Spider-Man: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"With great power... [[Comes Great Responsibility]]."''}}

The [[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|arachnid-powered]] [[Superhero]] was relatively new to [[Marvel Universe|Marvel Comics]] when he made his TV animation debut in 1967. Peter Parker, a high school student and freelance news photographer, acquired his powers from a radioactive spider bite. As the web-slinging, wall-crawling Spider-Man, Peter fights crime while trying to keep his identity secret from his widowed Aunt May and from the public at large. The show's main contribution is the [[Theme Song]] ("Spider-Man, Spider-Man/Does whatever a spider can...") which has become a popular standard.

The [[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|arachnid-powered]] [[Superhero]] was relatively new to [[Marvel Universe|Marvel Comics]] when he made his TV animation debut in 1967. Peter Parker, a high school student and freelance news photographer, acquired his powers from a radioactive spider bite. As the web-slinging, wall-crawling '''Spider-Man''', Peter fights crime while trying to keep his identity secret from his widowed Aunt May and from the public at large. The show's main contribution is the [[Theme Song]] ("Spider-Man, Spider-Man/Does whatever a spider can...") which has become a popular standard.

In the 1970s, a silent costumed actor played Spider-Man on ''[[The Electric Company]]'', who only spoke in word balloons viewers were expected to read. Subsequent [[Animated Series]] teamed Spider-Man with other heroes, such as Firestar and Iceman. This period saw the beginning of the long-running newspaper comic ''[[Spider-Man (comic strip)|Spider Man]]''.

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In 2002, Sony Pictures released the first in a series of ''[[Spider-Man (film)|Spider-Man]]'' feature films starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst and directed by Sam ''"[[Evil Dead]]"'' Raimi. The success of this film helped spark the Marvel superhero movie boom of the 2000's.

A [[The Musical|Broadway Musical]] based on the characters started production in 2010, called ''[[Spider Man Turn Off the Dark]]''. It was originally directed by [[The Lion King|Julie Taymor]] and features music written by [[U2|Bono and the Edge]]. [[Troubled Production|The production has been plagued with injuries]] stemming from the stage machinery used to make its titular character swing through the air. After a disastrous series of previews in which critics savaged the show and Julie Taymor's departure from the show, the book was completely rewritten before it's much-delayed official debut in June of 2011. Despite the fact that reviews were only marginally better, the show continued to sell well in spite of (or possibly because of) the reputation it gained on Broadway.

A [[The Musical|Broadway Musical]] based on the characters started production in 2010, called ''[[Spider Man Turn Off the Dark]]''. It was originally directed by [[The Lion King|Julie Taymor]] and features music written by [[U2|Bono and the Edge]]. [[Troubled Production|The production has been plagued with injuries]] stemming from the stage machinery used to make its titular character swing through the air. After a disastrous series of previews in which critics savaged the show and Julie Taymor's departure from the show, the book was completely rewritten before it's much-delayed official debut in June 2011. Despite the fact that reviews were only marginally better, the show continued to sell well in spite of (or possibly because of) the reputation it gained on Broadway.

See also ''[[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]]'' for the comics character, ''[[Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' for the retooled comic, ''[[Spider-Man: The Animated Series]]'' for the 1990's show, and ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]'' for the 2000s series.

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{{quote|'''Cletus Kassidy:''' [[Never Say "Die"|I'd eat you for breakfast.]]<br />

'''Eddie Brock:''' [[Threat Backfire|Oh yeah,]] [[Regret Eating Me|well, I'd give you indigestion...]] [[Lame Comeback|man.]] }}

* [[Beam Me Up, Scotty]]: The infamous "With great power comes great responsibility" quote from one of the early issues is usually attributed to Uncle Ben. While it wasn't long before it was [[~~Retcon|retconned~~]] to be from him, the actual first appearance of the quote was in a narration box.

* [[Beam Me Up, Scotty]]: The infamous "With great power comes great responsibility" quote from one of the early issues is usually attributed to Uncle Ben. While it wasn't long before it was [[retcon]]ned to be from him, the actual first appearance of the quote was in a narration box.

** Not only that, the exact quote is "with great power, there must also come great responsibility". Like ''[[The Lion King|matata hakuna]]'', this was likely changed so that it was more marketable as a motto.

** Not to mention it wasn't even a motto in the original comics until somewhere in the 1990's. It was just a phrase that appeared once, but, through the film, became so well-known that Peter has taken to quoting it.

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* [[Big Brother Mentor]]: [[Daredevil]] has been this to Spider-Man from time to time. Overlaps with [[Heterosexual Life Partners]].

