 2003 Series
(renumbering to return to original numbering from 1963) at the Grand Comics Database

He joins the superhero team The New Avengers (comics), The New Avengers in ''New Avengers'' #1–2. After a deranged, superpowered former high-school classmate destroys their respective homes, Peter, Mary Jane, and May move into Stark Tower, and Peter begins working as Tony Stark's assistant while freelancing for ''The Daily Bugle'' and continuing his teacher career. In the 12-part 2005 story arc "Spider-Man: The Other, The Other", Peter undergoes a transformation that 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 Mary Jane and joins the anti-registration underground.

In issue #537 (Dec. 2006), Aunt May is critically wounded from Kingpin (character), Wilson Fisk's sniper, and enters into a coma. Peter, 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 Peter and Mary Jane 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), Mary Jane returns and is cold toward him. The controversialWeiland, 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). Jonah's estranged father, J. Jonah Jameson Sr., marries May in issue #600 (Sept. 2009).

During the "Secret Invasion" by shape-shifting extraterrestrials, 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, by himself, leads the Dark Avengers as the Iron Patriot, a suit of armor fashioned by himself after Iron Man's 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. He is defeated, and ends up incarcerated in the Raft penitentiary. A conflict between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus over Osborn's son ends when it is revealed the child's father is Harry, who leaves town to raise him. One of Doctor Octopus' Octobots swaps his and Spider-Man's personality, causing Peter to become trapped in the Doctor's dying body, while he in turn claimed Peter's life for himself. Though Peter failed to reverse the change, he manages to establish a weak link with the Doctor's mind, forcing him to relive all of his memories; Otto understands Peter's ideals of power and responsibility and swears 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. Later, realizing that he failed in his role as the "Superior" Spider-Man, Otto willingly allows Peter to reclaim his body in order to defeat Osborn and save Anna Maria Marconi, Otto's love. In the aftermath of these events, 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.

Peter soon learns a second person had been bitten by the radioactive spider, Cindy Moon. Spider-Man tracks her down and frees her from a bunker owned by the late Ezekiel Simms. Not long after rescuing Cindy, who went on to adopt her own heroine identity as Silk, Spider-Man encounters a contingent of spider-people from all over the Multiverse (Marvel Comics), Multiverse that banded together to fight the Inheritors, a group of psychic vampires who had begun to hunt down the spider-totems of other realities. During a mission to gather more recruits in 2099, the Spider-Army stumbled upon another party of spider-people led by an alternate version of Otto Octavius. Together, they neutralize the Inheritors.

Peter then stops a nefarious plan put forward by the Jackal.''Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy'' (vol. 1) #1–5. 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 supports him, condemning all other vigilantes in order to isolate him from his superhero peers. As Peter Parker, his academic credentials were revoked after accusations of plagiarizing his doctoral dissertation from Octavius, resulting in Peter being fired from the ''Daily Bugle''. Subsequently, Peter became romantically involved with Mary Jane. Briefly, Peter Parker and Spider-Man split into separate beings due to an accident involving the reverse-engineered Isotope Genome Accelerator. Peter eventually manages to reverse the process, and merges his two halves back together before the side-effects worsen and result in their death.

2020s

Kindred uses the Sins Rising (comics), resurrected Sin-Eater's sins to possess Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Woman, Anya Corazon, and Julia Carpenter. Doctor Strange, who manages to restrain a possessed Silk, agrees to help Spider-Man. However, Peter dies when fighting Kindred. While dead, Peter's consciousness remembers the fateful day of the start of ''One More Day (comics), One More Day''; Kindred is willing 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, antisocial, Castration anxiety, castration-ridden, racked with Oedipus complex, Oedipal guilt, and accident-prone ... [a] functioning neurosis, neurotic".Kempton, Sally, "Spider-Man'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

Cultural historian Bradford W. Wright notes:

The mid-1960s stories reflect the political tensions of the time; early 1960s Marvel stories often deal with the Cold War and communism. Wright writes:

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 walls. This has been speculated to be based on a distance-dependent interaction between his body and surfaces, known as the van der Waals force, though in the Spider-Man (2002 film), 2002 ''Spider-Man'' film, his hands and feet are lined with tiny clinging Cilium, cilia in the manner of a real spider's feet. Spider-Man's other powers include superhuman strength, speed, agility, 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, and later writers have depicted his intellect at genius level. Academically brilliant, Peter has expertise in the fields of applied science, chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, mathematics, and mechanics.

