When Spider-Man first appeared in the early 1960s, teenagers in superhero comic books were usually relegated to the role of sidekick to the protagonist. The Spider-Man series broke ground by featuring Peter Parker, a teenage high school student to whose "self-obsessions with rejection, inadequacy, and loneliness" young readers could relate.:210 Unlike previous teen heroes such as James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes and Robin, Spider-Man did not benefit from being the protegé of any adult mentors like Captain America and Batman, and thus had to learn 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 story, but later retroactively attributed to his guardian, the late Uncle Ben.
Marvel has featured Spider-Man in several comic book series, the first and longest-lasting of which is titled The Amazing Spider-Man. Over the years, the Peter Parker character has developed from shy, high school student to troubled but outgoing college student, to married high school teacher to, in the late 2000s, a single freelance photographer, his most typical adult role. He is now a member of an unofficial splinter group of the Avengers, one of Marvel's flagship superhero teams. In the comics, Spider-Man is often referred to as "Spidey," "web-slinger," "wall-crawler," or "web-head."
Spider-Man is one of the most popular and commercially successful superheroes. As Marvel's flagship character and company mascot, he has appeared in many forms of media, including several animated and live-action television shows, syndicated newspaper comic strips and a successful series of films starring actor Tobey Maguire as the "friendly neighborhood" hero.
Publication history
Creation and development
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 that 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.:1 In his autobiography, Lee cites the non-superhuman pulp magazine crime fighter The Spider as a great influence,:130 and in a multitude of print and video interviews, Lee stated he was further 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.Looking back on the creation of Spider-Man, 1990s Marvel editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco stated he did not believe that Spider-Man would have been given a chance in today's comics world, where new characters are vetted with test audiences and marketers.:9 At that time, however, Lee had to get only the consent of Marvel publisher Martin Goodman for the character's approval.:9 In a 1986 interview, Lee described in detail his arguments to overcome Goodman's objections. Goodman eventually agreed to let Lee try out Spider-Man in the upcoming final issue of the canceled science-fiction and supernatural anthology series Amazing Adult Fantasy, which was renamed Amazing Fantasy for that single issue, #15 (Aug. 1962).:95
Comics historian Greg Theakston says that Lee, after receiving Goodman's approval for the name Spider-Man and the "ordinary teen" concept, approached artist Jack Kirby. Kirby told Lee about an unpublished character on which he collaborated with Joe Simon in the 1950s, in which an orphaned boy living with an old couple finds a magic ring that granted him super-human powers. Lee and Kirby "immediately sat down for a story conference" and Lee afterward directed Kirby to flesh out the character and draw some pages. Steve Ditko would be the inker. 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".:12 Lee turned to Ditko, who developed a visual style Lee found satisfactory. Ditko recalled:
"One of the first things I did was to work up a costume. A vital, visual part of the character. I had to know how he looked ... before I did any breakdowns. For example: A clinging power so he wouldn't have hard shoes or boots, a hidden wrist-shooter versus a web gun and holster, etc. ... I wasn't sure Stan would like the idea of covering the character's face but I did it because it hid an obviously boyish face. It would also add mystery to the character...."
Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962). Cover art by Jack Kirby (penciller) & Steve Ditko (inker).
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." 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".:14
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 comic Black Magic, who was subsequently not used.[note 4] 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 stated that Lee liked the name Hawkman from DC Comics, and that "Spider-Man" was an outgrowth of that interest. The hyphen was included in the character's name to avoid confusion with DC Comics' Superman.
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". Writer Mark Evanier notes that Lee's reasoning that Kirby's character was too heroic seems unlikely—Kirby still drew the covers for the first issues of Spider-Man. Likewise, Kirby's given reason that he was "too busy" to also draw Spider-Man in addition to his other duties seems false, as Kirby was, in Evanier's words, "always busy".:127 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.:127
Blake Bell, author and Ditko scholar, writes that it was Ditko who noted the similarities to the Fly. Ditko recalled that, "Stan called Jack about the Fly", adding that "[d]ays 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 artist of his generation to create and control the narrative arc of his series". On the issue of the initial creation, Ditko states, "I still don't know whose idea was Spider-Man". 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 [it]". Writer Al Nickerson believes "that Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created the Spider-Man that we are familiar with today [but that] ultimately, Spider-Man came into existence, and prospered, through the efforts of not just one or two, but many, comic book creators".
