Fictional history of Spider-Man
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This article is about the fictional history of Marvel Comics' character Spider-Man.
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[edit] Early years
Peter Benjamin Parker is the son of Richard and Mary Parker, who worked as NSA agents, and were killed on a mission involving an impersonator of the Red Skull.[1] The infant Peter Parker is left in the care of his Uncle Ben and Aunt May Parker, who live in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, New York. The aging couple love Peter, but he grows to be unpopular among his peers. Between an uncle who is too old to join him in physical activities and an aunt over-protective of the orphaned child, Peter gravitates to more non-physical hobbies such as photography and home chemistry, encouraged in these endevours by his guardians. Over time, he grows to be a lonely, timid but exceptionally bright teenager who shows more interest in his studies (especially science, which he has an affinity for that is nothing short of genius) than in any kind of social life. He is often the target of jokes by more popular students like Flash Thompson, the high school's star athlete.
Spider-Man's origin story is told in the first 12 pages of Amazing Fantasy #15. Peter Parker attends a science exhibition where he is bitten by a radioactive spider. The spider bite gives Peter an array of spider-like powers, including wall-crawling, superhuman strength, speed and agility, and an extra-sensory "spider-sense". Peter initially sets out to find fame and fortune, winning a match in a makeshift disguise against professional wrestler Crusher Hogan. He attempts to interest a television network in the idea of featuring him as a costumed hero (with the advantage that he can actually do the things his character can), and creates the Spider-Man name, costume, and web-shooters. After quickly becoming a minor celebrity, Peter appears on a television special, but afterward allows a thief to escape the TV station, asserting that it isn't his problem. He comes to regret his inaction when he finds out that the same burglar subsequently killed his Uncle Ben.
Realizing that he could have prevented his uncle's death, the guilt-ridden Peter commits to a life of crimefighting and lifesaving, driven by his uncle's words, "With great power there must also come great responsibility"[2] (the phrase is often shortened to: "With great power comes great responsibility"). This disarming mix of selfless obligation and self-recrimination brought about by his uncle's death arguably makes up Spider-Man's moral core.
In the earliest Spider-Man stories, Peter Parker attends Midtown High School. After his uncle's death, he and his aunt become desperate for money, so he gets a job as a photographer at the Daily Bugle selling photos to J. Jonah Jameson. Peter dates co-worker Betty Brant and clashes with his high school rival Flash Thompson (whose girlfriend, Liz Allen, he informally tutors). He encounters many of his most famous enemies for the first time during this period.
[edit] College life
Peter graduates from high school and enrolls at Empire State University, where he meets Harry Osborn and Gwen Stacy. His aunt introduces him to Mary Jane Watson, whom he dates for a short time, but Peter soon falls in love with Gwen. Meanwhile, Harry becomes Peter's roommate and best friend, but starts using illegal drugs.
Harry's father, Norman Osborn, is revealed to be the Green Goblin and discovers Spider-Man's secret identity. After her father is killed in a battle between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus, Gwen's relationship with Peter is put on hold when she travels to England. It was later revealed in a highly controversial retcon that Gwen had an affair with Norman Osborn, and gave birth to two children while in Europe. Harry suffers a drug overdose shortly after she returns.
[edit] The Six Arms Saga
In The Amazing Spider-Man #100-102, Spidey creates a chemical cocktail which is intended to eliminate his spider powers. However the potion increased his spider powers, rather than eliminating them, which gives him six arms. Dr. Curt Connors Uses Morbius' blood to create an antidote to turn Spider-Man back to normal.
