Spider-Man is a fictional superhero created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in the anthology comic book Amazing Fantasy #15 in the Silver Age of Comic Book
In Forest Hills, Queens, New York, 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 (August 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!”
Spider-Man Day – History:As August 1 arrives, it’s important to remember one thing: with great power comes great responsibility. Now you, a Spider-Man fanatic, have all the power in the world to celebrate one of the most iconic comic book superheroes of all time, so don’t take this responsibility lightly. Spider-Man entered the comic book universe in August 1962, and has been a major player ever since. The groundbreaking story turned heads when it featured an awkward, antisocial teenager as its superhero — a description typically associated with sidekicks.
History
1962-Stan Lee comes up with the idea for Spider-Man and the character first appears in a comic as a supporting character
1963-Spider-Man gets his own comic, “The Amazing Spider-Man”
2002-Spider-Man gets his own move (“Spider-Man”) starring Tobey Maguire. Two sequels get made in 2004 and 2007.
2010-“Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” debuts on Broadway in NYC
2012-“The Amazing Spider-Man” starring Andrew Garfield premieres. A sequel (“The Amazing Spider-Man 2”) debuts in 2014.
2017 -“Spider-Man: Homecoming” premieres, starring Tom Holland.
Cast
| “I felt like I was an outsider. I think what happened to me made me develop this street sense of watching people and working out what made them tick, wondering whether I could trust them or not. I went to a lot of schools along the coast in California, made few friends and stayed with aunts, uncles and grandparents while my folks tried to make ends meet. It was tough. We had no money.” |
| — Tobey Maguire on identifying with Peter Parker. |
- Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker / Spider-Man:
Born in 1984, Peter is an academically-gifted but socially inept student who is bitten by a genetically modifiedspider and gains spider-like abilities. - Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin:
The CEO of Oscorp who tests an unstable strength enhancer on himself and becomes the insane and powerful Green Goblin. Unaware of Spider-Man’s true identity, he also sees himself as a father figure for Peter, ignoring his own son, Harry. Dafoe was cast as Osborn in November 2000. - Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson:
The girl on whom Peter had a crush since he was six years old. Mary Jane has an abusive father, and aspires to become an actress, but becomes a waitress at a run down diner, a fact she hides from her boyfriend Harry. - James Franco as Harry Osborn:
Peter’s best friend and flatmate. Before being cast as Harry, Franco had screen tested for Spider-Man himself. - Cliff Robertson as Ben Parker:
May Parker’s husband and Peter’s uncle, a fired electrician who is trying to find a new job. He is killed by a carjacker whom Peter failed to stop, and leaves Peter with the message, “With great power comes great responsibility.” - Rosemary Harris as May Parker:
Ben Parker’s wife and Peter’s aunt.May is a devout Protestant Christian who is highly aware of Peter’s love for Mary Jane. - J. K. Simmons portrays J. Jonah Jameson, the grouchy publisher of the Daily Bugle who considers Spider-Man a criminal.
- Joe Manganiello, Bill Nunn, Ted Raimi and Elizabeth Banks portray Peter’s bully Flash Thompson,
- Daily Bugle editor Robbie Robertson, Daily Bugle employee Ted Hoffman and Jameson’s secretary Betty Brant respectively.
- Michael Papajohn appears as The Carjacker, the criminal who murders Ben Parker.
Cast
- Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker / Spider-Man:
A superhero, Columbia University physics student, and photographer for the Daily Bugle. Juggling these separate lives means he briefly gives up his responsibilities as a superhero in a moment of adversity. - Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson: A friend Peter has loved since he was a child, yet he gave up the chance of being with her out of concern for her safety.
- James Franco as Harry Osborn: Oscorp’s leader, Norman Osborn’s son and Peter’s best friend who holds Spider-Man responsible for his father’s death.
- Alfred Molina as Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus:
A scientist and Peter’s role model who goes insane after his failure to create a self-sustaining fusion reaction. Octavius is bonded with his handling equipment, four artificially intelligent mechanical tentacles. - Rosemary Harris as May Parker: Ben Parker’s widow and Peter’s aunt.
- Donna Murphy as Rosalie Octavius: Otto’s wife and assistant.
- J. K. Simmons reprises his role as J. Jonah Jameson, the miserly manager and editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle.
- Daniel Gillies portrays his son John Jameson, an astronaut and Mary Jane’s fiancé.
