"Hope you were watching, Uncle Ben. 'Cause I did that for you. Kept everyone safe. Kept them from being scared. And I made it fun. It doesn't matter that most of 'em wouldn't have lifted a finger for Peter Parker. That's not why you do it. You do it 'cause it's the right thing to do. Because it's what you would've done. You were more than a father to me, Ben Parker. More than a role model...You were my hero. Now it's my turn. Because from now on, I'm going to be yours! You'll see. I'm going to give it my all! We'll have fun! I'll never quit--and it's going to be amazing!"
—Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
Spider-Man is a superhero created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in the anthology comic book Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962) in the Silver Age of Comic Books. He appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, as well as in a number of movies, television shows, and video game adaptations set in the Marvel Universe. In the stories, Spider-Man is the alias of Peter Parker, an orphan raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben in New York City after his parents Richard and Mary Parker died in a plane crash. Lee and Ditko had the character deal with the struggles of adolescence and financial issues, and accompanied him with many supporting characters, such as J. Jonah Jameson, Harry Osborn, Max Modell, romantic interests Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson, and foes such as Doctor Octopus, the Green Goblin and Venom. His origin story has him acquiring spider-related abilities after a bite from a radioactive spider; these include clinging to surfaces, superhuman strength and agility, and detecting danger with his "spider-sense." He then builds wrist-mounted "web-shooter" devices that shoot artificial spider-webbing of his own design.
In Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, Midtown High School student Peter Benjamin Parker is a science-whiz orphan living with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. As depicted in Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962), he is bitten by a radioactive spider (erroneously classified as an insect in the panel) at a science exhibit and "acquires the agility and proportionate strength of an arachnid". Along with heightened athletic abilities, Parker gains the ability to adhere to walls and ceilings. Through his native knack for science, he develops a gadget that lets him fire adhesive webbing of his own design through small, wrist-mounted barrels. Initially seeking to capitalize on his new abilities, Parker dons a costume and, as "Spider-Man", becomes a novelty television star. However, "He blithely ignores the chance to stop a fleeing thief, [and] his indifference ironically catches up with him when the same criminal later robs and kills his Uncle Ben." Spider-Man tracks and subdues the killer and learns, in the story's next-to-last caption, "With great power there must also come—great responsibility!"
Despite his superpowers, Parker struggles to help his widowed aunt pay the rent, is taunted by his peers—particularly football star Flash Thompson—and, as Spider-Man, engenders the editorial wrath of newspaper publisher J. Jonah Jameson. As he battles his enemies for the first time, Parker finds juggling his personal life and costumed adventures difficult. In time, Peter graduates from high school, and enrolls at Empire State University (a fictional institution evoking the real-life Columbia University and New York University), where he meets roommate and best friend Harry Osborn, and girlfriend Gwen Stacy, and Aunt May introduces him to Mary Jane Watson. As Peter deals with Harry's drug problems, and Harry's father is revealed to be Spider-Man's nemesis the Green Goblin, Peter even attempts to give up his costumed identity for a while. Gwen Stacy's father, New York City Police detective captain George Stacy is accidentally killed during a battle between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus (issue #90, November 1970).
In issue #121 (June 1973), the Green Goblin throws Gwen Stacy from a tower of either the Brooklyn Bridge (as depicted in the art) or the George Washington Bridge (as given in the text). She dies during Spider-Man's rescue attempt; a note on the letters page of issue #125 states: "It saddens us to say that the whiplash effect she underwent when Spidey's webbing stopped her so suddenly was, in fact, what killed her." The following issue, the Goblin appears to kill himself accidentally in the ensuing battle with Spider-Man.
Working through his grief, Parker eventually develops tentative feelings toward Watson, and the two "become confidants rather than lovers". A romantic relationship eventually develops, with Parker proposing to her in issue #182 (July 1978), and being turned down an issue later. Parker went on to graduate from college in issue #185, and becomes involved with the shy Debra Whitman and the extroverted, flirtatious costumed thief Felicia Hardy, a.k.a. the Black Cat, whom he meets in issue #194 (July 1979).