[edit] Death of Gwen Stacy
In The Amazing Spider-Man #121-122 (June-July 1973), while Harry is ill, the Green Goblin throws Gwen Stacy from a tower of the Brooklyn Bridge; either from shock or physical trauma during Spider-Man's rescue attempt, she dies before hitting the water. The Goblin appears to be killed himself in the ensuing battle with Spider-Man. Grieving Gwen's death, Parker withdraws from his social circle, only to find support from Mary Jane, who eventually starts dating him. Harry later discovers the truth about his father and becomes the second Green Goblin. Gwen's death has another unforeseen consequence: one of her professors, Miles Warren, clones Gwen and Peter. Both clones disappear, but Peter's clone returns years later as Ben Reilly. Later still, Mary Jane and Peter break up, as she is not ready for a committed relationship.
[edit] Cosmic Spider-Man
While pursuing his graduate studies in biochemistry at Empire State University, Peter Parker was bathed in unknown energies when an experimental generator exploded. The explosion also caused nearby power lines to overload dangerously. Changing into Spider-Man, Peter spotted a live wire falling toward a young couple. He instinctively caught the wire and was surprised when he wasn't harmed by the massive surge of electricity. Spider-Man's new powers had actually come from the Uni-Power, which comes from a mysterious extra-dimensional aspect of the Microverse known as the Enigma Force, and associated with the entity known as Captain Universe. The powers it bestowed upon Spider-Man seemed to be enhanced spider-like powers, super senses, vast power blasts, being able to form shapes from his web and manipulate them, and absolute invulnerability. These abilities allowed him to defeat a host of foes including Magneto, Gravitron, The Grey Hulk, Goliath and a mystically infused super Sentinel called The Tri-Sentinel.
[edit] The Death of Jean DeWolff
In Spectacular Spider-Man #107 - #110, Peter Parker (Spider-Man) hunts down the person who murdered Jean DeWolff, one of his closest friends. When the murderer kills another person close to Daredevil, the two superheroes pair up to find the murderer. They later find out that the murderer was Dewolff's her ex-lover Stan Carter, aka Sin-Eater. The Death of Jean DeWolff featured Spider-Man with his venom costume.
[edit] Alien costume and Venom
The alien costume, also known as the Black Suit, first made its appearance in sketches found in a Marvel magazine titled Marvel Age #12. These early sketches had Spider-Man in a black costume with a red spider-symbol instead of the version with the white symbol that would later be used. The first comic book appearances of the suit occurred in May of 1984 in Marvel Team-Up #141, Amazing Spider-Man #252, and Spectacular Spider-Man #90.
In these issues there was an abrupt time shift from the issues a month earlier. Spider-Man was now on Earth shortly after the events of the Secret Wars limited series had taken place even though the twelve issue Secret Wars series had just started that month. It would be months before the change to the new costume would be explained. In the Secret Wars limited series, Spider-Man is taken to an alien planet, where he participates in a battle between Earth's greatest heroes and villains. When his suit is destroyed in the fight, Peter sets out to make himself a new one and comes across a machine which conjures him a black suit that responds to his thoughts, greatly enhances his powers, provides him with its own supply of web-fluid, and can change its appearance at his command.
After he returns to Earth, however, Peter discovers that the costume is actually an alien symbiote bent on permanently bonding with its host. Peter eventually rejects and defeats the symbiote, but it merges with reporter Eddie Brock, becoming the villain known as Venom. Brock is imprisoned and removed from his symbiote but then escapes from prison when the symbiote returns. His cell-mate, Cletus Kasady (a serial killer), merges with an infant symbiote that Venom left behind, thus becoming another villain, Carnage.
[edit] Maximum Carnage
The new symbiote, Carnage, was swiftly defeated and apparently destroyed. Kasady was jailed at Ravencroft Asylum. However, the alien had mutated his blood, and he could generate a copy of the symbiote (this was later retconned so that the alien had survived, and bonded to his blood). Kasady escaped, freeing other superhuman inmates and assembling a 'family' of killers around him. They set their sights on New York. During the murderous onslaught that followed, Carnage recruited Shriek, Doppelganger, Demogoblin, and Carrion to do his bidding, terrorizing New York City with their twisted "family values." Spider-Man and Venom were forced to join together to stop Carnage and his followers. They required the assistance of such disparate heroes as Captain America, Black Cat, Nightwatch, Cloak and Dagger, Iron Fist, Deathlok, Morbius and Firestar. However, both infighting between the villains and a successful rout from the heroes contributed to Carnage's defeat. Venom pushed Carnage into an electrical generator and fled, leaving Carnage to be imprisoned.
[edit] Clone Saga
- Main article: Clone Saga
One of the most controversial story-lines of the 1990s involves the Scarlet Spider, a clone of Spider-Man created by Miles Warren after Gwen Stacy's death, who appeared to have somehow survived his battle with the original Peter Parker and lived in exile as "Ben Reilly." Ben co-existed with Peter for a time, and as Scarlet Spider he became a close ally of Spider-Man. But later tests indicate that Reilly is in fact the original Peter Parker, and Peter the clone. Mary Jane becomes pregnant with Peter's baby, while Peter retires and passes the Spider-Man identity to Reilly, who remains Spider-Man for several months until a resurrected Norman Osborn admits to having manipulated the tests. After Reilly is impaled on the Goblin's Glider while saving Peter, his body crumbles into dust, proving definitively that he is the clone. While Peter battles Osborn, the very pregnant Mary Jane is poisoned by one of Osborn's agents, causing premature labor and what seems to be a stillbirth. Apparently, the baby is alive and stolen by the agent, Alison Mongrain.
[edit] Identity Crisis
Spider-Man is framed by Norman Osborn and the Trapster for the murder of a small-time crook, leaving Spider-Man with a million-dollar reward posted for his capture. Instead of his normal costumed identity, Peter Parker adopts four other costumes with different crimefighting personas in order to stay under the radar — the Hornet and Prodigy posing as heroes, Dusk and Ricochet pretending to be criminals in order to infiltrate with the criminal underworld undercover. Using his Dusk identity, he provides evidence that Spider-Man hadn't killed the criminal, while he uses the Prodigy identity to produce faked evidence to suggest that that a Spider-Man impersonator attacked Osborn. With the bounty removed, Peter returned to his life as Spider-Man.
[edit] 21st-century Spider-Man
During the late 1990s, in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #97, Peter learns that Aunt May was kidnapped by Osborn and that her death was a hoax. Peter rescues May, then temporarily retires as Spider-Man. Peter eventually becomes Spider-Man again while keeping it secret from Mary Jane. Shortly afterward, she is apparently murdered by a stalker.
Shortly after this point the series "The Amazing Spider-Man" enters into volume two and much of what has happened since the end of the Clone Saga is quietly retconned out of existence. Since the events are ignored more so than they are denied or redefined, it is hard to say what from this period is and isn't canon. Mary Jane's baby and Aunt May's 'death' are two such events that seem to have never happened in retrospect.
In early 2001, Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski began writing The Amazing Spider-Man, illustrated by John Romita Jr. Straczynski and writer Paul Jenkins reunite Peter and Mary Jane, but the couple temporarily separates. Peter becomes a teacher at his old high school.
The enigmatic, wealthy CEO Ezekiel suggests that the accident giving Peter his abilities might not have been a fluke, and that Peter might have a connection to a totemic spider spirit. The vampire-like Morlun, who feeds on the powers possessed by those connected to animal totems, comes to New York and severely beats Spider-Man. However, Peter injects himself with a radioactive material, making himself "impure" and weakening the villain, who is then killed by his lackey. After this, May discovers Peter is Spider-Man, leading to a new openness in their relationship; Peter is happy to be honest with his aunt at last, while May struggles to accept Peter's life as Spider-Man and give him her support. Soon, following a battle with the mystical spider wasp being Shathra, Peter and Mary Jane reconcile.
The companion series Peter Parker: Spider-Man was relaunched as The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 2. Here Spider-Man battles Venom (Eddie Brock), who is revealed to be dying of cancer. An encounter with the Green Goblin leaves Peter's friend Flash Thompson comatose with severe brain damage and results in a truce that ends when Osborn resumes his murderous ways in the series The Pulse and Marvel Knights Spider-Man.
After The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2 #58, the series returned to its original numbering at #500 (Dec. 2003). Peter works as a science teacher at Midtown High School until 2004, when the character undergoes a major life change following the destruction of Peter's apartment and Aunt May's house by a deranged and super-powered former high-school classmate, Charlie Weiderman. Peter, by now a member of the Avengers, moves Aunt May, Mary Jane and himself into that superhero team's headquarters, Tony Stark's Stark Tower. Peter works as Stark's assistant while again freelancing for The Daily Bugle and continuing his work as a teacher at Midtown High School.
[edit] The Other
- Main article: Spider-Man: The Other
In the 12-part 2005 story "The Other," which spans the three main Spider-Man titles, Spider-Man undergoes a transformation that evolves his powers (see Spider-Man#Powers and equipment), which further connect him to the spider totem and lays the foundation for further developments. After his return, Tony Stark makes him a new costume.
[edit] Civil War
- Main article: Civil War
In the 2006 crossover Civil War, the Marvel heroes find themselves divided on the issue of whether to register with the U.S. government under the Superhuman Registration Act and reveal their secret identities and superhuman abilities. Tony Stark (Iron Man) drafts a conflicted Spider-Man into a task-force to compel the rebel superheroes to register. Following Stark's lead, he unmasks himself at a televised news conference at the U.S. Capitol.[3] In the aftermath, J. Jonah Jameson files a lawsuit against Parker, demanding repayment of money for "fraudulent" Spider-Man photos Parker shot for the Daily Bugle. After developing a growing unease about the Registration Act, Stark's motives, and witnessing the death of Dr. Bill Foster, the Black Goliath, Spider-Man learns that the unregistered captives are being held indefinitely in a high-tech prison built in the Negative Zone by Fantastic Four Incorporated and Stark Enterprises under a US$2 billion no-bid contract. (Incidentally, the unregistered captives were all freed at the end of the war and the prison was reserved for the use of high-risk villains, but Spider-Man did not know this at the time of his decision)
These circumstances prompt Peter to disagree with Stark's actions. As he attempts surreptitiously to leave his home at Stark Tower along with Aunt May and Mary Jane, Iron Man aggressively confronts Peter. Revolting against Iron Man and his Pro-Registration Campaign, Spider Man flees Stark Tower and rushes into the sewers for temporary cover. Knowing Aunt May and Mary Jane have escaped safely, Peter hides in the sewers until he is ambushed by the Jester and Jack O'Lantern. The two super villains have been enlisted by Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Maria Hill to hunt down the anti-registration superheroes. As the two villains are about to kill Spider-Man, they are quickly shot down by Frank Castle, the Punisher. Castle rescues Peter and takes him to the headquarters of the Secret Avengers for medical treatment, recognizing Spider-Man has now switched sides.[4] [5]
Spider-Man now goes public on television, formally renouncing his support of the Registration Act and reveals the existence of the prison within the Negative Zone. The public however discounts his claims. Tony Stark, now considering Peter a traitor, orders his forces to hunt Spider-Man down. Kingpin, meanwhile, has put out a hit on him, and an assassin targets Mary Jane and Aunt May while Spider-Man takes part in the final battle of the Civil War, supporting Captain America.
The final battle culminates in the streets of New York City after Cloak successfully teleports the anti-registration heroes out of the Negative Zone Prison. As the battle rages on, Spider-Man's main target appears to be Mister Fantastic, beating his way through three Pro-Registration heroes to reach him. Mister Fantastic appears surprised by this awesome show of agility and strength, and remarks, "Amazing." Peter then kicks him in the neck, retorting, "Spectacular."
The battle climaxes when Namor arrives with a troop of Atlanteans, all in support of Captain America. Meanwhile, the anti-registration heroes continue to show favor in the fight as Hercules destroys the Thor clone/cyborg. The battle is all but won until Captain America experiences a change of heart. Realizing that his fight against the Registration Act is endangering civilians, he formally surrenders to the authorities as Steve Rogers.[6]
Spider-Man disappears after the battle and makes his way to the motel room where he, Mary Jane, and Aunt May are currently living. As he is welcomed with relief by his loved ones, Peter's spider-sense goes off and he quickly responds by jumping to the floor with Mary Jane. Unfortunately, in the act of saving one from the assassin's bullet, he may have lost the other, as Aunt May is shown bleeding from the chest, indicating the possibility of a fatal wound. [7] Following the first volley of shots and upon realisation that his Aunt will die if he does nothing, Peter throws a Jeep at the assassin hiding across the street. Peter then picks up Aunt May and quickly brings her to a hospital. Peter, unfortunately, is unable to do anything because he is now a wanted criminal due to his involvement in the Civil War. Peter goes off to find out who was trying to harm him and his family, and comes across an important clue in the form of a broken sniper-rifle scope left behind by the assassin, who was able to escape while Peter brought May to the hospital earlier. Peter then tracks down some gangsters and gets more information, while Mary-Jane checks up on Aunt May, finding out that the wounds have put her into a coma, and that she will most likely die. As the book comes to a close, Peter climbs to a hidden spot on the side of a building, where he explains that he hid "it" a long time ago. As the scene closes in on Peter's face, he makes a vow to track down whoever hurt May. We then realise what Peter was talking about, as Peter, back in the black symbiote spider suit (minus the symbiote) vows to kill those responsible for shooting May. [8]
The Civil War concludes with a majority of the Secret Avengers accepting the general amnesty given. However, some have opted to move to Canada while others join an underground resistance against the Superhero Initiative. This resistance appears to be headed by Spider-Man and Luke Cage. This secret group is last seen together with Cage complementing Spidey's suit, as we are shown the truth: Spider-Man is back in black.
[edit] Back in Black
Parker dons his black costume again after his Aunt May is shot by an assassin in The Amazing Spider-Man #538. The black costume will reflect his state of mind after the traumatizing events of Civil War. Spider-Man editor Axel Alonso said in a November 2006 interview that Spider-Man will again wear his black costume beginning February 2007 partially, but not primarily, due to the third Spider-Man film.[9] The recent tragedies of Civil War darken Spidey's demeanor, hence the change.
The main Back In Black story is told in The Amazing Spider-Man, starting from #539. We return to see Aunt May in Peter's arms as the sniper continues to fire rounds into the motel room. Peter, enraged, runs out and throws a truck right at the source of the bullets. Whether the sniper died when the truck smashed through the window is unknown. Peter then grabs Aunt May and smashes through the window before heading for Memorial to get immediate aid for Aunt May. He smashes through a glass window and remains outside as the doctors discover a bloody Aunt May, whom they say has lost a tremendous amount of blood.
As daylight dawns, Peter meets Mary Jane outside the hospital, and tells her to do whatever it takes to keep Aunt May alive, while he 'does best when he puts his mind to it.' He then retrieves a sniper scope from the assassin's room before laying assault a warehouse where a gang of gunrunners operae from and proceeds to unleash his fury on them, showing a level of violence rarely seen in Spider-Man. Meanwhile, Mary Jane finds Aunt May is in a coma, and death, while not immediate, is certain, even should Aunt May pull out of the coma against all odds. Peter forces the names of the dealers who carry that particlar scope out from the gunrunner and heads for a church, possibly the one where he was separated from the symbiote in. He claims to have abandoned the black costume because it sent the wrong message, and kept it against a time where he might want to send that message. That the rules are suspended, the gloves are off, and there is no mercy for the people who hired the assassin. That he will not, cannot be stopped till he found the ones responsible for shooting Auny May. And when he finds them, he will kill them. Indeed, Spider-Man is truly Back in the Black.
Two additional storylines tie in with the Back in Black event, in the Sensational Spider-Man and Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man titles. In Sensational Spider-Man, Dr. Calvin Zabo is taking teens off the street and giving them Spider-man's powers.... But with dreadful consequences. When one of these superpowered teens is caught in a trap set for the real Spider-Man, he is sent to The Tombs as a temporary holding cell. Spider-man, learning of the young man's situation, swings to the Tombs to question him. Upon arrival, however, Spidey finds that the boy is in pain and rips out the cell window. Entering, he discovers that an arachnid-like segment has grown on the boy's abdomen and brings him to a hospital, calling the cell guards to call ahead, and to summon Mr. Fantastic.
Mr. Fantastic meets Spidey a few rooftops away from the hospital as Spider-man knows that the police will be waiting to arrest him there. Mr. Fantastic comments that the metamorphosis is nothing less than fantastic (pardon the pun) and agrees to do anything in his power to save the boy. Spider-Man then visits Curt Connors and requests that the good doctor analyze the fluids on the boy's bedsheets.
Meanwhile, another would-be 'Spider-Man' falls to his death as none of them possess web shooters, organic or otherwise. Jordan, a former student of Peters, who made an appearance during the Spider-Man Unmasked arcs is confronted by Dr. Calvin Zabo and coerced into being experimented on. While Spider-Man patrols around the city and captures the Spider-Man clones, Dr Connors manages to create the antidote to stop the Spider-Men copy cats from mutating furthur. However, most of them refuse to be normal again.
Peter later meets up with Mr Fantastic, while clearly there are tensions growing between them, Reed nevertheless helps Peter by giving him a tracer found on Ethan. Tracing the signal, Spider-Man arrives at underground subway, which holds the secret hideout of Dr Zabo. Dr Zabo's purpose of creating the clones is eventually revealed. He is curious and wants to find out why Peter Parker, a young 15 years old boy decides to use his Spider power for good instead of abusing it. The Spider-Man clones are actually 'clones' of young Peter Parker!
In the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man series, Peter is confronted by his old nemesis, Sandman. However, he is not there to fight, but rather to ask Peter for his help in clearing his father's name and save him from Death Row, for a murder he didn't commit. Following a set of leads, Spider-Man and Sandman find out that the supposed killer is none other than an alternate version of Peter's supposedly dead Uncle Ben. However, the real killer is later revealed to be a 2211 version of the Chameleon, which Spider-Man dispatches with Spider-Man 2211's helmet and a certain program called 'poetic justice.'
Although having no possible connection with the banishment of The Hulk, he will seem to become a main faction in the upcoming storyline: World War Hulk. A 'hit list' on ign.com seems to prove this.
[edit] References
| Spider-Man | ||
|---|---|---|
| Publications | Main continuity: Amazing Fantasy • The Amazing Spider-Man The Sensational Spider-Man (vol. 2) • Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man • Astonishing Spider-Man • Spider-Man Family Other continuities: Ultimate Spider-Man • Marvel Adventures Spider-Man • Spider-Girl • Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane Spider-Man: Reign |
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| Television | Spider-Man (1967) • Spidey Super Stories (1974, live action) • Amazing Spider-Man (1978, live action) • Supaidāman (1978 - Japanese) • Spider-Man (1981) •Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981) • Spider-Man (1994) •Spider-Man Unlimited (1999) • Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (2003) • The Amazing Spider-Man (2008) | |
| Films | Spider-Man (2002) • Spider-Man 2 (2004) • Spider-Man 3 (2007) | |
| Other topics | ||
| Fictional history of Spider-Man • Spider-Man supporting characters • Spider-Man villains • Spider-Man's powers and equipment • Video games • Alternate versions of Spider-Man • Spider-Man in other media |
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