The Amazing Spider-Man #23 (April 1965), featuring the Green Goblin. Cover art by co-creator Steve Ditko.
Commercial success
A few months after Spider-Man's introduction in Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962), publisher Martin Goodman reviewed the sales figures for that issue and was shocked to find it to have been one of the nascent Marvel's highest-selling comics.:97 A solo series followed, beginning with The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963). The title eventually became Marvel's top-selling series:211 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.":223 Following Ditko's departure after issue #38 (July 1966), John Romita, Sr. replaced him as artist, and would provide the pencil drawings of the character over the next several years. In 1968. Romita would also draw the character's extra-length stories in the magazine-format series The Spectacular Spider-Man, a graphic novel precursor designed to appeal to older readers but which lasted only two issues. Nonetheless, it represented the first Spider-Man spin-off publication aside from the original series' summer annuals begun in 1964.
An early 1970s Spider-Man story led to the revision of the Comics Code. 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.:239 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 the Green Goblin, 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:239 and the Code was subsequently revised.
The Amazing Spider-Man #96 (May 1971), the first of three non-Comics Code issues that prompted the Code's first update, allowing comics to show the negative effects of illegal-drug use. Cover art by Gil Kane.
In 1972, a second monthly ongoing series starring Spider-Man began: Marvel Team-Up, in which Spider-Man was paired with other superheroes and villains. In 1976, his second solo series, The Spectacular Spider-Man vol. 2, began, running parallel to the main series. A third series featuring Spider-Man, Web Of Spider-Man, launched in 1985, replacing Marvel Team-Up. The launch of a fourth monthly title in 1990, written and drawn by popular artist Todd McFarlane, 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.:279 There have generally been at least two ongoing Spider-Man series at any time. Several limited series, one-shots and loosely related comics have also been published, and Spider-Man makes frequent cameos and guest appearances in other comic series.
The original Amazing Spider-Man ran through issue #441 (Nov. 1998). Writer-artist John Byrne then revamped the origin of Spider-Man in the 13-issue miniseries Spider-Man: Chapter One (Dec. 1998 - Oct. 1999, with an issue #0 midway through and some months containing two issues), similar to Byrne's adding details and some revisions to Superman's origin in DC Comics' The Man of Steel. Running concurrently, The Amazing Spider-Man was restarted with vol. 2, #1 (Jan. 1999). With what would have been vol. 2, #59, Marvel reintroduced the original numbering, starting with #500 (Dec. 2003).
By the end of 2007, Spider-Man regularly appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man, New Avengers, Spider-Man Family and various limited series in mainstream Marvel Comics continuity, as well as in the alternate-universe series The Amazing Spider-Girl, the Ultimate Universe title Ultimate Spider-Man, the alternate-universe tween series Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, the alternate-universe children's series Marvel Adventures Spider-Man, and Marvel Adventures: The Avengers.
When 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 #546-549 (each January 2008).
Fictional character biography
Main article: Fictional history of Spider-Man
In his first appearance, Peter Parker is introduced as an orphaned science whiz teenager living with his aunt and uncle in the Forest Hills section of New York City. He is a brilliant student and the apple in the eyes of his adoring guardians but he is also the subject of mockery by his peers who regard him as a bookworm, and perpetual bullying by Eugene "Flash" Thompson, who calls him "Puny Parker" and humiliates him daily. One day, he is bitten by a radioactive spider during a science demonstration. As a result, he gains spider-like powers such as super-strength, the ability to climb walls, and a phenomenal jumping skill. Peter's own intelligence allows him to develop gadgets which fire adhesive webbing.
