History Comicbook / SpiderMan

* ARiddleWrappedInAMysteryInsideAnEnigma: In ''The Amazing Spider-Man #26'', the narrator asks: Can Spider-Man solve this dark riddle, cloaked within a grim puzzle, hidden beneath the shadows of a deadly enigma??

* TalkingIsAFreeAction: And Spidey can keep it up all day.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
** The original Stan Lee/Steve Ditko run actually reads quite differently from later versions. The characters, for instance, look quite different. From her more recent depictions, you'd never guess that Gwen Stacy started out as [[http://www.superdickery.com/gwen-stacy-is-like-the-village-bicycle/ this]] kind of character. Likewise, her personality was also a good bit colder. Peter Parker himself was drawn to look fairly plain whereas John Romita Sr. made him quite handsome.
** From the way the Aesop WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility is emphasized (with some likening it to Batman's "My parents are dead!"), it is often surprising how underplayed it is in the early stories. For one thing, the Aesop was never spoken by Peter out loud nor attributed to Uncle Ben, it comes from the narrative captions at the end of ''Amazing Fantasy #15'' and later writers would {{Retcon}} this into a message Uncle Ben told Peter. For instance, Issue 1 of ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' has Peter trying to work as a kind of performing artist in New York and parlay his superheroics into some form of income, which belies the impression from later adaptation that Uncle Ben's aesop transformed him overnight into a monkish commitment to superheroism. In fact, for most of the run, Peter was constantly trying back and forth to sort out his life, with the basic impression being that Peter was always muddled and divided about how his life would be like.

* {{Deconstruction}}: Before ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' bulldozed the entire genre, ''Spider-Man'' picked apart multiple aspects of being a superhero. As it turns out, carrying the kind of responsibility of protecting New York City and balancing a normal life ends up causing Peter Parker more problems than it's worth. In the earlier issues, Peter's seen as aloof and unwilling to commit to anyone in his personal life, while Spider-Man is feared by the public at large by the nature of being a masked vigilante.

* '''''Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man''''': The title "''The Spectacular Spider-Man''" was originally used for a short-lived magazine in late 1968, in which Lee and Romita wrote black-and-white stories dealing with Peter, Gwen, MJ, and Norman Osborn. A story from this magazine was later adapted into the pages of ''Amazing'' during Conway's first issues. In 1976, owing to the greater demand for Spider-Man, and with the blessing of Stan Lee, Gerry Conway launched Spider-Man's first, and longest-lasting, second title (Volume 1 lasted from 1976 -- 1998, dropping the "Peter Parker" portion with #134 {January 1988}; Volume 2 lasted from 2003 -- 2005; and Volume 3 -- with the re-added "Peter Parker" prefix -- from 2017 -- 2018). '''Creator/BillMantlo''' became the most prominent writer during its first 100 issues. Mantlo would never write the main title, but he established the prestige of the second series writing smaller character-centric stories, which were often innovative. Mantlo's most famous story is ''The Owl/Octopus War'' (#73 -- #79), which had Spider-Man and Black Cat caught up in a gang war between The Owl and Dr. Octopus, getting Black Cat injured in the process; the battle between Spider-Man and Dr. Octopus is considered one of the classics. Another notable issue is when Peter revealed his identity to Black Cat, to her consternation that her supposed "idealized match" was a simple guy from Queens. During his run, Mantlo brought in ''ComicBook/WhiteTiger'', a character he had co-created earlier, as Spider-Man's regular sidekick and ally. He also created and introduced ''Comicbook/CloakAndDagger'' in Issue #64, who later went on to become prominent side characters and spin-offs. Other writers who cut their teeth on ''Spectacular'' include Roger Stern and J. M. [=DeMatteis=], and the title became known and celebrated as a proving ground.

* '''Creator/RogerStern's Spider-Man''' (1981-1984) : Roger Stern originally worked on the smaller, character-centric ''Spectacular'' title before taking over ''Amazing''. He had contributed a fill-in issue (#206) between Wolfman and O'Neill's runs but officially took over from #224 onwards. His run is notable for pitting Spider-Man [[RoguesGalleryTransplant against other villains in the Marvel Universe]], including the Foolkiller (an enemy of ComicBook/TheDefenders), the Juggernaut (from the ComicBook/XMen) Mr. Hyde (an enemy of ComicBook/TheAvengers) and The Mad Thinker (an enemy of ComicBook/FantasticFour). He also outlined the origin of the Vulture, introduced the Felicia and Peter romance, and brought Mary Jane back to the regular continuity, dropping the first hints of her backstory (which Stern conceptualized and outlined):

* '''ComicBook/SecretWars1984:''' This landmark first crossover event had Spider-Man play a major role. Tie-in issues by Roger Stern leading-in and leading-out of the event proved to be his final issues, while plot threads dealing with its major developments became the opening story arc of the succeeding run. The Beyonder plucks Spider-Man and other heroes by drawing them to the sheep farm in Central Park, where an alien construct and transporter takes them to the edge of the galaxy to Battleworld. Spider-Man and his rogues Dr. Octopus and the Lizard feature in the story. After one major fight with supervillains maxes out his web-shooters and tears his costume, Spider-Man goes to a secret room in the conquered Doombase, where a machine, in response to his desire to fix his costume, drops a mysterious black goo. This ends up covering Spider-Man completely, changing into an all-black outfit with white eyes, giant white spiders connected on the front and back, and unlimited webbing. The symbiote was originally a proposed new costume design pitched by a fan, which EIC Creator/JimShooter (who wrote ''Secret Wars'') purchased, and since the miniseries was a merch-driven tie-in, having Spider-Man get a new costume made sense. The actual nature of the Symbiote, its mysterious powers and origins would become a major StoryArc of Spider-Man titles for the next 15 years or so.