Cast
- Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker / Spider-Man:
A physics student at Columbia University and freelance photographer for the Daily Bugle, who gets spider-like abilities from a genetically-modified spider and uses them to take up the persona of a spider-based vigilante protecting New York City from its criminal underworld. - Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson:
A Broadway actress, and Peter’s girlfriend. - James Franco as Harry Osborn / New Goblin:
The vengeful son of the late Norman Osborn and Peter’s estranged best friend, who believes Spider-Man murdered his father, but after learning Peter is Spider-Man and his father was the Green Goblin, he tends to battle Peter directly as a psychopathic assassin armed with the same equipment as his father. - Thomas Haden Church as Flint Marko / Sandman:
A small-time thug with an estranged wife and sick daughter, whose struggle to rob for money to get his daughter treatment lures him into a freak accident that alters him into a master sand manipulator hunted by Spider-Man since he was Ben Parker’s true killer. - Topher Grace as Eddie Brock / Venom:
A rivalry former Daily Bugle journalist who is exposed by Peter for creating a fake Spider-Man image and later ready for revenge when he bonds with the symbiote, which turns him into monstrous being with the same spider-like powers. - Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacy:
Peter’s lab partner and good friend, who is saved by Spider-Man from falling to her death. She is also Brock’s love interest. - James Cromwell as George Stacy:
Gwen’s father, and a New York City Police Department captain. - Rosemary Harris as May Parker:
Peter’s aunt, who gives her nephew her engagement ring so he can propose to Mary Jane, and teaches him forgiveness. - J. K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson:
The aggressive chief of the Daily Bugle, who despises Spider-Man.
Who’s your favorite actor to play Spider-Man over the years? Check out the complete list of Spider-Man actors below and vote up the guys you think portrayed him best.
There wasn’t going to be a way to top Tobey’s take on Peter Parker for the way that Sam Raimi’s Sony films played him—so when the Marvel Cinematic Universe acquired the rights to bring Spider-Man into their world, the only way they could go was to make Spidey radically different. That’s why they cast Tom Holland in the role, and the rest is history.
Holland’s take on Spidey is starkly different from both Maguire and Garfield. A main difference? He’s younger. Holland’s youth brings a level of innocence and irreverence to the portrayal that really makes his take on the character feel so fresh and new.
Sam Raimi trilogy2002–2007
Spider-Man (2002)
Spider-Man follows Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), an orphaned high schooler who pines after popular girl-next-door Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst). While on a science class field trip, Peter is bitten by a genetically-engineered “super spider.” As a result, Peter gains superhuman abilities, including increased strength, speed, and the abilities to scale walls and generate organic webbing. After his beloved Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) is murdered, the teenager realizes that he must use his newfound abilities to protect New York City. Meanwhile, wealthy industrialist Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe), the father of Peter’s best friend Harry Osborn (James Franco), subjects himself to an experimental performance-enhancing serum, which creates a psychotic and murderous split personality. Donning a military battlesuit, Norman becomes a freakish “Green Goblin”, who begins to terrorize the city. Peter, as Spider-Man, now must do battle with the Goblin, all while trying to express his true feelings for Mary Jane.
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Two years after the events of the first film, Peter struggles to balance his superhero and private lives and still pines after Mary Jane Watson, who is now engaged. Harry Osborncontinues to believe Spider-Man is responsible for his father Norman Osborn’s death. Spider-Man contends with scientist Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), a.k.a. Dr. Octopus, who has four mechanical tentacles fused to his spine and sets out to recreate a fusion-based experiment that could destroy much of New York City.
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Spider-Man 3 picks up one year after the events of the second film. Peter is still seeing Mary Jane Watson, while Harry Osborn succeeds his father as the new Green Goblin. Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), who, like Peter, is a photographer for the Daily Bugle, sets out to defame Spider-Man and incriminate him. Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), an escaped convict, falls into a particle accelerator and becomes a shape-shifting sand monster later known as Sandman. Peter later learns that Marko is the one that killed Uncle Ben, causing Peter’s own dark intentions to grow. This vendetta is enhanced by the appearance of the mysterious black alien symbiotic substance that bonds to Peter, resulting in the formation of a new black costume. Once Peter separates himself from the alien, it finds a new host in the form of Brock, resulting in the creation of Venom.
