Information AboutSpider-man |
Spider-Man is a Fictional Marvel Comics Superhero created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko . Since his First Appearance in '' Amazing Fantasy '' #15 (Aug. 1962), he has become one of the world's most popular, enduring and commercially successful Superhero es. When Spider-Man first saw print in the 1960s, Teenage characters in superhero comic books were usually Sidekick s. The Spider-Man series broke ground by featuring a hero who himself was an adolescent, to whose "self-obsessions with rejection, inadequacy, and loneliness" young readers could relate.Wright, Bradford W. ''Comic Book Nation''. (Johns Hopkins, 2001) p. 210 Spider-Man has since appeared in various media including several animated and live-action Television Series , Syndicated newspaper Comic Strips and a successful Series Of Films . Marvel has published several Spider-Man Comic Book Series , the first being '' The Amazing Spider-Man ''. Over the years, the Peter Parker character has developed from shy High School student to troubled college student to a married teacher and a member of the superhero team the New Avengers . PUBLICATION HISTORY By 1962, with the success of the climb up a wall — adding in his autobiography that he has told that story so often he has become unsure of whether or not it is true.Lee, Mair, p.126: He goes further in his autobiography, 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 little color to my pitch". Artist Ditko, in a 1990 article by himself, gave a more prosaic origin story for the name: Lee approached Marvel publisher Martin Goodman to seek approval for the character. In a 1986 interview, he described in detail his arguments to overcome Goodman's objections. Goodman agreed to let Lee try out Spider-Man in the upcoming final issue of the canceled Science-fiction / Supernatural anthology series '' Amazing Adult Fantasy '', which was renamed '' Amazing Fantasy '' for that single issue, #15 (Aug. 1962). Daniels, Les , ''Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics'' (Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1991), p. 95. ISBN 0-8109-3821-9 Jack Kirby, in a 1982 interview, claimed Lee had minimal involvement in the character's creation, and that it had originated with Kirby and Joe Simon , who in the 1950s had proposed a character called The Silver Spider for the Crestwood comic ''Black Magic'' until the publisher went out of business. Simon, in his 1990 autobiography, disputes Kirby's account, asserting that the Supernatural Anthology ''Black Magic'' was not a factor, and that he (Simon) devised the name "Spiderman" (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 , introduced in early 1959. (penciller) & Steve Ditko (inker).]] Comics historian , 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". "A day or two later", Kirby showed Lee the first six pages, and, as 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".Theakston, Greg. ''The Steve Ditko Reader'' (Pure Imagination, Brooklyn, NY, 2002; ISBN 1-56685-011-8), p. 12 (unnumbered) Simon concurs that Kirby had shown the original Spiderman 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". Lee turned to Ditko, who developed a visual motif Lee found satisfactory, although Lee would later replace Ditko's original cover with one penciled by Kirby. Ditko said, Ditko also recalled that, Much earlier, in a rare contemporaneous account, 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". "Steve Ditko - A Portrait of the Master." ''Comic Fan'' #2, Summer 1965. Published by Larry Herndon Additionally, Ditko shared a Manhattan studio with noted Fetish artist Eric Stanton , an art-school classmate Ditko Looked Up: "Ditko & Stanton" 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".Theakston, p. 14 (unnumbered, misordered as page 16) Commercial success . Cover art by co-creator Steve Ditko .]] A few months after Spider-Man's introduction in '' Amazing Fantasy '' #15 (Aug. 1962), publisher Martin Goodman saw the sales figures for that issue and found it had been one of the nascent Marvel's highest-selling comics.Daniels, p. 97 A solo series followed, beginning with '' The Amazing Spider-Man '' #1 (March 1963). The title eventually became Marvel's top-selling seriesWright, pg. 211 and the character 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".Wright, pg. 223 Following Ditko's departure after issue #39, John Romita, Sr. became the character's next-most-associated signature artist, penciling the character over the several following years. An early 1970s Spider-Man story led to the revision of the Comics Code . Previously, it was taboo to depict Illegal Drugs , even negatively. However, in 1970 the Nixon administration's Department Of Health, Education, And Welfare asked Stan Lee to run an anti-drug message in one of Marvel's top-selling titles.Wright, p. 239 Lee chose the top-selling ''The Amazing Spider-Man''; issues #96–98 (May–July 1971) feature a Story Arc that shows the negative effects of Drug Abuse . In the story, Peter Parker's friend Harry Osborn starts taking pills and becomes so ill that when Spider-Man fights the Green Goblin (Norman Osborn), Spider-Man defeats Norman by simply showing him his sick son. While the story had a clear anti-drug message, the Comics Code Authority refused to issue its seal of approval. Marvel nevertheless sold the three issues without the Comics Code Authority's approval or seal and sold so well that the industry's self-censorship was undercut. In 1972, a second monthly '', in which Spider-Man is paired with other superheroes. In 1976, his second solo series, '' The Spectacular Spider-Man '' began, running parallel to the main series; a third solo series, '' 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 multiple variant covers and sold in excess of three million copies, an industry record at the time.Wright, p. 