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Spider-Man (comics): Difference between revisions
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[[File:Amazingspiderman50.jpg|frame]]
{{quote|
{{quote|
''[[We Help the Helpless|Action is his reward.]]
''To him...
''Life is a great big bang-up
''Wherever there's a hang-up
''You'll find the Spider-MAAAAAN!''
|"Spider-Man" ([[Title Theme Tune]] of the 1967 [[Spider-Man (1967 TV series)|cartoon]])}}
'''Spider-Man''' is a comic book character, created by [[Stan Lee]] and [[Steve Ditko]]. He first appeared ''
At its debut, this [[Marvel Comics]] tale was a landmark in comic book characterization. He actually [[Character Development|seemed like a real person]], with day-to-day worries. Peter Parker was unpopular in his high school (though not without his supporting cast of friends). He and his aunt were poor, due to the death of their breadwinner. To get by, he had to sell pictures of his super-hero self to a man who only used them as a way to [[Hero with Bad Publicity|smear and tear down Spider-Man's reputation]], in a nice inversion of the Clark Kent/[[Superman]] situation.
[[Butt Monkey|He couldn't seem to catch a break]].
Of course, he persevered, and with his powers, his native intelligence, and his nifty [[Applied Phlebotinum|web-shooters]], he went on to battle a bevy of strange supervillains. One of the best parts of Spider-Man's clashes with villainy was his [[Talking Is a Free Action|nonstop fight patter]]. Even in the most dire of straits, Spidey could be counted on to deflate the [[Mad Scientist]]'s ego with a cutting remark, which made him everything from a [[Deadpan Snarker]] to a master of [[Lampshade Hanging]]. Spider-Man was in many ways [[Jack of All Stats]] of the Marvel Universe. While he wasn't the fastest, strongest, smartest or most skilled hero there was, Spidey possessed enough of all these qualities to be able to handle a wide variety of situations and villains.
Another storytelling element introduced and popularized for the comic book medium by the able Spider-Man authors is the sub-plot, a [[Story Arc]] related to his personal life woven into the arc of his troubles with a particular villain. Some ongoing sub-plots were the troubles of Spidey's love life -- at various times, Betty Brant, Mary Jane Watson, and Gwen Stacy were all in the running; the identity of the Green Goblin and the troubles it brought to Peter's friend Harry Osborn; and Spider-Man being distrusted by the [[Superhero]] community at large, leading to many [[Let's You and Him Fight]] sequences. As time went on, subplots were also used to develop the supporting cast members by giving them [[A Day in the Limelight]].
Tropes regarding the series as a whole [[Spider-Man|can be found here]].
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** ''[[Spider-Man Unlimited]]:'' An attempt to sort-of pick up on the gap left by the previous series, it lasted a year, partly due to being dwarfed by the juggernaut of the ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' anime.
* ''[[Spider-Man: The New Animated Series]]:'' An [[All CGI Cartoon]] produced by [[Mainframe Entertainment]] and aired on [[MTV]] to catch the popularity of the [[Spider-Man (film)|live-action movies]]. It also lasted [[Too Good to Last|only a year]].
* ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]:'' A new series that goes back to the basics with [[Greg Weisman]] of ''[[Gargoyles]]'' fame leading the way. Despite major approval and praise by fans and critics alike, Sony lost the rights to the show and Marvel was unable to continue it without massive legal complications, [[Too Good to Last|forcing the series to end after two seasons.]]
* ''Ultimate Spider-Man'': A new cartoon series which, despite the name, is not entirely based off the 2000 comic reboot. Done by Paul Dini of ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]'' fame, the show follows a younger Spider-Man teaming up with [[Luke Cage, Hero for Hire|Power Man]], [[Immortal Iron Fist|Iron Fist]], White Tiger and [[Nova]]. It's use of [[Cutaway Gag|cutaway gags]] has become something of a [[Base Breaker]], and a lot of fans (including the PEOPLE WORKING ON IT) have come to despise it. It does have its fans though
* [[Spider-Man (2000 video game)|A 2000 pair of PlayStation games]].