The fateful spider bite that gave Peter Parker his powers. Amazing Fantasy #15, art by Steve Ditko
As Spider-Man, he becomes a successful TV star. One day at a studio he refuses to stop a thief, saying that it is the job of the police, not that of a star. Later he returns home to learn that his beloved guardian, Uncle Ben, has been murdered and an angry Spider-Man sets off to capture the killer. When he does, he is horrified to find that the man is none other than the burglar he refused to subdue. Realising that with great power comes great responsibility, Spider-Man becomes a vigilante.
After his uncle's death, Peter and his Aunt May become desperate for money, so he gets a job as a photographer at the New York Daily Bugle selling photos to J. Jonah Jameson, who proves to be jealous of Spider-Man and has begun to vilify Spider-Man in the paper. As he battles his enemies for the first time, Parker finds juggling his personal life and costumed adventures difficult. In time, Peter graduates from high school, and enrolls at Empire State University, where he meets roommate and best friend Harry Osborn and his second girlfriend (having been romantically involved with Betty Brant before) Gwen Stacy,and Aunt May introduces him to Mary Jane Watson. As Peter deals with Harry's drug problems, and Harry's father is revealed to be Spider-Man's nemesis the Green Goblin, Peter even attempts to give up his costumed identity. In the course of his adventures Spider-Man has made a wide variety of friends and contacts within the superhero community, who often come to his aid when he faces problems that he cannot solve on his own.
Enemies frequently endanger his loved ones, with the Green Goblin managing to cause the death of Gwen Stacy.Though haunted by the death of Gwen, he begins to date Mary Jane Watson. Peter discovers what he thinks is a black version of his Spider-Man costume, which turns out to be an alien symbiote; Peter is able to reject the symbiote after a difficult struggle, though the symbiote returns several times as Venom for revenge. Peter eventually marries Mary Jane Watson.In a controversial storyline, Peter becomes convinced that Ben Reilly, the Scarlet Spider (a clone of Peter created by his college professor Miles Warren) is the real Peter Parker, and that he, Peter, is the clone. Peter gives up the Spider-Man identity to Reilly for a time, until Reilly is killed by the returning Green Goblin and revealed to be the clone after all. In stories published in 2005 and 2006 (such as "The Other"), he develops additional spider-like abilities including biological web-shooters, toxic stingers that extend from his forearms, the ability to stick individuals to his back, enhanced Spider-sense and night vision, and increased strength and speed. Peter later becomes a member of the New Avengers, and reveals his civilian identity to the world,furthering his already numerous problems. His marriage to Mary Jane and public unmasking are later erased due to a deal made with the demon Mephisto, resulting in several adjustments to the timeline, such as the resurrection of Harry Osborn and the return of Peter's mechanical web-shooters and loss of his additional spider-like abilities.After months of the new status quo in the Marvel Universe where nobody but Peter himself knew the identity of Spider-Man, he unmasks to his teammates on the New Avengers at the request of Ronin, the team's new leader, in order to earn the team's trust.Around this time he also unmasks for the Fantastic Four.
Powers and equipment
Main article: Spider-Man's powers and equipment
A bite from a radioactive spider on a school field trip causes a variety of changes in the body of Peter Parker and gives him superpowers. In the original Lee-Ditko stories, Spider-Man has the ability to cling to walls, superhuman strength, a sixth sense ("spider-sense") that alerts him to danger, perfect balance and equilibrium, as well as superhuman speed and agility. Some of his comic series have him shooting webs from his wrists.Brilliant, Parker excels in applied science, chemistry and physics. The character was originally conceived by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko as intellectually gifted, but not a genius. However, later writers have depicted the character as a genius. With his talents, he sews his own costume to conceal his identity, and constructs many devices that complement his powers, most notably mechanical web-shooters.(This mechanism ejects an advanced adhesive, releasing web-fluid in a variety of configurations, including a single rope-like strand to swing from, a net to bind enemies, a single strand for yanking opponents into objects, strands for whipping foreign objects at enemies, and a simple glob to foul machinery or blind an opponent. He can also weave the web material into simple forms like a shield, a spherical protection or hemispherical barrier, a club, or a hang-glider wing.) Other equipment include spider-tracers (spider-shaped adhesive homing beacons keyed to his own spider-sense), a light beacon which can either be used as a flashlight or project a "Spider-Signal" design, and a specially modified camera that can take pictures automatically.