Marc Webb duology2012–2014
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Sony announced that the franchise would be rebooted with a new director and new cast. The Amazing Spider-Man was released on July 3, 2012 in 3D and IMAX 3D, and focused on Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) developing his abilities in high school and his relationship with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). He fights the Lizard, the monstrous form of Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), his father’s former partner and a scientist at OsCorp.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
The film takes place two years after the first film’s events. Peter Parker graduates from high school, continues his crime-fighting duties as Spider-Man, while combating the electricity-manipulating Electro (Jamie Foxx), rekindling his relationship with Gwen Stacy, and encounters his old friend Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), who is slowly dying from a genetic disease.
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
In the film, Parker, who has spent the last six months as a local costumed crimefighter named Spider-Man, is recruited by Tony Stark / Iron Man to join his team of Avengers to stop Steve Rogers / Captain America and his rogue faction of Avengers, who oppose the Sokovia Accords, from fleeing with fugitive Bucky Barnes. During the fight with Rogers and his team, Parker, utilizing a Stark-upgraded version of his initial makeshift suit, proves to be a formidable opponent, and implements a tactic with which he and Vision disable Scott Lang / Ant-Man in his giant-sized form. Upon returning home, Parker discovers some of the StarkTech features of the suit he was given by Stark.
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Holland, Tomei, and Downey reprise their roles as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, May Parker, and Tony Stark / Iron Man, respectively,and are joined by Michael Keaton, who plays Adrian Toomes / Vulture. Jon Favreau, who appeared as Happy Hogan in the Iron Man films, also appears in the film.
Civil War as he anxiously awaits his next assignment from Stark while simultaneously balancing his life at Midtown High with his vigilante life as Spider-Man. His investigation of a series of highly weaponized robberies leads him to a mysterious weapons trafficker named Adrian Toomes, who turns out to be the father of his high school crush, Liz Allan.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
arker joins Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and the Guardians of the Galaxy in battling Thanos in the ruins of his home planet, Titan. However, Parker is among the many heroes who perish after Thanos snaps his fingers with a completed Infinity Gauntlet, which wipes out half of all life in the universe.
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
After dying in Avengers: Infinity War, Parker is resurrected by Bruce Banner and joins the Avengers and their allies in a clash against Thanos and his army in upstate New York. At the battle’s conclusion, Parker mourns Tony Stark’s death with Pepper Potts, War Machine, Captain America, and Thor before returning to high school to reunite with his best friend Ned, and attends Stark’s funeral with Aunt May
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Holland, Tomei, and Favreau reprise their roles from Homecoming and are joined by Jake Gyllenhaal as Quentin Beck / Mysterio. As in Homecoming, other characters from MCU installments reprise their roles, with Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders appearing as Nick Fury and Maria Hill, respectively
In the set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, features Parker and his friends going to Europe on summer vacation, where Parker is drawn back to superheroics when he is forced to team up with Nick Fury and Mysterio in battling the Elementals.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
In the film was directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman from a screenplay by Phil Lord and Rothman, and a story by Lord. It stars the voices of Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Velez, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Nicolas Cage, and Liev Schreiber
In the film, Miles Morales joins other Spider-Men from various dimensions who team up to save New York City from Kingpin.
Spider-Man shows
The Amazing Spider-Man (1977)
In 1977, a short-lived live action television series was produced called The Amazing Spider-Man, starring Nicholas Hammond in the title role. Although the series earned good ratings, the CBS Television Network canceled it after just two seasons, along with Wonder Woman, to avoid being labeled as “the superhero network.
Animation
Spider-Man (1967)
The first animated series was simply titled Spider-Man, and ran on ABC from 1967 to 1970. The show’s first season was produced by Grantray-Lawrence Animation, which soon went bankrupt. Spider-Man was voiced by Paul Soles.
Spider-Man (1981)
In 1981, with the creation of the animation studio Marvel Productions Ltd., Marvel endeavored to translate more of their comic characters to television. Spider-Man was voiced by Ted Schwartz.
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981)
Towards this end the cartoon series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends was created for NBC featuring Spider-Man, Iceman of the X-Men, and a new character, Firestar. Actor Dan Gilvezan gave voice to this incarnation of the wall-crawler. This series also featured a number of Marvel guest stars, and shared many of its character designs with the solo Spider-Man show produced just before it.
Spider-Man (1994)
The 1994 Spider-Man animated series was made for the Fox Network, with Christopher Daniel Barnes providing the voice of Spider-Man. This series had a bigger budget and used a novel system of one large story arc per season, developed by John Semper. As a result, each of the individual 65 episodes (starting with season 2) were called “chapters”. This was the longest Spider-Man series, with 65 episodes in five seasons, until 2012’s “Ultimate Spider-Man” surpassed it.