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. issues that prompted the Code's first update, allowing comics to show the negative effects of illegal-drug use. Note cover-blurb reference to "The last fatal trip!" Cover art by The original ''Amazing Spider-Man'' ran through issue #441 (Nov. 1998). Writer-artist '' (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). This flagship series has reached issue #542 as of mid-2007. As of 2007, Spider-Man regularly appears in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', ''''. Spider-Man has become Marvel's flagship character, and is often 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.Wright, p. 254 When Marvel wanted to issue a story dealing with the immediate aftermath of the September 11th, 2001 Attacks , the company settled on the December 2001 issue of ''The Amazing Spider-Man''.1 In 2006, Spider-Man garnered major media coverage with the revealing of the character's secret identity,2 an event detailed in a full-page story in the '' New York Post '' before the issue containing the story was even released.3 FICTIONAL CHARACTER BIOGRAPHY See Also: Fictional history of Spider-Man In his first appearance, Peter Parker is introduced as a Science Whiz Kid teenager from the Forest Hills section of New York City who gets bitten by a Radioactive spider during a science demonstration. He gains powers and at first attempts to become a TV star. He fails to stop a thief, and weeks later the same criminal kills his Uncle Ben . Learning that with great power comes great responsibility, Spider-Man becomes a vigilante.''Amazing Fantasy'' vol. 1, #15 (Aug. 1962) 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 , who vilifies his alter ego in the paper.''The Amazing Spider-Man'' vol. 1, #1 (March 1963) As he battles his enemies for the first time, Parker finds juggling his personal life and costumed adventures difficult, even attempting to give up.''The Amazing Spider-Man'' vol. 1, #50, (July 1967)''The Amazing Spider-Man'' vol. 1, #100 (Sept. 1971) Enemies constantly endanger his loved ones,''The Amazing Spider-Man Annual'' #1, 1963 with the Green Goblin managing to kill his girlfriend Gwen Stacy .''The Amazing Spider-Man'' vol. 1, #121 (June 1973) Though haunted by her death, he eventually Marries Mary Jane Watson , and much later reveals his civilian identity to the world,''Civil War'' #2 (June 2006) furthering his already numerous problems. POWERS AND EQUIPMENT See Also: Spider-Man's powers and equipment .]] A bite from an ), 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, better control over Spider-sense for detection, and night vision. Spider-Man's strength and speed have also increased beyond his original limits. Spider-Man's overall metabolic efficiency has been greatly increased, and the composition of his skeleton, inter-connected tissues, and nervous system have all been enhanced. Spider-Man's musculature has been augmented so that he is superhumanly strong and flexible. He has developed a unique fighting style that makes full use of his agility, strength, and equilibrium. Peter Parker is intellectually gifted, excelling in Applied Science , Chemistry and Physics . He uses his wits in addition to his powers. Besides outsmarting his foes, he constructs many devices that complement his powers, most notably mechanical web-shooters (ejecting an advanced adhesive compound which dissolves after two hours4), which he developed in his teenage years. They are capable of releasing web-fluid in a variety of configurations, including a single strand to swing from, a net, 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 hemi-spherical barrier, a club, or a hang-glider wing. Other equipment includes 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, a specially modified Camera that can take pictures automatically. He has also used an invention of Ben Reilly's (a clone of Peter Parker), called "impact webbing": a pellet that explodes on impact into a wrap-around net of webbing. Though lacking in directed training, Spider-Man is one of the most experienced superheroes in the Marvel Universe. He has worked with virtually everyone in the superhero community at one time or another. Due to this experience, he has beaten foes with far greater powers and abilities. His fighting style is purely freestyle, which incorporates his speed, agility, strength and spider-sense. A very large part of his combat ability is improvisation and using his wits to out-think his opponents. One constant is his habit of using jokes, puns and insults. This not only causes his adversaries to become angry and distracted, but it also helps Spider-Man deal with any fears or doubts that he might have during a battle. Spider-Man has had a few costume changes over his history, with three notable costumes -- his traditional red-and-blue costume, the black-and-white alien Symbiote (later developed into a regular costume for stealth) and the technologically advanced Stark Armor costume designed by Tony Stark . In early comics and sporadically throughout his run depending on a given artist's interpretation, Spider-Man's costume included webbing that extended from his underarms to his torso. Although the eyes of the costume are made of fabric, in some continuities the eyes will change depending on Peter's facial expression. ENEMIES See Also: List of Spider-Man enemies Spider-Man has one of the best-known Rogues Galleries in comics. Spider-Man's most infamous and dangerous enemies are generally considered to be the Green Goblin , 5 Doctor Octopus , and Venom . Others include the Lizard , Chameleon , Hobgoblin , Kraven The Hunter , the Scorpion , the Sandman , the Rhino , Mysterio , Vulture , Electro , Carnage , the Kingpin , Shocker , Hydro-Man , 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. At times these villains have formed groups such as the Sinister Six to oppose Spider-Man. SUPPORTING CHARACTERS See Also: Spider-Man supporting characters .]] Spider-Man was conceived as an ordinary person given great power, and the comics detail his civilian life, friends, family and romances as much as his super-heroic adventures. Some of the more important and well-known members of his extensive supporting cast include:
OTHER VERSIONS See Also: Alternate versions of Spider-Man In addition to his Mainstream incarnation, Spider-Man has had been depicted in other Fictional Universes . IN OTHER MEDIA See Also: Spider-Man in other media Spider-Man has been adapted in various other media. Television See Also: Spider-Man television series Spider-Man has appeared on Television numerous times, in both Live-action and Animated Television Program s. Film See Also: Spider-Man film series There have been three theatrical Films produced starring Spider-Man (played by Tobey Maguire ). BIBLIOGRAPHY See Also: Bibliography of Spider-Man titles In addition to '' The Amazing Spider-Man '', Spider-Man has been featured in many different series since. FOOTNOTES |
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