by Joshua H. Stulman

10. Spiderman’s first appearance was Not Amazing Spider-Man # 1

That’s right! Spider-Man’s first appearance was in the final issue (#15, Aug. 1962) of the short lived science fiction comic called “Amazing Fantasy”. It was completely out of place given the “Twilight Zone” type stories that were promoted in the comic. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created the origin story for the character and convinced the publisher, Martin Goodman, to run the super-hero story as test to see if there was enough support to commission a new series. They knew Amazing Fantasy # 15 was the final issue, so they had nothing to lose.

9. Spider-Man is a Scientist too!

Yes, Spider-Man has the proportionate powers of a spider, which means increased strength, agility, speed, extra sensory abilities (Spider- Sense) and clinging to the walls; but that’s not his only powers!

Peter Parker was a teenage science whiz before he had super-powers. He created the unique Spider webbing fluid that can support more than his own body weight. He also created a number of devices including Spider-Tracers, web shooting gauntlets, improvements to his costume for fire proofing or electric absorbing qualities. He has even used basic physics to help him in crime fighting and to get out of “sticky” situations.

In modern comics, Peter Parker has finally used his genius to create a technology development company- a rival to Tony Stark.

8. Peter Parker…Ladies Man?

Peter Parker was originally shown as the outcast wallflower, out of touch with few friends. In fact the opening sequence of his first appearance has his classmates ridiculing him. At first, fellow student Liz Allen pitied him for being picked on, but his dedication to his Aunt May won over girls like Daily Bugle secretary Betty Brant. After gaining his Spider-Powers, Parker gained the confidence he needed and actually started to make some friends (a la Archie). Since then he’s turned into quite a lady’s man, whether it’s the police chief’s daughter (Gwen Stacy), fashion model actress (Mary Jane), or the curios twins next door, everyone loves Peter Parker.

7. Spider-Man’s Parents are S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents

Peter Parker was introduced as an orphaned child being raised by his Aunt and Uncle. It’s not until Amazing Spider-Man Annul # 5 (1968), that we find out that his parents were secretly Agents of S,H.I.E.L.D that were murdered in a plot by the Red Skull. This staggering revelation helped to incorporate more of Spider-Man’s story into the broader Marvel Universe.

6. Spider-man was not the original Marvel Mascot

Rival DC Comics embraced Superman early on in their founding. They even went as far as to print “A Superman Publication” on every DC Comic. However Marvel really didn’t begin marketing like this until their breakout success, the Fantastic Four in 1961. The Human Torch was the break out character depicted as the cool teen super-hero who was a lady’s man and into cars. He was so popular that Marvel changed the sci-fi book “Strange Tales” to become a solo feature for his adventures. However by 1963, it was apparent that readers were wrapped up in the super hero/realistic drama of Spider-Man. As Spider-man became more popular, he was awarded additional comic series and featured in Marvel promotional advertising, so much that Marvel’s animation logo featured Spider-man landing on the Marvel logo. Today, Spider-Man is widely regarded as Stan Lee’s greatest character and most loved by Marvel Comic fans today. Maybe a new Fantastic Four revival will change things.

5. Spider-Man Vs Superman

What do you do if your industry is seeing a rapid decline in readership due to inflation? Well the answer is Super-Hero showdown! Superman Vs The Amazing Spider-Man was released in 1976 as Marvel and DC’s second joint venture after the Wizard of Oz adaption. Although Superman is clearly shown as more powerful, they share some good scenes. The cover by Carmine Infantino and Ross Andru is genius as it equally balances the two heroes. The concept was followed up by several additional team ups,- including a sequel, Batman vs the Hulk, and X-Men vs Teen Titans. After a dispute over the plot of Avengers vs Justice League, the concept was put on hold until revisited in the late 90’s.

4. Peter Parker’s Friends are villains!

A major point of contention between Stan Lee and Steve Ditko that lead to their creative break up was over the nature of evil. Ditko believed it should be depicted as an anonymous presence- evil is always evil. Stan Lee wanted the villains to be conflicted stories that humanized the personal struggle of the individual- plus it just makes a better story if your best friend is secretly your worst enemy.

Here’s just a few of Peter Parker’s friends that have become his nemesis:

Harry Osborn– Green Goblin II (Amazing Spider-Man #136)

Ned Leeds– Hobgoblin (Amazing Spider-Man # 238)

Flash Thompson– Venom (Amazing Fantasy # 15 as a bully, Amazing Spider-Man # 654 as Agent Venom)

Professor Warren– The Jackal (Amazing Spider-Man # 129)

Jonah Jameson– Daily Bugle Publisher (Amazing Spider-Man # 1), funded the Spider-Slayers in Amazing Spider-Man # 25, Scorpion in Amazing Spider-Man # 19-20, and the Human Fly in Amazing Spider-Man Annual # 10.

3. Aunt May knows his secret identity

Amazing Spider-Man # 400 featured the revelation by Aunt May that she has always known Peter was Spider-man. Apparently she’s not as clueless as we all thought. She just hated Spider-man so much because she was worried for her nephew’s safety.

2. Spider-Man was a new look at an old concept

The concept behind Spider-Man was really an old idea before his Marvel debut in 1962. The idea of a boy transforming into a Super hero goes back to Captain Marvel (1939) while heroes with insect related powers go back to the beginning of comics the most popular insect hero was the Blue Beetle (1939). Even Superman’s fantastic powers were compared to real world examples from grasshoppers to ants in Superman # 1 (1939).

However it was Jack Kirby and Joe Simon’s The Fly (1959) that really paved the way for Spider-Man. Here, The Fly was secretly the orphaned boy Tommy Troy, who found a magical fly shaped ring that allowed him to turn into an adult hero. In Jack Kirby’s original pitch for Spider-Man, he reused this premise but included a web-shooting gun. Later Steve Ditko would re-work the entire costume and replaced the web gun with wrist web shooters (similar to Spider-Queen from The Eagle # 2 1941) to create the Spider-Man we know today.

1. Spider-Man is his own worst enemy!

Whether it’s as Peter Parker or as Spider-Man, he’s always finding new ways to screw up. Most of the time it’s due to his immaturity and stubbornness. As much of a genius as he is, Spider-Man is always jumping to conclusions and not taking the time to think things through. As Spider-Man this cost him both membership in the Fantastic Four and Avengers teams. It has been the source of countless break ups in his romantic life, as well as turning tense situations into worst. From further enraging villains to sabotaging numerous points of reconciliation with nemesis, J. Jonah Jameson; Spider-Man is just as fallible as any of us. And that’s the secret of his success!

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Joshua H. Stulman

Owner, BrooklynComicShop.com