* [[Big Damn Heroes]]: Spider-Man has been on both sides of this trope, either showing up at the last minute to pull off an amazing rescue (''Amazing Spider-Man'' #261 is just one of many examples), or being bailed out by his superhero buddies, such as when the Sinister Twelve was about to kill him.

* [[Blow Gun]]: A group of one-time villains (four criminals who learned to copy Vulture's wings) use those. The curare is fatal for ~~humans -- Spider~~ Man is too tough to die, but gets stiffer with every dart and actually comes close to succumbing. The next issue, he has to save their lives when the real Vulture came to town.

* [[Blow Gun]]: A group of one-time villains (four criminals who learned to copy Vulture's wings) use those. The curare is fatal for humans—Spider Man is too tough to die, but gets stiffer with every dart and actually comes close to succumbing. The next issue, he has to save their lives when the real Vulture came to town.

* [[Body Horror]]: At one point Spidey created a formula to rid himself of his spider-powers which instead caused him to sprout four extra arms. On no less than three separate occasions he has been forcibly turned into a man-spider hybrid. As if the poor guy didn't have enough to deal with...

* [[Bragging Theme Tune]]

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* [[Crapsack World]]: This has been a hallmark of Peter Parker's life for a very long time, although it's perhaps a little more realistic than most depictions when Peter occasionally catches a break every now and again. [[Character Development]] would later show that life was no picnic for many of Peter's supporting cast members and even some of his villains.

* [[Curb Stomp Battle]]: While Spider-Man's actually on the low end of superhuman physical power in the Marvel universe (he can lift about ten tons, while a lot of other 'strong guys' are in the 50-100 ton range), he rarely uses his full strength, due to most of his [[Rogues Gallery]] not being in the same ballpark as him, powers-wise. In particular, the Kingpin was able to hold his own with Peter on multiple occasions due to his mastery of fighting skills and Peter's being unwilling to cut loose. But in the ''Back In Black'' storyline, when Aunt May is shot and nearly killed, Peter [[Berserk Button|loses it big time]] and tracks down the responsible party. When it turns out to be the Kingpin, Peter effortlessly and quite savagely ''beats the living shit'' out of him, then informs the battered, broken Kingpin that if May dies, so will he.

* [[Cut Lex Luthor a Check]]: Doctor Octopus, the Green Goblin, the Shocker, and Mysterio all invent remarkable inventions that could have earned them large fortunes if they'd used them legitimately. Later subverted by the Sandman, who becomes sick of crime and tries to go straight. He eventually wound up using his powers working for the government of [[Ruritania|Symkaria]] under Silver Sable. Spider-Man himself would also end up working for Sable for a little while after she offered him $1,000 a day to do so. Also subverted when Spider-Man actually tries to sell his web formula to a chemical company, only for the executives to reject the offer. Further subverted when Spider-Man saves a banker/stock-broker who cuts [[Born Lucky|Spider-Man]] a ~~check -- only~~ for a bank-teller to deny the check since [[Spanner in the Works|Spider-Man has no identification.]]

* [[Cut Lex Luthor a Check]]: Doctor Octopus, the Green Goblin, the Shocker, and Mysterio all invent remarkable inventions that could have earned them large fortunes if they'd used them legitimately. Later subverted by the Sandman, who becomes sick of crime and tries to go straight. He eventually wound up using his powers working for the government of [[Ruritania|Symkaria]] under Silver Sable. Spider-Man himself would also end up working for Sable for a little while after she offered him $1,000 a day to do so. Also subverted when Spider-Man actually tries to sell his web formula to a chemical company, only for the executives to reject the offer. Further subverted when Spider-Man saves a banker/stock-broker who cuts [[Born Lucky|Spider-Man]] a check—only for a bank-teller to deny the check since [[Spanner in the Works|Spider-Man has no identification.]]

** Well, Goblin ''did'' try to use his powers to take over New York's criminal underworld before becoming single-mindedly focused on Spider-Man. Plus, he's batshit crazy.

** Not to mention he's already filthy rich, being the CEO/owner of Oscorp (and many other things [[Dark Reign (comics)|lately]]) and all.

** Osborn is still a very good example of this trope, as it is often ~~lampshaded--most~~ notably by the ~~Hobgoblin--that~~ he could be several magnitudes wealthier if he just marketed his stuff, which would give him a lot of the power he is after anyway. It's explained and [[Justified Trope]] by the fact that Osborn is, well, crazy.

** Osborn is still a very good example of this trope, as it is often lampshaded—most notably by the Hobgoblin—that he could be several magnitudes wealthier if he just marketed his stuff, which would give him a lot of the power he is after anyway. It's explained and [[Justified Trope]] by the fact that Osborn is, well, crazy.

