Spider-Man is one of the most popular Marvel characters created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko,
and he first appeared in the anthology comic book Amazing Fantasy #15 published in 1962.
Lee and Ditko conceived the character as an orphan being raised by his Aunt May and Uncle
Ben, and as a teenager, having to deal with the normal struggles of adolescence in addition
to those of a superhero crime-fighter.
In this video, we will explore the characters creation, his backstory as well as other interesting
facts.
So let’s begin!
1.
STAN LEE CREATED SPIDER-MAN BY WATCHING A FLY
Stan Lee got his first big hit with the Fantastic Four in 1961, and soon after started contemplating
new characters to add to his roster.
While racking his brains in the Marvel offices, he witnessed an insect climb up the wall.
This is when he got the epiphany to create, the legendary…
Stick to wall man…
As amusing as this name is, it didn’t feel quite right, so Lee considered a few other
names like Insect-Man, Fly-Man, and Mosquito-Man until he finally ended on Spider-Man.
He then enlisted artist Steve Ditko to create a costume design and presented the idea of
an awkward teenage hero with spider powers to Marvel head Martin Goodman, who apparently
replied, “That’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard.”
2.
PETER PARKER WAS THE SECOND “SPIDER-MAN” As mentioned earlier Martin Goodman was not
a fan of Spider-Man.
He thought the idea of a teenager being a hero was ludicrous as they were usually sidekicks,
and he feared people would be naturally repulsed by a spider like character, as most people
hate spiders.
But Stan Lee and Steve Ditko believed in the character so they sneaked him in Amazing Fantasy,
which was on the verge of cancellation.
But Spider-Man seemed to hit a note with fans, and they asked for more.
So Goodman asked Stan Lee to give Spider-Man his own series, and in 1963 the world got
The Amazing Spider-Man #1.
But Peter Parker’s successful debut wasn’t Marvel’s first spider-themed character.
During the 1950s, monster and sci-fi comics were very popular and one in particular called
Journey Into Mystery #73 featured a household spider transformed by radioactive rays into
a massive, talking Man-Spider.
Tragically, he was killed by the end of the issue.
3.
He Has Radioactive Sperm Fans will remember the outrageous Kevin Smith
story where Batman had pissed himself.
Well it seems even Spider-Man can’t escape bad writing at times…
Spider-Man: Reign showed an alternate future for Peter Parker in a world similar to that
of Batman's in The Dark Knight Returns.
When the much older Spider-Man once again decides to suit up in a bid to help the citizens
of a corrupt New York City, it's revealed that he buried his costume with his wife Mary
Jane Watson after her death.
Well How did she die you might ask?
Well, it turns out, not only is Spider-Man's blood radioactive, but also his other bodily
fluids, and it is revealed that she died of cancer brought on by exposure to Peter's radioactive
bodily fluids during intercourse over the years.
4.
He Could Once Make His Own Webbing Talking of sticky stuff…The movies didn’t
get it completely wrong, at one point in his timeline, Spider-Man was able to shoot his
own err webbing… yeah let’s call it webbing.
In a 2004 comic book crossover between Spider-Man and Captain America, Spidey gets kidnapped
by a woman known as ‘The Queen’ who has a series of spider-related powers similar
to Peter’s.
At one point, The Queen kisses Spider-Man, which causes him to mutate into a giant spider.
Eventually, the back of the spider cracks open and Peter emerges unharmed from inside,
but he’s now been upgraded, complete with his own webbing which shoot from glands in
his forearms.
Peter even gives his old web shooters to Mary Jane so she can protect herself…
These organic webs, believed to be a very deliberate tie-in to the Spider-Man movies,
lasted a few years before being quietly removed from continuity without explanation.
5.
He Was Once Part of The Fantastic Four Shortly after the death of the Human Torch
and the reinstatement of the Thing, the remaining members of the Future Foundation a.k.a.
Fantastic Four came together with an idea.