Enemies
List of Spider-Man enemies
The many villains of Spider-Man. Art by Sean Chen.
Writers and artists over many years have managed to establish an exciting and notable rogues gallery of villains to face Spider-Man.[note 6] The three most infamous and dangerous enemies as voted by fans are the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus and Venom.Other characters include the Hobgoblin, Kraven the Hunter, Carnage, the Scorpion, the Sandman, the Lizard, Mysterio, the Vulture, Electro, the Kingpin, Hydro-Man, the Shocker, and Morlun. As with Spider-Man, the majority of these villains' powers originate with scientific accidents or the misuse of scientific technology, and they tend to have animal-themed costumes or powers, and many have green costumes. At times these villains have formed groups such as the Sinister Six to oppose Spider-Man. It is revealed that Spider-Man has new enemies in New Avengers.
Supporting characters
Main article: Spider-Man supporting characters
Spider-Man was conceived as an ordinary person given great power. The comics detail his civilian life and family, friends, and his romances. Spider-Man is most famous for; however, his super-heroic adventures. Peter was raised by his loving aunt, May Parker, and his uncle and father figure, Ben Parker (usually referred to simply as Aunt May and Uncle Ben), after his parents died. Uncle Ben is tragically murdered by a burglar that Peter had allowed to escape before. Peter believes that his uncle's death was morally his fault, and he decides to use his powers responsibly and become a super-hero. After the murder of her husband, Aunt May is virtually Peter's only family, and she and Peter are very close.
Peter's first love interest is his college girlfriend Gwen Stacy, who is later tragically killed by the Green Goblin. It is later revealed in the comics that she refused to give custody of her children to their biological father Norman Osborn, (the Goblin's true identity), with whom she had had an intimate relationship behind Peter's back. Originally merely Gwen Stacy's competition, Mary Jane Watson (or, "MJ") eventually became Peter's best friend and then became his wife. Her marriage to Peter was later erased due to a deal made with Mephisto to save Aunt May's life. Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat, is a reformed cat burglar who was Spider-Man's girlfriend and partner at one point, but rejected him when he revealed his identity to her, as she was only interested in his costumed persona. She eventually learned to love Peter on his own merit, but never on the level at which she loved Spider-Man.
Eugene "Flash" Thompson was originally Peter Parker's high school tormentor, and later one of his closest friends. Due to brain damage, he suffered amnesia and regressed to his bullying personality,though he eventually recovered from this. Harry Osborn, son of Norman Osborn, was Peter's best friend in college, who eventually follows his father's footsteps and becomes the second Green Goblin, ultimately resulting in Harry's death. He was resurrected due to the erasure of Peter's marriage to Mary Jane, and all related events, from history.
J. Jonah Jameson, the irascible publisher of the Daily Bugle newspaper, is Peter's first employer. While he employs Peter Parker as a photographer, he is also Spider-Man's greatest critic by dint of being jealous of Spider-Man, and hence, he is largely responsible for public distrust of the hero. Joseph "Robbie" Robertson was the Editor-in-chief at the Daily Bugle, a moderating influence on Jameson, and a father figure to Peter after Uncle Ben's death. Betty Brant was the secretary at the Daily Bugle, and was once in love with Peter.
Cultural influence
Comic-book writer-editor and historian Paul Kupperberg, in The Creation of Spider-Man, calls the character's superpowers "nothing too original"; what was original was that outside his secret identity, he was a "nerdy high school student".:5 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.":6 The insecurity and anxieties in Marvel's early 1960s comic books such as The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, and 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 become Marvel's flagship character, and 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.:254 Since 1962, hundreds of millions of comics featuring the character have been sold around the world.