Spider-Man Unlimited (1999)
In 1999, an animated series named Spider-Man Unlimited was developed for Fox in which Spider-Man is transported to an animated Counter-Earth inspired by the one created by the High Evolutionary in early 1970s comics. This series was cancelled after one season. Spider-Man was voiced by Rino Romano.
Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (2003)
In 2003, another television series adaptation, Spider-Man: The New Animated Series this time using computer animation was produced by Mainframe Entertainment for Sony Pictures Television and broadcast on MTV; it featured characters and continuity from the 2002 Spider-Man film, as well as Michael Clarke Duncan voicing the Kingpin, reprising his role from the 2003 live action Daredevil film adaptation. The show lasted only one season, which contained 13 episodes. Spider-Man was voiced by Neil Patrick Harris.
The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008)
This television series is heavily inspired by both the early Lee/Ditko and Romita The Amazing Spider-Man stories and the Bendis/Bagley Ultimate Spider-Man. Peter Parker is still a teenager living in contemporary New York, as in Bendis’ Ultimate version, but many of the cast members borrow from both the early and later years of Spider-Man comics. Many of the original supporting cast, including Flash Thompson, have been translated into modern terms but are still very true to the comics, and some have altered ethnicities: Liz Allan is Hispanic and Ned Lee (formerly “Leeds”) is Korean. The first season follows several plot arcs drawn from the comics. Two seasons of the series were aired, each containing 13 episodes. The series ended when Sony Pictures relinquished its rights, which it had licensed from Marvel, to produce animated works using Spider-Man and associated characters. Spider-Man was voiced by Josh Keaton.
Ultimate Spider-Man (2012)
Ultimate Spider-Man aired on Disney XD. It started airing on April 1, 2012. Spider-Man/Peter Parker is voiced by Drake Bell. The show’s third season is subtitled “Web-Warriors”, and the fourth season is subtitled “vs. The Sinister Six”.
The series ended in a two part series finale on January 7, 2017, bringing the episode count to 104 and making it the longest running Marvel animated series ever at that time. The Avengers Assemble cartoon passed this benchmark in 2019 and has aired 126 episodes.
Spider-Man (2017)
Spider-Man, a new Spider-Man animated series was announced to replace Ultimate Spider-Man. The series features Spider-Man (voiced by Robbie Daymond) teaming up with Miles Morales as Spider-Man II, Gwen Stacy as Spider-Gwen/Ghost Spider, and Anya Corazon as Spider-Girl.
Television specials
- Spider-Man appeared alongside Thor, Iron Man and the Hulk in the summer 2013 animated special Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel.Drake Bell reprised his role.
- Spider-Man appears in the Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Maximum Overload special, voiced by Drake Bell.
- Spider-Man appears in the Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Avengers Reassembled special, voiced again by Benjamin Diskin.
Every Member Of The Spider-Man Family
Spider-Verse storyline, Peter teamed up with not only the other members of this “Spider-Family” but with other Spider-Men from across the multiverse as well.
Doppelganger was an evil, near-mindless duplicate of Spider-Manthat was created by Magus during the battle known as the Infinity War. The six-armed creature was one of many doppelgangers created by Magus during this conflict.Although the Doppelganger was killed during the Infinity War by the Hobgoblin, he was mystically revived by the Demogoblin.[3]When Magus was defeated by Adam Warlock at the conclusion of the Infinity War, all of the doppelgangers were destroyed except for the Spider-Doppelganger, thanks to Demogoblin’s magic forming a psychic link between the Doppelganger and him. For a time, he was a ‘pet’ to Demogoblin, but the two went their separate ways after a fight.
The Spider-Doppelganger had a major part to play in the now-infamous Maximum Carnage storyline where he teamed up with Carnage, Shriek, and several others and formed a twisted “family” of sorts. Shriek took a liking to the Doppelganger and he became extremely loyal to her. When she and Carnage fought, Doppelganger attacked Carnage despite Carnage being far more powerful.
Although seemingly killed by Carnage, the Doppelganger survived, although has only been seen rarely since.
The Scarlet Spiders were a trio of clones, created from the remains of Michael Van Patrick a.k.a MVP the first of the initiative recruits to die. The trio took to naming themselves Michael, Van, and Patrick and used their combat skills along with Starktech armor similar to the Iron-Spider suit Spider-Man himself wore for a time.