During the reading of the will of Johnny Storm, Peter Parker was inducted to take his place
on the team.
When Spider-Man joined them, they gave him a new suit, black and white, based on new
improvements in the field of unstable molecular technology.
This technology prevented the costume from ever getting dirty, and Spider-Man even had
the ability to morph into the classic red and blue suit or civilian clothing using his
mind.
6.
Tony Stark Made Him A Special Uniform Originally designed to replace the red and
blue suit, the iron spider suit was built to be faster and stronger, and it came with
three fully functioning spider legs that popped out of the back of the uniform on command.
It was built during the Civil War event, when Spider-Man sided with Iron Man over the Identity
crisis.
The spider arms even had cameras on the ends of the legs, and were articulated so that
they could be used as grippers.
Although Peter had trouble with the uniform at first, he eventually fine-tuned it to his
needs.
And even though he still has access to the suit, he only uses it for emergencies, or
whenever Nick Fury gives him permission.
7.
He Once Had To Operate As Four Different Heroes "Identity Crisis" was an eight-part storyline
published in 1998.
In this story, Spider-Man was framed by Norman Osborn, leaving him with a five-million-dollar
reward posted for his capture.
Instead of his normal costumed identity, Peter Parker adopted four other costumes with different
crime-fighting personas, in order to stay under the radar.
His reasoning was that one Spiderman-like superhero appearing so soon after the bounty
would be suspicious, so he created 4…
Hornet and Prodigy, posed as heroes while the other two, Dusk and Ricochet, pretended
to be criminals.
By doing this, Peter was not only able to do good, but he also gained a chance to inflirtrate
the criminal underworld.
8.
He Currently Works With The X-Men Following the death of Wolverine, Spider-Man
becomes a faculty member at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning and tries to teach
ethics to several troubled students.
At the same time, he secretly investigates the students because Wolverine asked him to
locate a traitor.
After a number of unrelated fights and adventures, Ernst reveals that she made a deal with the
evil Mister Sinister in an effort to help No-Girl.
Sinister betrays Ernst, who then works with her classmates and Spider-Man to defeat Sinister
and save nearby civilians.
Because of their teamwork, no one is expelled from the school and the students can even
go on patrols with Spider-Man.
9.
His Parents Were Spies The identities of Richard and Mary Parker
have always been a big mystery.
Why was Peter left in the care of Uncle Ben and Aunt May at such a young age?
Well In the late ’60s, it was revealed that Peter’s parents were actually a pair of
spies.
In the ’90s, it was also revealed that they were working with S.H.I.E.L.D. to infiltrate
the evil group led by the Red Skull.
However Red Skull discovered their identities and sabotaged their plane.
In 1997, a writer by the name of Roger Stern took it on himself to tell the untold story
of Richard and Mary Parker.
It was revealed that the two met while on different assignments for their respective
agencies, and after meeting and getting married, they were tasked with collecting information
on a woman by the name of Baroness Adelicia Von Krupp.
They also rescued a certain Canadian agent by the name of Logan.
Shortly after this event, they realized that Mary was pregnant, and the pair later died
while on a mission after having a baby boy.
10.
He’s Been Rebooted As A Man Named Miles Morales
A few months before Peter’s death and Norman Osborne’s arrest, a young thief named Miles
breaks into the now-abandoned Oscorp building.
After stealing a spider, he gets bit and soon displays similar powers to the original Spider-Man.
Taking this as a sign, he decides to clean up his act and redeem his criminal past by
fighting crime.
After helping the Avengers defeat Electro, he was granted the mantle of Spider-Man from
Spider-Woman and was also given a tape by Scorpion that teaches him to fight like Spider-Man.
The biggest difference between Miles and Peter is Miles’s Venom Blast.
Oddly enough, it is later revealed that Mile Morales and Superior Spider-Man (Otto Octavius)
at one point team up to fight side by side.
So there you have it, 10 interesting facts about Spider-Man.
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