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[[The Spider]] was created as a [[Follow the Leader]] of [[The Shadow]] when Popular Publications decided to compete head-to-head with Street & Smith with their own solo hero [[Pulp Magazine]]. The first story, published in October 1933, was written by R.T.M. Scott. In it, [[Rich Idiot With No Day Job]] Richard Wentworth used the false identity of "
Starting with the third story, "Wings of the Black Death," the Spider was usually written by Norvell Page under the "house name" of Grant Stockbridge. Page pumped up the action and scale of the stories. Richard Wentworth now ''was'' the Spider, the criminals he fought were larger than life, and the stories were charged with emotion. Already a [[Master of Disguise]], the Spider soon added a
The Spider's love interest and primary sidekick was Nita Van Sloane, his fiancee. While not quite up to modern [[Action Girl]] standards, Nita was no shrinking violet, but a dead shot, and quite capable of impersonating the Spider in times of need.
Wentworth's bodyguard was Ram Singh, a [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]] (initially Hindu, later Sikh) who served the Spider out of personal admiration. Also helping the Spider were his chauffeur Ronald Jackson (who'd served under him in [[World War
Police Commissioner Stanley Kirkpatrick was one of Wentworth's closest friends, but also extremely dangerous to him. For if Kirkpatrick ever had definite proof that Wentworth was in fact the Spider, he would have to arrest the man for the many cold-blooded murders he'd committed.
''The Spider'' magazine ran until December 1943. There were also two movie serials, a [[Comic Book]] adaptation by Tim Truman in the [[The Eighties|1980s]] (which had a curious setting update to an alternate version of the [[The Nineties|1990s]]), and a recent short story anthology.
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* [[Animal-Themed Superbeing]]
* [[Back
* [[Complete Monster]]: The villains in Spider stories tended to do things like destroy inhabited skyscrapers or mutilate hundreds of women ''just to say hello.''
* [[The Commissioner Gordon]]: Stanley Kirkpatrick
* [[Costume Copycat]]: Both by good guys and criminals; at one point, Richard Wentworth leads an entire army dressed as the Spider.
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* [[Eagle Land]]: The very patriotic Spider definitely belongs to the type 1 variety.
* [[Femme Fatale]]: Nita could fake this role when necessary, and several female villains took this route.
* [[Follow the Leader]]: Years after the Spider hit the stands, a little company called [[Marvel Comics]] decided that it also wanted a [[Spider
** Actually, two years after a certain pulp hero named [[The Shadow]] hit the stands, Popular Publications decided it also needs a slouch-hatted millionaire crime-fighter.
* [[Fridge Logic]]: Like most pulps [[Fridge Logic]] can tear these stories to pieces. Witness the beginning of Corpse Cargo where the author cannot make up his mind about how light out it is. Said chapter also features a [[Critical Research Failure|silenced revolver]].
* [[Hero
* [[I'm a Humanitarian]]: Rosa Sleen, the Cannibal Queen, from "Burning Lead for the Walking Dead".
* [[It's Not You, It's My Enemies]]: Richard Wentworth felt he couldn't marry Nita as long as he was the Spider, since the underworld would then target her. (Made a bit silly by the many times Dick and Nita were menaced by criminals without the crooks having discovered the Spider connection. It didn't help that Wentworth was a notorious crimebuster in his own right.)
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[[Category:Animal Title Index]]
[[Category:The Great Depression]]
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