Spider-Man is generally seen in his blue and red tights with a black spider in the middle of the front, and a large red spider in the middle of his back. His eyes have seen many iterations, but they are generally large and white and seem to change with Peter Parker's mood and expression, although there is little to no scientific or physical explanation of how his mask can actively reflect such things. Spider-Man has also had a number of other suits he has used, the most popular of which is probably the black symbiote suit that he eventually discarded due to its negative effects on his life and personality. The symbiote, an alien creature that bonded to Parker without his knowledge or consent, would eventually join with Parker's rival Eddie Brock to become the popular villain Venom.
Peter Parker, in his high school years, is typically seen as a nerd who dresses the part, including glasses, belly button high pants, loafers and a comb-over. Once graduating from high school, Parker would stop wearing glasses and generally dress in a more popular and acceptable manner, or at least a less overtly nerdy one.
Real Name
Current Alias
Marital Status
Status
Peter Benjamin Parker
Spider-Man
Single
Alive
Gender
Orientation
Age
Height
Weight
Eyes
Hair
Unusual Features
Male
Straight
Approx 30s
5' 10"
167 lbs.
Hazel
Brown
None
Affiliations
Relatives
Education
Occupation
Avengers Daily Bugle Web-Warriors
Richard Parker (father, deceased) Mary Parker (mother, deceased) Benjamin Parker (uncle, deceased) May Parker-Jameson (aunt) Kaine (clone / "brother") Ben Reilly (clone / "brother")
High school; coursing college
Adventurer, inventor, photographer, teaching assistant, vigilante
Spider-Man is commonly seen as a brave and righteous hero with an indomitable sense of justice and responsibility. Shaken by his uncle's tragic death, Spider-Man's vow of responsibility has led him to a path of heroism and humanitarian service. There are times when Spider-Man's sense of responsibility can be almost overbearing; this was evidently noted by Luke Cage when he felt embarrassed about Electro causing the Raft breakout, despite the fact he had nothing to do with it. This combined with his strong moral compass in the face of adversity and sharp wit makes him one of the most iconic and enduring heroes in the Marvel Universe.
One of Spider-Man's most prominent traits is his sense of humor. He at times is seen as the class clown in every group he is in. Even in the face of certain death, Spider-Man invariably cracks a joke, to the annoyance of both friends and foes. His reasons for this vary: either he wants to relieve the stress of a situation, or simply because he wants to hide how scared he really is during a crisis. Also, he does this to get on the nerves of his opponents, since he knows that if they are angry, that they would normally lose themselves and be vulnerable to a superior skilled opponent. It is generally agreed, however, that whenever a life is in danger, he will stop telling jokes and take the current situation with the utmost seriousness.
Behind this humorous facade, however, is a wounded soul that has gone through much suffering. While Spider-Man is in combat, occasionally another person dies, leaving him depressed for having failed in his responsibility. Guilt over the loss of his Uncle Ben continues to be the primary motivating factor in his super-heroics and his life in general. Peter is quick to assume guilt and responsibility for anything bad that happens in his presence or that can, in some way, relate back to him. For instance, he assumed responsibility for Electro's mass breakout at the Raft and Norman Osborn's Initiative because they were "his" villains.
Peter Parker has superhuman abilities derived from mutations resulting from the bite of a radioactive spider. Since the original Lee-Ditko stories, Spider-Man has had the ability to cling to walls. This has been speculated to be based on a distance-dependent interaction between his body and surfaces, known as the van der Waals force, though in the 2002 Spider-Man film, his hands and feet are lined with tiny clinging cilia in the manner of a real spider's feet. Spider-Man's other powers include superhuman strength, speed, agility and balance, a precognitive sixth sense referred to as his "Spider-Sense," which alerts him to danger. In the aftermath of the 1989 "Acts of Vengeance" storyline, Spider-Man was said to have "superhuman recuperative abilities" that sped up his recovery from the exhaustion he suffered in defeating the Tri-Sentinel. The character was originally conceived by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko as intellectually gifted, but later writers have depicted his intellect at genius level. After years of fighting, Parker honed his skill into an equivalent of martial arts that is unique to his powers. Academically brilliant, Parker has expertise in the fields of applied science, chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, mathematics, and mechanics.