With his talents, he 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, and navigate and trap his enemies with his webs, additionally small electronic tracking devices called spider-tracers and a spider-signal as a flashlight and a warning beacon to criminals. Thomas Fireheart's scientists, world-renowned, 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 Burglar (comics), a 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 Spider-Man and his alter ego Peter Parker.

Flash Thompson, Eugene "Flash" Thompson is commonly depicted as Peter Parker's high school tormentor and bully, who idolizes Spider-Man, but is unaware that Spider-Man is Peter Parker. Later, he becomes a friend of Peter and adopts his own superhero identity, Agent Venom, after merging with the Venom (Marvel Comics character), Venom Symbiote (comics), 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 Spider-Man, 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 following Spider-Man villains are listed 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:

# Doctor Octopus (a.k.a. Doc Ock) is a highly intelligent mad scientist who uses 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. 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 arch-enemy. 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 targets his loved ones and shows no remorse in killing them as long as it caused pain to Spider-Man. 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 to end the Silver Age of Comic Books 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 merges with Eddie and gives 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 to ruin Peter Parker's life and mentally confuse him in any way he can. The character 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, Peter eventually falls in love with his college girlfriend Gwen Stacy, daughter of New York City Police Department detective Captain George Stacy, both of whom are later killed by supervillain enemies of Spider-Man. Mary Jane Watson became Peter's best friend and eventually 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.

Children

Over the course of the comics, Peter Parker had several biological children across different continuities, usually with Mary Jane Watson, including Mayday Parker, Spider-Girl (Mayday Parker) and Benjy Parker from the MC2 universe, and Spiderling (Annie Parker) from Earth-18119.

Alternate versions of Spider-Man

Within the Marvel Universe, there exists a Multiverse (Marvel Comics), multiverse with many variations of Spider-Man. An early character included in the 1980s is the fictional anthropomorphic animal parody of Spider-Man as a pig 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 imprint, Peter marries Mary Jane and has a daughter named Mayday Parker, who carries on Spider-Man's legacy, while 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'', Spider-Man (Pavitr Prabhakar), Pavitr Prabhakar.

''Ultimate Spider-Man'' was a popular modern retelling of Spider-Man, Peter Parker. The version of Peter Parker would later be depicted as being killed off and replaced by a Black Hispanic and Latino Americans, Black Hispanic Spider-Man named Spider-Man (Miles Morales), Miles Morales.

The storyline "Spider-Verse" brought back many alternate takes on Spider-Man and introduced many new 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, who is Billy Braddock from the Captain Britain Corps.

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, 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. After the comics depicted a real address in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, as May Parker's residence, its residents received many letters from children to the superhero.

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. He has 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 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"
Associated Press via WCBS (AM), August 17, 2009, designed by John Romita Sr.,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 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 superheroes with his depicted flaws as a superhero. IGN wrote 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 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'' (1967–1970), '' Spidey Super Stories'' (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'' (1981–1983), Fox Kids' ''Spider-Man: The Animated Series'' (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. Spider-Man has been adapted to other media including games, toys, collectibles, and miscellaneous memorabilia, and has appeared as the main character in Spider-Man video games, numerous 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 as the Peter Parker (2002 film series character), 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 (film), The Amazing Spider-Man'', was released on July 3, 2012, directed by Marc Webb, and starred Andrew Garfield 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. Tom Holland 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 in the latter film. Jake Johnson voiced an alternate universe version of Spider-Man in the animated film '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'', and reprised the role in its sequel '' Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse'' (2023). Chris Pine also voiced another version of Peter Parker in ''Into the Spider-Verse''. In 2021, Hudson Thames was cast as the voice of Spider-Man in animated anthology series ''What If...? (TV series), What If...?'', replacing Tom Holland. He later reprised the role for animated series ''Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'' (2025).

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, '' 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 group U2, with a book by Julie Taymor, Glen Berger, and 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, since the Pop art, Pop Art period of the 1960s, the character of Spider-Man has been "appropriated" by multiple visual artists and incorporated into contemporary artwork, including Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Mel Ramos, Vijay (actor), Vijay, Dulce Pinzon, Mr. Brainwash, and F. Lennox Campello.

In 2025, Chicago's Griffin Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago), Museum of Science and Industry opened ''Marvel’s Spider-Man: Beyond Amazing – The Exhibition''. It spans two galleries. The ''Chicago Tribune'' reports, "The first is dedicated to building the character; the other to its ripening and expansion," and the exhibit includes archival material not from Marvel or DC but from eight collectors, as well as film props and a final station with supplies that enable visitors to draw their own interpretation of Spider-Man.

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

* Content in this article was copied fro
Spider-Man
at the Fictional Characters wiki, which is licensed under th
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External links

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