The Scarlet Spiders were three clones of the seemingly-deceased Initiative recruit, MVP. After his death via training accident, Dr. Blitzschlag found his genome too valuable to simply throw away and with reluctant permission from Yellowjacket proceeded to clone him. The clones were named Michael, Van, and Patrick. To accelerate their development, telemetry education was fed into their brains by Taskmaster to have the martial arts prowess and physical muscle memory and moves of Spider-Man. All three of them wore the ‘Iron Spider’ Stark armor which Parker formerly wore pre-Civil War and during the event. Originally, they identified themselves as “Red Team” on the field. They took down the Sinister Syndicate consisting of Shocker, Boomerang, and Hydro-Man.
When Blitzschlag was visiting New York City after the events of World War Hulk, he was attacked by a group of Vulturions, who stole the plans for a gamma bomb he was carrying. Coming to his aid, the Scarlet Spiders pursued the Vulturions until being attacked by Peter Parker, angry over Stark’s use of other Spider-Men. Taking one of the members out, he was eventually convinced by a second to help them against the Vulturions. Arriving in time to help Van, the two Scarlet Spiders utilized a cloaking technology built into their suits to make them appear to be differently-costumed versions of Spider-Man, distracting the newest Vulturions while Peter Parker took down the original member, Honcho. Thankful for his help, the Scarlet Spiders went against orders, and instead of capturing Parker, they made it appear as if he had been a member of the team, throwing doubt on whether he was ever actually Spider-Man
14 Anya Corazon Spider-Girl
Anya, or Araña as she would be called, was a teenage gymnast from Brooklyn whose father Gilberto Corazon was an investigative reporter. He moved with her from Mexico to the United Statesafter her mother was killed.Anya was a regular high-school student who came across a secret society, known as The Sisterhood of the Wasp, attacking a lone man. Jumping in front of a killing blow to save the stranger, Anya was gravely wounded. The man, Miguel, belonged to the Spider Society, and, sensing Anya’s potential, passed along some of his power to her, saving her life.
Spider Society
It was at an average day at school that she saw her friend Lynn being bullied by an older boy. Anya defended her friend, and the two started to fight. A teacher broke their conflict up, but that night the two went down to a bridge to resume their battle. When she got there, Anya discovered a stranger being attacked by a strange group. This Sisterhood of the Wasp attempted to kill the man, but Anya leaped in the way of the killing blow. The man, Miguel, was the sorcerer of the Spider Society, a secret group dating back for hundreds of years. Recognizing that Anya had the ability to become the new Hunter of the Society, he transferred some of his power to her to save her life. Because of this she gained a spider-shaped tattoo, enhanced strength and agility, and the power to grow a blue exoskeleton.These powers first revealed itself when training in the desert, allowing her to defeat multiple ferocious beasts. However, her new abilities didn’t come from Miguel or the Society; his transfer had unlocked her own natural potentialAs she joined the Spider Society as their Hunter, they gave her cover as an intern of WebCorps, a company the Society used to hide its actions.After developing her secret identity, she and her new team went on a mission to prevent the Sisterhood from empowering their own Hunter.
13 SILK – CINDY MOON
When Cindy Moon was a child, her parents found out that she had an eidetic memory. Her mother wanted Cindy to focus on her studies while Cindy would rather continue playing on her school hockey team with her secret boyfriend, Hector Cervantez. When her mother found out, she was forced to go to the school field trip to General Techtronics and Cin told her she hated her.
The Spider-Bite
When high school student Cindy Moon was attending a public exhibition demonstrating the safe handling of nuclear laboratory waste materials, sponsored by the General Techtronics Corporation, a spider irradiated by a particle accelerator used in the demonstration, bit Peter Parker on the hand and fell from his hand, it then bit Cindy in her ankle before dying.The first manifestation of her powers happened when her uncontrollable organic webbing accidentally caused her to web up her parents. A man by the name of Ezekiel Sims came and took Cindy away. He trained Cindy in the use of her powers until he realized the totemic predator Morlun was tracking her. He then locked her away in a room that blocks Morlun’s detection at the bottom of his tower to protect her from him. This bunker had years worth of food, books, and tapes on the outside world which Cindy watched every day.She knew the code to leave at anytime but, knowing the consequences, she decided to stay put despite the horrible boredom.