* [[Da Editor]]: J. Jonah Jameson.

* [[Darker and Edgier]]: The tone of the Spider-comics has varied widely over the years, ranging from dark, depressing [[Mind Screw]] stories to humorous comedic romps.

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** Eddie Brock did this, first as Venom and later as Anti-Venom.

* [[Heroes Want Redheads]]: Pete's love interests have varied quite a bit in hair color over the years, but the woman he eventually married and his most prominent love interest to date, was the redheaded Mary Jane. Until ''[[One More Day]]'' that is...

* [[Hurting Hero]]: Just exactly HOW many ribs has he had cracked? (70% or better caused by ~~Venom -- to~~ the point it becomes a [[Brick Joke]].

* [[Hurting Hero]]: Just exactly HOW many ribs has he had cracked? (70% or better caused by Venom—to the point it becomes a [[Brick Joke]].

** And if Spidey has a cold or flu you know he will battle a villain with relatively weak superpowers before page 24.

* [[Idiot Ball]]: Spider-Man is tossed one of these nearly any time he is taken by surprise by an attack, considering that his comic named the trope for [[Spider Sense|the ability to sense when something potentially dangerous is about to happen.]]

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* [[Informed Ability]]: Some [[All There in the Manual|Marvel Databooks]] states that Spidey can lift and support the weight of around 10 tons, and yet [[Depending on the Writer|many writers]] had Spidey struggle with situations that his [[Super Strength]] could easily do the work; common examples are when he is saving people from some catastrophe that wrecked the city, so there are civilians stuck in cars (inside or under them) and debris, much of the time he is struggling to lift some car or piece of concrete that can't weight over than a ton and half. It seems Peter can only do justice to his informed strength when he is in [[Determinator]] mode, he has supported the weight of collapsing buildings more than once, which in itself is much more than he could possibily endure.

* [[Irrational Hatred]]: Jameson for Spider-Man.

* [[It Got Worse]]: ''Always''. The one thing which you can count on from a Spider-Man story is that things ~~can--and~~ usually ~~will--get~~ a ''lot'' worse at any point.

* [[It Got Worse]]: ''Always''. The one thing which you can count on from a Spider-Man story is that things can—and usually will—get a ''lot'' worse at any point.

* [[Jack of All Stats]]: Various other heroes outrank Spidey in combat skill, intelligence, speed, reach or strength, but he's got enough skill in all these areas to handle most situations and bad guys.

* [[Jerk Jock]]: Flash Thompson. Later subverted in that he smartened up and returned from his overseas military service a much better man. Then Green Goblin put him in a coma and he developed amnesia and lost all memories from the point that he entered the service. Luckily, he reverted back when he rejoined up and lost his legs.

* [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]]: [[Depending on the Writer|Sometimes]], J. Jonah Jameson.

* [[Kayfabe]]: The comics treated the fight between Peter and the wrestler as real; [[Grandfather Clause]] meant that the first movie followed this as well, though it was explained in issue #14 of ''Spider-Man's Tangled Web'' that Crusher Hogan was actually a "shoot" ~~wrestler--in~~ which the outcome of the match is not scripted.

* [[Kayfabe]]: The comics treated the fight between Peter and the wrestler as real; [[Grandfather Clause]] meant that the first movie followed this as well, though it was explained in issue #14 of ''Spider-Man's Tangled Web'' that Crusher Hogan was actually a "shoot" wrestler—in which the outcome of the match is not scripted.

* [[Keeping Secrets Sucks]]

* [[Keep the Home Fires Burning]]: Mary Jane gets this plot a lot, notably in the [http://spiderfan.org/comics/reviews/spiderman_web/031.html Kraven's Last Hunt] storyline.

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* [[Run the Gauntlet]]: Spidey's first battle with the Sinister Six was one of these, where he was forced to battle the Vulture, Electro, Kraven, Sandman, Mysterio and Doctor Octopus one after another to save Aunt May and Betty Brant.

* [[Samaritan Syndrome]]: ''Big time.'' After [[Death by Origin Story|Uncle Ben]], Pete has taken much more responsibility for the safety of New York than a hero of his modest power set should have. Other heroes respect the hell out of him for it, but consider it unhealthy.

* [[Sanctuary of Solitude]]: Venom's origin story: Eddie Brock, down-on-his-luck reporter, [[media:~~Venom_origin_in_church~~.jpg|is contemplating suicide in a church]] while Spider-Man is trying to escape from the Symbiote. After he successfully drives it off, it bonds with Eddie, and Venom is born.

* [[Sanctuary of Solitude]]: Venom's origin story: Eddie Brock, down-on-his-luck reporter, [[media:Venom origin in church.jpg|is contemplating suicide in a church]] while Spider-Man is trying to escape from the Symbiote. After he successfully drives it off, it bonds with Eddie, and Venom is born.

* [[Schoolyard Bully All Grown Up]]: Subverted in that Flash Thompson matured and became a much nicer guy after he graduated from high school and enlisted in the army. His tour of duty made him a much more intelligent and introspective character.

* [[Science Marches On]]: Now that we know more about the dangers of radiation, modern versions of the story typically have the spider be genetically engineered rather than radioactive. The radiation, [[Grandfather Clause|still the source of his powers in the main continuity]] (well, that [[JMS Spider-Man|that or magic]]), has caused some complications as well. For example, it caused some complications for Mary Jane when she became pregnant with his kid.

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* [[Status Quo Is God]]: Ever since Peter and Mary Jane wed, writers have been trying to backpedal and make Peter single again.

** [[One More Day|They succeeded after]] ''Civil War''.

** The whole ''[[One More Day]]'' storyline supposedly had everyone forget Spidey's secret ~~identity -- yet~~, strangely, in the first issue of the new ''FF'', every member of the [[Fantastic Four]] seems to know Peter Parker is Spider-Man.

** The whole ''[[One More Day]]'' storyline supposedly had everyone forget Spidey's secret identity—yet, strangely, in the first issue of the new ''FF'', every member of the [[Fantastic Four]] seems to know Peter Parker is Spider-Man.

*** Because he ''told'' the Fantastic Four his identity in issue #591, after the Human Torch figured out that they used to know it, but now didn't. At the end of the issue, Peter unmasks and they regain their memories from before the mindwipe that occured in ''[[One Moment in Time]]''.

*** Played straight in the ''[[Spider Island]]'' arc, which {{spoiler|restores Spider-Man's [[Spider Sense]], removes the psychic blind-spot that prevents people from knowing who he is, has him hook up with Mary Jane again, and has Eddie Brock lose the Anti-Venom symbiote.}}

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* [[Token Motivational Nemesis]]: The nameless thief who took Uncle Ben's life isn't mentioned for over a decade, until he returns and dies in the 200th issue of ''Amazing Spider-Man''.

* [[Trash Talk]]

* [[True Love Is Boring]]: Outright ''stated'' by [[Word of God]] as the reason behind the [[Retcon~~|Retconning~~]] of Peter and Mary Jane's divorce.

* [[True Love Is Boring]]: Outright ''stated'' by [[Word of God]] as the reason behind the [[Retcon]]ning of Peter and Mary Jane's divorce.

* [[Tsundere]]: Gwen Stacy, in her earliest appearances.

* [[Unexpected Inheritance]]: Aunt May once inherited a ''nuclear power plant.''

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* [[Wolverine Publicity]]: Spidey's just as bad as Wolverine himself when it comes to this.

** Ironic in the fact that Spidey actually ''predated'' Wolverine with this type of exposure.

** At this point Spidey may have passed even Wolverine and Deadpool in over-saturation as he is now either a member or guest-starring with the three big teams in the Marvel ~~Universe--including~~ the X-Men, the Avengers (both teams), and the new [[Fantastic Four]] (known as the FF); plus his own book is released twice a month.

** At this point Spidey may have passed even Wolverine and Deadpool in over-saturation as he is now either a member or guest-starring with the three big teams in the Marvel Universe—including the X-Men, the Avengers (both teams), and the new [[Fantastic Four]] (known as the FF); plus his own book is released twice a month.

* [[The Worf Effect]]: Seems to get knocked around by his enemies more often than other heroes. Then again, he usually comes back to win, so the Effect isn't as bad as it otherwise would be.

** If anything, you could argue it's an inversion: Spidey gets knocked around all the time (and often fights enemies who are much stronger and/or larger than he is) to show that he's weak and spindly. But wins anyway.

* [[Wouldn't Hit a Girl]]: When he first met Princess Python, Spidey lamented that he couldn't hit her. In his defense, it ''was'' the 1960's, after all. Later averted with female villains like Moonstone and Titania, who Spidey doesn't hold back against.

* [[Wring Every Last Drop Out of Him|Wring Every Last Drop Out Of Her]]: Aunt May has been on the verge of death for ''four decades''.

* [[Yandere ~~(disambiguation)~~]]: The Venom Symbiote for Spider-Man.

* [[:Category:Yandere|Yandere]]: The Venom Symbiote for Spider-Man.

* [[You Fight Like a Cow]]: Spider-Man's an undisputed master of this trope.

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