* '''ComicBook/BrandNewDay''' (2008-2010): The era immediately following OMD was headed by a team of writers (Dan Slott, Marc Guggenheim, Creator/MarkWaid, Fred van Lente, Bob Gale, Zeb Wells). The decision was taken to cancel the second series (Sensational Spider-Man and Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man) and instead publish ASM three times a month. Different writers would rotate and contribute different arcs and stories. Important developments in this time were the introduction of new members to Peter's supporting cast -- Lilly Hollister, Norah Winters, Carlie Cooper, and J. Jonah Jameson Sr. (Flat Top's Dad, and the future Mr. Aunt May, which meant that Peter and Jonah were officially related, to their mutual chagrin). New villains introduced are Screwball, Mr. Negative, Jackpot, Menace, Overdrive. Other important developments are Flash Thompson whose origins were now retconned, changing him from a Vietnam veteran to a veteran of the Iraq War and a paraplegic, setting the foundation for his conversion to Agent Venom. Notable stories include Mark Waid's "Unscheduled Stop" (ASM #578-579) and Dan Slott's "New Ways to Die", "The Gauntlet and Grim Hunt" which saw the resurrection of Kraven the Hunter, several classic rogues returning in a DarkerAndEdgier fashion, as well as a revival of the Sinister Six led by a Doctor Octopus whose body was now decaying, driving him to go postal. The retcon of the removal of the marriage led to Mary Jane being PutOnABus for some 40 odd issues (the second time following the Wolfman-O'Neill era), and the mechanics of the new status-quo was explained in ''ComicBook/OneMomentInTime'' by Creator/JoeQuesada. By the end of this era, many of the original writers moved on to other projects, while Dan Slott was given the go-ahead to become the main writer of ASM. Another notable feature was Creator/StanLee writing back-up stories -- "Spidey Super Sundays" (art by Marcos Martin) which were non-canon short strips printed as a backup feature (and later printed as a separate volume collecting all of it). These stories often had Lee making jokes about the ambiguity of Spider-Man's continuity and its many changes.

** Creator/ChipZdarsky meanwhile revived ''Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man'' as the second series starting in 2017. His run included subplots such as Teresa Durand, who might or might not be Peter's long-lost sister. His run also included "My Dinner with Jonah" (Issue #6) where Spider-Man sits down for an interview with J. Jonah Jameson and at the end of which [[spoiler:he reveals his identity to him]] after which they become allies albeit of a very [[VitriolicBestBuds vitriolic kind]].

* "ComicBook/SupermanAndSpiderMan" (1981)

* TheAdjectivalSuperhero: Spidey might have the most adjectives. He has Amazing, Spectacular, Sensational, and his favorite Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. He was called the Bombastic Bag-Man, when he borrowed a Fantastic Four costume with a paper bag as a mask. When Venom acted as him during Dark Reign, Venom was called the Sinister Spider-Man. He is also the Avenging Spider-Man, as a member of the Avengers. And the Fantastic Spider-Man as a member of the FF. And the Superior Spider-Man when [[spoiler:Otto takes over as Spider-Man]]. There's also ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan''.

* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:Harry Osborn, the second Green Goblin in the later-retconned but still well remembered story "Best of Enemies" in ''The Spectacular Spider-Man #200"]].

* AlphaBitch: Liz Allan started as one of these, before she was PutOnABus. Like her ex-boyfriend Flash (see above and below), she had become much more mature when Peter runs into her several years later. Then there's Gwen Stacy in the Ditko era before rewrites changed her personality.

** John Romita Sr's work started out as a close-copy of Ditko's, featuring nine panel pages and such. But as Romita grew more confident with his work and as Ditko's run was further back in the memories of readers, Romita began to space out his work a bit more, allowing for more visual panels, and eventually Romita adopted his own style.
** John Romita Jr's work noticeably improved in the interim between his first run with Roger Stern and his second run after the reboot (mostly with J. Michael Stracynski).
** Todd [=McFarlane's=] work started out fairly standard until proportions and anatomy became more-and-more exaggerated, some would say for the worse. Erik Larsen followed similar trajectory.

* ArtStyleDissonance: ''Spectacular Spider-Man #86'' was published during Assistant Editor's Month, so the gimmick of that issue was that Bob [=DeNatale=] threw out Al Milgrom's artwork in favor of that of Creator/FredHembeck, whose style is far from realistic. The issue's storyline was that the Fly realised he's losing his humanity and seeks revenge upon J. Jonah Jameson and Spider-Man, and the humor is limited to Spidey's usual wisecracks (apart from the humor stemming from Hembeck's art, like the Fly having Xs for eyes when Spider-Man punches him). After the Fly is defeated, Danny Fingeroth (the actual editor of the comic) returns and puts an end to the cartoonish artwork. You can see images from this issue [[http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/peter_parker_the_spectacular_s_73.shtml here]].
* ArtisticLicenseLaw: During one StoryArc, the father of Spider-Man's foe Sandman is framed for the murder of an alternate reality Ben Parker and given a quick death sentence. When the governor (or maybe NYC's mayor) learns that Sandman's going to break out his father, he orders the immediate execution of the man, something that violates a wide range of laws and civil rights protections, and nobody involved in law enforcement bothers to say 'you can't do that; it's illegal'.

* TheBreakfastClubPosterHomage: In ''The Avenging Spider-Man'' #12, Peter and ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} explore Peter's dreams to find out who is trying to infiltrate his brain. At one point, Peter dreams characters into ''The Breakfast Club'', which is introduced [[https://i1.wp.com/www.bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/115.jpg?resize=600%2C447&ssl=1 with a shout-out]] to the original poster. Peter is Brian, redheaded love interest Mary Jane is Claire, jock frenemy Flash is Andrew, Deadpool himself is Bender...and he doesn't know who Allison is, so the person impersonating her must be the villain. It turns out to be Hypno-Master.

** In "The Six Arms Saga", Spidey created a formula to rid himself of his spider-powers, which instead caused him to sprout four extra arms. On no less than three separate occasions he has been forcibly turned into a man-spider hybrid. As if the poor guy didn't have enough to deal with...