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The big draw of Spider-Man is that he has problems -- problems as a hero, problems as a man -- and, despite weakness, despite adversity, overcomes them, because he knows he has to. Among [[Superhero|Superheroes]], he's the regular guy trying to get by in a world of those who can crush planets between thumb and forefinger. In his best moments, Spider-Man is heroic enough that you want to be him, yet human enough that you think you ''could'' be him.
----
There have been several seminal storylines, each of which defined the web-slinger during a certain era; these are the ones that are most often adapted into [[Derivative Works]] and referenced by later authors.
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The Green Goblin, who had been revealed to be Harry's father Norman Osborn, kidnapped Gwen. Threatening her in the usual supervillain style, he dropped her off a bridge... and Peter couldn't quite save her. It was recently revealed that Spider-Man's web was the [[Killed Off for Real|cause of her death]], as it caused her neck to break.<ref>In ''The Physics of Superheroes'' by Professor James Kakalios, he explains that it really didn't matter whether or not Spidey had let her fall or caught her the way he did - if she'd hit the water she would still have broken her neck. However, later on in the comics and the first film, he's seen jumping off after a falling character and catching them mid-flight, then using a web to anchor himself. Assuming his arm's able to take more punishment because, hey, he's Spider-Man, this is entirely plausible (at least according to Kakalios), and so the angst may yet be justified. Considering that Pete's supposed to be some kind of wunderkind it's hard to see why he didn't understand that himself and spare the fanbase a lot of arguing - and the Green Goblin says something to the effect that she was already dead, which, considering HE'S supposed to be a genius too...</ref>
''Never'' before had a superhero failed to save their [[
'''The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man:''' Unlike the other stories here, this isn't a big, world-changing storyline. It's just a single issue (''Amazing'' #248), but it's well-loved as one of Spider-Man's biggest [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|Crowning Moments of Heartwarming]]. The main story is a fight against a guy named Thunderball, but the memorable part is the backup story where Spidey visits one of his fans and just spends time chatting, even revealing himself as Peter Parker (the kid loves the irony of how Peter sells pictures of himself to Jameson) and explaining how his failure with Uncle Ben drove him to crimefighting. It's only at the end that we learn that the boy is a [[Littlest Cancer Patient]] with days left to live, wishing to meet his hero before he passed on.
'''The Alien Costume:''' In 1984, as part of the [[Crisis Crossover]] ''[[Secret Wars]]'', Spider-Man got a new, alien costume that responded to his thoughts. Eventually, it was revealed that the costume was a symbiote who was attempting to permanently merge with Peter. He managed to drive it away by exploiting its [[Achilles' Heel]], sonic attacks and loud noise in general, whereupon it merged with a reporter who felt Spider-Man had wronged him and became the recurring villain Venom.
'''The Death of Jean DeWolff:''' In 1986, Spider-Man's friend, police captain Jean DeWolff, was found murdered in her apartment. The hunt for DeWolff's murderer becomes the impetus for an exploration of [[What Is Evil?|moral relativism]] among superheroes, the [[Off on a Technicality|flaws of the criminal justice system]], the [[Revenge|desire for vengeance]], and the clash of values between the idealistic [[Daredevil]] and the pragmatic Spider-Man. This was [[Peter David]]'s first professional [[Comic Book]] writing assignment, and is noted for brutally subverting the comic-book stereotype of [[Heroic Sacrifice]] in character deaths.
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A followup story, ''One Moment In Time'' (or ''[[Fun with Acronyms|OMIT]]'', if you're so inclined), showed exactly what happened on what was supposed to be Peter and MJ's wedding day, as well as how things fell apart between them after ''[[One More Day]]''. It continues the tradition of OMD by drawing a lot of criticism and doesn't explain anything very well. It may have surpassed the Clone Saga by now for being so disliked.
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{{Work Needs Tropes}}
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:The Sixties]]
[[Category:Marvel Universe]]
[[Category:Spider-Man Index]]▼
[[Category:Spider-Man]]
[[Category:Comic
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