Alternate versions of Spider-Man
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In addition to his mainstream incarnation, Spider-Man has had been depicted in other fictional universes.
[edit] Alternate continuities
Other related characters exist in alternate versions of the Marvel Universe. These include:
[edit] Ultimate Spider-Man
Ultimate Spider-Man is a modernized reboot of the Spider-Man story, starting from the very beginning, with a plot that is inspired by, but very different from, the original continuity. The main purpose of the series is to be accessible to new and young readers, as it is free from the decades of history of the original, but it has been embraced by many longtime fans as well.
In Ultimate Spider-Man, Peter is a high-school student who is bitten by a spider during a school field trip -- but instead of a radioactive spider (which reflected the Atomic Age in which Spider-Man's origin was written), it is a lab subject that has been genetically modified by Osborn Industries. The themes, characterization, and setting are updated to reflect modern life. It is set in the Ultimate Marvel universe.
[edit] House of M
In the "House of M", a Marvel crossover, the Scarlet Witch alters reality to make mutants the ruling class over humans. This world is ruled by mutants and their leader, Magneto. In the mini-series Spider-Man: House of M, Peter Parker is believed to be a mutant, and Spider-Man's identity is widely known. He is rich, famous and married to Gwen Stacy, and they have a young son named Ritchie. Aunt May and Uncle Ben are alive and in good health, and J. Jonah Jameson is Peter's often-abused publicist. Unfortunately, his life unravels when Jameson reveals to the world that Spider-Man is not a born mutant. After the world is restored to normal, Peter suffers terribly with the memory of the life he left behind, expressing a desire to kill Magneto (who he mistakenly believes was behind the events of House of M) and the Scarlet Witch (who was).
[edit] Spider-Man 2099
Spider-Man 2099 (a.k.a. Miguel O'Hara) of the Marvel 2099 imprint. A geneticist, Miguel gains his spider-like powers from a gene-splicing incident.
[edit] Spider-Man 2211
Spider-Man 2211 aka Dr. Max Borne, the Spider-Man of the year 2211, first appeared in the Spider-Man/Spider-Man 2099 one-shot. His daughter Robin is the Hobgoblin of 2211. He is later shot by an alternate version of Ben Parker, who is later revealed to be the Chameleon of 2211 in the guise of Uncle Ben.
[edit] 1602
Peter Parquagh is a counterpart to Peter in the miniseries Marvel 1602, albeit without powers. In the series he acts as an apprentice to the royal spymaster Sir Nicholis Fury. A running gag involves Peter repeatedly almost getting bitten by unusual spiders; something that finally occurs at the very end. In the sequel, 1602: New World, he takes the identity of the Spider.
[edit] Exiles
In the series Exiles, which involves inter-dimensional travel, several alternate versions appear:
- The Spider is an alternate-reality version of Spider-Man who has merged with the Carnage-symbiote and has become a psychopathic killer. Before being displaced in time, he had been on death row in his home reality. He originates from Earth-15 and is a member of Weapon X.
- Mary-Jane Watson, a.k.a. Spider-Woman, seen in Exiles issues #20-22, is part of a resistance against the techno-organic virus and heroes infected with it, including that world's Spider-Man. Mary Jane is also portrayed as a lesbian in issue #34.
- A Spider-Man who is a member of the Fantastic Five dies in a battle against The Spider.
- A version of Spider-Man 2099 joins the Exiles when his identity is made public.
- Morph once fought a Demon Spider-Man on an alternate world; later on, the Demon Spider-Man was viewed briefly by Mojo and Major Domo as it attacked a young couple in a parking complex, but Spiderman killed himself.
[edit] Earth X
In the series Earth X and its sequels, Peter Parker is no longer a superhero and has become a police officer. Three other related characters appear:
- The Spiders Man is an enigmatic character who makes illusions using webs that come from his sleeves. He has lumpy red skin that resembles Spider-Man's costume, and wears a tattered cloak.
- Two alternate versions of Spider-Girl appear: one is called Venom and the other was raised by Ben Reilly (Paradise X: Heralds).
[edit] Age of Apocalypse
In the "Age of Apocalypse", Peter Parker is executed by Apocalypse's regime simply because he is a potential ally for rebel Gwen Stacy.
[edit] Clones
In an Age of Apocalypse-like reality, in which both Charles Xavier and Magnus Lensherr were killed, Apocalypse is served by hosts of Spiderman clones seemingly bonded with symbiotes.