* BoxingLessonsForSuperman: During one arc, Spider-Man lost his "spider-sense" ability. After struggling to defeat enemies who he'd normally have no problems handling he realised just how much he'd relied on it in battle and decided to get training in martial arts from Shang-Chi, The Master of Kung-fu. Together they created "The Way of the Spider", a unique martial art based around Spider-Man's unique combination of superpowered strength, speed and agility to compensate for the loss of his spider-sense. When Spider-Man regained his spider-sense he was able to combine his spider-sense with The Way of the Spider to make him an even more dangerous opponent than he was before the loss.

** Spider-Man's origins as a KidHero in high school are given a huge amount of emphasis in the character's portrayal in various media, including recent movies and animated series. Considering this was one of the things that originally made him so unique and relatable, it makes sense to a degree. However, Peter actually graduated from high school and went to college (the fictitious Empire State University) in Issue 28 of the Lee[=/=]Ditko ''Amazing'' run -- only two and a half years after his first appearance. The classic period of Spider-Man as WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld lasted a very short time indeed, and most of his comic exploits from then on were as an early 20s young man, with it taking ''thirteen'' years for him to graduate college. Adaptations tend to emphasize the high school element to the degree that it has arguably become LostInImitation. Brian Michael Bendis took this to the logical extreme in the ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' comics, where 200+ issues were written and completed over a span of a decade without Peter or his class graduating from high school. Meanwhile, the recent Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse films feature the webhead being played by Tom Holland, the youngest actor yet to play Spider-Man, and he's still in high school as of his seventh movie appearance (three of those being solo films) and 6 years of real time.
** The BettyAndVeronica LoveTriangle between Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson that everyone remembers was actually ''very'' short, only lasting a few issues (44-52) before Peter settled on Gwen and Mary Jane became BetaCouple with Harry Osborn, though she would still flirt with Peter and make passes at him later on, which Gwen usually replied with cutting barbs. Her teasing and flirting dialed down when she realized his commitment to Gwen was serious and then MJ was PutOnABus returning semi-regularly from Issue 87 where her dynamic with Gwen was closer to VitriolicBestBuds or "frenemies".

* CarnivalOfKillers: "Identity Crisis" is about Spider-Man being framed for murder and a $5,000,000 bounty on his head, dead or alive. Eventually he assumes several different costumed identities so he can keep up the superhero game without being harassed, but before he thought of that he was fighting off dozens of bounty hunters every day. The guys after the 5 mil ranged from mundane gun nuts and thrill seekers (like the Hunters) to professionals (like the Dealy Boys) to actual costumed villains (like Override and Aura).
* CartesianKarma: This is Peter's problem after he gets his body back following the ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' arc, in which Doctor Octopus controlled his body. Many of his prior relationships are strained, especially that with his former lover, ComicBook/BlackCat, who has made a FaceHeelTurn and doesn't care that it was Octavius in Peter's body when she was attacked.

* ChicAndAwe: Peter reluctantly agrees to go on a blind date with the niece of one of his aunt's friends. He avoided it for weeks beforehand, assuming that the girl needs to go on blind dates cause something is wrong with her. He hears his aunt talking about the girl and opens the door... only to gasp as he sees a red-headed model, Mary-Jane Watson, for the first time.

** ''ComicBook/TheKingpin'' was conceived as a homage to Sydney Greenstreet, a character actor in many Humphrey Bogart films where he often played heavy-set bad guys and gangsters. The Greenstreet resemblances were dialed down after Creator/FrankMiller got to him however.
** Gwen Stacy's original appearance in Creator/SteveDitko's page was based on Creator/VeronicaLake. After her character evolution, later writers modeled her design on blonde actresses in Creator/AlfredHitchcock films especially Kim Novak in ''Film/{{Vertigo}}'' (who as Madeleine wears a similar beige coat akin to what she wore in her final comic).

* ContinuityReboot: ''One More Day'' is essentially the [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths COIE]] of ''Spider-Man'' dividing the history of 616 Spider-Man into two distinct eras (Pre and Post-OMD). Of course EIC Quesada and others at Marvel disagree (since it's part of their brand identity [[OrwellianRetcon they do not]] ContinuityReboot like DC and they are sure not to call it reboots when they do it). According to Quesada every story Pre-OMD still happened the same way way but Peter and MJ weren't married but rather lived together. But as JMS and others note, the Post-OMD retcon fundamentally altered and changed the characters and moments of multiple stories for more than twenty years.

** Part of Mephisto's deal had Peter's identity becoming secret again, but OMD and the follow-up ''One Moment in Time'' (which is essentially a reboot and retelling of OMD) created a ContinuitySnarl where according to the story, Dr. Strange who erased everyone's memories of Peter Parker being Spider-Man did so for those who didn't know the identity before Civil War, but this doesn't explain how Norman Osborn and Black Cat forgot his identity despite knowing his identity well before that.

* CoversAlwaysLie: The cover of ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' #256 shows the White Rabbit riding a mechanical rabbit that is firing gatling guns. In the story, there is a mechanical rabbit with a different design that is only used for transportation.

* DarkerAndEdgier: The tone of the Spider-Man comics in the original 100 issues run was generally light-hearted and grounded but it could vary within issues to something comedic to dark, angsty, and violent stories. Creator/GerryConway's run on Spider-Man was significantly darker than Lee and Romita's (featuring major character death, psychological breakdowns and breaking up of friendships) and writers after him also balanced extremes in Peter's life.

** Gerry Conway's late 1980s, early 1990s ''Spectacular Spider-Man'' run was built upon the concept of "A Day In the Limelight", as far as his run centering around the Joe Robertson, a longtime supporting cast member of Spider-Man. Similarly, the only Spider-Man stories by loathed writer Howard Mackie that are liked by fans are the ones that had Howard focusing on the supporting cast members.

* DependingOnTheWriter: Just how strong is Spider-Man? Current canon says he can lift about 25 tons, previously it was 10 tons, but he's been regularly shown struggling with weights that were far lower than that (such as being unable to fully lift a passenger car off the ground) or being physically outmatched by the Kingpin (who's only a BadassNormal). The latter is usually explained as Spider-Man holding back so as not to injure Kingpin, but that doesn't explain why he's shown being unable to escape being grappled. And on other occassions, Spider-Man has been shown performing feats of strength that greatly exceed his state limit, like holding up an entire building.

