Spider-Man

Story

Peter Parker is just an ordinary teenage boy, growing up in Queens, New York City. He lives with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben after both his parents died in a plane crash. One day, when visiting a science exhibition, he is bitten by a radioactive spider. That is when everything changes for Peter. He gains super-human abilities, such as the ability to cling to walls and surfaces, shoot spider webs, detect danger with his ‘spider-sense’ and a heightened athletic ability.

He encounters many criminals in his adventures and many super-human villains such as, Doctor Octopus, the Green Goblin and Venom.

As well as fighting bad guys he needs to navigate the problems of adolescence; homework, girls, loneliness, friendships as well as keeping his new identity a secret, whilst learning that ‘with great power comes great responsibility’.

Why we chose it

Spider-Man has become one of the most popular superheroes of all time.

Where it came from

After the success of The Fantastic Four, Stan Lee was looking around for another superhero idea. Spider-Man was inspired by the rise in teenage demand for comic books. Stan Lee needed to create a character that teenagers could identify with. He credits the character of ‘The Spider’ from Pulp Magazine as his inspiration for Spider-Man.

Where it went next

Spider-Man appears in countless forms of media, from TV series, comic strips, feature length films, animated cartoons and even a Broadway musical.

Associated stories

Many stories, recurring characters and spin offs have emerged from the spider-verse and the Spider-Man has a whole lexicon and mythology of itself, separate from the Marvel universe. Spider-Man has been portrayed by a range of actors and storytellers throughout his many years of fame.

Spider-Man is part of the Marvel-universe and so often makes appearances in other Marvel comics, films and TV series.