Cindy is a relatively recent addition to the Spider-Family but her origins date back to the same exact moment Peter Parker became Spider-Man. We had always known Peter gained his powers due to a bite from an irradiated spider. What we hadn’t known was that the spider had bitten another on the same day. Cindy was bitten moments after Peter, and developed almost identical powers, although seems faster and has a more powerful Spider-Sense.
Kept imprisoned by the man known as Ezekiel, Cindy lived in a sealed facility for many years until her existence was learned of by Spider-Man who rushed to free her. Cindy was initially thrilled but terrified when she learned that Morlunn was potentially still alive and able to come for her. As one of the most significant members of the Spider-Family, Cindy was one necessary for Morlunn, and his immortal family, to sacrifice in an arcane ritual. She took to using the name Silk, and despite her deep connection to Spider-Man (due to their connection, they have an intense attraction to each other), she began to forge a life of her own despite her many years in captivity.
12MADAME WEB – CASSANDRA WEBB
Cassandra Webb was born and raised in Salem, Oregon. She was born blind and suffered from a neurological condition known as myasthenia gravis. This however had a side effect: she developed powerful psychic abilities and used them to become a medium.
Debra Whitman showed Peter Parker Madame Web’s advert, which he thought of her as nothing but a charlatan. However during an attack on the Daily Globe, Peter as Spider-Man found a clue that only Madame Web could help with. He went to visit her and she used her powers to help him locate the criminals. He soon began to believe her power when she came to Peter’s apartment revealing that she knew that he was Spider-Man.
Spider-Man contacted Madame Web when he learned of two people attempting an assassination. While trying to stop them during a marathon she contacted him on a pay phone and told him there were two assassins by a water tower. Their target was politician Barney Wicker, presiding at the Finish Line. Spidey stopped the assassins by tipping the water tower’s roof onto them
Despite this, or possibly because of it, she developed incredible psychic gifts, including precognition, and found work as a professional medium. Although Peter Parker was skeptical, he turned to Madam Web when he needed her gifts to solve a case. Later, she arrived at his home knowing his secret identity, further proving herself as a psychic.
When her granddaughter, Charlotte Witter, became Spider-Woman at the hands of Doctor Octopus, Madame Web summoned previous Spider-Women Jessica Drew and Julia Carpenter, as well as Mattie Franklin, to defeat her. She used her psychic powers to wipe elements of Charlotte’s mind and returned the powers Charlotte had stolen from the Spider-Women.Madame Web was murdered by Ana Kravenoff during the events known as the Grimm Hunt. Moments before dying, she managed to pass on her powers of precognition to Julia Carpenter who also became blind. She would be briefly brought back to life by the Jackal but died once more after refusing to be a part of his further plans.
11SPIDER-GIRL – MAYDAY PARKER
Born in an alternate universe, May “Mayday” Parker is the first-born child of Peter and Mary-Jane Parker. In the timeline she was born into, May was raised by a retired Peter who had lost his leg in a final battle with Norman Osborn.
Her parents hid Peter’s former life as Spider-Man from May, hoping she would have a normal life. But when she was 15, May began to develop similar powers to her father as they had been passed on to her genetically. Mayday began to wear a costume similar to the one her “uncle” Ben had worn during his tenure as Spider-Man. At first, her parents hindered her but later became supportive of her efforts to stop Normie Osborn from becoming as evil as his grandfather had been.She even had her own clone saga and remained unclear as to whether she was the original May, or a clone created by Norman Osborn to mess with her father. She even encountered the Peter Parker from the present day on a few occasions, including when she was summoned as one of the many spider-people gathered to fight during Spider-Verse. After the events of Spider-Verse, many worlds were left without Spider-Men and women to protect them.
10 SPIDER-WOMAN/ARACHNE/MADAM WEB – JULIA CARPENTER
Julia Cornwall was born and raised in Los Angeles, California . The daughter of Walter and Elizabeth Cornwall. She met and married her college sweetheart Larry Carpenter and together they had a daughter named Rachel.
The second Spider-Woman after Jessica Drew was Julia Carpenter. Given her powers by a shady branch of the government known as The Commission, Julia was injected with a spider-venom formula which gave her her powers. Shortly after being given her abilities, Julia was drawn into the first Secret Wars where she met Spider-Man for the first time. After this, she continued to work for the government as part of Freedom Force but left after aiding the Avengers, against orders. Julia eventually became a member of Force Works, and The Avengers, and established herself as a notable superhero in her own right.