** Venom is currently undergoing this in recent titles since much of the role that he originally occupied, as a scary murderous villain, ShadowArchetype and EvilCounterpart to Spider-Man and AntiHeroSubstitute were later given to Carnage, Kaine, Superior Spider-Man and Ben Reilly alongside a slew of other new characters who have Spider powers like Miles Morales and Silk in the mainline canon. As such Venom is reinterpreted into a new mythos and identity separate for itself.
** The Hobgoblin was invented by Roger Stern as a variant of Norman Osborn's Green Goblin, a popular villain with many LegacyCharacter after him taking on the identity but all seen as pretenders to his crown. Stern saw Hobgoblin as a master criminal without insanity and as a new kind of goblin that could be Norman's long-term replacement after he had been killed off. However by the time of TheNineties, Norman had come BackFromTheDead and the new Norman while still insane was also a high-functioning sociopath and master plotter and planner. Not only was the Green Goblin back but the advantages that the Hobgoblin supposedly had over Norman had been erased, and as such Roderick Kingsley is reinterpreted in recent comics as a master-criminal networking fixer who creates identities to loan/borrow/buy for other criminals while Norman has bought out Kingsley's company and established himself as top goblin.

** From the way the aesop WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility is emphasized (with some liken it to Batman's "My parents are dead!"), it is often surprising how underplayed it is in the early stories. For one thing, the aesop was never spoken by Peter out loud nor attributed to Uncle Ben, it comes from the narrative captions at the end of ''Amazing Fantasy #15'' and later writers would {{Retcon}} this into a message Uncle Ben told Peter. For instance, Issue 1 of ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' has Peter trying to work as a kind of performing artist in New York and parlay his superheroics into some form of income, which belies the impression from later adaptation that Uncle Ben's aesop transformed him overnight into a monkish commitment to superheroism. In fact, for most of the run, Peter was constantly trying back and forth to sort out his life, with the basic impression being that Peter was always muddled and divided about how his life would be like.

** The original "If this be my destiny" Master Planner arc was this for Spider-Man's entire high-school arc. His Aunt May is sick, he has to fight the Master Planner (Dr. Octopus), and he's just starting in college. Despite being at his lowest ebb with virtually no way to fight back, Peter overcomes the odds, defeats and scares Dr. Octopus and exposes him as the Planner, he finally gets one over JJJ (negotiating a raise), maturely gives up on Betty Brant and passes by, and saves his Aunt. It was the first unambiguous triumph Spider-Man had after many half-hearted back-and-forth failures in the early run and it's still one of the few outright positive moments in all the books.

* EnlightenedAntagonist: Enigma aka Tara Virango from ''Peter Parker: Spider-Man'' (issues 48 and 49, ''The Big Question'' and ''The Big Answer'') is a woman from Bangladesh who gained supernatural powers and a mystical connection to the Buddhist goddess Tara after being infected with a nano-virus (she is a survivor of an environmental disaster during which her native village was exposed to the viral outbreak). She starts out as a semi-antagonist to Spider-Man, having stolen the precious Star of Persia diamond and even physically attacking Peter on one occasion. However, he soon learns that her motives are noble: she seeks to prove that the outbreak was not an accident, but a deliberate release of a biological agent ordered by the {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s of the company that developed the virus (and the reason why she stole the diamond was that she wanted to demand a large compensation to the survivors to be paid as ransom for it). Once Spider-Man realizes the truth, he assumes Enigma's side, and helps her defeat the corporate executives.

* FaithInTheFoe: Spidey has been framed for murder, again. And Abe Jenkins, formerly The Beetle, now MACH-1, is certain of his innocence, because he knows who Spidey is as a hero.

* FirstGirlWins: Spider-Man's earliest love interest Betty Brant didn't become his long term love and the two characters have basically settled into being "best friends". Gwen Stacy was his first real relationship and the first girl he fell in love with, while Mary Jane Watson was the first girl Peter proposed to, and the only one to say yes (which remains true even Post-OMD since the wedding nearly did happen) for the time being.

* FromShameHeroism: Peter Parker tried to turn his newfound powers into a means of making money. But when the fight promoter stiffs him on the payout, Peter turns his back when the promoter is robbed, letting the theif escape. This comes back to bite him hard, when he comes home to find his Uncle Ben murdered. Enraged, Peter dons his Spider-Man costume and pursues the robber, only to find that the man who murdered Uncle Ben is the same robber he chose not to stop, earlier. Now, Peter serves as Spider-Man because he fears that not acting to help others could cost him even more.

* GirlNextDoor: Gwen Stacy, originally. [[AdaptationDistillation Mary Jane, in all versions but the original.]] Amusingly Mary Jane was ''literally'' a girl next door in the original, as the niece of Aunt May's next-door neighbor. Gwen came from a totally different social background: her father was a respected elder citizen of New York who belonged to the same gentlemen's club as millionaires J. Jonah Jameson and Norman Osborn. Her boyfriend before Peter was Harry Osborn, prospective heir of Norman, while MJ came from the same working-class Queens background that Peter did.
* GoodColorsEvilColors: In the first 25 issues of Amazing Spider-Man where many classic villains debuted, almost all of them incorporate the color green. Chameleon, Vulture, Tinkerer, Doctor Octopus, the Sandman, the Lizard, Living Brain, Electro, the Big Man, Mysterio, The Green Goblin and the Scorpion all had green as a part of their overall look (Kraven the Hunter was the most notable exception). Even villains Spidey fought from other comics like Doctor Doom, the Ringmaster and the Beetle all prominently sported green. The creators may have realized this eventually, as many of the classic villains who debuted in the next 25 issues (Crime-Master, Molten Man, the Looter, the Rhino, the Shocker, Kingpin) started to subvert the trend.

