Spider-Man has always been among the most popular superheroes. In fact, he is ranked #3, right behind Batman at #2 and Superman at #1. Across comic books, cartoons, and movies the web-slinging hero has mesmerized generations of children.
His combination of down-to-earth looks and nerdy persona has always appealed to many a comic book fan. As with every comic book character, there are endless numbers of facts; some mind-blowing, some mildly …dare I say boring?
But whatever else they are, these heroes are an escape, they entice children and adults alike and Spider-Man, especially since his Avengers appearance, is going nowhere, that’s for sure.
Here are some facts about your friendly, neighbourhood Spider-Man.
- Martin Goodman, then head of Marvel, disapproved of Spider-Man’s concept due to the fact that people hate spiders. When Stan Lee presented his idea along with Steve Ditko’s costume design, Martin Goodman replied, “That’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard.”
- Stan Lee and Steve Ditko sneaked him into the comic Amazing Fantasy #15 in August, 1962 anyway for his first appearance. Fans responded by demanding more so that Martin Goodman had to commission Stan Lee to give Marvel’s newest hero his own series already. His first solo title The Amazing Spider-man (Vol. 1) first appeared on shelves in March of 1963 and ended with the 700th issue in December 2012.
- Stan Lee originally wanted a comic book character based on a fly or an insect but in the end he decided to go with a spider. Some of his earlier ideas included: Stick-to-Wall Man, Insect-Man, Fly-Man, and Mosquito-Man.
- Noticed the hyphen in his name? Stan Lee placed it there specifically to avoid the public confusing him with Superman.
- Spider-Man was the first teenaged hero who wasn’t an adult’s sidekick.
- Spider-Man wasn’t Marvel’s first radioactive spider! A month before Spider-Man appeared, there was a story called Journey into Mystery that featured a giant, walking, talking spider.
- He’s been nicknamed Spidey and Web-head.
- The reason Peter Parker lived with his aunt May and uncle Ben is that his parents, Richard and Mary, were government agents operating as members of S.H.I.E.L.D and died in a rigged plane crash. Among their many world-saving adventures, they once saved Wolverine’s life.
- Despite Marvel’s stance of depicting characters as non-religious, Peter and his family are portrayed similarly to Stan Lee’s own Jewish family. Stan Lee has said that Spider-Man is his closest alter-ego. He also placed Peter Parker’s home in the predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Forest Hills in Queens, New York.
- Spider-Man has had many love interests. Some of these include his high school sweetheart Liz Allen; Betty Brant, secretary at the Daily Planet; Marcy Kane who turned out to be an alien; and, of course, the redheaded Mary Jane Watson who he married.
- Strong enough to lift approximately ten tons (about six cars), Spider-Man was the fourth strongest superhero at one point. Only Thor, Hulk, and the Thing were stronger.
- Spider-Man uses his skin’s adhesive ability to keep the mask on his face, thus preventing anyone from removing it and revealing his identity.
- Ever wondered why the city where Spider-Man lives isn’t covered in stringy bits of his webs? According to the comics, his webs dissolve within an hour. And yet they are strong enough to hold the Hulk! He also has three settings: the string that he uses for swinging, a web, and a thick liquid.
- Spider-Man has an IQ of 250. That explains how he has a doctorate and runs Parker Industries.
- Spider-Man can sling webs faster than a bullet flies. He once managed to web and block a gun after the trigger was pulled but before the bullet was fired.
- He appears to be indestructible but it seems that he does have a weakness: the pesticide ethyl chloride.
- Uncle Ben and Gwen Stacy are two of the few comic book characters to die and remain dead.
- Peter Parker sewed a sensor that set off his camera into his Spider-Man costume. That’s how he captured his awesome superhero shots. He also built spider-tracers that not even Tony Stark’s tech could detect.
- Spider-Man has died several times including in the story lines “The Other” and “Superior Spider-Man”.
- One of the histories of Spider-Man has him as a wrestling hero who, after beating Crusher Creel, goes on to parade around in a snazzy costume on TV.
- Spider-Man has had numerous ‘real’ jobs including a high school science teacher, a scientist, and a business owner.
- At one point, Spider-Man had six arms and became a giant spider.
- The Green Goblin actually got Gwen Stacy pregnant and the twins later came back to battle Spider-Man.
- One of Spider-Man’s chief enemies, Venom, was originally a fan creation that was bought by Marvel for $220.
- In the comic “Kraven’s Last Hunt”, Spider-Man survived two weeks buried alive.
- Spider-Man: The Animated Series only featured three punches in the entire series due to major censorship from Fox. References to killing were also not allowed so villains would often say “destroy” instead of “kill” and characters would be sent to alternate dimensions instead of dying.
- Spider-Man is former President of the United States Obama’s favourite superhero. In the comics, they actually meet on Obama’s inauguration day in 2008. There, Spider-Man saves the day when two Obamas show up to the ceremony by revealing his enemy Chameleon is impersonating Obama. The issue in which this story first appeared is New Millennium’s fourth highest selling comic.
- Spider-Man joined the Fantastic Four when the Human Torch died although it was called the Future Foundation at the time. They gave him a black and white suit that he could transform back into his classic Spider-Man suit or into civilian clothes, with his mind. He has also been part of the superhero teams the Secret Defenders, the Outlaws, and, most famously, the Avengers.
- In the PS2 Spider-Man game, a billboard features the pro skateboarder Tony Hawk. When a player approaches it, they hear “Tony Hawk! Hey I skated with that guy”
- If a gamer completes 100% of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 they are gifted with a playable Spider-Man character.
- In the ’90s, Marvel revisited a plot from the 1970s that involved a mad professor of Spider-Man’s who created a clone who died but later rears his head as The Scarlet Spider.
- In the movie “The Amazing Spider-Man”, the high school library, where a battle scene takes place, was constructed of almost 3,000 feet (914m) of fake Styrofoam books with real covers.
- The filming of “The Amazing Spider-Man” took up seven stages on Sony Studios’ Culver City lot. Over 1,000 people were employed in the making of it.
- There is a Broadway musical about him called “Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark”.
- There is a giant Spider-Man hanging upside-down in the lobby of the Sony building in New York.
- Michael Jackson was a huge Spider-Man fan and really wanted play him in the movies. He even approached Stan Lee several times about buying the film rights to the character. When that didn’t work out, he tried to buy Marvel but that didn’t work out either.