After losing, and then regaining, her powers Julia fell in love with the man known as The Shroud. She and The Shroud ran afoul of Iron Man’s forces during the first Civil War as it was discovered that she was aiding fugitives. Given the choice between jail or working with the Canadians as part of a new Omega Flight, she chose Canada and fought alongside several heroes north of the border for a time.pider-People were gathered during the Grimm Hunt, the original Madame Web was killed. She passed her precognitive powers to Julia, who became the new Madam Web. She then mentored Spider-Man and helped him train for the trials he faced ahead of time. Whether she retains these powers post Spider-Verse remains to be seen.
9 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN – MILES MORALES
Shortly before the death of the Peter Parker from the Ultimate Universe, a young man named Miles Morales was bitten by a spider that had been infected with the OZ formula. He discovered he had gained the ability to camouflage, generate energy blasts, as well as wall crawl and had similar agility and strength to Spider-Man. Choosing to remain “normal” Miles decided not to become a costumed adventurer. But when the final battle that cost Peter Parker his life happened, Miles chose to intervene but arrived too late to help. Feeling responsible for Peter’s death, he became the second Ultimate Spider-Man and chose to honor Peter’s legacy.
8 VENOM – EDDIE BROCK AND FLASH THOMPSON
Peter Parker was the first to encounter the symbiote that would become Venom during the first Secret War. He initially thought it was a high-tech costume, which could change form to suit his desires. He thought its black color was due to a subconscious instinct based on having just met Julia Carpenter. Eventually, the suit began to exert control over Peter and Peter realized that the suit was alive. Thanks to Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four, Peter freed himself from the suit.
The suit managed to free itself from its prison and sought out Peter once more. Angry with Peter, and rejected by him, it bonded with the reporter Eddie Brock who also hated Parker. The two bonded and became the first version of Venom. Far larger and stronger than Spider-Man, venom became his arch-enemy, but sometimes ally too. Eddie and the suit often chose to protect the innocent but brutally punished the wicked.
After many years, Eddie parted ways with the suit after being diagnosed with cancer. The suit went from villain to villain, including former Scorpion, Mac Gargan. Eventually, the suit came into the possession of the government who chose to use it as a living weapon. They bonded it to Peter Parker’s friend Eugene “Flash” Thompson and he became Agent Venom.
7 SPIDER-GWEN – GWEN STACY
Born on the alternate world of Earth-65, Gwen Stacy had a similar start to life as the Gwen Stacy of earth-616. However, her life took a very different turn when it was her and not Peter Parker that was bitten by an irradiated spider, granting her super powers. Given a costume, and web shooters, by retired superhero Janet Van Dyne, Gwen became the Spider-Woman of her world but chose to enjoy her powers over actually helping people. Her father, George, tried to get her to use her powers more responsibly though.
When her friend Peter Parker tried to give himself powers to be like Gwen, he instead turned into a giant lizard and fought Gwen at their high school. Gwen managed to get Peter to return to his human form, but he died due to his injuries. Spider-Woman was blamed for the death of Peter, making her wanted by the police, but she chose to continue serving the public anyway, determined to become a true hero.
6 SPIDER-MAN 2099 – MIGUEL O’HARA
Miguel O’Hara was born around 70 years into an alternate future and was a scientist working for the mega-corporation known as Alchemax. Forcibly given a drug which bonded to his DNA, he used a device in his lab to cure himself, but the device had been tampered with and his DNA was spliced with that of a spider. He developed powers like those of the original Spider-Man’s such as great strength and agility, but he also developed fangs and retractable claws in his fingers.
Miguel became the Spider-Man of 2099 and fought against several new foes and the evil corporate interests of his era. Eventually, he journeyed through time to the present day when events here began to disrupt the world of 2099. He became stranded, unable to journey home, and worked covertly for the company that would plague him in the future. He now works alongside Peter Parker as one of the many Spider-Men currently active.
5 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN – OTTO OCTAVIUS
When Doctor Octopus’ body began to fail, he developed many plans. After failing to destroy half the world, he enacted his final act of revenge against Spider-Man and swapped their bodies. Then, in Peter’s body, he began to usurp Peter’s life as both a scientist and super hero. Peter, in Otto’s body, fought back, but tragically died. Moments before death, Peter managed to transfer his sense of responsibility to Otto, who vowed to carry on as a true hero in Peter’s place.