* HerCodeNameWasMarySue: Roger Stern's "The Daydreamers" (Amazing Spider-Man #246) shows Felicia Hardy, Jameson, Mary Jane, Peter Parker having a series of fantasies about their ideal world, in each of them they are larger-than-life, special, important, and come up on top.
* HeroesWantRedheads: The woman Peter eventually married and his most prominent love interest to date, is the redheaded Mary Jane. Though if you look at his list of girlfriends you will find that a lot of them [[EveryoneLovesBlondes tend to be blonde]] (Liz Allan, Gwen Stacy, Felicia Hardy, Carlie Cooper according to some artists).

** Many characters iconic to the ''Spider-Man'' franchise don't actually appear until much later in the comic's run even if they were mentioned early. For instance, Mary Jane Watson was mentioned as early as Issue #15 and appeared (with her face obscured) in Issue #25 and another appearance in the annual but she doesn't have her first full appearance until issue 42. Harry Osborn, Peter's best friend, and Gwen Stacy don't appear until Peter goes to college in Issue #28 but adaptations make them into high school students anyway.
** The Green Goblin, Spider-Man's ArchEnemy appeared in Issue 13 after the likes of Vulture, Mysterio, and the rest. The Kingpin comes more than 50 issues later. Black Cat appeared more than 190 issues in. Venom doesn't make his first real appearance until issue 299 in 1988, over 25 years of publication later.

* InsecureProtagonistArrogantAntagonist: Peter was just a 16 year old kid who was still trying to figure out being a hero and having superpowers on top of being a high school student and keeping up with his grades and trying to have some sort of social life. Meanwhile, he was put up against adult villains like ComicBook/TheKingpin, a mob boss who confidently ran a vast criminal empire, or the MadScientist ComicBook/DoctorOctopus. While Spider-Man has grown substantially more confidant over the years, he tends to revert to this whenever he's put up against some of his more powerful foes, like [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn the Green Goblin]] or Morlon, since they know his secrets and are exceptionally dangerous foes.
* InterclassFriendship: During the early days of the series, Peter Parker, living with his widow aunt May Parker, was friends with Harry Osborn, son of [[CorruptCorporateExecutive evil business man]] Norman Osborn. Sadly, the friendship falls apart thanks to Harry learning his dad was the Green Goblin and Peter was Spider-Man and thinking he killed him. Indeed, in Peter's circle in college, the only one of his friends who shared his working-class background was ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Peter Parker had this attitude after he got bitten by a spider, saying that all he cares about is himself and Uncle Ben and Aunt May, and the rest can go to hell. An attitude that has its logical and tragic consequence when it leads directly to the death of his father-figure. This attitude of selfishness is also something shared by many of Peter's supporting cast and on some level, all his villains. Jameson in particular, though he also navigates it somewhat.

* JackOfAllStats: Various other heroes outrank Spidey in combat skill, intelligence, speed, reach or strength, but he's got enough skill in all these areas to handle most situations and bad guys.
* JerkJock: Flash Thompson. Later subverted in that he smartened up and returned from his overseas military service a much better man. Then Green Goblin put him in a coma and he developed amnesia and lost all memories from the point that he entered the service. Luckily, he reverted back when he rejoined up and lost his legs.

** Aunt May in the classical era loved Peter but hated Spider-Man albeit she mellowed down later, and in ''Amazing Spider-Man 400'', claimed to have been a SecretSecretKeeper for some time. When this was retconned it was back to the same old same old until JMS had her learn his secret leading her to overcome her suspicions over Spider-Man, making up for it (by cancelling her subscription to the Daily Bugle), becoming closer to Peter, and then when that was retconned, her Post-OMD version on the whole has no animus against Spider-Man's identity, and likewise Spider-Man now has public favor anyway.

** In a non-romantic sense, Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a huge fan of Spider-Man while usually being a bully to Peter and thinks he's the coolest guy on the planet, albeit as Peter notes, not usually for the right reasons in that he likes Spider-Man for being strong powerful and beating people up i.e. seeing him as another kind of bully. Generally, he grows out of it and he ends up friends with Peter in his older years and cited Spider-Man as an inspiration for joining the army and becoming a serviceman. In ''Go Down Swinging'', [[spoiler:Flash learns Peter is Spider-Man and dies shortly after but calls out Peter as his friend and hero]].

** Dr. Octopus tends to jump around from being the strongest around, to destroying New York / The World, to ''ruling'' New York / The World, proving he's the smartest, or being a crime lord. {{Justified|Trope}} when you take his brain damage into account. Not quite MotiveDecay when you consider his ''original'' EvilPlan was to... hold some hospital staff hostage, followed by some odd scheme to take over a nuclear power plant and rebuild it in his own image, for a purpose whose details were never specified. He then started committing crimes solely to lure Spider-Man into a fight in order to avenge his past defeats.

* NotAllowedToGrowUp: Poor Peter Parker will probably never hit his 40s. In the regular 616 Continuity, Peter is exactly 30 years old, and out of college while ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'', the cartoon adaptations and other continuity focused entirely on his high-school days. Early Marvel Universe comics averted ComicBookTime and had the characters advance and age in the comics, this applied to the Fantastic Four, Dr. Strange and the X-Men. As such Peter remains a mid-20s to early-30s guy in the mainstream comics largely for the sake of GrandfatherClause even if editors and writers have said that he's essentially an adolescent character and KidHero, and on account of LostInImitation stated above, the Spider-Man of the PopCulturalOsmosis is either a teen hero or a college kid. As such, while Peter ''has'' grown up from a teenager to a young adult, the writers generally try to enforce StatusQuoIsGod to keep Peter's lifestyle and personality young and relatable. For example: Peter was, at the time of his introduction, around the same age as the original X-Men, yet all of them are already in their early-mid thirties while Peter was only in his mid-twenties after ''Civil War'', and only come 2022 did he ''finally'' turn 30 years old in his [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2022 900th issue]]. Likewise, Spider-Man was already a hero when the Avengers were a start-up, and in Issue #3, Iron Man is the one coming to him asking for his help (alongside the Fantastic Four and the X-Men) only for Peter to insist he's busy whereas more recently the Avengers and Iron Man are established as senior figures to him. As a side effect, this means that all Spidey stories set in between the Seventies [[labelnote: Note]]when Peter was 20-something and attending college[[/labelnote]] to the 2000's took place over a period of ''at most'' five or six years InUniverse, which is really rather cramped.