Spider-Man joined the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from 1987 to 1998 as one of the balloon floats,designed by John Romita Sr.,one of the character's signature artists. A new, different Spider-Man balloon float is scheduled to appear from at least 2009 to 2011.
In 1981, Dan Goodwin donned a Spider-Man suit and scaled the Sears Tower in Chicago, Illinois, and the Renaissance Tower in Dallas, Texas, to promote high-rise firefighting and rescue.
When Marvel wanted to issue a story dealing with the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 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 UN Peacekeeping Forces to highlight UN peacekeeping missions. A BusinessWeek article listed Spider-Man as one of the top ten most intelligent fictional characters in American comics.
Spider-Man was named Empire magazine's fifth-greatest comic-book character.
Non-Marvel versions and parodies
Marvel made its own parodies of Spider-Man in such comics as Not Brand Echh, which was published in the late 1960s and featured such characters as Peter Pooper alias Spidey-There was also Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham, who appeared in the 1980s.
Japanese artist Ryoichi Ikegami drew a manga version of Spider-Man for the Japanese market between 1970 and late 1971. Peter Parker was renamed Yu Komori and various other Marvel characters, such as Electro and the Lizard, also featured but with different backgrounds.
Another Japanese manga was Hideshi Hino's The Bug Boy, which has been cited as inspired by Spider-Man. Like Peter Parker, Sanpei Hiromoto is bitten by a strange and tiny creature which turns him into a being with powers — in this case, a huge, poisonous bug. Unlike Parker, the bullying Sanpei experienced at school has not been balanced by a loving family home, and thus he becomes a supervillain rather than a hero.
The French comic Télé-Junior published strips based on popular TV series. In the late 1970s, the publisher also produced original Spider-Man adventures. Artists included Gérald Forton, who later moved to America and worked for Marvel. These strips were short stories with little or no continuity between them. Télé-Junior's version included regular characters from the comics like J. Jonah Jameson, Robbie Robertson and Flash Thompson, who is at the friendly stage of his relationship with Parker. Villains including the Vulture and Electro also appeared.
In the 1973 Turkish film 3 Dev Adam (known in English as Three Mighty Men or Turkish Spider-Man vs. Captain Turkish America) Spider-Man is portrayed as the villain of the film, confronted by Captain America and Santo (a Mexican wrestler character). He has no spider powers in the film, however.
The Indian version of Spider-Man, Spider-Man: India was created by Sharad Devarajan, Suresh Seetharaman and Jeevan J. Kang along with Marvel Comics.
The Arachnid (formerly The Adventures of Lil' Spidey) is an unofficial continuation of the Spider-Man series, following Spider-Man's first son Tom Parker.
In other media
Main article: Spider-Man in other media
Spider-Man has appeared in comics, cartoons, movies, coloring books, novels, records, and children's books. On television, he appeared as the main character in the animated series Spider-Man, which aired from 1967–1970 on ABC,the live-action series The Amazing Spider-Man (1978–1979), starring Nicholas Hammond, the syndicated cartoon series Spider-Man (1981–1982), Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981–1983), Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994–1998), Spider-Man Unlimited (1999–2000), Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (2003) and The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008–present). In one episode of The Super Hero Squad Show, the Mayor of Superhero City tells Wolverine of a hero that was bitten by a radioactive insect.
A tokusatsu show featuring Spider-Man was produced by Toei and aired in Japan. It is commonly referred to by its Japanese pronunciation "Supaidā-Man."
Spider-Man also appeared in other print forms besides the comics, including novels, children's books, and the daily newspaper 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 numerous computer and video games on over 15 gaming platforms. Spider-Man was also the subject of a series of films directed by Sam Raimi and starring actor Tobey Maguire as the title character. The original Spider-Man film was released May 3, 2002, its first sequel, Spider-Man 2, premiered June 30, 2004, and the next sequel, Spider-Man 3, premiered on May 4, 2007. Spider-Man 4 was scheduled to be released May 6, 2011, however Sony announced that the series would be rebooted, and a new director and cast would be introduced. The reboot is scheduled to be released in Summer 2012. It was announced on February 10, 2010 that the new film, which is still untitled, will begin production later this year directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt. Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin will produce the 3D film to be released July 3, 2012.