Initially, Otto was extremely effective. Where Peter had often been reactive, Otto planned ahead and used cunning tactics to defeat enemies. His nature often got the better of him, and in his arrogance failed to see Norman Osborn’s plotting from behind the scenes. When Osborn took control of New York’s criminal empire, Otto had to admit that he couldn’t defeat him and allowed Peter to regain control of his body.
Despite his downfall, Otto managed to be an effective hero for quite some time.
4KAINE/SCARLET SPIDER/OTHER – KAINE PARKER
The first clone of Peter Parker was, in the eyes of his creator, a failure. Kaine began life with the cellular degeneration that plagued the Jackal’s creations and was disfigured and insane. For years, he plagued both Peter Parker and Ben Reilly (Peter’s other clone) as well as becoming a figure in the criminal underworld.
Kaine eventually sacrificed his life at the end of the Grimm Hunt, but was resurrected as a giant near-mindless beast serving the Queen. During the events of Spider-Island, Kaine was immersed in the cure for those infected by the Queen and the Jackal. When he emerged from the cure, Kaine was human looking once more, but more than that, was also free from the cellular degeneration which had always plagued him. Using a spare suit of Peter’s, Kaine helped kill the Queen when she mutated into a giant monster. He left, stealing Peter’s suit, and went to Texas where he became a reluctant hero known as the Scarlet Spider.
Kaine, like most others, was drawn into the events of Spider-Verse and was pivotal to the success of the spiders as he was the vessel for the entity known as The Other. As The Other, he turned into a giant spider and was one of the few spiders to kill an inheritor before appearing to be killed himself. He survived, but was once again plagued by clone degeneration.
3 SPIDER-WOMAN – JESSICA DREW
The original, and arguably the best, Spider-Woman is Jessica Drew. Born to scientist parents, Jessica became sick as her parents had accidently exposed her to uranium. Her father injected her with a serum derived from spider-venom, hoping that the regenerative nature of spiders, as well as their resistance to radiation, might save her. Aided by the high evolutionary, Jessica’s father placed her in a tank which helped stabilise her body and saved her life. When she eventually emerged, she had incredible super powers of speed, agility, energy blasts, and limited flight.
Jessica fell under the influence of Hydra, and was brainwashed by Mentallo to believe Hydra was a force for good. She became one of their greatest resources, a living weapon and assassin. She eventually rebelled against Hydra and, after a period of wandering, established herself as a private investigator and super hero based in San Francisco.
Eventually, Jessica would become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, an Avenger, and a frequent ally of Spider-Man.
2 SPIDER-MAN/SCARLET-SPIDER – BEN REILLY
Ben Reilly is one of the most successful of the many clones of Peter Parker. Created by the insane geneticist known as the Jackal, Ben was sent to battle Peter but seemingly died in the attempt. Unable to dispose of the body properly, as it was identical to him, Peter dropped the clone in a smokestack and moved on with his life.
It was revealed that the clone had survived, and not wishing to cause Peter further distress, had left New York to live under the assumed name of Ben Reilly but also remaining a hero under the guise of the Scarlet Spider. Sharing Peter’s memories, Ben would sometimes call his Aunt May pretending to be a long-lost relative. Learning May was sick, he returned to New York and encountered Peter. Peter and Ben became friends, and when Peter lost his powers, Ben became Spider-Man for an extended period. When Peter regained his powers, he fought alongside Ben as the two faced a returned Norman Osborn. The two Spider-Men fought Norman to a standstill, but Ben sacrificed his life to save Peter. His body succumbed to its clone nature, and degenerated upon Ben’s Death.
1SPIDER-MAN – PETER PARKER
The original, and greatest, member of the spider-family is Peter Parker, the amazing Spider-Man. Bitten by a radioactive spider as a teen, Peter sought to make a few dollars out of his new powers. When he allowed a robber to get past him, he thought little of it until that same robber later killed his beloved Uncle Ben. Taking his uncle’s lessons of “Great Power and Great Responsibility” literally, Peter became a costumed crimefighter. Despite numerous personal tragedies, Peter has become one of the greatest heroes of all time.
Over the years, Spider-Man fought one of the greatest rogues-gallery’s in comic book history and eventually became a member of the Avengers, and even the Fantastic Four. He has gone from high school student, to photographer, to scientist, and now the CEO of a major corporation.
Peter, despite his assertions to the contrary, is an excellent leader and now mentors Miles Morales, Miguel O’Hara and the ever-growing number of spider-based heroes in the Marvel Universe.
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Jinx 