** Exaggerated in the "Learning to Crawl" sideseries published after Peter got his body back from Otto Octavius. Set in the days right after Peter first got bit, and focusing on his earliest trials of being Spider-Man and engaging with another budding superhero/villain named Clash, the series features art that's a deliberate throwback to the Lee/Ditko era, while simultaneously talking about posting Spider-Man's first fight with Crusher Hogan on [[BlandNameProduct MeTube]], texting, going viral, etc.

* RealPlaceBackground: The Marvel Universe was renowned for being set in New York as opposed to the fictional cities of DC heroes, but even then Spider-Man still stood out originally for being the most tied to the city since the Fantastic Four had global and cosmic adventures while Dr. Strange likewise was an esoteric figure:

** Notably both Norman and Goblin, and Harry Osborn became sympathetic and still from time to time affect some sympathetic traits (albeit in the case of Norman since TheNineties he's been shown as pure unadulterated scum). Recent examples include Eddie Brock and [[spoiler:Dr. Octopus somewhat]]. Even The Sandman has done a turn or two as a hero.
** This is also the case of Spider-Man's supporting cast. Most obviously Flash Thompson, Peter's high school bully who via CharacterDevelopment becomes a better person, apologizes to Peter [[spoiler:and later dies a hero]]. Then there's J. Jonah Jameson who Peter respects for his good qualities and HiddenHeartOfGold but begrudges for his dislike of Spider-Man and his smear tactics. [[spoiler: Though even JJJ has turned around now after Peter revealed his identity to him]]

** "ComicBook/KravensLastHunt" made Kraven a badass after several decades of being a loser villain. Similarly, Electro was given a major power increase in ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #425 to allow him Magneto-esque control over electromagnetic energies, Harry Osborn when he's AxCrazy, Roderick Kingsley when he became Hobgoblin.

** "The Origin of the Species" arc gives one to Spidey after he almost loses it when [[spoiler:he's tricked by the Chameleon to think Lily Hollister's baby was killed while he was trying to protect the baby from villains trying to sell it to Octopus. He then starts to hunt all villains in town to avenge the baby and find the one responsible.]]

-->[[spoiler: '''Doc Ock:''' "No...'' [[GrandTheftMe I'm]]'' [[GrandTheftMe Peter Parker]]."]]
** [[spoiler: For those who don't understand, Doc Ock, at death's door, reveals that he's Peter Parker, and the Peter Parker we've been following for the last issues was, in fact, Doc Ock in Peter's body. And now, he can't do anything to stop him.]]

** This happens a lot with these retro-active issues. The other villains in the same mini-series (a man named Undertaker and a suppervillain named Supercharger), despite being Spider-Man's first supervillains, never get any mention (indeed, the Chameleon is still toted as Spider-Man's first supervillain in the comics), and the original villains for ''Untold Tales of Spider-Man'' generally have never reappeared. The exception to this is The Scorcher, (Spider-Man's first black villain), who died within the series.

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatPerks: How Peter was before the fateful day where he learned WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility. Paralleled with Andy/Alpha who plays this trope straight, much to Peter's regret (and slight envy).

One of Creator/MarvelComics' most iconic superheroes, Spider-Man is a comic book character created by Creator/StanLee and Creator/SteveDitko. He first appeared in ''[[ComicBook/AmazingFantasyNumber15 Amazing Fantasy]]'' [[ComicBook/AmazingFantasyNumber15 #15]] (August 1962), which contained his origin story. Geeky OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Peter Parker attends a scientific demonstration and is bitten by a spider made radioactive by the experimental device, passing on the proportionate strength, speed, agility, and senses of a spider. At first, [[PersonalGainHurts he uses his power for self-gain]]. After his Uncle Ben is shot by a mugger that he could have stopped, Peter learns that [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility with great power must also come great responsibility]], and becomes the Amazing Spider-Man!

One of Creator/MarvelComics' most iconic superheroes, Spider-Man is a comic book character created by Creator/StanLee and Creator/SteveDitko. He first appeared in ''[[ComicBook/AmazingFantasyNumber15 Amazing Fantasy]]'' [[ComicBook/AmazingFantasyNumber15 #15]] (August 1962), which contained his origin story. Geeky OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Peter Parker attends a scientific demonstration and is bitten by a spider made radioactive by the experimental device, passing on the proportionate strength, speed, agility, and senses of a spider. At first [[PersonalGainHurts he uses his power for self-gain]]. After his Uncle Ben is shot by a mugger that Peter could have stopped, he learns that [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility with great power must also come great responsibility]], and becomes the Amazing Spider-Man!

* UnderestimatingBadassery: Some opponents, on encountering him for the first time, look at his build and don't think he's much of a threat. (He's of average height and weighs about 160). However, there's a lot of strength packed into his frame. On his first encounter with the Wrecking Crew, he knocked Piledriver out cold with a single punch. The Wrecker was impressed, and immediately put some distance between him and Spidey.

* '''''Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man''''': The title "''The Spectacular Spider-Man''" was originally used for a short-lived magazine in late 1968, in which Lee and Romita wrote black-and-white non-canon stories dealing with Peter, Gwen, MJ, and Norman Osborn. A story from this magazine was later adapted into the pages of ''Amazing'' during Conway's first issues. In 1976, owing to the greater demand for Spider-Man, and with the blessing of Stan Lee, Gerry Conway launched Spider-Man's first, and longest-lasting, second title (Volume 1 lasted from 1976 -- 1998, dropping the "Peter Parker" portion with #134 {January 1988}; Volume 2 lasted from 2003 -- 2005; and Volume 3 -- with the re-added "Peter Parker" prefix -- from 2017 -- 2018). '''Creator/BillMantlo''' became the most prominent writer during its first 100 issues. Mantlo would never write the main title, but he established the prestige of the second series writing smaller character-centric stories, which were often innovative. Mantlo's most famous story is ''The Owl/Octopus War'' (#73 -- #79), which had Spider-Man and Black Cat caught up in a gang war between The Owl and Dr. Octopus, getting Black Cat injured in the process; the battle between Spider-Man and Dr. Octopus is considered one of the classics. Another notable issue is when Peter revealed his identity to Black Cat, to her consternation that her supposed "idealized match" was a simple guy from Queens. During his run, Mantlo brought in ''ComicBook/WhiteTiger'', a character he had co-created earlier, as Spider-Man's regular sidekick and ally. He also created and introduced ''Comicbook/CloakAndDagger'' in Issue #64, who later went on to become prominent side characters and spin-offs. Other writers who cut their teeth on ''Spectacular'' include Roger Stern and J. M. [=DeMatteis=], and the title became known and celebrated as a proving ground.