A Broadway musical, Spider-Man: Turn Out the Dark, is slated for production in 2010. The score and lyrics were written by Bono and The Edge of U2.
Awards and honors
From the character's inception, Spider-Man stories have won numerous awards, including:
1962 Alley Award: Best Short Story — "Origin of Spider-Man" by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Amazing Fantasy #15
1963 Alley Award: Best Comic: Adventure Hero title — The Amazing Spider-Man
1963 Alley Award: Top Hero — Spider-Man
1964 Alley Award: Best Adventure Hero Comic Book — The Amazing Spider-Man
1964 Alley Award: Best Giant Comic - The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1
1964 Alley Award: Best Hero — Spider-Man
1965 Alley Award: Best Adventure Hero Comic Book — The Amazing Spider-Man
1965 Alley Award: Best Hero — Spider-Man
1966 Alley Award: Best Comic Magazine: Adventure Book with the Main Character in the Title — The Amazing Spider-Man
1966 Alley Award: Best Full-Length Story - "How Green was My Goblin", by Stan Lee & John Romita, Sr., The Amazing Spider-Man #39
1967 Alley Award: Best Comic Magazine: Adventure Book with the Main Character in the Title — The Amazing Spider-Man
1967 Alley Award Popularity Poll: Best Costumed or Powered Hero — Spider-Man
1967 Alley Award Popularity Poll: Best Male Normal Supporting Character — J. Jonah Jameson, The Amazing Spider-Man
1967 Alley Award Popularity Poll: Best Female Normal Supporting Character — Mary Jane Watson, The Amazing Spider-Man
1968 Alley Award Popularity Poll: Best Adventure Hero Strip — The Amazing Spider-Man
1968 Alley Award Popularity Poll: Best Supporting Character - J. Jonah Jameson, The Amazing Spider-Man
1969 Alley Award Popularity Poll: Best Adventure Hero Strip — The Amazing Spider-Man
1997 Eisner Award: Best Artist/Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team — 1997 Al Williamson, Best Inker: Untold Tales of Spider-Man #17-18
2002 Eisner Award: Best Serialized Story — The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2, #30–35: "Coming Home", by J. Michael Straczynski, John Romita, Jr., and Scott Hanna
No date: Empire magazine's fifth-greatest comic-book character.
See also
Alternate versions of Spider-Man
Bibliography of Spider-Man titles
List of Spider-Man comics
Notes
^ Lee, Stan; Mair, George (2002). Excelsior!: The Amazing Life of Stan Lee. Fireside. ISBN 0-684-87305-2. "He goes further in his biography, claiming that even while pitching the concept to publisher Martin Goodman, "I can't remember if that was literally true or not, but I thought it would lend a big color to my pitch.""
^ Detroit Free Press interview with Stan Lee, quoted in The Steve Ditko Reader by Greg Theakston (Pure Imagination, Brooklyn, NY; ISBN 1-56685-011-8), 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. [Goodman 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".
^ Ditko, Steve (2000). Roy Thomas. ed. Alter Ego: The Comic Book Artist Collection. TwoMorrows Publishing. ISBN 1893905063. "'Stan said a new Marvel hero would be introduced in #15 [of 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 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'".
^ 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 '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, Joe, with Jim Simon. The Comic Book Makers (Crestwood/II, 1990) ISBN 1-887591-35-4. "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".
^ Mondello, Salvatore (Mar 2004). "Spider-Man: Superhero in the Liberal Tradition". The Journal of Popular Culture X (1): 232–238. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3840.1976.1001_232.x. "a teenage superhero and middle-aged supervillains—an impressive rogues' gallery which includes such memorable knaves and grotesques as the Vulture,".
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