[edit] Spider-Man: Chapter One
The miniseries Spider-Man: Chapter One, was John Byrne's attempt to reimagine Spider-Man's early years, (similar to the revamp given to Superman), giving him a new but similar origin. The series is no longer considered canon.
[edit] Pestilence
Deadpool encounters a version of Spider-Man in a universe which he refers to as "an Age of Apocalypse" (not the Age of Apocalypse). That Spider-Man is Pestilence, Horseman of Apocalypse. This version has six arms, poisonous fangs and engages in cannibalism.
[edit] Mutant X
In the Mutant X universe, the Man-Spider still has six arms. He was replaced by a clone for many years, but the clone was killed by Hank "Brute" McCoy within the series, at which time the original Man-Spider returned. He was later killed, alongside much of the team.
[edit] What if?
- Alternate versions of Spider-Man appear in a number of issues of What If..? (see List of What If? issues). One major alternate universe is one in which Spider-Man joined the Fantastic Four; this universe is revisited in several different issues of What If..?
- "What if?: The Other", set during "The Other" storyline, features an alternate version of Peter who abandons the Spider when given the choice. Some time afterwards, the Venom symbiote leaves its current host Mac Gargan and merges with Peter to become Poison.
- Another "What if?" universe has a version of Spider-Man who works side by side with his uncle Ben to fight crime after Aunt May is killed.
[edit] Spider-Man Powerless
Marvel published a limited series called Powerless in 2004, which tells how the Marvel Universe would be without super-powers. In this series, Peter Parker appears as a young man nicknamed Spider-Man on the internet.
[edit] Spider-Man: Reign
Spider-Man: Reign depicts an older Spider-Man in the future who, having given up on crime-fighting, is driven back into action by the return of some of his old enemies.
[edit] Marvel Zombies
Marvel Zombies features a Spider-Man who has been turned, along with all other heroes in the Marvel Universe, into a flesh-eating zombie. He is infected by Colonel America in the first issue of Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness. Although Spider-Man is just as ravenous and disgusting as the other zombies when hungry, when he has eaten, Spider-Man is constantly wracked with guilt at what he has done, agonizing over having eaten Mary Jane and Aunt May, but unable to change his nature. At the conclusion of the storyline, Spider-Man is one of the few heroes who become The Galactus, having consumed the original Galactus and subsequently acquiring his cosmic powers. Currently, the Marvel Zombies are attacking a Skrull planet, only to encounter the Fantastic Four of this reality- currently consisting of Black Panther, Storm, the Thing and the Human Torch-, leaving the Zombies eager to capture the FF and transport back to their reality. In Marvel Zombies 2, he is seen with a new cyborg leg as well as having his mask repaired as he is seen with it covering his face once again. He has noticed that his hunger is starting to fade, and, as a result, is the first of the Galactus to turn against his fellow zombies, Luke Cage joining him as the two confront Wolverine and Iron Man.
[edit] Bullet Points
In the Bullet Points mini-series, Uncle Ben dies before he can raise Peter. Without a father figure, Peter grows up to become a rebellious teenager who skips school. Peter finds himself on the test site for a Gamma bomb and absorbs a big dose of gamma radiation, becoming the Hulk. In an attempt to find a cure for Peter, Dr. Bruce Banner examines specimens taken from the test site and is bitten by a radioactive spider, becoming Spider-Man. Peter later dies while fighting Galactus, but his death inspires the Silver Surfer to attack Galactus.
[edit] Spider-Man: India
Spider-Man: India is a comic book originally published in India by Gotham Entertainment Group in 2004, retelling the story of Marvel Comics' Spider-Man in an Indian setting.
[edit] Other
- An alternate Spider-Man who had used his powers for fame and fortune devolves into a vicious Man-Spider; due to the removal of his Uncle Ben from that timeline, he kills a number of superheroes, including the Avengers.
- In another reality, Spider-Man, in the story Weapon X: Days of the Future Now, like most other non-mutant superheroes, has retired to the moon. Magneto hatches a plan to recruit these lost heroes in a large show of solidarity against the Sentinels and Weapon X. However, Magneto's true intention is to sacrifice the lives of the human heroes, thereby shocking the country into action against anti-mutant sentiment.
- Two possible alternate versions of Peter Parker had he not been bitten by the radioactive spider are shown to Spider-Man by Mephisto in One More Day; one of the two is an overweight, unfulfilled software tester who turned his anger inward and the other is a lonely billionaire who discovered several scientific breakthroughs and turned his anger outwards.
- Spider-Man comics are also published under the Marvel Adventures (formerly Marvel Age) banner. These versions are intended for younger audiences and are not part of the regular continuity. Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane is similarly set outside of regular continuity.
[edit] Spider-Girl
The Spider-Girl comic book series, originally published under the MC2 imprint, features May "Mayday" Parker, Peter's daughter in an alternate continuity. This timeline diverged from regular continuity when Peter and Mary Jane's daughter is returned to them by Kaine. In Spider-Girl, Peter has been retired from crime fighting since his final battle with the Green Goblin, which cost him a leg. Peter has settled down to family life and works for the New York City Police Department as a forensic scientist. His teen daughter May follows in his footsteps against his wishes, but Peter eventually helps her train for her calling. Peter appears in costume several times in Spider-Girl, either to restrain and protect May, or to assist her. Peter is among the superheroes kidnapped by Loki in the spin-off Last Hero Standing.
[edit] Spider-Man (Gerry Drew)
In the same continuity as Spider-Girl, in MC2, Gerald "Gerry" Drew, the son of Jessica Drew, inherits spider-powers and poses as Spider-Man.
[edit] Other Spider-Men and Women in the Marvel Universe
In the comics, others use the Spider-Man identity. Some of these actually exist in the Marvel Universe (Earth-616):
- Ben Reilly, a clone of Peter, who also fought crime as the Scarlet Spider.
- Mattie Franklin, the niece of J. Jonah Jameson assumes the role with a padded costume when Peter temporarily quits. She later becomes Spider-Woman for a time.
- Timespinner, a Spider-Man robot, is created by Kang the Conqueror to defeat the Avengers (Avengers vol. 1 #11). It is deactivated, but later returns with the ability to drain temporal energy from people. It is destroyed by Ben Reilly and the Avengers. (Spider-Man Team-Up #4)
- The villains Chameleon, Mysterio, and Kraven the Hunter have all masqueraded as Spider-Man.
- Deadpool briefly masqueraded as Spider-Man.
Other characters have used similar themes:
- Several characters have used the Spider-Woman identity: Jessica Drew, Julia Carpenter (now called Arachne), Mattie Franklin, and Charlotte Witter. There is a version of Spider-Woman in the Ultimate Universe, a female clone of Peter Parker.
- Other clones of Peter Parker such as Kaine, the degenerated first clone, and Spidercide, the shape-shifting third clone.
- Blood Spider is an evil version of Spider-Man created by the Taskmaster and the Red Skull.
- The Spider Doppelganger is an evil version of Spider-Man created by the Magus during the Infinity War.
- Madame Web, a precognitive ally of Spider-Man and the Spider-Women.
- Ezekiel Sims has powers similar to those of Spider-Man, but mystical in origin. He is a member of the Spider Society and its front organization, WebCorps.
- Araña, a young heroine with spider powers, formerly an employee of WebCorps.
- Joe Wade, an F.B.I. agent transformed into an evil, cybernetic Scarlet Spider by Lady Octopus. [1]
- Tarantula
- Venom and his descendant symbiotes: Scream, Phage, Riot, Lasher, Agony, Hybrid, She-Venom, and Carnage, as well as Carnage's offspring, Toxin.
[edit] Derivatives
Spider-Man has also inspired a number of derivatives:
- Yu Komori (小森ユウ Komori Yū?) in Spider-Man: The Manga by Ryoichi Ikegami.
- Takuya Yamashiro (山城拓也 Yamashiro Takuya?), the Spider-Man of Spider-Man (tokusatsu), produced by Toei Company.
- Pavitr Prabhakar in the Indian adaptation of Spider-Man, Spider-Man: India, published by Gotham Entertainment Group.
- The Webslinger, Spider-Man's counterpart in the heroic fantasy version of the Marvel Universe featured in the 2000 limited series Avataars: Covenant of the Shield.
- Marvel Mangaverse Spider-Man is a version of the character re-imagined as a ninja. In that version, Peter Parker is a member of the Spider Clan and takes revenge on the evil Ronin Venom for the murder of his sensei, Uncle Ben. He later trains Mary Jane Watson to become a ninja Spider-Woman.
- 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 though.
[edit] References
- ^ Scarlet Spider #2, Spectacular Scarlet Spider #2, Web of Scarlet Spider #3, New Warriors #67 and Web of Scarlet Spider #4