%% Image moved to this page per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1452461522049893300

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/07c626ba_67f7_4b81_86f7_34f6ea5d7726.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[ComicBook/AmazingFantasyNumber15 Spidey's first appearance, August 1962.]][[note]]Cover by Creator/JackKirby[[/note]] ]]

** Spider-Man's origins as a KidHero in high school are given a huge amount of emphasis in the character's portrayal in various media, including recent movies and animated series. Considering this was one of the things that originally made him so unique and relatable, this makes sense to a degree. However, Peter actually graduated from high school and went to college (the fictitious Empire State University) in Issue 28 of the Lee[=/=]Ditko ''Amazing'' run -- only two and a half years after his first appearance. The classic period of Spider-Man as WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld lasted a very short time indeed, and most of his comic exploits from then on were as an early 20s young man, with it taking ''thirteen'' years for him to graduate college. Adaptations tend to emphasize the high school element to the degree that it has arguably become LostInImitation. Brian Michael Bendis took this to the logical extreme in the ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' comics, where 200+ issues were written and completed over a span of a decade without Peter or his class graduating from high school. Meanwhile, the recent Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse films feature the webhead being played by Tom Holland, the youngest actor yet to play Spider-Man, and he's still in high school as of his seventh movie appearance (three of those being solo films) and 6 years of real time.

* FanserviceCharacters: [[MsFanservice Mary]] [[FanserviceModel Jane]] [[HeadTurningBeauty Watson]] and [[MsFanservice Felicia]] [[HeadTurningBeauty Hardy]]/[[ClassyCatBurglar Black]] [[SexyCatPerson Cat]] provides {{Fanservice}} in their appearances throughout the comics. With MJ being a model and actress and Felicia's [[SpyCatsuit outfit]] as well as her profession as a [[ClassyCatBurglar sexualized cat thief]] and a [[FemmeFatale seductress]], it comes with the job.

* GirlNextDoor: Gwen Stacy, originally. [[AdaptationDistillation Mary Jane, in all versions but the original.]] Amusingly Mary Jane was ''literally'' a girl next door in the original, as the niece of Aunt May's next-door neighbor. Gwen came from a totally different social background: her father was a respected elder citizen of New York who belonged to the same gentlemen's club as millionaires J. Jonah Jameson and Norman Osborn. Her boyfriend before Peter was Harry Osborn, prospective heir of the latter while MJ came from the same working-class Queens background that Peter did.

* FanserviceCharacters: [[MsFanservice Mary]] [[FanserviceModel Jane]] [[HeadTurningBeauty Watson]] and [[MsFanservice Felicia]] [[HeadTurningBeauty Hardy]]/[[ClassyCatBurglar Black]] [[SexyCatPerson Cat]] provides {{Fanservice}} in their appearances throughout the comics. With MJ being a [[FashionModel model]] and actress and Felicia's [[SpyCatsuit outfit]] as well as her profession as a [[ClassyCatBurglar sexualized cat thief]] and a [[FemmeFatale seductress]], it comes with the job.

* '''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManWellsAndRomitaJr:''' For Spider-Man's 60th Anniversary, Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr. take over the series, relaunching with a new volume.

* NotAllowedToGrowUp: Poor Peter Parker will probably never hit his 40s. In the regular 616 Continuity, Peter is exactly 30 years old, and out of college while ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'', the cartoon adaptations and other continuity focused entirely on his high-school days. Early Marvel Universe comics averted ComicBookTime and had the characters advance and age in the comics, this applied to the Fantastic Four, Dr. Strange and the X-Men. As such Peter remains a mid-20s to early-30s guy in the mainstream comics largely for the sake of GrandfatherClause even if editors and writers have said that he's essentially an adolescent character and KidHero, and on account of LostInImitation stated above, the Spider-Man of the PopCulturalOsmosis is either a teen hero or a college kid. As such, while Peter ''has'' grown up from a teenager to a young adult, the writers generally try to enforce StatusQuoIsGod to keep Peter's lifestyle and personality young and relatable. For example: Peter was, at the time of his introduction, around the same age as the original X-Men, yet all of them are already in their early-mid thirties while Peter was only in his mid-twenties after ''Civil War'', and only come 2022 did he ''finally'' turn 30 years old in his [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManWellsAndRomitaJr 900th issue]]. Likewise, Spider-Man was already a hero when the Avengers were a start-up, and in Issue #3, Iron Man is the one coming to him asking for his help (alongside the Fantastic Four and the X-Men) only for Peter to insist he's busy whereas more recently the Avengers and Iron Man are established as senior figures to him. As a side effect, this means that all Spidey stories set in between the Seventies [[labelnote: Note]]when Peter was 20-something and attending college[[/labelnote]] to the 2000's took place over a period of ''at most'' five or six years InUniverse, which is really rather cramped.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[ComicBook/AmazingFantasyNumberFifteen Spidey's first appearance, August 1962.]][[note]]Cover by Creator/JackKirby[[/note]] ]]

One of Creator/MarvelComics' most iconic superheroes, Spider-Man is a comic book character created by Creator/StanLee and Creator/SteveDitko. He first appeared in ''[[ComicBook/AmazingFantasyNumberFifteen Amazing Fantasy]]'' [[ComicBook/AmazingFantasyNumberFifteen #15]] (August 1962), which contained his origin story. Geeky OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Peter Parker attends a scientific demonstration and is bitten by a spider made radioactive by the experimental device, passing on the proportionate strength, speed, agility, and senses of a spider. At first [[PersonalGainHurts he uses his power for self-gain]]. After his Uncle Ben is shot by a mugger that Peter could have stopped, he learns that [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility with great power must also come great responsibility]], and becomes the Amazing Spider-Man!

* NotAllowedToGrowUp: Poor Peter Parker will probably never hit his 30s. In the regular 616 Continuity, Peter is in his mid-20s, and out of college while ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'', the cartoon adaptations and other continuity focused entirely on his high-school days. Early Marvel Universe comics averted ComicBookTime and had the characters advance and age in the comics, this applied to the Fantastic Four, Dr. Strange and the X-Men. As such Peter remains a mid-20s guy in the mainstream comics largely for the sake of GrandfatherClause even if editors and writers have said that he's essentially an adolescent character and KidHero, and on account of LostInImitation stated above, the Spider-Man of the PopCulturalOsmosis is either a teen hero or a college kid. As such, while Peter ''has'' grown up from a teenager to a young adult, the writers generally try to enforce StatusQuoIsGod to keep Peter's lifestyle and personality young and relatable. For example: Peter was, at the time of his introduction, around the same age as the original X-Men, yet all of them are already in their early-mid thirties while Peter was only in his mid-twenties after ''Civil War'', and as of 2017 his last stated age was 28. Likewise, Spider-Man was already a hero when the Avengers were a start-up, and in Issue #3, Iron Man is the one coming to him asking for his help (alongside the Fantastic Four and the X-Men) only for Peter to insist he's busy whereas more recently the Avengers and Iron Man are established as senior figures to him. As a side effect, this means that all Spidey stories set in between the Seventies [[labelnote: Note]]when Peter was 20-something and attending college[[/labelnote]] to the 2000's took place over a period of ''at most'' five or six years InUniverse, which is really rather cramped.

* '''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManWellsAndRomitaJr:''' For Spider-Man's 60th Anniversy, Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr. take over the series, relaunching with a new volume.

* StereotypicalNerd: Peter Parker. A scientific genius from a young age, rather milquetoast from being raised by a loving but elderly couple, and in early appearances socially inept and unfashionable. In his subsequent appearances, though he's gotten ProgressivelyPrettier and more confident, he's retained most of his gadget geek, ScienceHero nerdiness.

** This hit all the cast after Ditko stepped down and Romita Sr. took over. Peter went from [[http://www.writeups.org/wp-content/uploads/Spider-Man-Peter-Parker-Year-One-Marvel-Comics-f.jpg looking like this]] to [[http://media.comicbook.com/uploads1/2015/03/peterparker-128417.png looking like this]] with a [[LanternJawOfJustice much stronger jawline]]. Likewise [[http://www.spidermancrawlspace.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/gwen7.jpg Gwen Stacy]] under Ditko was a PerpetualFrowner with a [[Literature/HarryPotter Malfoy-esque]] sneer transformed into this [[https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/43/2b/ae/432bae0c895e287b23d0b63a309ccbe5.jpg angelic]] beauty. Averted with Mary-Jane Watson who was TheFaceless and TheGhost for most of Ditko's run albeit it was implied that she was quite gorgeous (based on the reactions of Liz Allan and Betty Brant who saw her before Peter did), but it's a RiddleForTheAges how Ditko's version of Mary-Jane would have looked like. Romita had a background in romance comics and naturally tended to make the cast attractive, and this transformed Peter from a regular stereotypical {{Nerd}} to someone considered by the ''many'' women he ends up dating throughout the series as EndearinglyDorky. This coincides with his physical appearance getting upgraded, going from looking like [[Film/RebelWithoutACause Sal Mineo to looking like James Dean]]. Romita's version has actually become Peter's default look in the comics.

** Taken UpToEleven in the "Learning to Crawl" sideseries published after Peter got his body back from Otto Octavius. Set in the days right after Peter first got bit, and focusing on his earliest trials of being Spider-Man and engaging with another budding superhero/villain named Clash, the series features art that's a deliberate throwback to the Lee/Ditko era, while simultaneously talking about posting Spider-Man's first fight with Crusher Hogan on [[BlandNameProduct MeTube]], texting, going viral, etc.

* '''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski'''(2001-2008): Creator/JMichaelStraczynski took over from Amazing Spider-Man Vol 2 #30 and would continue a run that lasted for 7 years, the longest since David Michelinie. He introduced a series of new concepts and ideas. Namely the MythArc of the Spider-Totem, which was unfurled in the opening "Coming Home" storyline that pitched Spider-Man against Morlun, his new villain who was tougher, relentless, and mysterious than many of the villains Spider-Man was used to. Peter also became a high school teacher at this time, returning to his original roots but now from the other side and often spending much of his time helping students and others in the friendly neighborhood even as his stories started flirting with MagicRealism. He also wrote the ''9/11 response issue'' in ASM-36, V2 (which became famous for the entirely black cover by John Romita Jr). His run became celebrated for "The Conversation" (ASM-38), the comic where Aunt May after discovering Peter is Spider-Man finally has a heart to heart talk with her nephew about the lies he has told her since the age of 15 (which much like the retconned Aunt May death issue[[note]]where it was revealed she knew Peter was Spider-Man all along and intended as such in that story[[/note]] is still considered a classic). In Issue #50, Spider-Man and MJ reunite and commit to their relationship again. His later run was affected by a series of stories by other writers, such as Spider-Man officially becoming an Avenger, and having his identity revealed to the world in ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' by Mark Millar which revealed Spider-Man's identity to the world and the consequences of that story led to ''Back in Black'' where Spider-Man and his family became outlaws on the lam. His run ended with ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' (co-written by EIC Joe Quesada who wrote the final two issues) which sparked the third major backlash of Spider-Man history culminating in the end of the Spider-Marriage via an editorially mandated DealWithTheDevil. Supplementing the main series were other storylines in satellite titles: