History Comicbook / SpiderMan

* ActionDad:
** Osborn himself, though in recent years he's more likely to strap a bomb to his kid and use them as a human shield than he is to protect them, but the original reason he truly came to hate Spider-Man, and why he killed Gwen Stacy, was because he blamed him for his son's second drug overdose, one that nearly killed him.
** Peter Parker has his moments in ''ComicBook/SpiderGirl''. Sure, he may be [[RetiredBadass retired]] and [[HandicappedBadass missing a leg]], but you shouldn't mess with his kids.
** [[TheAtoner Kaine]] also shows this trait from time to time when his "niece" is in danger. Must be genetic.
** Every incarnation of Peter Parker has this to some extent.... Granted, most versions don't have children, but they all have a big blinking button somewhere in their psyche labeled "someone hurt my loved ones", and the majority of the New York underworld can tell when some idiot has pressed it. Hint: the reason the motor-mouthed superhero hasn't talked in the last sixty seconds is because he's using all his superior intellect and enhanced nerve conduction velocity (i.e. ability to think faster than normal) to consider the merits of the 6,000 different ways he intends to hurt you.
** There's also ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManDanSlott'' #645. He's led to believe an infant he was trying to protect is killed. He then proceeds to go on a rampage. It's so bad, that some of his rogues gallery don't believe it...until he comes for them.
* ActionSeries: One of the most well-known bits of escapist fiction to date, and no doubt one of the most flagrant examples of the trope.
* ActuallyADoombot:
** Spider-Man's enemy Mysterio uses this trick a lot too. Seeing as Mysterio is also fond of holograms and illusions, Spider-Man often cannot tell if he facing the real Mysterio, an illusion, or a robot, and even worse, the same often goes for a lot of other stuff he has to fight when the villain is involved.
*** This has become more complex since the original Mysterio acquired a couple of imitators who also use this identity. And they don't really get along with each other. A storyline in ''Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'' #11-13 (October-December, 2006) had all three Mysterios independently seeking a confrontation with Spidey, resulting in a rather complicated MeleeATrois scenario. Spidey has trouble telling which is which and is further confused because the original was supposed to be dead.
*** In ''ComicBook/SpiderMen'', Mysterio doesn't actually have a ComicBook/UltimateMarvel counterpart. "Ultimate Mysterio" is actually a robot double he was controlling all along.
*** One reason this trick works so often is that Mysterio is a well-established [[EvilGenius technical genius.]] His robots are [[MasterOfIllusion incredibly]] [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots realistic]], so much so that in the ''Guardian Devil'' story arc by Creator/KevinSmith, he manages to convince ''Characters/{{Daredevil|MattMurdock}}'', the man who can [[SuperSenses hear heartbeats,]] into believing that Mysterio is dead.
** Perhaps the most infamous usage of this trick in Spider-Man history is the first "death" of Aunt May. She peacefully died of old age in a realistic and tasteful manner; Peter and the other characters mourned her and eventually moved on. However, later editor-in-chief Bob Harras ''demanded'' that she be brought back to life. So, Aunt May was found alive and it was revealed that [[Characters/MarvelComicsNormanOsborn Norman Osborn]] had hired an actress to impersonate Aunt May perfectly, and kept up the charade even on her deathbed, meaning Peter (and the readers) cried over a total stranger. Even worse it contraindicated the one-shot ''Osborn Journal'', presented as Norman's private account detailing his plans behind the Clone Saga, which had Norman specifically state he had nothing to do with May's death ''even if he wished he had''.
** Another famed Spidey villain who does this trick in the Hobgoblin, Roderick Kingsley. Despite being souped up with the Goblin Formula, he isn't stupid -- he'll send out random schmoes powered up and brainwashed to do his bidding and if they die, no skin off his back. If they do good, then he's more than willing to let them keep going, but if they screw up, he'll step in personally and kill the schmook himself. Just ask Jason Macendale... oh, wait...
*** And one early issue has Roderick send an actual robot, ''then'' a brainwashed dupe, to attack people.
** In the storyline ''ComicBook/{{Hunted}}'', it is suggested that all appearances of Kraven the Hunter since the end of ''ComicBook/GrimHunt'' was actually one of his 87 clones. This seemingly includes an appearance in ''ComicBook/ScarletSpider'' where he tried to force Kaine to kill him and his appearances in ''Unbeatable Squirrel Girl'' where she tried to help him along with a HeelFaceTurn.
* AffablyEvil:
** Otto Octavius, better known as ComicBook/SpiderMan's nemesis, ComicBook/DoctorOctopus, once rented a room from Aunt May, and behaved like a perfect gentleman, even helping her around the house. He also came very near to marrying her, after she somehow inherited a nuclear plant. May's inability to understand that he was a bad person was a running gag for a long while. It became FauxAffablyEvil during ''The Ends of the Earth'' and the following ''Superior Spider-Man'' arc.
** The Venom symbiote is like a lost sweet little kid who though bloodthirsty and arrogant wants to help its hosts unlike its corrupted kind who take complete control of their hosts than draining them of vitality killing them in the process and it can be very friendly to those who are innocent along with the ones that it cares about and loves the most like Spider-Man, Eddie Brock and Flash Thompson. It prefers to be honest with people instead of lying to them since it hates lying to them about things and it does not try to use lethal force unless it has to. It also likes being a superhero which makes it very adorable because it’s a fan of them.
* AlliterativeName: Creator/StanLee was the TropeCodifier for the trend because he found names easier to keep track of if he used alliteration as a mnemonic device.
** Peter Parker/''ComicBook/SpiderMan''. Among others, he had to deal with J. Jonah Jameson and Dr. Otto Octavius[=/=]ComicBook/DoctorOctopus. Jonah himself has a son named John Jameson from his first wife, Joan, he later married Marla Madison, his editor-in-chief is Joe "Robbie" Robertson (who has a son named Randy), and secretaries have included Betty Brant (whose brother was called Bennett) and Glory Grant. The Bugle staff absolutely adores alliteration. In fact, JJJ is actually J. Jonah Jameson, ''Junior''. We have also Curt Connors/the Lizard, and Cletus Kasady[=/=]ComicBook/{{Carnage}}. This reached the height of absurdity with a splash page showing the characters attending a Bugle funeral. Of the ten characters named, ''nine'' had alliterative names, with only Aunt May not fitting in.
** Based on this, there was a FunnyAnimal version, named [[ComicBook/SpiderHam Peter Porker, The Amazing Spider-Ham]], who worked for J. Jonah Jackal.
** The novelization of ''Film/SpiderMan1'' [[LampshadeHanging hung a lampshade]] on this, by having Jameson name the Green Goblin in a headline. This resulted in a brief discussion on alliteration between J. Jonah Jameson, Peter Parker, the Bugle's editor Robbie Robertson, and Jameson's secretary Betty Brant... none of whom seemed to notice they were examples. The same point is made in ''Spider-Man 3''.
** In the popular ComicBook/UltimateMarvel line, [[ComicBook/UltimateSpiderman Peter Parker's]] successor as Spider-Man is tiny thirteen-year-old ComicBook/MilesMorales.
* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: Peter Parker is a more up-to-date take on Clark Kent, an orphaned kid raised by foster parents. A nerd who works at a daily newspaper office for a grumpy boss but secretly fights crime in a red and blue costume. Even the wisecracking nature of the character and being chased by the police have roots in Superman's early days. His love life and woes with him/Gwen/MJ/Felicia can also be sourced to Superman and the girls who had crushes on him (Lois and Lana). Likewise, Spider-Man and Superman both share the distinction of actually marrying their long-time girlfriends. Spidey was originally conceived as a teenager, so Peter Parker was essentially picking up where [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Billy Batson]] (who had been planned as a child and aged into his teens, and was out of print when Lee and Ditko created Spidey) left off. Whenever Spider-Man teams up with Daredevil, their dynamic echoes the World's Finest team-up albeit on a much smaller scale.
** Virtue was basically an extended {{take that}} towards Superman for as long as he lasted, though his story was more Goku from ''Franchise/DragonBall'' in that he was a member of a still active, if {{endangered|Species}}, group of warmongers who did not know his true origins or purpose.
* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: Subverted with Gwen Stacy in ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied''.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter:
** [[Characters/FantasticFourTheFantasticFour The Human Torch]] played this role in early stories. No one character plays the role now. Torch and Spidey eventually switched the roles for awhile. Peter was smart enough that he could keep up with Reed's scientific lectures, developed a friendly rapport with Sue and Ben, and was even good with watching Franklin. There was a period where Johnny resented the fact that Peter was practically more of a member of his own family than ''he'' was. They eventually worked this out, though, and became best buddies, until ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' caused an identity reset. While they're friends again, sort of, now that Peter's again revealed his identity to the Four, they aren't near as close as they once were.
** The symbiotes appear to have this as a biological rule, as each symbiote inherits the powers of it's parent to a greater degree. ComicBook/{{Venom}} is outclassed by his spawn, ComicBook/{{Carnage}}, who in turn is outclassed by ''his'' spawn, Toxin. This element was downplayed and eventually phased out completely as the comics continue, however: While Toxin was PutOnABus, Venom acquired several Superhuman hosts and mutations, while Carnage repeatedly tampered with Multiversal (well, microversal...) energy and Chtonic magic to power himself. Nowadays, whenever the Symbiotes brawl there never seems to be a "definitive" stronger one.
* AlphaBitch: Liz Allan started as one of these before she was PutOnABus. Like her ex-boyfriend Flash (see above and below), she becomes 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.
* AmazonianBeauty: Stunner, looks like a bodybuilder wearing a skin-tight leotard. True to her name, she is described as breathtakingly beautiful, and in her first appearances, brags about how beautiful she is to some patrons at a bar, who judging by the smiles on their faces, didn't disagree.
** The reason why Stunner is so beautiful is that she's a [[HardLight virtual reality construct]] (tangible hologram) controlled by Angelina Brancale. Angelina is an obese woman who wanted to be thin and beautiful, so Doctor Octopus, another Spider-Man villain and her lover at the time, gave her a machine that allowed her to be Stunner.
* AmbiguouslyGay: Mysterio is sort of this. In the mainstream comics he's rarely, if ever, shown any interest in women and has had a few hints over the years. Some novels dropped the ambiguously part and made him explicitly gay; said novels are dubiously canon at best but pretty much everyone out-of-universe assumes he's gay at this point, even if the comics have yet to actually say it.
* AnimalMotifs: The series is arguably the TropeCodifier since Spidey and a good portion of his {{rogues gallery}} are distinctly patterned on animals, to wit: the Vulture, the Chameleon, the Scorpion, the Rhino, the Beetle, the Jackal, Dr. Octopus. Likewise, Kraven the Hunter, while not having animal powers famously wears a jacket made out of lion fur.
** Deliberately invoked in-universe with Scorpion, who received his powers and codename so he could hunt Spider-Man: in real life, scorpions prey on spiders.
** ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski'' posited that Spidey is being assaulted by envious pretenders who subconsciously realize that he is a true totemic champion. ''Literature/SpiderManTheDarkestHours'', a book by Creator/JimButcher based on this run, introduces the siblings of Morlun, an ImplacableMan and [[VampiricDraining Energy Vampire]] who feeds on this type, and it turns out that ''every'' AnimalThemedSuperbeing has this connection even if it's not obvious. Black Cat is a BadassNormal; she wasn't bitten by a radioactive cat and given feline powers. Yet, if she wasn't cat enough to be delicious and nutritious to the likes of Morlun, she'd never have chosen the name. That's why Spidey, Cat, and [[EnemyMine even the Rhino]] must team up when [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Mortia, Thanis, and Malos]] come to town.
** ''ComicBook/{{Hunted}}'', the first story event from ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'' {{Lampshades}} this when Spider-Man points out that it's "not hard to see the theme here" among the many animal-themed rogues being rounded for Kraven the Hunter's latest evil scheme. Two of the bad guys doing the rounding up, Taskmaster and Black Ant actually discuss in a dark comedic way whether Hammerhead, the mob boss with a metal plate in his skull fits given the shark name but they decide that he hadn't committed, i.e. actually dress up and use gadgets which fit his animal gimmick. When all the rounding up is done, Taskmaster gloats to Black Ant, when he betrays him, that hey an ant is also an animal.
* AnimalThemedFightingStyle:
** Spider-Man's rogues gallery contains several enemies who follow this pattern to go with their animal motifs. In fact, for a time this was almost the only type of foe Spidey fought. Rhino, Vulture, Doctor Octopus, Kangaroo, Scorpion, Leap Frog, Puma, and Razorback are a very short list of villains who, through one method or another, tend to fight using the same kinds of attacks and tactics as the animals they're patterned after. How effective this is varies.
** In ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManDanSlott'', Spider-Man's SpiderSense was temporarily disabled. To compensate for this, Peter underwent martial arts training from Shang Chi to develop a fighting style called "Way of the Spider" which focused on spider-like strength and reflexes.
* AntiHero: Spider-Man himself [[CharacterizationMarchesOn originally]] could be quite the self-serving jerkass at times. In one comic he gatecrashed [[Characters/FantasticFourTheFantasticFour Johnny Storm]]’s house party and picked a fight with Johnny just because he was jealous of the attention the latter got. Fans however complained to Stan about Spidey’s jerky behaviour in the fan mail section and soon Spider-Man’s negative traits were dropped and he became the AllLovingHero we know him as today. Although [[DependingOnTheWriter certain writers]] (such as [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManDanSlott Dan Slott]]) turn him into a flawed AntiHero and even a AntiVillain when ComicBook/DoctorOctopus [[GrandTheftMe took over his body]] in ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan''.
* AntiHeroSubstitute:
** ComicBook/{{Venom}} could count as a rare villain-to-villain example of this. Eddie Brock, the original Venom was certainly a homicidal maniac, but he eventually was tailored into a NinetiesAntiHero of sorts. The third Venom, Mac Gargan (the Scorpion) is more evil than Brock and thus since he pretends to be a hero as part of the Dark Avengers, he's both an AntiHeroSubstitute for Spider-Man (who he impersonates) ''and'' Venom. The second Venom (Angelo Fortunato) didn't last long enough to be considered a substitute. Once Flash Thompson became Venom, you could argue for it being an odd reverse villain-hero example; Flash being more heroic than Eddie at his very best. And then it went back to anti-hero again as Eddie.
** [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] in ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga''. The original aim of the series, itself a continuation of a Silver Age storyline, was an attempt to roll back the creeping cynicism of the nineties. Whilst Peter Parker continued to spiral ever downward into depression and anger, [[ComicBook/ScarletSpider Ben Reilly]] was introduced as a LighterAndSofter Spider-Man with the same set of memories as the original, a powerful statement of just how far Peter had fallen.
** The entire premise of ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'', which sees Otto Octavius becoming a DarkerAndEdgier Spider-Man after performing a FreakyFridayFlip with Peter Parker and then leaving him to die in Ock's frail body. As Spider-Man, Otto spies on criminals 24/7 with automated "Spider-bots" equipped with cameras, employs a private mercenary army called "Spider-Patrol 7", and even has his own force of eight-legged HumongousMecha decked out in Spider-Man's classic red and blue. Notably, where Peter was the classic HeroWithBadPublicity who was frequently treated as a criminal nuisance by the cops and the press, Otto frequently ''gives orders'' to the police and city hall.
* AntiVillain:
** Puma serves in many ways as a PunchClockVillain, only killing people he's hired to murder as a paid assassin. He originally crosses paths with Spidey after a mob boss hires him to murder the wall-crawler, but later on comes to Spider-Man's aid on several occasions. He only kills people he's paid to, and otherwise functions as a perfectly legitimate businessman in his day job, his major concerns being his own personal welfare and the needs of his people.
** Mr. Negative is a ruthless crime lord who runs drugs, weapons, prostitutes, illegal immigrants, protection... His alter ego, Martin Li, is a saintly billionaire who has dedicated his life to charitable pursuits. He feels this is necessary for the sake of balance - if a man who does great evil doesn't also do great good, his spirit will never know peace.
** Regent in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManRenewYourVows''. The reason he has taken the powers of every other hero in their slice of the Marvel multiverse is because he believes this is the only way to protect their Earth from destruction should the events of ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015'' spill into their reality. When he tells this to our heroes, who are completely unaware of said multiverse war, [[CassandraTruth they dismiss him as being completely insane]].
* ArachnidAppearanceAndAttire: Spider-Man is a notable example in that unlike regular spider-themed characters, he's known for being very colorful, except when he's wearing his black costume. He and other spider-heroes also usually crack jokes or act silly when fighting bad guys, further subverting this trope. Peter Parker is "Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man", after all. However, when the situation becomes dire enough for these various Spideys to ''stop'' quipping, they become absolutely ''terrifying'' opponents that practically codify this trope.
** There's also ComicBook/{{Venom}}, ComicBook/{{Carnage}}, and ComicBook/{{Toxin}} as symbiotes that copy Spidey's powers, and the various [[ComicBook/SpiderWoman Spider-Women]].
** Madame Web also counts.
** Lesser-known Spider-Man foes include Tarantula and Black Tarantula.
** The two [[ComicBook/ScarletSpider Scarlet Spiders]], both clones of the original Spider-Man.
** ComicBook/{{Silk}} and ComicBook/SpiderGwen are similar in temperament to Peter, but their default costumes are much closer to the black-and-white color motif associated with this trope.
* ArchEnemy: Three villains contest for the role: Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, and Venom. The reason for this is that the Green Goblin died in the '70s and spent a good 20-odd years dead before he came back to torment his foe, which is probably the record to beat for dead A-list villains. In the meantime, Doctor Octopus and Venom filled the roles in the '70s and '80s/'90s, respectively. However, in recent decades, Venom became more of an AntiHero figure with his hatred of Peter toned down. At the same time, both Osborn and Octavius really hurt the wall-crawler in their own nasty ways, so if there is a contest for a mantle of Spider-Man’s greatest enemy, it’s between these two. As Creator/StanLee put it himself: ''"The Green Goblin is Peter Parker's greatest enemy, while Doctor Octopus is Spider-Man's greatest enemy.”''
** To elaborate on the quote: Doctor Octopus is the archenemy of Spider-Man in a very classic sense. Otto and Peter have [[MirrorCharacter a lot in common]], [[MadScientist both]] [[ScienceHero being scientists,]] [[FriendlessBackground who were bullied in school,]] and later got caught up in [[FreakLabAccident freak accidents]] that dramatically changed them forever. Both received a lot of power and both decided to channel that power by adopting an alter-ego based on an eight-legged animal. The difference is that Peter chose to be a superhero and [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility use his powers for good,]] while Otto chose to become a criminal, [[DrunkWithPower who tries to get back at the world.]] Doctor Octopus is the most recurring villain of the franchise, challenging the very idea of Spider-Man and being responsible for some of the most dramatic incidents in Peter’s career as a superhero: his first defeat, near death, death of Captain Stacey, the establishment of Sinister Six and outright [[GrandTheftMe identity theft.]] At the same time, Otto never really cared about the man behind the mask and kept his rivalry with Spider-Man on sort of [[AffablyEvil “gentlemanly”]] level, actually making a point of trying not to hurt Peter’s loved ones.
** Norman Osborn is a different story. For him, being a supervillain with a [[SecretIdentity secret identity]] has never really carried any pragmatic benefits and has not served any goal aside from channeling his psychopathic and sadistic urges while maintaining a [[VillainWithGoodPublicity façade of respectful businessman]]. Since his very motivation as the Goblin (and later as Osborn himself) is to play out power fantasies, he was angry that someone stood up against him and swiftly decided to [[EvilIsPetty punish the person behind the mask]]. This dynamic between the characters eventually led to a lot of tragedy and pain in Peter’s life over the years as he saw [[RevengeByProxy numerous deaths and tortures of his loved ones]], starting with [[ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied Gwen Stacy]], at the hands of Norman. Needless to say, it’s a [[ItsPersonal very personal]] conflict between the two and Peter hates no one as much as he hates Osborn. He even had to [[ThouShaltNotKill stop himself from killing the latter]] several times. If Otto challenges the idea of Spider-Man as a superhero, Norman Osborn challenges Peter’s morality itself.
* ArcWelding:
** A most notable case is Creator/GerryConway's ''Parallel Lives'', which while often seen as a {{Retcon}} or {{Revision}}, was actually an attempt to merge different parts of Mary Jane Waton's characterization over the Spider-Man continuity in a way that made sense, while reconciling gaps in her characterization:
*** Originally Lee/Romita introduced Mary Jane as an insensitive airhead who was constantly flirting and chasing after Peter in a way that was both a little insensitive and mean to Harry and Gwen, and which annoyed Peter to no end. Then Conway himself in his run building on Lee-Romita's characterization tried to develop her into a more compassionate, and courageous, person, as well as a loyal friend and companion who genuinely cares for Peter and loves him, and with whom Peter can be truly happy and relaxed in a way he couldn't with Gwen. After Conway left, Len Wein generally kept the couple as static while occasionally for the sake of drama having MJ be mean to Peter by flirting with Flash in OperationJealousy type gambits that left him confused, with many noting that MJ was "Gwen with sarcasm and sass" in this period, rarely building on Conway's work. Marv Wolfman, who followed Wein, had Peter propose to her and MJ reject it a little callously, seeking to end the relationship and shake the status-quo, but the second series (''The Spectacular Spider-Man''), still keeping in line with Conway's characterization, had her say she still loved Peter and was a little worried about taking the next step, and later Wolfman said that she did it because her parents divorced and wrote her out of the book.
*** When Creator/RogerStern came and brought Mary Jane back, as a little older and more successful version of her teenage self, he also created a backstory that hinted at both her origins (with Aunt May saying that both she and Peter "have lost so much") and later an outline that as per Stern, Tom Defalco followed correctly, namely that she had known Peter was Spider-Man for a while and it was out of fear for his life and herself that she rejected his proposal and left New York. This explanation contradicted the one given by Wolfman where it was fear about her repeating her parents' divorce, and it didn't explain ''when'' she learned the secret and why she chose Peter's proposal to get out, since Spider-Man's adventures didn't impinge on her life in that period to justify her leaving.
*** Conway, feeling that Mary Jane's new backstory explained and deepened her early behavior and characterization, decided to have Mary Jane know from the very beginning since it both demonstrated clearly to readers how much her Lee-Romita facade was clearly an act, it heightened her courage to stay at Peter's side, made her earlier interactions and behavior with Harry and Gwen a little less mean, if still sarcastic and trollish, and provided a better motivation for her rejecting Peter's first proposal (he proposed without telling her his identity which she would obviously feel was indicative that he didn't trust her) and why she chose to reveal her SecretSecretKeeper status to Peter and her own origins so shortly after she came back when the Puma attacked (since originally she said "I thought I could handle it before", which two issues later became a justification for her leaving New York).
** ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga'' had one moment where Peter is arrested for deaths that were connected to the clone Kaine. To his horror, the times those people were killed were [[ComicBook/KravensLastHunt during the time he was buried alive]] and he has no alibi without blowing his secret identity.
** The ''[[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski Sins Past]]'' storyline infamously {{Ret Con}}s that Gwen Stacy secretly had twins with ComicBook/NormanOsborn, though it doesn't try to explain ''how''. J.R. "Madgoblin" Fettinger, having pored over back issues, posted his theory online of when it could have happened: a certain period when she was on the outs with Peter but after Norman had recently saved her father's life. Maybe she went over to thank him and OneThingLedToAnother? He conceded that this wasn't a perfect theory (for example, Gwen doesn't look pregnant when she logically should), but it made more sense than anything else, so [[AscendedFanon the writers made it canon]].[[note]][[ShaggyDogStory Then a later storyline reveals that this was all false anyway]], she never slept with Norman and the twins were clones. Comics![[/note]]
** ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'' tied Mary Jane's miscarriage at the end of ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga'' and Peter's infamous DealWithTheDevil in ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' together with the revelation that they're both part of Mephisto's efforts to prevent Peter and Mary Jane's daughter from being born, as she's apparently destined to dethrone him when he conquers Earth in a possible future.
** ''ComicBook/SinisterWar'' revealed that Kindred had been behind Mysterio's revival after the seminal ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' storyline ''Guardian Devil'' and was behind other events such as ''ComicBook/SpiderMen''. [[spoiler: The controversial ''Sins Past'' also plays a central role in the story, with the revelation that Harry Osborn was behind it all in a mad attempt to give Norman "worthy" heirs. That didn't pan out because the Stacy twins' bodies were too unstable, but they did come in handy when Kindred needed a body...]]
** In ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'', several {{Batman Cold Open}}s involving him fighting some villain who attacked "Roxxon Industries" were welded together when the CEO of that company (a person rather lacking in common sense) hired some mercenaries to bring him in for questioning about why he was fighting those people.
* ArmedWithCanon:
** Years ago, Eric Larsen had the ComicBook/SpiderMan villain ComicBook/DoctorOctopus deliver the [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]] a [[CurbStompBattle severe smackdown]] during the "Revenge of the Sinister Six" storyarc. In the story, "Doc Ock" was given [[AppliedPhlebotinum extremely powerful adamantium limbs]] which made him far more dangerous. Hulk writer Creator/PeterDavid accused Larsen of making a personal attack when he wrote that story and responded with a story written for the sole purpose of mocking Doctor Octopus. Larsen denied this, claiming he had used the Hulk to show how deadly Ock had become in a rather obvious demonstration of TheWorfEffect. (And it made sense; what better way to prove a villain has [[TookALevelInBadass Taken a Level in Badass]] than have him beat up the Hulk?)
*** This debate kicked up again years later in the letter-pages of ''ComicBook/SavageDragon'' where David wrote in to accuse Larsen of making a personal attack when he wrote the Spider-Man story. Larsen explained that since Doc Ock was using AppliedPhlebotinum in the story (he had much stronger adamantium limbs), it made sense to use the Hulk for the WorfEffect. David was not amused.
** The ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' version of ''ComicBook/SpiderMan: The Other'', by Creator/PeterDavid, basically starts with the Watcher explaining that the fundamental premise of the original story (by Creator/JMichaelStraczynski) is flawed, and this version is based on what was ''really'' going on.
** Creator/KurtBusiek's ''ComicBook/UntoldTalesOfSpiderMan'' featured stories set in between and around ''[[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko The Amazing Spider-Man]]''. It stuck closely as possible to the old continuity of those issues. Many fans considered it the most entertaining Spider-Man book, especially since the series appeared around the time all the regular Spider titles were entangled in ComicBook/TheCloneSaga mess. '''Then John Byrne came along.''' ''ComicBook/SpiderManChapterOne'' was his attempt to update the old Lee and Ditko stories and he pretty much disregarded most of what Busiek had done in his Untold Tales series.
*** Not too long afterwards, Paul Jenkins penned a Chameleon story-arc in ''Webspinners: Tales of Spider-Man'' - explicitly referencing his first appearance in ''Amazing Spider-Man #1'' instead of ''Chapter One''. Note that Jenkins didn't do so based on his own opinions. He simply asked editorial which story he should reference, and they answered with the original. To add insult to injury, this went down while ''Chapter One'' was still in progress - Byrne's mini-series being disregarded months before the final issue was on the stands. Additionally, events and characters from ''Untold Tales'' have since been mentioned or referenced.
** When [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018 Nick Spencer]] took over writing ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' in 2018, the early issues had some noticeable potshots at former writer [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManDanSlott Dan Slott's]] portrayal of the character, with several characters even calling Peter out on irresponsible behavior made during Slott's run. Spencer's very first issue saw the long-awaited reunion of Peter and [[ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson Mary Jane]], with subsequent issues deconstructing their previous reasoning for not getting back together and [[{{Reconstruction}} ultimately refuting it.]] Unfortunately for Spencer, his efforts were for naught, as the two were immediately broken up again after Creator/ZebWells took over [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2022 the comic]].
** In ''ComicBook/MightyAvengers'' (following the conclusion of ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan''), Peter mentions having an Creator/AynRand phase in college and getting into shouting matches with protesters, which was a jab at Creator/SteveDitko's fascination with UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}}.
* ArtEvolution: While Spider-Man's basic design has stayed pretty consistent, there have been a number of changes throughout the years. When he was first drawn by Creator/SteveDitko, Spidey's eyes were much smaller, and he had web nets underneath his arms. When John Romita Sr. took over drawing the comic, the web wings grew smaller, and his eyes grew a little larger. By the '80s, the web wings were completely gone, and the eyes started being drawn absolutely huge compared to Ditko's art style. Today, the eye size still fluctuates from artist to artist, but hardly anyone includes the web wings. Also, his suit was red and black, rather than red and blue.
** Steve Ditko's work noticeably improved further into his run. When he was plotting his own stories, his work became more visual.
** 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 Straczynski).
** 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 a similar trajectory.
** Mark Bagley's issue as guest penciller, ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan1963'' #345, was rather rough and the proportions were off and Bagley didn't quite have the character design right. But by the time he'd grown into his role as a regular penciller, his work was so iconic that it was featured on just about every piece of Spider-Man merchandise.
* TheArtifact: On account of Marvel's decision to set Spider-Man in a LikeRealityUnlessNoted New York (rather than DC's FantasyCounterpartCulture approach) as well as its adoption of ComicBookTime, some aspects of Spider-Man's lore have become a little anachronistic or dated (which only [[ReimaginingTheArtifact recently has started to change]]).
** Spider-Man is fundamentally a street-level superhero like Daredevil and originally his adventures had a realism because TheSixties to TheNineties was TheBigRottenApple era of New York City (where real events like the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_blackout_of_1977 1977 blackout]] occurred in the page), a time of high crime statistics when the idea of multiple street-level superheroes in a single city had a little verisimilitude. Since the era of Giuliani and gentrification, however, street crime level has dropped down while highly restrictive gun laws have been put into effect. Of course, the presence and activity of supervillains don't depend on that for explanation, but fundamentally the reduction of crime should mean that Spider-Man's hero duties putting demands on his personal and professional life needs more justification than "[[BrooklynRage it's New York]]".
** The issues of gentrification and high costs in New York, the challenges to print media by digital media, and the rise of cellphones and the internet have also meant that Peter's old job as a photographer for a newspaper, being the guy who "takes pictures of Spider-Man", making a sufficient livelihood off of that (despite being lowballed on the price by JJJ), and still living in New York was harder to accept. It was already dated in TheOughties, that Creator/SamRaimi's adoption of the same in the ''Film/SpiderManTrilgy'' came off to more than a few observers as AnachronismStew (Raimi made it work however by artificially mixing different aspects of New York history). ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManDanSlott'' had Jameson become the Mayor of New York, which essentially updated the dynamic between Peter and Jameson.
*** In the ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' series, Peter becomes a web designer (albeit initially entering the Daily Bugle with the photographs) and part of the plot had the Daily Bugle transition from a print to an online magazine. ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManDanSlott'' then had Jameson become the Mayor of New York, which essentially updated their dynamic.
*** Likewise, the idea of "Peter taking pictures of Spider-Man" which is a beloved trope and central to his dynamic of JJJ suffers because TechnologyMarchesOn. In TheSixties through TheEighties, when all photography was done on film and professional photographs were shot manually with analog controls (i.e. selecting f-stop, exposure, ISO with fingers and in-camera in the middle of a shot), it was believable that a superhero like Spider-Man would be too fast to capture and needed an insider as it were to provide the pictures, which made it possible for Peter to gain exclusive rights to Spider-Man's still photographs. But this made it harder with the digital revolution and impossible in the smartphone age, as such the trope started fading in comics in TheNineties and TheOughties and has disappeared in TheNewTens.
** Aunt May's original purpose was to be an unwitting obstruction in Peter's life for drama's sake: She was very frail so illness could strike at any moment, she didn't have much money so Peter had to get a job to support the family, and her constant worrying about Peter didn't mean sneaking out to be Spider-Man was tricky but kept Peter from telling her his secret (out of fear she'd die of shock). When Peter finally moved out of the house and was on his own he was free from her smothering while May herself was able to sell her house and move in with her friend, meaning she had a nest egg to live off of and had someone to take care of her. Later writers [[ReimaginingTheArtifact redefined her as a character]]. For example, ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski'' had her learn Peter's identity and provide him with much-needed advice and moral support throughout his run.
*** Uncle Ben and Aunt May belonged to "the Greatest Generation" and Ben was several years older than Richard, his younger brother (who is Peter's father). This kind of background made sense at that time owing to the trials of the Depression, the war years (Ben was a serviceman), and the generation gap, but after adopting ComicBookTime, both Ben and May became older as Peter grew younger, making it more of a stretch, leading to recent comics to try and write May into a younger person.
** Gwen Stacy being killed off is treated by comics fans and other creators as a bold gutsy move to really drive home personal stakes and shake up the status quo by getting rid of a prominent supporting character and LoveInterest. The reality is that Gwen Stacy was killed off in an iconic story, ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'', because the writer and many of its fans saw her as a bland LoveInterest, a [[WetBlanketWife wet blanket girlfriend]], and as such someone who was disposable and fair-game (the original plan to kill off Aunt May was vetoed). She was someone who liked Peter but hated Spider-Man and whom the writer Creator/GerryConway thought would be more interesting as TheLostLenore than if she was alive, while the more developed and interesting ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson was established as Peter's real love. The problem starts when other versions, such as ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' and ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'' decide to adapt the same story and situation, but depart from the original context (i.e. she was a bland character whose dynamic was more informed than visible) and make Gwen into a fleshed out and interesting supporting character, too valuable and attracting too much investment from the audience for her to be disposed of in a low-stakes story[[note]]i.e. a story which is not intended to be Spider-Man's last adventure or major turning point a la ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'' or ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow''[[/note]]. In the Ultimate comics, they killed her off gratuitously and then brought her back again much later as a clone-but-not-clone-as-good-as-the-real-thing, while the decision to kill off the highly popular and beloved version played by Creator/EmmaStone was seen as a stupid move since it removed by far the most beloved and liked character in the film (the plans before the planned sequel was canceled were copying ''Ultimate'' in reviving her as Carnage... and also an alternate universe Spider-Woman Gwen, years before ComicBook/SpiderGwen was actually a thing!).
** Almost all versions of ComicBook/{{Venom}} tend to give the character a [[AnimalMotifs white spider emblem]] on his chest, even though it's been ''decades'' since the Venom symbiote got expelled from Peter Parker's body and chose Eddie Brock (and later [[LegacyCharacter Mac Gargan and Flash Thompson]]) as its host instead. In its initial appearance, the symbiote had the chest emblem because it bonded with Peter shortly after his costume was severely damaged, and it took on the appearance of his Spider-Man threads because it (mostly) responded to Peter's mental commands at the time. Nowadays, the design thematically fits with the idea of Venom being a ShadowArchetype[=/=]EvilCounterpart of Spider-Man, but he had no real in-universe reason to look like that until the 2018 retcon that it actually represented the symbiotic dragons used by the eldritch god Knull that created the symbiotes, only resembling a spider coincidentally.
* ArtifactDomination:
** When Spider-Man first came into possession of his symbiotic costume he was unaware that it was a living entity. The symbiote, coming from a fairly violent species, slowly twisted Spidey into a more violent version of himself until he realized what was going on and got rid of it. Several other symbiotes exist in the Marvel Universe and the symbiote is a danger to take over its host. However, most of these symbiotes have found sympathetic hosts, so it's not known how much influence they exert or how much is the host's own appetite for destruction.
** After leaving Spider-Man the first symbiote found Eddie Brock whose own hatred of Spider-Man and violent temper were a better fit.
** Another symbiote found violent serial killer Cletus Kasady and became Carnage, a mass-murdering supervillain.
** After Eddie Brock rejected the symbiote, he auctioned it off to Don Fortunato who gives it to his under-achieving son Angelo, hoping the power of the symbiote will finally make him into something. However, when Angelo becomes frightened of his newfound power and refuses to kill a weakened Spider-Man, the symbiote abandons him.
** Agent Venom (Flash Thompson) is only allowed to wear the suit for 48 hours at a time precisely so it cannot take control of his mind.
* AscendedExtra: Eugene "Flash" Thompson was once a JerkJock who bullied Peter Parker, but was a major fan of his web-slinging alter-ego. After the shift away from high school, Flash tended to stick to the background before becoming a soldier. After an accident cost him his legs, he got a second chance in serving his country. He became the ComicBook/{{Venom}} for a time, has been a member of the ComicBook/SecretAvengers, and even dated Valkyrie. Now, that's impressive.
* AssholeVictim:
** After all the hell Sasha Kravinoff put Spider-Man through, including killing Mattie Franklin and Madame Web, not a single shit was given when Kraven snapped her neck.
** ''ComicBook/SpiderMan2099'': Aaron Delgato's a huge jerk, and he dies after one of his own bullets makes a tank explode.
** ''ComicBook/SpiderVerse'': Very few people will miss [[TheSociopath Patton Parnel]], an evil red-headed version of Peter Parker who mutated into a spider-monster before being killed by Morlun.
** ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'': The bullies that were picking on Anna Marconi for being a little person. Sure what Otto did was DisproportionateRetribution, but those guys were hardly innocents. Same goes for many of the bad guys that Otto has beaten up or killed.
** ''ComicBook/UntoldTalesOfSpiderMan'': [[PlayingWithATrope Played With]]. Sally Avril was a cruel and uncaring jerkass who mocked and bullied Peter Parker and was desperate to be famous. When Peter's uncle dies, she does not care, and when she sees her friend Liz Allan talking to him (she is offering him her condolences), she coaxes Liz away rather than offer her own sympathy to Peter. Eventually, to become famous, Sally tried to become a superhero and called herself Bluebird, and even tried to blackmail Peter into taking pictures of her superhero identity by threatening to reveal his Spidey photography to the rest of her friends, which forced Peter to announce it himself at school. Sally failed as a superhero because she was not much of a fighter, and her gadgets didn't work most of the time. What causes Sally to quit being Bluebird is that Spider-Man lets thugs beat her as a warning and tells her she can't be a superhero. So Sally decides to try and get famous by becoming a photographer like Peter, only to end up dying in a car crash when she forces Jason Ionello to drive faster than he should to take pictures of a Spider-Man fight. Peter starts blaming himself for Sally's death and acts like she was a good friend whom he failed. It takes the Human Torch to get Peter out of his funk, calling out Sally as a careless thrill seeker who would've probably gotten herself killed much sooner if Spider-Man hadn't held her back. All in all, while Sally's death is sad, she wasn't a nice person, and her own stupidity led to her death.
* AuthorAvatar:
** Creator/StanLee has said that Spider-Man was something of this for him. He also created J. Jonah Jameson based on other peoples' view of him, and as the EIC, Lee had a similar job as Jonah at Marvel. Both he and Ditko were children during the Depression and grew up with memories of poverty and having a hard luck life, which fed into the portrayal of poor working-class Peter, and the portrayal of Aunt May and Uncle Ben as Greatest Generation parental figures based on their memories of their families.
** Since Ditko drew and designed the comics as per the Marvel Method, some argue that Peter is more reflective of Ditko himself. The original [[http://www.lostonwallace.com/ditko.jpg Peter Parker]] in the comics bears a startling resemblance to Steve Ditko in his high school picture. Like Peter, Ditko was a loner, an outsider, a little aloof though also described as friendly and affable in one-on-one meetings, which mirrored the early Peter Parker to a great degree.
* AxCrazy:
** ComicBook/NormanOsborn, but only when he's the Goblin. He's far more lucid out of costume, but still evil.
** Back when [[Characters/VenomEddieBrock Eddie Brock]] was a villain, Venom was unhinged and hellbent on vengeance against Spider-Man, even approaching some levels of homicidal urges. However, after character development, Eddie has grown out of this, to the point that as Venom he tries not to kill criminals anymore.
*** [[Characters/VenomTheSymbiote The Venom symbiote]]'s first host Tel-Kar was hell-bent on genocide so it adopted that personality. As its corruption worsened, it became increasingly rage-filled and homicidal, even abandoning the twisted morality it had while bonded to Eddie. However, it can still be tamed by the right host and eventually gets better as it controls its bloodlust along with keeping its insanity in check -- unlike its offspring Carnage, who enjoys senseless murder and is extremely bloodthirsty.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsCarnage Carnage]]. He's the definition of Ax-Crazy, killing people and destroying things not because of any grand master plan on his part, but simply because he can. He's so much of an Ax Crazy that one of the most common manifestations of his ability to reform his arms into weapons is an ax. Not that he wasn't out of his gourd before bonding with the symbiote; [[Characters/CarnageCletusKasady he was]] a SerialKiller who had killed at least eleven people before being caught, and may have [[SelfMadeOrphan killed one or both of his parents.]]
* BackForTheDead:
** The original Hobgoblin was absent from the main Spidey titles for more than a decade. The writers eventually bowed to fan demand and brought him back... [[DyingToBeReplaced just in time for him to be killed and his murderer to take his stuff and become the new Hobgoblin]]. Later subverted when it was revealed that it was Hobgoblin's ''brother'' who died, not the real deal.
** ''ComicBook/SpiderVerse'' isn't holding back on this trope, killing off the Spider-Men from ''ComicBook/{{Marvel 1602}}'', ''ComicBook/SpiderManReign'', ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManUnlimited'' (and given Slott, like many people, holds the opinion of ''Unlimited'' being a sequel to ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'', this means that show's Spidey is dead, too), ''ComicBook/BulletPoints''[[note]][[Characters/IncredibleHulkBruceBanner Bruce Banner]] and Peter Parker having swapped roles[[/note]], and ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'', as well as the Mary Jane Spider-Woman from ''ComicBook/{{Exiles}}'' and Twinkies-advertising Spider-Man from ''ComicBook/HowardTheDuck'', the Prince of Arachne from ''ComicBook/MarvelFairyTales'', the Betty Brant Spider-Girl, Arachnosaur, and the Spidey from ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom''. The ''[[WesternAnimation/SpiderManAndHisAmazingFriends Amazing Friends]]'' version of Iceman and Firestar, the ''Unlimited'' versions of the Knights of Wundagore, as well as [[ComicBook/SpiderGirl Mayday Parker's father]] is also dead. The sequel ''ComicBook/SpiderGeddon'' also kills off ComicBook/SpiderManNoir and Spider-Man UK. However, the sequel ends with The Other reviving Mayday's father and Noir is also later revived.
* BackFromTheDead: Between Carnage and The Green Goblin, it would seem that death is more of an inconvenience than anything. Though the Goblin is notable for lasting twenty-odd years, which seeing as he is an {{arch enemy}} is probably a record.
** Averted in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan1963'', when Peter's parents, Richard and Mary Fitzpatrick-Parker, claimed to not have been killed in an airplane crash, and ended up staying with Peter for a while. It turned out they were impostors. [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots Robot impostors]]. Zig-zagged with Uncle Ben - he's never been ''permanently'' resurrected; however, in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManDanSlott'' #500, he was brought back to life, as a gift from ComicBook/DoctorStrange... for 5 minutes, to have a conversation with Peter. Since then, however, he's remained in the realm of the dead.
** ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski'' attempted to be [[DarkerAndEdgier edgy]] when it devoted a 12-part series that ran across multiple ''Spider-Man'' titles and ended with Peter Parker getting his eye ripped out by Morlun before getting killed. Of course, no matter how much the arc attempted to convince the readers that Peter was truly dead, he ended up coming back with more organic powers, as well as a new suit built for him by [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]].
* BackstabBackfire: After the Green Goblin killed Gwen Stacy in ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'', Spidey tracked him down and beat him nearly to death. Spidey was so angry that he wanted to kill the Goblin, but at the last minute stopped himself. He thought that Osborn was no longer a threat, but Osborn, who was still able to remotely control his goblin glider, positioned it behind Spider-Man and hit the gas, hoping to impale him. Spidey dodged the glider and it hit Osborn instead, killing him. [[{{Retcon}} At least, that's how the story originally went.]]
* BadassBookworm:
** Peter Parker. Science nerd. Photographer. Spider-Man. Once punched ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} through an unbreakable plate glass window to fall to the street 15 stories below when he was mad. The epitome of this trope due to being the first known teenage outcast super hero. He's the master of this trope because, despite being a nerd, he gets all sorts of awesome powers and is a straight up ChickMagnet. Second only to Tony Stark in that area (also a fellow Badass Bookworm), but Parker is the original Nerd ComicBook/{{Superman}}.
** Spider-man's villain, The Shocker. Smart guy and puts up a good fight. Has updated and improved his costume and blast gauntlets based upon past encounters with Spider-Man. Also one of the most professional villains in the rogue's gallery, having an alright win-loss ratio considering that he fights ''Spider-Man''.
** [[ComicBook/DoctorOctopus Otto Octavius]] is a highly trained nuclear physicist and roboticist who is a very dangerous physical threat to Spider-Man.
** The Vulture is skilled in the fields of electronics and mechanical engineering which allowed him to create the suit that allows him to fly.
** Then there's ComicBook/NormanOsborn, who took a drug to boost his own intellect, becoming insane and super strong in the process. His successors (his son Harry Osborn and Roderick Kingsley, the first Hobgoblin) followed suit.
* BadassFamily: The Parker family. Obviously, there's Peter Parker himself but it doesn't stop there:
** His parents are [[BadassNormal Richard and Mary Parker]], ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} agents who worked for ComicBook/NickFury and once saved ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'s life.
** Peter's uncle Ben fought in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and told his nephew stories of ComicBook/CaptainAmerica (it's not certain if he met Cap personally or just knew of him). There is also the pre-Spidey story in which Ben and Peter escaped from a giant monster.
** His Aunt May once poisoned the Chameleon and was gutsy enough to swipe Wolverine's cigar and tell him to smoke outside.
** His wife Mary Jane was no slouch in the badass department either since she once handled a hostage crisis, another time beat up the Chameleon with a baseball bat, and still another time cold-cocked sleazy Daily Bugle reporter Nick Katzenburg.
** Then there's the ''ComicBook/MarvelComics2'' reality in which Peter has PluckyGirl daughter May (aka ComicBook/SpiderGirl). [[CloningBlues Ben Reilly]], [[TheAtoner ex-killer]] clone Kaine, and [[LukeIAmYourFather Ben's son Reilly]] [[AloofBigBrother Tyne]]. And Baby Ben will probably go into the family business, too.
*** In yet another alternate future, (ComicBook/EarthX timeline), Peter has another version of May who is no less badass and still takes up superheroing.
** In the alternate universe series ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManRenewYourVows'', Mary Jane dons a special costume that allows her to use Spidey's powers, taking the codename "Spinneret" and their super-powered daughter in this universe, Annie May, is given the codename "Spiderling" (despite the girl begging for "Spider-Girl")
* BadassNormal:
** ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson is the [[LoveInterest girlfriend]] of Spider-Man but she is no slouch in this department. Despite not being a CharlesAtlasSuperpower [[spoiler: yet]], she has been trained by ComicBook/CaptainAmerica and is {{Subverted}} in being a DamselInDistress when dealing with Spider-Man's enemies. She's even saved Spider-Man himself in some instances. Averted at other times such as in ''ComicBook/SpiderIsland'' where MJ becomes a web-slinging Spider-Woman herself.
** J. Jonah Jameson. No '''seriously''', name another middle-aged journalist who's survived dozens of encounters from some of the most deadly supervillains on the planet, journeyed through Savage Land, fought the new king of the Mole Men in combat and best of all [[https://preview.redd.it/jsbcrrdn80h31.jpg?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=6d6ee21a1e4b9e3b1967f185ca66d8c2b688a735 yelled in]] Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'s face, because for all J.Jonah's [[{{Jerkass}} faults]] the man [[NervesOfSteel has balls of pure Adamantium]].
*** By extension the rest of the staff of The Daily Bugle such as Betty Brant (who knows martial arts and has Eidetic Memory) and Robbie Robertson (who's implied to be a military vet) are this. They've not only aided Peter/Spidey multiple times but frequently survived close encounters with every super psycho from Green Goblin to Carnage. Especially notable given how many other Marvel heroes have had their non-powered allies die in various deadly conflicts.
** ComicBook/TheKingpin uses both his powerful brains and more powerful brawn to keep the costumed villains in their place, and screw over the heroes.
*** Oddly enough, [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness when he started off as a Spider-Man villain]] it was specifically stated that he had super strength, the origin of which, was a mystery. It was to the point where it was all but stated he was stronger than Spidey who can lift roughly 10 tons. [[RoguesGalleryTransplant Once he shifted over to a Daredevil villain]], he had a {{Retcon}}, explaining that he was just a really strong human. After that, whenever Kingpin showed up in Spidey comics, he curiously turned into a master-manipulator type instead of the brawler he once was.
*** The character also features a {{deconstruction}} of the trope, in that no matter how badass he is, a normal person can't be expected to fight highly powerful superhumans head-on and expect to come out on top. Kingpin is often able to fight Spider-Man man to man, but the reason for this is that Spidey has to [[HoldingBackThePhlebotinum hold back his full strength when fighting human enemies to avoid killing them]]. In "Back in Black," one of the Kingpin's henchmen has just shot Aunt May, and Spider-Man comes within an inch of killing the Kingpin in an ''utter'' CurbStompBattle. This proves that Kingpin as a BadassNormal can only fight superheroes because they ''let'' him.
** Tombstone originally had no powers, and was, in Spidey's words, "Just a guy." He was just a guy with a tendency to NeckLift people while strangling them to death -- one-handed. When he and Spider-Man finally fought after a several-issue storyline, Tombstone gave the overconfident superhero a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown at first using just his hands and then a metal pipe. Once Spidey realized that he was actually dangerous, he got serious and served up a CurbStompBattle to the mob enforcer. Eventually, he crossed over to become an EmpoweredBadassNormal with brick powers after his old "friend" Robbie Robertson trapped him in an airtight chamber filled with gaseous AppliedPhlebotinum.
** Chameleon and ComicBook/{{Mysterio}} are examples of supervillains that use guile, gadgets, and deception rather than fighting the hero head-on. Mysterio in particular uses psychological warfare, SFX skills, hypnosis, and custom-made gasses to challenge Spider-Man mentally.
** Kraven the Hunter is a badass normal SuperPersistentPredator who uses both advanced and primitive hunting gear and guerilla warfare to hunt down Spidey as opposed to fighting him head-on. Kraven instead ingests a magical potion to give himself super strength when the time comes to fight Spidey head-on, recognizing that athleticism and advanced combat skills don't exactly cut it next to a guy who can bench press a truck and sense your every move.
** Shocker, Living Wheel, Beetle, and others derive their powers from their technology rather than having superpowers themselves.
** ComicBook/DoctorOctopus falls in the same category, although with Doc Ock the argument can be made that he at least has [[ExcuseMeWhileIMultitask superhuman concentration]] as a result of his brain rewiring to accommodate four additional limbs. In his original appearances, his arms were stuck to his body and after they were removed he maintained a mental link to them, making him more of a real superhuman, but in modern comics, he basically uses replaceable sets of arms that he can attach and discard as he needs.
** It's easy to forget but without his ComicBook/{{Venom}} Symbiote Eddie Brock still counts as one. Always an athletic prodigy, Eddie started working out obsessively after his career went down the drain. [[AllThereInTHeManual Canonically]], Eddie is actually ''stronger'' than the aforementioned Kingpin and only a smidgen below Captain America. When separated from the symbiote he is often resourceful (being a former investigative reporter and all that), cunning, and strong enough to hold his own against superpowered menaces until they reunite.
* BatPeople:
** Batwing is a young boy who was exposed to [[ToxicWasteCanDoAnything toxic waste]] in Carlsbad Caverns, causing him to become bat-like. Despite his monstrous appearance, he's still just a child, and Spider-Man tries to protect him from those who hate and fear him.
** ComicBook/{{Morbius}} is an AntiHero who became a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent genetically modified vampire]], with bat genes and an [[LooksLikeOrlok Orlok-like appearance]]. However, in his 3rd solo series and some alternate universes -- like in an ''ComicBook/{{Exiles}}'' story arc and in [[WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries animated]] [[WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012 series]] -- he was transformed into a half-man half-bat monster, looking more like an anthropomorphic bat with wings.
* BeingEvilSucks: The Sandman eventually got sick of all the grief that came from being a criminal, and tried to go straight. He stayed a good guy for twenty years, real world time (just a couple of years, comic book time). Then his old evil teammate the Wizard stuck him in a brainwashing machine to make him evil again, causing him ''more'' grief. Poor dude.
* BigApplesauce: While UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity is home to a lot of Marvel superheroes, this is ''his'' Neighborhood where he does his Friendly stuff. While he can battle the cosmic fights like ComicBook/FantasticFour, the global fights like ComicBook/TheAvengers, and the mystic fights like ComicBook/DoctorStrange, Spidey will ''always'' be seen webslinging across the Manhattan skyline.
* BigBrotherBully:
** Kraven the Hunter was technically this towards his younger half-brother Dmitri (who would grow up to be the Chameleon, his occasional partner in crime) -- "technically" because Dmitri didn't know they were brothers at the time, only learning this from Kraven's son Alyosha decades later.
** The ''ComicBook/SpiderManBlackCatTheEvilThatMenDo'' miniseries introduces a minor supervillain named Francis Klum, whose slide into evil began after his older brother started sexually abusing him and ''then'' forced him to use his low-level {{teleportation}} abilities to help create a criminal empire.
* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': Lex Luthor resented his family after being PromotedToParent towards his younger sister Lena due to his mother's death and his father's alcoholism. He never abused Lena physically, but had no qualms about abandoning her and running off with the insurance money after their father's death [[CorruptCorporateExecutive to found his corporate empire]]. In the present day, he goes out of his way to hide his connections to Smallville and remarks that he should've had Lena and her daughter Lori killed. When ComicBook/{{Superboy}} [[CutLexLuthorACheck calls him out for not doing anything about Lena's terminal illness]], he cures her then ''[[KickTheDog reinfects her with it]]'' to blackmail him into killing Superman for him. [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes He's much kinder to her in most other continuities]].
* BigBrotherMentor: Spidey tends to act like this for the younger heroes, especially those who feel they can't really trust the adult superheroes. A large reason is that Spidey started his superheroics at their age so he can relate to the struggles of balancing superheroism and teenage life. As a result, a lot of the young superheroes look up to him and he in turn tries his best to [[http://atopfourthwall.tumblr.com/post/127479759428 advise them on what he has learned as a former teenage superhero.]]
* BodyHorror:
** Spider-Man himself, after all the mutations he's undergone, from [[MultiArmedAndDangerous gaining more arms]], to transforming into a GiantSpider (with a description of his feelings in the process) and what happened to him when he was killed.
** The alien symbiotes.
** [[BeeBeeGun Swarm the Nazi-Made-Of-Bees]] was a Nazi scientist studying bees who [[NuclearMutant exposed them to radiation, only for them to mutate]] and [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath devour him down to his bones]]. These bees apparently had a HiveMind, which he became, and lived on as a man made of bees, sometimes wrapped around his human skeleton, sometimes not. This has never really been explored, perhaps because of the absurdity of a colony of telepathic bees with Nazi sympathies but being devoured and becoming a colony of bees sounds like it would be pretty damn traumatic. ComicBook/{{Venom}} eventually ate the skeleton, but because you can't keep a good Bee-Nazi down, Swarm can now create new bodies by possessing a queen bee and using her hive. He's gone from horrific to pure ParanoiaFuel, a rather impressive feat for a fairly lame villain.
** The Tarantula is subjected to an attempt to give him spider powers. It gradually turns him into a monstrous mutated tarantula and he commits SuicideByCop.
** Many Spider-Man villains in general to varying degrees. Doctor Octopus and the Scorpion's artificial appendages are fused to their spine physically and mentally. The Rhino's suit is permanently melded to his body. Sandman and Hydro-Man are living masses of earth and water who can only maintain human form for so long. The Lizard's mutation unwillingly turns him from a nice scientist into a feral, deformed reptile monster. Carrion is a failed clone resembling a living corpse with a touch that withers his victims to dust. And then there's [[TheWormThatWalks the Thousand]], a sentient swarm of spiders with the mind of a PsychopathicManchild who eats his hosts from the inside out. Probably for the best he was a one-shot villain.
* BraggingThemeTune: Sing along, kids! ''Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can. Spins a web, any size. Catches thieves, just like flies. Look out! Here comes the Spider-Man.''
* BrieferThanTheyThink:
** 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 ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko'' #28 -- 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.
** The BettyAndVeronica LoveTriangle between Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy, and Mary Jane Watson that everyone remembers was actually ''very'' short, only lasting a few issues (''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #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 starting in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #87 where her dynamic with Gwen was closer to VitriolicBestBuds or "frenemies".
** The alien costume period. Spider-Man started wearing the black costume in 1984 and wore it until 1988 and it is immortalized in notable stories like "The Death of Jean [=DeWolff=]" and "Kraven's Last Hunt," cementing it in fans' minds as a long-term thing. But in all of those stories, the costume was actually cloth. The actual alien costume was first worn in #252 and was removed in #258 before making a one-issue return in ''Web of Spider-Man'' #1. In fact, by the time ''ComicBook/{{Secret Wars|1984}}'' #8 was published, which showed how he got the costume, he had already ditched the costume and was using the cloth copy.
** Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin, tends to be seen as Spider-Man's greatest foe, but his actual time in the spotlight was relatively short. He appeared in-costume in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko'' #14 (1964), and went on to show up in around three stories (one being a two-parter) before issue 40 (1966) revealed his true identity and had him suffer EasyAmnesia that made him forget his time as the Goblin. After that point, he didn't appear in-costume until ''ASM'' #96-98 in 1971, and his next story, #121-122 in 1973, had him killed off ([[ILetGwenStacyDie taking Gwen Stacy with him]]). So that's around eight appearances, and he was only showing up regularly during a two-year period--and he was hardly the biggest fish in the pond at the time, with Doctor Octopus having a much better claim on the "Spider-Man's greatest foe" title. Much of the reason Gerry Conway made Norman the one to kill Gwen Stacy was that after the mystery of his identity had been solved and the question of "what if he comes back?" had been answered, there wasn't a lot left to do with the guy, meaning Conway felt he could kill him off without too many issues. After that point, the role was carried on by a number of {{Legacy Character}}s, many of whom had considerably longer tenures, before Norman was brought back in ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga''... at which point he'd been dead far longer than he'd been alive.
* TheBully:
** Flash Thompson. The ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' version of Flash is even worse, having none of the depth as his mainstream counterpart and taking far more pleasure in seeing Peter humiliated for no good reason. While the Flash Thompson of ''ComicBook/SpiderManLovesMaryJane'' is quite different inasmuch as he gives Peter Parker a {{wedgie}} in the second issue but stops engaging in that kind of behaviour shortly thereafter due to {{character development}}.
** Tombstone [[SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp was one as a teenager and only got worse as an adult]], becoming a hitman by trade, with his tendency to bully people weaker than himself still obvious.
** In the comic book ''Spider-Man’s Tangled Web'', {{Schoolyard Bully all Grown Up}} Carl King, now the {{supervillain}} The Thousand, mentioned that he made the {{loser protagonist}} Peter Parker his {{homework slave}} and punished for him for messing up his math paper by giving him a {{swirlie}}, dangling him from the Williamsburg bridge, pointing a knife towards his crotch and forcing him to eat dog poop.
* ButtMonkey: Some writers seem to think that the biggest appeal of Spider-Man is that things constantly go wrong for him. As a result, we get countless stories of Peter suffering humiliation, lack of money, sickly aunt, girl trouble, and just all around unpleasantness, to the point that reading the stories can actually get a little depressing. Note that after John Romita Sr. started working on the title with Creator/StanLee, the book became much LighterAndSofter than it had been recently, a move which led most fans to label it as the golden age of Spider-Man.
** Originally, Peter Parker and Scott Summers of the ComicBook/XMen had something in common, their characters were supposed to be guys whom things often tended to go wrong for, but not ''just for the sake of that'', and they were impressive, each in his own way, in how they dealt with it. But too many writers just can't grasp the difference between that and 'kick them harder!'
** J. Jonah Jameson, the Shocker, the Jason Macendale Hobgoblin, and others have all shared this role at different times over the years. Jason Macendale had it worse as it seemed he couldn't do anything right, up to getting a power boost from a demon. He was ultimately put down by the Roderick Kingsley Hobgoblin, who thought Jason was an embarrassment to the moniker.
** In ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManDanSlott'' #1, it hasn't even been ''ten minutes'' since being Spider-Man again before he has his suit unraveled by a villain's power, and having him nude except for his mask being posted all over the internet. [[HesBack This convinces '''everyone''' that the real Spider-Man is back.]]
** This seems to apply to anyone who takes on the Spider mantle. [[ComicBook/SpiderGwen Gwen Stacy]] has it even rougher in the alternate reality where she's bitten by the radioactive spider rather than Peter Parker. Her life is so bad that she has to travel to an alternate universe to improve her situation.
* CallItKarma: J. Jonah Jameson's attempts to capture and destroy Spider-Man have given him no end of grief over the years.
* CapitalismIsBad: While not an Aesop that Creator/StanLee[[note]]Creator of ''ComicBook/IronMan'' as specifically a good-guy capitalist after seeing Marvel's general anti-establishment trend and seeking to balance it[[/note]] and certainly not Creator/SteveDitko[[note]]An Objectivist with right-wing views though Ditko's tracts often wax more on the self-righteous idealism rather than Rand's economic ideas[[/note]] intended, the overall subtext of Spider-Man as a working-class aspiring scholarship boy does tend to highlight how important a role class plays in his life, and the stories by later writers also play this up:
** In the Lee-Ditko era, wealthy characters are shown as being jerks of some kind or other (Harry Osborn, Gwen Stacy, J. Jonah Jameson, Norman Osborn) with the only exceptions being academics and professionals (such as the doctor who operates Aunt May in ''If This Be My Destiny'' who makes it clear that he sees Peter as [[TheRealHeroes a real hero]] compared to [[DramaticIrony Spider-Man]]). This got played down in the Lee-Romita era where Peter has friendly relations with the Osborns, romances Gwen and befriends her father George Stacy, but even then, and especially when Gerry Conway came on board, Peter is presented as a foil for Harry, the poor up-and-coming kid as opposed to the rich kid who is nothing without his father's name and inheritance, which leads him to turn to drugs to cope with his insecurity.
** A number of Spider-Man's villains over the years tend to be wealthy types, such as the Kingpin, Norman Osborn, and Roderick Kingsley.
** An interesting example of this trope is how writers tackle the idea of a successful Peter Parker. Creator/DanSlott had Otto Octavius hack Peter's body and develop Parker Industries as an AntiHeroSubstitute which the revived Peter Parker ended up running as a HonestCorporateExecutive albeit one so honest that he ended up dismantling his company when a virus threatened the world. Creator/NickSpencer who followed Slott, has Peter ruminate about the ethics of grappling with a position of unearned wealth and the consequences of Peter accepting Ock's status quo on a silver platter, cementing the idea that the richer Peter gets, the less pure he becomes.
* CardCarryingJerkass: In high school, Carl King was an even more vicious bully to Peter Parker than Flash Thompson; in the present, he revels in the memory of how much he made Peter's life miserable and freely admits he was a "rotten kid." As [[TheWormThatWalks the]] [[SpiderSwarm Thousand]], he's crossed the thin line into CardCarryingVillain.
* CarnivalOfKillers: The ''ComicBook/SpiderManIdentityCrisis Identity Crisis]]'' storyline is about Spider-Man being framed for murder with 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 Shotgun) to actual costumed villains (like Override and Aura).
* CatGirl: Characters/{{Black Cat|MarvelComics}}, the Cat-themed cat burglar/sometime love interest for Spider-Man.
* CentralTheme:
** "With great power, there must also come great responsibility"; what it means to have power and to use it in a socially and morally responsible way. It could be said that this theme applies to most, if not all superhero stories to some extent, [[TropeCodifier but none more so than Spider-Man]].
** Being a hero even when there is no reward for being one; it won't get bills paid, it won't help your love life and it won't get you fame and respect. But you do it anyway, because it's the right thing to do.
** Your actions and choices have consequences, including the ones you didn't intend or expect, and you have to live with them whether you like it or not, and whether it was your fault or not.
** Everyone has some kind of secret, either a big one or a small one, and there's always more to people than you assume. Just as the world assumes little of Peter Parker and Spider-Man, Peter himself often underestimates or misjudges the people around him.
** You have to work for everything in your life, whether it's your job, your superhero calling, your marriage, or your relationships. People are complicated, messy, and demanding, and you have to be there for them, make things work, and never take people for granted.
** ''ComicBook/SpiderManLifeStory'' takes the theme of responsibility and explores how to balance conflicting responsibilities, like those of a superhero with responsibilities towards one's family or country, what happens if we neglect some in favor of others and what that means has changed over the years.
** ''ComicBook/MilesMorales'' takes the themes of Spider-Man and adds to it that all of this remains true regardless of who you are and what way of life you come from. Anyone can be a hero. Power and responsibility will not disappear from your life just because you think you don't have what it takes.
* TheChosenMany:
** Spider-Man started out as a guy who got powers from a radioactive spider... until it was revealed he was connected to a supernatural force called the Web of Life, which also empowers every other arachnid-themed hero and villain.
** ComicBook/{{Venom}} was originally a super suit that Spidey himself wore to augment his powers. However, it was later revealed to be a sentient alien symbiote... and even later revealed to be just one member of an entire race. It was also capable of self-replicating, and so far several symbiotes have appeared in the comics canon.
* TheChosenOne: Peter Parker is not a very powerful character by comparison with the people around him, but he has an odd tendency to discover there are ancient prophecies about him. He was, for instance, destined to stop the "Bend Sinister" (alongside ComicBook/DoctorStrange), and no less a pair of personages than Lord Chaos and Master Order claimed to have guided his life to defeat ComicBook/{{Thanos}}.
** According to ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski'', Peter is one of a group of arachnid-themed super-powered individuals empowered by a mystical force called the Web of Life and is ''the'' Champion of the totemic spider deity behind the Web of Life, succeeding Ezekiel Sims and to be succeeded by Anya Corizon in the event he turns evil.
* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: Spider-Man's black costume was a [[TheSymbiote living alien being]], who got a little... [[ClingyCostume too attached]] to him. Still, while it was attached to him, it considerably increased his strength and toughness, as well as granting him the ability to instantly shift into any costume he wanted and an infinite supply of webbing. After detaching from him, it retained enough of his genes to roughly mimic his power-set (SuperStrength, super-agility, {{Wall Crawl}}ing, webbing/CombatTentacles), as well as being able to block out his spider-sense, whenever another wore it.
** Oh and Spider-Man's SuperStrength is tripled when bonded with a Symbiote as he once MegatonPunch-ed [[Characters/MarvelComicsNormanOsborn Norman Osborn]] through two buildings when enraged.
** Doubles as ClothesMakeTheManiac: In most adaptations, it tried to take over Spidey's mind and body, and ever since ComicBook/{{Venom}} came into the comics, the symbiote has been portrayed as doing this to its hosts.
** There has since been an entire race of symbiotes in Marvel, which have resulted in [[AntiHero anti-heroes]] like Venom, [[AxCrazy villains]] like [[Characters/MarvelComicsCarnage Carnage]], and the world's best biological weapon that temporarily took over several heroes.
** The 2013 ''ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' series ends up revealing the truth about the symbiotes: they were created to essentially be super suits to help turn people into the perfect heroes. Something went wrong, turning them into what they are now. Venom's current host, Flash Thompson, ended up returning it back to its homeworld, cured it of its problems, and, in gratitude, permanently chose Flash as a host.
** One of the spinoffs for ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015'', ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'s Secret ComicBook/{{Secret Wars|1984}}'' suggested the possibility that the symbiote went nuts after [[spoiler:briefly latching on to Deadpool]].
* The short-lived team of Spider-Man fanboys known as the ComicBook/{{Slingers}} derived all their powers from demon-enhanced outfits, with one exception. Interestingly, the outfits were originally designed for ''Spidey's'' use and they just used Spidey's powers to "pretend" they had other powers.
** This trope at least half-applies to Scorpion; the SuperStrength, {{Wall Crawl}}ing and SuperReflexes are innate, part of his EvilCounterpart status, but the suit provides him with his [[BewareMyStingerTail deadly tail]], which can [[CombatTentacles be used to crush or bludgeon things]] and shoot HollywoodAcid, [[SlowLaser energy beams]] or [[PsychoElectro blasts of electricity]].
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsNormanOsborn Norman Osborn]] is a half-example as well. As the Green Goblin, he has innate SuperStrength, stamina, SuperToughness, agility, SuperReflexes, and HealingFactor from his PsychoSerum. However, he has plenty of weapons and gadgets related to his suit, like his signature Pumpkin Bombs, and of course, there's the [[NotQuiteFlight Glider]] that enables him to fly.
** Minor Spider-Man baddie The Shocker fits this trope; a GeniusBruiser, he cobbled together his trademark [[MakeMeWannaShout vibrosmasher gauntlets]] and costume singlehandedly. At its most basic, the costume prevents him from killing himself with the backlash from his own blasts of vibrations. In more recent iterations, the suit is crammed full of "contact plates" that deflect incoming strikes and make his own strikes more powerful due to triphammer vibration.
** The Vulture, The Prowler, The Jury, Regent, Stilt-Man, freaking Frog-Man... Spidey's had to fight a lot of these guys.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Mary Jane was like this in her earlier appearances. Readers eventually find out there was some [[StepfordSmiler Stepford Smiling going on]] and in the modern era, her character is about 100 times more grounded (still a fun character, just not bat crap crazy). Earlier appearances of Aunt May also indicated that she lived in Cloud Cuckooland (the joke being she was senile). Like MJ, she's since mellowed out a lot, creating some EarlyInstallmentWeirdness for readers who go back and read collections of the old trades.
** As far as Spidey villains go there's [[JokeCharacter White Rabbit]]. If the ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' theme weren't a tip off then the fact her first villainous plan was to rob fast food joints despite being incredibly wealthy and demanding her ransom on the city of New York be paid in quarters should send red flags. And no, unlike the above she never has mellowed (and never will).
** Spider-Man himself is this. He acts as the silly one of every group he is in except with Johnny Storm, who is equally silly, and Deadpool, who for obvious reasons is even sillier. However, [[TranquilFury beware if you try to hurt his loved ones]].
* ComicBookFantasyCasting: A few of the characters had their looks patterned on Hollywood icons:
** The Kingpin 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 on 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).
** Norman Osborn and his son Harry are dead ringers for Creator/JosephCotten, down to a similar facial structure and of course the corn-rows wavy hairstyle. Cotten played a number of character parts in Orson Welles movies but a major hit of his was ''Film/ShadowOfADoubt'' where he plays a businessman who is secretly a psychopathic murderer, much like Norman.
** John Romita Sr. admitted that he modeled Mary Jane Watson on Ann-Margret who had appeared in a number of Elvis Presley movies. When Mike Deodato was drawing her, he based her on Creator/LivTyler.
* ComingOfAgeStory: In nearly all his incarnations. Spider-Man's origin story includes Peter Parker getting superpowers, using them for profit, and then failing to help stop a criminal who later kills his Uncle Ben. This causes Peter to realize that with great power comes great responsibility. Note that as a coming-of-age story, Spider-Man's origin story is lopsided. It includes the decision to be an adult, but not the learning to be an adult.
* TheCommissionerGordon: ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': One of the things that set Spider-Man apart was the fact that he never really had a FriendOnTheForce unlike Batman did or the support of the press that Superman did, which made his superhero[=/=]civilian life balance literal murder many times over. That said there were figures who did play this role for Spider-Man but they never lasted long:
** Captain George Stacy was the first character who really played the role. He was friendly and tried to play down some of Peter's issues with authority. Then he died, and while on his deathbed he revealed he was Peter's SecretSecretKeeper and approved of him, his death ended up making Spider-Man look bad within the police force and in the eyes of Gwen (who blamed him for her father's death).
** Captain Jean [=DeWolff=] was the other major character who tried to be this for Spider-Man. But then her death left another vacuum in his eyes.
** Post-BND is Captain Yuri Watanabe, who gives Spidey the benefit of the doubt when it looks like he's killed someone in an issue where several supposedly dead people are reappearing (naturally, Mysterio was behind it all). She later dons the identity of Wraith and becomes a vigilante in her own right.
** His current police liaison is Carlie Cooper. This is odd because Carlie's discovering Spider-Man's secret identity [[TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife is what ended her romantic relationship with Peter Parker!]]
** Jean [=DeWolff=] approached ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan as one of these. [[spoiler:Averted, as she's ultimately [[DirtyCop working for Kingpin]].]]
* ConceptsAreCheap: In lesser stories, "WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility" becomes this. It was never really Peter's BadassCreed as later comics made it out to be. It was just a caption voiced by the narrator in ''ComicBook/AmazingFantasyNumber15'' in classic Creator/StanLee dated PurpleProse. But the attempt to make this Spider-Man's ethos often leads to much fuzziness about what powers and responsibilities mean, leading to much InformedAttribute. Peter fights crime for the grand glorious cause of Responsibility: he has the power to do it, so he has to do it. (It ''does'' spin out of his OriginStory, but still.) This may mean that he was doomed to become a superhero no matter what: he was introduced as a young genius almost on par with the other super scientists of the time like [[ComicBook/AntMan Hank Pym]], [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]], and [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]]. Thus, he had great power, and thus, great responsibility.
* ContinuityReboot: ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' 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 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.
** For instance a flashback to ''ComicBook/KravensLastHunt'' from Post-OMD issues implies that it was Uncle Ben's memory that gave him the HeroicResolve to come out of the grave when in the comic it was MJ and her role as his newlywed wife that gave him his strength. Likewise, Quesada also claims that Baby May never happened when that was a major part of the entire ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga''. ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'' opens with a ShoutOut to Matt Fraction's "To Have and to Hold" (an annual that celebrates Peter and MJ's marriage and is fundamentally about it), alludes to it being a dream Peter had about how things should be, which alludes to the fact that the marriage was crucially relevant to several stories that no longer work with a substitute.
** Creator/JMichaelStraczynski pointed out in interviews that as far as he was concerned, his entire [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski run]] on Spider-Man is erased, since the stories he wrote and the consequences it had no longer make any sense after the reboot. ''The Other'' a story where Peter tussled with Morlun and ended up with organic webbing at the end, now exists Post-OMD in an altered version where apparently Peter still battled with Morlun but did not die, and still had mechanical shooters, as described in ''ComicBook/SpiderVerse''.
* ContinuitySnarl:
** The symbiotes. First, the ComicBook/{{Venom}} suit was just an alien costume. Then it was retconned into being alive. Then, when the writers wanted to turn it into a villain, it was retconned that the suit made Spider-Man go insane and he had to get rid of it (originally, he was trying to destroy it just because it was attaching itself to him, which is a bit harsh for a guy like Spidey). It was later shown that the suits fed off strong hosts as a sort of [[TheSocialDarwinist Social Darwinist]]. Then it was revealed to feed off negative emotions such as hate and anger. Then they were shown to live in the Negative Zone... no wait, there was a separate planet full of them. Oh, and ComicBook/{{Toxin}} proved that not all of them are born evil after all. Oh, and ComicBook/{{Carnage}} has had about three symbiotes get destroyed but no one ever remembers those stories. And now the Venom symbiote itself wasn't evil until it latched onto ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}, who tried it before Spider-Man came by and ended up absorbing Deadpool's insanity (at least if you consider ''Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars'' canon).
** Who is the Hobgoblin really? The character was created by writer Creator/RogerStern who strung along the mystery of his identity, dropping clues here and there. According to him, when he created the Hobgoblin he didn't have a set idea of who he was, and only shortly into it did he decide it was a character he had introduced in a smaller title called Roderick Kingsley. Then he left and told his plans to his successor Tom Defalco who didn't like the culprit and Stern told him that he had his consent to come up with someone else. Later writers and editors felt that the Hobgoblin mystery was itself compelling and so spun wheels and RedHerring to extend the story forward, until they and readers got bored and frustrated, and finally it was revealed that Hobgoblin was Peter Parker's friend Ned Leeds, who had already been KilledOffForReal when this reveal happened. It is no wonder years later Roger Stern was allowed to return to the subject in a miniseries which was essentially a FixFic in which Stern gave the identity to the person he'd intended all along, and established that Leeds had been brainwashed into acting as a stand-in who was later sacrificed so that the original could retire. It helped that Stern had, in fact, established Hobgoblin's use of impostors during his original run.
** Post-''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'', Harry Osborn somehow still being alive all this time but OutOfFocus is something that Marvel writers never fully explained since doing so would have to get them to explain what happened in ''Revenge of the Green Goblin'' a story arc where Norman tries to torture and gaslight Peter into becoming the Goblin after his revival, an action that was inspired by Harry's death during his exile to Europe and simply doesn't make sense in tone and motivation with Harry somehow still being alive through it all. Writers have simply not alluded to this elephant in the room and merely bypassed it.
** 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, Doctor 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.
** ''ComicBook/SpiderManBlue'': The mini-series has several continuity errors that can be picked up on by avid readers. These include;
*** Robbie Robertson working at the Daily Bugle, despite not being introduced at that point in the original comics.
*** The circumstances of the Green Goblin losing his memory are different.
*** In this comic, Peter comes from a fight with the Rhino to meet Mary Jane Watson and take her to a fight with the Lizard. In the original comic, it was the Rhino he took MJ to meet.
*** The fight with [[LegacyCharacter Blackie Drago, the second Vulture]], is completely different from its original incarnation, taking place in the wrong time and under the wrong circumstances.
*** Furthermore, Drago's fight with the original Vulture was supposed to be over before Spider-Man got there.
*** The original story featured a subplot with Peter spraining his arm, passing out from the pain, and getting captured by the police, which is entirely cut.
*** It was originally Kraven's intention to attack Harry Osborn; he was not confused in his search for Spider-Man by Harry wearing Peter's aftershave.
*** However, these could be theoretically explained by the series' format of Peter narrating the story on audiotape to himself. Perhaps his emotions got his head a little clouded.
* CorporateConspiracy: The Life Foundation was basically a corporate CrazySurvivalist group, prepared for the worst-case scenario of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, and willing to do anything to survive said cataclysm.
* CrapsackWorld: This has been a hallmark of Peter Parker's life for a very long time, although it's perhaps a little more realistic than most depictions when Peter occasionally catches a break every now and again. CharacterDevelopment would later show that life was no picnic for many of Peter's supporting cast members and even some of his villains. In general, whenever a new writing team takes over there's always some shakeup to the status quo or other, and then another that follows when the next one takes over, and so on.
* CriticalPsychoanalysisFailure: Creator/StanLee and Marcos Martin's non-canon story "Identity Crisis" (not to be confused with the in-canon 616 [[ComicBook/SpiderManIdentityCrisis story of the same name]]) printed as a backup ''Spidey Sunday Stories'' where Spider-Man goes to a psychologist Dr. Gray Madder (a pun on gray matter) and talks to him about his identity issues, which involve the constant changes and endless retcons to his supporting cast and rogues, such as his Aunt May being alive and dead, his marriage to MJ being retconned in and out, her being pregnant and not, Green Goblin dying and coming back, lampshading the bizarre changes to Spider-Man continuity that actually drives Dr. Gray Madder nuts and has him going to a shrink.
* CrossOver: With ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}''. [[http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/3546489.html And it is glorious.]]
* CutLexLuthorACheck: Doctor Octopus, the Green Goblin, the Shocker, and Mysterio all invent remarkable inventions that could have earned them large fortunes if they'd used them legitimately. Later subverted by the Sandman, who becomes sick of crime and tries to go straight. He eventually wound up using his powers to work for the government of [[{{Ruritania}} Symkaria]] under Silver Sable. Spider-Man himself would also end up working for Sable for a little while after she offered him $1,000 a day to do so. Also subverted when Spider-Man actually tries to sell his web formula to a chemical company, only for the executives to reject the offer. Further subverted when Spider-Man saves a banker/stock-broker who cuts [[BornLucky Spider-Man]] a check -- only for a bank-teller to deny the check since [[SpannerInTheWorks Spider-Man has no identification.]]
** Osborn is a very good example of this trope, as it is often lampshaded--most notably by the Hobgoblin--that he could be several magnitudes wealthier if he just marketed his stuff, which would give him a lot of the power he is after anyway. It's explained and {{justified|Trope}} by the fact that Osborn is crazy.
* DaEditor: J. Jonah Jameson, who is probably the most famous example of this trope ''by far'' -- even serving as its page image.
* DamselInDistress:
** In the early days, Betty Brant and Gwen Stacy would serve this role. Then it was notoriously subverted in the 1973 ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan1963'' story ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'', in which archvillain the Green Goblin kidnaps Spidey's girlfriend, Spidey goes to rescue her... and she dies, turning from Gwen Stacy into '''the''' [[ILetGwenStacyDie Gwen Stacy]].
** Also subverted, in a different way, by Mary Jane Watson after her marriage to Peter. Whenever she's confronted by obsessive stalkers, she (almost) always manages to escape on her own, without any help from her super-powered husband. Even more subverted by the fact that, more often than not, ''Mary Jane'' is the one who bails out Spider-Man whenever one of his opponents has the upper hand in a fight. Even before their marriage, when Mary Jane was witness to a Spidey fight going poorly, she'd often brazenly distract or sabotage the bad guy, relying on her charm and wit to save her from the dangerous consequences.
** Even ''Aunt flippin' May'' has taken out bad guys. When (fairly) recently the Chameleon had assembled a group of Spider-Bad guys to go after Peter Parker (this is just before Civil War, natch) the Chameleon himself disguised himself as Peter to go and kidnap Aunt May. Aunt May opens the door, and lets her nephew in, and gives him some tea and biscuits while she has to finish her knitting [[spoiler:before revealing that she drugged the fucking tea cause she'd recognize her beloved nephew anywhere and Chameleon obviously was an impostor, holding up "GOTCHA" written across the sweater she just made in a]] [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome knitted moment of awesome]].
* DamselOutOfDistress: [[Characters/MarvelComicsMaryJaneWatson Mary Jane Watson]]. She's not kidnapped very often (even if [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy some adaptations]] might make you think otherwise), but when she is, she never stays put. There are even more than a few examples where she saves herself [[BadassInDistress with no help from Spidey whatsoever]]. Or even better, ''[[RescueReversal she ends up saving him instead]]''.
* ADayInTheLimelight: Different characters related to Spider-Man, such as supporting cast members, villains, and second-tier heroes who first appeared in spider-books have all been developed over the years via subplots and main storylines or even spin-off mini-series.
** Matt Fraction's "To Have and to Hold" is entirely about Mary Jane Watson and it's considered one of the great Spider-Man stories.
* DeadpanSnarker:
** Spider-Man, to the point of deserving to have the trope named after him. Though really, he spends a lot of time in incredibly-energetic-snarker mode too. His snarkiness is well known even in-universe. In an issue of ''ComicBook/{{Excalibur}}'', the members of [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor the Wrecking Crew]] briefly mentioned Spider-Man's name, eliciting a "I hate Spider-Man" from one of the members. The response: "Everyone hates Spider-Man." In the ''ComicBook/{{Secret War|2004}}'' miniseries, Spidey met ComicBook/BlackWidow out of costume and made a quick joke. Widow suddenly realized who she was speaking with.
--->'''Black Widow:''' Oh God, I recognize that voice.
** [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn The Green Goblin]] is usually able to verbally hold his own with Spider-Man during their battles in the comics and most versions.
** Played with by ComicBook/SpiderMan2099, who's terse and straightforward in costume, but a killer snarker in his civvies. When he has to deal with a particularly talkative foe at one point, he wonders if people find his civilian personality annoying.
** ComicBook/SpiderGirl over on Earth-982 inherited this trait from her father. So did the resident [[TheSnarkKnight Snark Knight]], her "[[CloningBlues cousin]]" [[spoiler: [[LukeYouAreMyFather Darkdevil]]]].
** Really, it's just easier to assume that most Spider-Heroes in the multiverse carry this trait, if not as civilians, then as soon as they enter battle. It can get to the point where they're capable of annoying ''each other'' with the constant snarking when it comes time for a BatFamilyCrossover.
* DeathByOriginStory:
** Spider-Man's defining tragedy was the very preventable death of his Uncle Ben, who died at the hands of a man whom Peter purposefully refused to help the police stop earlier that day.
** To a much lesser extent, Peter Parker's biological parents, as he was introduced as an orphan being raised by his aunt and uncle. Most comic writers and adaptations tend to treat them as a non-factor in Peter's life, with readers knowing nothing about Richard and Mary until a 1968 annual during the Lee/Romita run. Later, there was a story arc in which the two were "brought back", but unsurprisingly, the "returned" parents were revealed to be robots.
** In the alternate universe of ''ComicBook/SpiderGwen'', Gwen Stacy got spider powers instead of her best friend and neighbor Peter Parker, becoming Spider-Woman. Like the main universe Peter Parker, she initially begins her career by fooling around with her powers. Meanwhile, Peter, finally fed up with being bullied and admiring Spider-Woman, ends up turning himself into the Lizard and goes on an uncontrollable rampage. Gwen, not knowing that her best friend was the monster, not only fought the beast but purposely prolonged the fight for fun, only for Peter to revert to normal and [[ILetGwenStacyDie die in her arms from the injuries]]. This causes her to take her role as a superhero more seriously.
** Supporting character ComicBook/{{Toxin}} plays around with this a little: Toxin's already an established hero when Razorfist kills his father, and by the end of the series Toxin sees Razorfist put behind bars.
* DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: Peter Parker is three times an orphan, with his biological parents already dead at the beginning of ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 and his surrogate father, Uncle Ben, killed in that story. It was later revealed that his parents were badass secret agents for ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} who once saved ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}. Oh, and Uncle Ben apparently saw ComicBook/CaptainAmerica first-hand. Other examples from the Silver Age:
** Betty Brant was an orphan, to begin with, and then also lost her brother Bennett in a shoot-out. Harry Osborn's mother was also dead from the beginning, in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #122 he also lost his father, the original Green Goblin (he got better, though). When Mary Jane finally got an origin in the mid-1980s, it was revealed that her mother also is dead. J. Jonah Jameson was introduced as a widower, which of course made his son John a half-orphan. The trope is inverted with Joe Robertson, who once mentioned he had another son, Patrick, who died.
* DepravedBisexual: The minor villains Scorpia (the DistaffCounterpart of Scorpion, himself AmbiguouslyBi) and Joystick.
* DirtyCoward:
** {{Subverted|Trope}} by Roderick Kingsley, a.k.a. the Hobgoblin. While his twin brother Daniel really was a spineless wimp who lived up to this trope, Roderick merely made himself ''look'' like this to get people to underestimate him. Having his cowardly brother act as his stand-in helped a good deal. This usually led to him sabotaging his competitors' companies and destroying their reputations before buying them up cheap, or to keep anyone from thinking that he could be a cold-blooded MagnificentBastard like the Hobgoblin.
** Played straight with Angelo Fortunato, the oft-forgotten second ComicBook/{{Venom}}. After he got ahold of the symbiote, [[BigBadWannabe he brags about how it puts in the same league of supervillain as]] [[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]] or Characters/DoctorDoom and kills a random civilian to prove it. But once Spider-Man gains the upper hand in their one and only battle, he immediately turns tail and runs, disgusting the symbiote, who declares Angelo to be an unworthy host, and it ditches him just as [[DisneyVillainDeath he's leaping between two buildings]].
** Kaine falls into this during the ''ComicBook/GrimHunt'' arc. He's so terrified of the Kravinoffs that after they capture Araña and Arachne, he insists to Peter that they can't win and their best option is to "run and screw the rest." Spidey responds by decking Kaine in the face and giving him a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, absolutely disgusted that Kaine shares his DNA and memories yet acts like a selfish coward. This actually reaches Kaine, who subsequently knocks Peter out, dons his costume, and dies fighting the Kravinoff family in his place.
* DisposableWoman:
** A male example from the 1960s: Bennett Brant, Betty's lawyer brother, was introduced and killed in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko'' #11 so that Betty could blame Spider-Man for his death and thus throw a spanner in the works of her romance with Spidey's alter ego Peter Parker. Bennett practically never was mentioned or made an appearance again after that subplot ended, and if it was it was to work out the ContinuitySnarl that developed when Marvel decided that Betty must be around Peter's age. If Bennett behaved as if he was Betty's younger brother, how could he be an attorney when Peter was still in high school?
** NYPD police captain [=Jean DeWolff=] is killed by Stan Carter.
** Charlemagne, an intel agent and friend of Wolverine, is introduced in ''Spider-Man Versus Wolverine'' #1. Spider-Man accidentally kills her, leaving him [[TheseHandsHaveKilled deeply upset]].
** ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson appeared to die in an exploding airplane in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichael Straczynski'' vol 2 #13. [[DeathIsCheap She got better pretty quick.]]
** [[ComicBook/MsMarvel2014 Kamala Khan]] dies in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2022'' #26 and is used in a way to motivate Peter AND a HeelFaceTurn Norman Osborn.
* DistaffCounterpart: Spider-Man has had five different [[ComicBook/SpiderWoman Spider-Women]] (Jessica Drew, Julia Carpenter, Mattie Franklin, Charlotte Witter, and an AlternateUniverse [[ComicBook/SpiderGwen Gwen Stacy]]), two different [[ComicBook/SpiderGirl Spider-Girls]] (May Parker and Anya Corazon), and the heroine ComicBook/{{Silk}} (Cindy Moon), who has the same powers as Peter but chose her own codename. Interestingly, the first two Spider-Women, Jessica and Julia, have origins completely unrelated to Spider-Man and had never even met him until after they were already established, their connection to him being purely thematic. Marvel EIC at the time even wanted Peter to have a black costume similar to Julia's, thus, the black costume was made, leading to the creation of Venom years later.
-->"All the ladies just want to be me, I guess."\\
-- '''Spider-Man''', ''The Incredible Hercules'' #139
* DivergentCharacterEvolution:
** 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 by 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.
* DontTellMama: The original Green Goblin uses his last words to beg Parker not to tell his son about who he was. Sandman keeps his mother in the dark about his criminal activities, and Spider-Man goes to some lengths to keep Aunt May ignorant of his identity as well.
* DoomedByCanon: Uncle Ben is the poster boy of "DeathByOriginStory". His death, an unexpected consequence of Peter being selfish and using his powers for personal gain, made him learn that "WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility". That means that any adaptation of Spider-Man where Ben appears from the start (such as ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' or [[Film/SpiderMan1 the first Sam Raimi's film]]) will have him die very soon.
* DrivenToVillainy: The series is loaded with these: The Lizard is another example, as long as you don't count that time where they implied that Conners was in control the whole time (neither the [[FanonDisContinuity fandom]] or [[CanonDisContinuity writers]] do, however). Norman Osborn has gone so far as to feign that [[BlatantLies this is the cause for all his crimes]].
** The Hobgoblin from the year 2211 is revealed to be this. She's the daughter of that year's traveling Spider-Man, who is forced to arrest her due to crimes that she would commit in the future, and placed in a virtual reality prison, which is programmed into her brain to keep her in a fantasy world. Her boyfriend tries to free her with a computer virus, which adversely affects the fantasy, warps her mind, and drives her completely insane. True to form, her imprisonment is [[SelfFulfillingProphecy what caused her insane criminal spree in the first place]]. She uses her knowledge as an inter-dimensional researcher to create time-traveling equipment and goes on a history-erasing rampage through time.
* EasilyCondemned: As probably the biggest HeroWithBadPublicity, this happens to Spider-Man all the time. No matter how many times he saves the city it only takes one smear campaign or mistaken action seen by the public to turn New York (and a lot of [[WithFriendsLikeThese his friends]] and [[FairWeatherFriend loved ones]]) against him and declare he's a criminal.
** The ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' zig-zags with this trope so hard it's not even funny. On one hand, Peter explaining that his mind was taken over by Doctor Octopus provides him with [[EasilyForgiven Easy Forgiveness]] from The Avengers... and that's about the only people who forgive him, or wish to stay on speaking terms with him/be within a hundred miles of him (or ''don't do a FaceHeelTurn and want him dead/humiliated'') in the aftermath.
* EgomaniacHunter: This is basically the driving motif of Kraven the Hunter. He's a legendary hunter of dangerous animals who decided to come to New York and hunt Spidey down to challenge himself. Able to hunt down and kill everything and anything up until he gets to Spider-Man; this ''sole'' failure is what ends up having him obsessively spend lifetimes hunting after Spidey as a result.
* ElectricSlide: Electro does this as a FastAsLightning way of getting around. As he is a walking power plant, he doesn't have to worry about being electrocuted. Occasionally, he'll ''be'' the electricity in the wires.
* ElementalShapeshifter:
** The villain Hydro-Man can transform all or part of his body into water.
** Similarly, Sandman has the ability to change his body into sand.
** At one point the two got mushed together into a monster called Mud Man.
* EntitledBastard: Spidey's greatest and best-hidden foe does this quite often. Who is he? J. Jonah Jameson. He manages to publicly badmouth and ridicule him on a daily basis, has created two supervillains (the infamous Scorpion as well as C-lister The Human Fly) and a few evil robots in his quest to kill Spidey, gets into all sorts of fights and kidnappings by Spidey's other foes (who are jealous of him), and Spider-Man always, ''always'' pulls his bacon out of the fire... though he does put him in his place with purposely embarrassing rescues. He even gets to become the Mayor of New York, despite how often he's printed complete garbage about Spider-Man that he's later had to retract when it turned out that, yes, it really was Mysterio or Chameleon, and despite the fact he's known to have sponsored the creation of Scorpion, the Human Fly, and the Spider-Slayers.
* FailedASpotCheck: Some common criminals have done this to Spidey. Particularly, doing things like robbing a restaurant he is eating at because they thought the guy in the spidey costume at the corner table was just some guy eating in his pajamas and could not possibly be the real deal.
* AFamilyAffair: Norman Osborn had an affair with his son's fiancée Lily Hollister. [[AbusiveParents This isn't even the worst thing he's done to Harry]].
* FairCop: Flash Thompson's dad was one; Flash's mom often remarked how handsome he looked in-uniform. Sadly, it was clearly "only skin deep" as he was also an alcoholic who abused both his wife and son.
* FanserviceModel: [[MsFanservice Mary]] [[HeadTurningBeauty Jane Watson]] is this while also being a model and an actress.
* FanservicePack: Betty Brant started out as J. Jonah Jameson's mousy, timid secretary, with a tight, short, curly hairstyle, high necklines, and loose skirts. However, as the series went on, she became more outgoing and more aggressive, grew her hair out into a long, sleek bob, and eventually became a tough reporter who wore skimpy necklines and skintight dresses with high-heeled boots.
* FatAndSkinny: Styx and Stone have it all but stated in their names -- Styx is horribly lanky and tall, while Stone isn't necessarily fat, but monstrous and burly.
* FemmeFatale: Characters/{{Black Cat|MarvelComics}}, being the Franchise/MarvelUniverse’s [[AlternateCompanyEquivalent answer]] to Catwoman, is a pretty classic Femme Fatale, but while very obviously seductive and manipulative her love for Spidey is actually quite genuine and marked her turn from villainess to AntiHero. Although, her infatuation for the Wall Crawler managed to bring out the worst in her as well as poor MJ learned first hand.
* FixFic:
** One of the popular stories during the early '80s dealt with the identity of the Hobgoblin. The writer for the storyline, Roger Stern, left the series before revealing the identity. The storyline was passed around between several writers, before being resolved controversially and in a way that left a ''gaping'' PlotHole. Eventually, Roger Stern was brought back to write the miniseries ''Hobgoblin Lives'' after editors were made aware of said PlotHole, which undid the previous resolution and told the story as Stern originally intended.
** Marvel launched a Fix Fic aimed at one of comics' greatest [[AudienceAlienatingEra Audience-Alienating Era]]s, ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga'', a six-part series named, appropriately, ''Spider-Man: The REAL Clone Saga''. It's written by Tom [=DeFalco=], who was one of the editors of the original disaster and purports to "explore the story as it was originally conceived". The mini-series took several liberties and pot-shots at the Saga and later developments in Spider-Man books, climaxing with the message that Peter Parker should be a proud father by this point in his life.
** ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' and the follow-up ''ComicBook/OneMoreInTime'' were intended as this by the editorial thing though fans questioned if there was anything broken that needed fixing to begin with.
** ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManRenewYourVows'' is the official ([[AlternateUniverseReedRichardsIsAwesome alternate universe]]) version of this to ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'', giving Spidey and Mary Jane the family life that fans wanted with many wishing it was canon. Especially after the events of the miniseries gives [[spoiler:MJ technology allowing her to share Pete's powers and fight crime alongside their super-powered daughter Annie as a BadassFamily]].
** ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'': Nick Spencer took over as the title's head writer in 2018, ending Creator/DanSlott's [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManDanSlott ten year run]]. The very first issue ends with Peter and Mary Jane getting back together, after Slott spent his entire run repeatedly baiting and sinking the ship. Additionally, subsequent issues deconstruct and refute Slott's reasoning for keeping them apart.
*** The first issue also sees Peter being found guilty of plagiarism and stripped of his doctorate that was earned [[ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan while Doc Ock was in control of his body]]. Peter even admits to himself that it was wrong for him to take credit for work he didn't earn.
* FormulaWithATwist: Peter Parker/Spider-Man was the first attempt to create a prominent superhero who was also a flawed, but developing KidHero. Creator/StanLee wanted to avoid the practice of making a KidHero into a KidSidekick, and also wanted the character to naturally grow older and wiser. While heroic to a fault, Peter Parker was very much still a teenager with selfish concerns, personal insecurities, and life lessons yet to be learned.
* FreudianExcuse: This has been used at times to explain the motives of various villains, and to possibly contrast them with Spidey himself, who did not exactly have the best childhood. The worst example was when ComicBook/{{Venom}} was given a cliched tragic backstory (complete with the drunk, abusive father) as part of a bad idea to turn the character into a hero. Some other examples:
** Dr. Octopus: Bullied as a child, with an overprotective mother who forbade him from pursuing a relationship with the woman he loved, but selfishly tried to pursue one of her own, then died of a heart attack when he confronted her about it. In many ways, his guilt from this caused his carelessness that created the accident that made him a villain. It's also established in ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' that he had an abusive father who used to regularly beat the shit out of him, which is one of the reasons why Ock WouldntHurtAChild.
** Electro: Abusive father who left him and his mother, followed by his mother being overprotective and discouraging him from pursuing his goals. To make this worse, after she died, a marriage that went sour and ended in divorce only made him more bitter.
** Tombstone was [[AlbinosAreFreaks an albino]] born to black parents in Harlem, making him a black kid in a white kid's body; as one might expect, his childhood wasn't very pleasant, abused by both his family and his peers. To cope, he [[TheBully bullied the other students in school]], and only got worse as an adult, becoming a hitman by trade.
** The Green Goblin: While some say Norman had very little of an excuse, he didn't become evil on his own. His father was an abusive alcoholic, which made Norman resolve to become a breadwinner for his family. Then things got worse. His wife died shortly after Harry was born, driving him to work harder and neglect his son. Eventually, he framed his business partner Mendel Stromm for embezzlement, used Stromm's research equipment to develop a new line of chemicals, and it all led to the Goblin Formula, and the birth of a nightmare.
** Flash Thompson wasn't truly a villain, but this was the reason he was [[JerkJock such a jerk in high school]]. His dad was an angry alcoholic who abused both him ''and'' his mom. Indeed, a story arc in the 1990s involves Flash succumbing to alcoholism himself.
** As a child, J. Jonah Jameson's father (later {{retcon}}ned to be his stepfather) was a celebrated war hero -- but in private, he would routinely abuse a young Jonah and his mother. Because of this, JJJ was left soured on the very concept of heroes and frequently tears down Spider-Man (and sometimes other superheroes) in the belief that they ''must'' be hiding some darker nature.
* FromASingleCell: Sandman and Hydro-Man have this ability -- so long as one grain of sand or one drip of water is left in their mass, they can reform like nothing; as long as there's more sand or water nearby.
* FromBadToWorse: Cletus Kasady was an AxCrazy SerialKiller serving 12 consecutive life sentences for the roughly 10% of his crimes they could prove. Then his blood got infected with a stronger evolved version of the ComicBook/{{Venom}} symbiote. Then it got switched out for a cannibalistic cosmic parasite. Then got robot legs.
* FullyEmbracedFiend: Cletus Kasady as ComicBook/{{Carnage}} is a foil in this way to Eddie Brock and ComicBook/{{Venom}}. At least Venom usually remains lucid enough to be an AntiHero, or have his own agenda that sometimes sees him on the side of the good guys, even if it's just to preserve himself or the symbiote. Cletus and the Carnage symbiote, meanwhile, are both AxCrazy who lean into how much damage, destruction, and death the two of them can cause together. When Venom and Carnage grapple (which has happened more than once, most notably in ''ComicBook/MaximumCarnage''), it's a case of [[EvilVersusOblivion self-serving evil versus pure annihilation]].
* TheFundamentalist: J. Jonah Jameson cannot admit that Spider-Man is anything other than a menace even though he has saved Jameson's life dozens of times. Various reasons have been given over the years as to why this belief is stuck in an otherwise good journalist's head, who caught flak several times in-universe for being in favor of [[ComicBook/XMen mutant rights]], among other things: The anti-Spiderman rant sells papers; if Spiderman were to be captured, tried, and imprisoned, the Daily Bugle would fold as soon as the judge sentenced him; Jameson is a muckraker; he's only doing it to boost circulation.
** Eddie Brock was raised Catholic, and in the 2000s became increasingly fanatical in his beliefs — especially as Anti-Venom, when he believed that God had given him a shot at redemption by choosing him to purge the symbiotes from the Earth. This led to him murdering Hybrid and Scream in cold blood, despite admitting that they were doing good using their symbiotes and that he could have non-lethally separated them.
* GenreBusting: The series as a whole is a superhero story that is also a classic ComingOfAgeStory, a high school drama, romance story of all kinds (from teen romance all the way to epic melodramatic StarCrossedLovers stuff), kitchen sink working-class drama, a ScrewballComedy, science-fiction, and horror.
* GivingThemTheStrip:
** Mr. Stone, one half of a B-List merc team, tried to slow down the wall-crawler by using his SwissArmyWeapon to coat the entire floor in glue so as to give his life-draining partner Mr. Styx a chance to use his touch of death. Spider-man easily leaps out of his boots onto the ceiling.
** Also, Phil Urich, the only lucid man to take the identity of the Green Goblin, did this the first time he encountered Spider-Man, simply discarding his glove when Spidey snagged it with his webbing. (Clearly, SanityHasAdvantages, even when taking on the identity of a villain who's usually AxCrazy.)
* GirlNextDoor: Played with in regard to Gwen Stacy. Gwen was more of an exotic flower whom Peter only met after he left Forest Hills and "went out into the world", i.e. Manhattan and college. She came from an upper-class 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, the prospective heir of Norman, and in her first appearance, she was introduced as a high-school beauty queen. However, as she became the Betty to Mary Jane's Veronica, she moved into this category.
** [[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, and coming from the same working-class Queens background that Peter did. She literally became this Trope in the ComicBook/{{Ultimate|Marvel}} universe, having lived next door to the Parkers since she was a little girl and, before their RelationshipUpgrade, was the geeky best friend of an equally-as-geeky Peter.
* HandWave: A particularly famous explanation whenever people ask where Spider-Man could be swinging from with no building in sight and his web line doesn't appear to be attached to anything is that there just so happened to be a helicopter off-panel that he's swinging from.
* HatesMySecretIdentity:
** In nearly every version of the franchise, Flash Thompson ''idolizes'' Spider-Man, but he and Peter Parker can't stand each other (at first - in the comics, they grow into good friends). Particularly played for laughs in the ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012'' cartoon: under the pretext of putting Flash somewhere safe, Spidey shoves him into a locker and then comments how petty it was, but fun!
** Also the case for Gwen Stacy who liked Peter but hated Spider-Man.
** Not "hatred", but AntiVillain Black Cat was attracted to Spider-Man and the feeling was mutual, so Spidey decided to unmask himself as Peter Parker...which horrified Black Cat because [[LovesMyAlterEgo she only loved Spidey]]. Some CharacterDevelopment helped her appreciate Peter Parker as well.
** In ''ComicBook/{{Marvels}}'', Phil Sheldon has nothing but disdain for Peter, specifically because he respects Spider-Man as a hero and hates how J. Jonah Jameson slanders him, and sees Peter as an opportunistic weasel providing fuel to Jonah's vendetta just to earn a dirty buck with his Spidey photos.
* HeadTurningBeauty: Mary Jane Watson. "Face it Tiger, you just hit the jackpot!" You sure did, Mr. Parker. You sure did. Black Cat matches her in this.
* HeelFaceTurn:
** ComicBook/{{Venom}} is a classic case of a Heel Face Turn to create an [[AntiHero "edgier" hero]]. Also because Venom -- created and illustrated by Todd [=McFarlane=] -- was, for a time, considerably more popular than Spider-Man himself, being a giant, hulking, over-designed monster with zero qualms about killing. Quintessential '90s anti-hero, essentially. Flash Thompson and Eddie Brock in his second tenure as Venom have been flat-out heroes, but still lack qualms about being more brutal than conventional superheroes.
** The Rhino eventually went legit, turning himself in, serving his time, and getting released on good behavior before settling down with a doting Russian woman. [[spoiler:It lasted all of one more appearance. The new evil Rhino killed his wife, sending him on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge. He put the costume back on, killed the new Rhino, and is back as a villain.]]
** Back in the 1980s, the Sandman got sick of crime and went straight. He actually joined the Avengers for a while. That lasted a good twenty years, real-world time. Then his old teammate the Wizard stuck him in a machine and [[StausQuoIsGod brainwashed him to be evil again]]. Sigh.
** In ''ComicBook/LastRemains'', Norman Osborn goes through this as a result of Kindred's [[HeelFaceBrainwashing influence]] and becomes TheAtoner. [[StatusQuoIsGod How long this will last]] has yet to be seen, but he decides to become the "ComicBook/GoldGoblin".
** Overdrive from ''ComicBook/TheSuperiorFoesOfSpiderMan'' is smart enough that this trope is his entire reason for being a costumed villain. He grew up as a young boy who idolized superheroes, and reasoned that the quickest way to become an Avenger would be to start off as a villain and then eventually reform and fight alongside his childhood heroes.
* IconicSequelCharacter: Many characters iconic to the ''Spider-Man'' franchise don't actually appear until much later in the comic's run than one might think, even if they were mentioned early.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsMaryJaneWatson Mary Jane Watson]] didn't have her first full appearance until Issue #42, four years into the book's run, and almost half a year after the departure of Creator/SteveDitko: she was established as TheGhost and TheFaceless as early as Issue #15, appearing with her face obscured in Issue #25, with another appearance in the Annual, and was built up as a character that Aunt May wanted to set Peter up on a date with, which Peter kept trying to dodge (because he's Peter).
** The [[Characters/MarvelComicsNormanOsborn Green Goblin]], Spider-Man's ArchEnemy appeared in Issue #13 after the likes of Vulture, Mysterio, [[Characters/MarvelComicsOttoOctavius Doctor Octopus]], and the rest. [[Characters/MarvelComicsKingpin The Kingpin]] comes more than 50 issues later, [[Characters/{{Black Cat|MarvelComics}} appears after more than 190 issues in 1979, and [[Characters/VenomTheSymbiote Venom]] didn't make his first real appearance until issue #299 in 1988, '''over 25 years''' of publication later.
** Special mention goes to [[Characters/SpiderManLoveInterests Gwen Stacy]]. Due to being referenced often in flashbacks and AdaptationDisplacement, it may come as a shock to some fans to find out that she was Spidey's third love interest (behind Liz Allan and [[DemotedToExtra Betty Brant]]). Likewise, Peter's best friend and eventual enemy Harry Osborn made his debut in the same issue Gwen did, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #31.
** [[Characters/UltimateSpiderManMilesMorales Miles Morales]], Peter's successor in many continuities, didn't show up until 2011--a whopping 49 years after the first issue. Even within his original series - ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan - Miles doesn't show up for 11 years, debuting at the beginning of the 3rd series, 160 issues in.
* IncrediblyObviousBug: Spider-Man has spider-tracers, red peanut-sized spider-shaped devices he used to track people down. Usually, they are fired from the top of his web-shooter at fleeing villains who are none the wiser. One of the reasons why Spider-Man doesn't use the spider-tracers anymore may be due to the fact the bad guys he attached them to frequently found them and used them against him. Especially bad since they're designed to set off his spider sense, meaning they can be used to trigger false positives in that sense, turning one of his greatest edges into a weakness as ComicBook/IronMan has demonstrated.
** The tracers were easy to find, since they were red, shaped like the spider-insignia on his back, and they looked like the kind of trinkets one would find in a Cracker Jack box. His clone, the ComicBook/ScarletSpider, was much smarter about this: he created Minidot Tracers, which were still red, but were also circular and MUCH smaller.
** One story arc has a villain with a penchant for paying attention framing Spider-Man for a slew of murders, by leaving found spider-tracers on all of the victim's bodies.
** In a ''ComicBook/BrandNewDay'' story, one of them ''was as big as a CD''. The trackee of course noticed it.
* IrrationalHatred:
** J. Jonah Jameson, while almost never outright villainous, scratches the limits of the impossible in regards to his hatred of Spider-Man. He despises him with ''extreme'' passion, constantly referring to him as a menace, nevermind the fact that Spidey has saved Jonah's life, and New York and the ''world'', on a regular basis. Whether or not there's an explained reason for it depends on the adaptation, but even when there ''is'' an excuse, it generally falls apart given everything Spider-Man's done for the world. In an early Lee/Ditko story he privately admits [[http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e345/DoctorOck/JonahJ.jpg he is jealous from Spider-Man's selflessness]]. Though there's a number of other reasons as to why he dislikes masked vigilantes, his hatred is possibly related to the fact that Spider-Man shows up in his newspaper, and just making a crusade after him sells more papers.
** [[ComicBook/{{Venom}} Eddie Brock]]'s entire reason for hating Spider-Man was that Spidey unwittingly exposed his shoddy journalism, although mentally bonding to the also-unstable Venom symbiote didn't help ''either'' party. It took ''decades'' in real-time and years in comic book time for Brock to get over it and become a better person.
* IRejectYourReality: J. Jonah Jameson has an unhealthy tendency to make people who correctly believe that Spider-Man is a hero have second thoughts. Jameson refuses to accept the opinions of others, including his own son, that Spider-Man is a hero, trying to make his confronters second guess themselves. He also refuses to believe that Spider-Man himself is a hero and just sees him as a disruptive force of destruction. In many adaptations, this is one of his {{Flanderized}} qualities.
* ItBeganWithATwistOfFate: It varies based on universe and continuity, but Spider-Man generally gets bitten by a certain spider and gains his superpowers through a genuine twist of fate--by simply being in the right place at the right time. Ezekiel Sims would later claim however that the spider chose Peter as it was dying. It saw Peter's suffering as a benefit, as someone like that once given power would never allow themselves to be a victim again.
* 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.
* JerkJock: [[Characters/MarvelComicsFlashThompson Eugene "Flash" Thompson]], one of Spider-Man's foils. He bullies Peter Parker constantly, [[HatesMySecretIdentity but is a big fan of Spider-Man, not knowing they're the same person]]. In a subversion, the comics have him and Peter actually becoming friends after they graduate from high school. How's that possible? He isn't without his bad sides; When he was framed for being the Hobgoblin, everybody believed it immediately.
** At least until a car accident gave him amnesia all the way back to college, erasing the past 10-20 years or so from his memory (ComicBookTime).
** Flash's evolution may have come with his military service after he graduated from high school. When he comes back to the U.S. after his tour of duty is over, he's a lot more circumspect and mature than the arrogant prick he was at the start of the series. This is partly represented by his sincere and heartfelt apology to Peter for all the crap that he put him through during high school.
** More lately, he became an EnsembleDarkHorse and gets to be the ''4th'' ComicBook/{{Venom}}, and he's touted as a through and through ''superhero'', in spite of his evil jock past and the symbiote's usual villain status, meaning that he manages to make CharacterDevelopment stick.
** In the ''[[ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan Ultimate]]'' universe, Peter does try to defend himself from Flash after he gets his powers. He winds up accidentally breaking Flash's hand, and the jerk's parents sue Aunt May and Uncle Ben for the medical costs.
*** In the Ultimate universe, much of the character development Flash would later go through in the regular continuity is instead given to Kong, one of his friends and a fellow Jerk Jock who also picked on Peter Parker... until he, a fan of Spider-Man, came to the (independently-reached) realization that Peter and Spider-Man were one and the same. Over the course of the series, he eventually mended bridges with Peter and became friendly with him, and seemed to break with Flash entirely.
*** A major theme in the ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' title is that bad people [[VillainWithGoodPublicity often aren't seen as bad by society itself]] and that lets them step on people to get what they want. After Gwen Stacy dies, when Kong tries to claim that Flash isn't that bad of a person, Peter gives a long TheReasonYouSuckSpeech about why Flash is ultimately the high school equivalent of this. His position on the football team lets him get away with bullying and be rewarded for acting like a jerk to people who "don't matter" in his eyes, and he when he grows up he'll continue to behave this way thanks to being coddled and indulged. As mentioned, Flash in this series is much more of a dick and his PetTheDog moments are extremely rare.
** In ''ComicBook/SpiderManLovesMaryJane'', Flash is one of M.J.'s best friends. In that series, he's depicted in a more sympathetic light, as he's also frequently belittled and demeaned by his AlphaBitch-ish girlfriend Liz and nurses a crush on MJ herself. Whilst the other members of the football team are also Jerk Jocks to an extent, and some even ''bigger'' ones than Flash (at one point even planning to ruin a drama club performance that MJ was starring in because it happened to be scheduled at the same time as one of their games, until Flash persuaded them not too), MJ and his other best friends are quick to call Flash out on his being a jerk, especially to Peter.
%%** Tiny, one of Flash's pals, is like this in ''ComicBook/UntoldTalesOfSpiderMan'', but both the reader ''and'' Peter discover why he's such a jerk: He's under constant pressure from his abusive father to keep his grades up for football but genuinely lacks the intelligence, so he takes it out on Pete because school seems so easy for him.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: J. Jonah Jameson. Sure, he's short-tempered, tight-fisted, and an often obnoxious loudmouth, but he's also been shown as a tireless crusader supporting everything from labor union rights to mutant rights, going after organized crime figures and corrupt politicians despite repeated attempts on his life, and discreetly supporting various charities and social projects, and even hiring a good lawyer for Peter Parker when Parker was falsely accused of murder. He's been pretty much consistently portrayed as a social liberal whose ideals are wrapped in civil liberty and constitutional rights. despite the fact that he's a mean-spirited douche to the people around him.
** In the arc where Spider-Man publicly unmasked himself as Peter Parker, Jameson went so far as to refer to Parker as being like a son to him, and that he had always regarded Parker as the "last honest guy in town". What does Jameson do next? Turns around and sues the crap out of Parker for misrepresentation. Of course, he wasn't entirely unjustified in doing this; he was also later confronted by other characters about how much of a jerk he'd been to Spider-Man / Peter over the years.
** It should also be noted that Jameson's character is interpreted ''drastically'' differently, DependingOnTheWriter. Some writers really tend to push the "heart of gold" aspect, whereas others still prefer to present him as a genuine JerkAss, ignoring any character development to the contrary by other writers. (This usually coincides with alternating interpretations of Jameson as a genuinely competent newspaper publisher and an angry tabloid publisher with an agenda. The latter version is occasionally characterized as clueless and outright sociopathic, too, whereas the former version sometimes borders on hidden philanthropist. It's ''really'' inconsistent, to say the least.)
*** It should be noted that during Creator/StanLee's run on Spider-Man Jameson is always a JerkAss [[TheScrooge Scrooge]] who feels that appearing to have a heart of gold is the best way to make money.
** Mainly though, the character seems to be kind of like Spider from Transmetropolitan. He's a complete asswipe, no doubt, but he surely is also a kind person at heart and has shown this on several occasions. For example he genuinely cares about honesty, integrity and civil liberties and can be quite nice (or at least, less caustic) to his friends, like Peter or his employees, despite being a sarcastic jerk.
** JJ was once offered a deal: if he stopped bashing Spidey every time he needed an editorial, he'd get an exclusivity deal with the ComicBook/NewAvengers. He even got to hear ''[[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica Captain Fucking America]]'' tell him Spidey was a hero rather than a monster. His response? After shaking hands on the deal, he promptly went back to not only committing libel, but making accusations of bribery and digging up things like "wanted murderer" (Wolverine), "terrorist" (Spider-Woman) and "convicted drug dealer" (Luke Cage, who was framed and ''exonerated'').
** These inconsistencies are avoided by the UltimateUniverse J. Jonah Jameson (probably because the only writer was Bendis). He embodies this trope completely. Three examples stick out - firstly, after firing Peter in a temper tantrum, he comes to the kid's house and opens up to him about his son dying, before offering to give him his job back and allowing him to start shadowing Ben Urich so he can get a taste for real journalism. The second is him doing a HeelFaceTurn on the whole Spider-Man thing [[spoiler: after the Ultimatum arc when it's not certain if Spidey survived, and writing a heartfelt public apology/obituary for the webslinger.]] Lastly, he [[spoiler: eventually discovers Peter's secret identity and his first reaction is to offer him money. He says he'll pay for Parker's entire college education on the basis that "I'm a rich man, I'd hardly notice."]]
** In ''ComicBook/MarvelVersusDC'', when it looks like TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, Spidey asks Jameson if he has any last digs to get in. Jonah responds "For what it's worth, I'm sorry", to which Peter can only say a quiet "Oh."
** In the storyline ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfJeanDeWolff'', Jameson responds to a question about whether he believes Spider-Man deserves to die with "Hitler deserved to die, so do assassins, cop killers, scum like that. Whatever else he is, Spider-Man is not one of those."
* JustFriends: After a tumultuous on-again, off-again relationship, Spider-Man and the ComicBook/BlackCat settled into this. It lasted from the '90s to the mid-2000s before ComicBook/BrandNewDay reset them back to sexual partners with Felicia not knowing Peter's identity and then had her become an antagonist as a result of the events of ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan. ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'' has seen them reconcile as friends.
* KeepTheHomeFiresBurning: [[FieryRedhead Mary Jane Watson-Parker]] struggles between her desire to support [[ChronicHeroSyndrome Peter Parker]] in his role as Spider-Man and her real fear that ''this'' time could be the night she sent her husband out to die. This is notably a factor in the ''ComicBook/KravensLastHunt'' storyline when [[spoiler:for two weeks MJ doesn't know if Peter is dead]].
* KnightOfCerebus:
** ComicBook/{{Carnage}} serves as a classic example from the main continuity. Being a psychotic serial killer with a symbiote that both runs on and craves blood, he particularly stands out amongst Spidey's colorful RoguesGallery because he's not interested in money or power; all he wants to do is kill as many people as he can, as violently as he can.
** Morlun from [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski JMS' run]] -- not for the run itself (because he was the run's first antagonist), but the series as a whole. Because he significantly ramps up the threat level, his mere presence is a sign things are about to turn grim. ''ComicBook/SpiderVerse'' takes this up to eleven when ''his entire family'' is introduced.
** In ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'', expect things to get dead ''freaking'' serious whenever [[BigBad Norman Osborn]] or anything else having to do with him shows up, possibly even more so then in the main continuity. Venom, too, has this distinction, symbolized by the fact that he's the first villain Peter fights without his Spider-Man costume. Just Venom's suit alone can threaten ''nuclear war!''
* KnightTemplar: The high-tech vigilante Cardiac targets people who commit evil and immoral acts, but find legal loopholes to escape justice. And let's face it; a lot of people would take Cardiac's side here. His victims are [[AssholeVictim horrible men]] who rob people blind and cause innocents to suffer, but find ways to legally do it, always with selfish goals in mind. Even Spider-Man, who tries to stop him when he can, can't help but admire him a little sometimes.
** Another notable admirer of Cardiac is none other than [[Characters/MarvelComicsOttoOctavius Otto Octavius]], who met the vigilante while going through something of a Templar phase himself as the ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan. Originally outraged when Cardiac stole one of his old inventions, Otto had a quick change of heart when he learned what Cardiac [[HealthcareMotivation planned to use it]] [[LittlestCancerPatient for]], and the team-up produced what was arguably Otto's most redeeming PetTheDog moment in the entire run.
* KnockoutGas: Enemies of Spider-Man have used it from time to time. Mysterio, Kraven, the Chameleon, the Hobgoblins, and Green Goblins are all culprits.
* LaserGuidedKarma:
** In his origin story Spider-Man allows a burglar to escape from a pursuing policeman. ''One page later'' his beloved Uncle Ben is dead, killed by the same man. Not a TragicMistake, as this event then galvanizes him to devote his life to heroically fighting crime instead of propelling him towards a tragic catastrophe. This is also why [[spoiler:Spider-Man decides not to interfere with the event when he travels back through time in ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #500]].
** J. Jonah Jameson's poor treatment of Peter Parker and his financing attempts to capture/kill Spider-Man have repeatedly come back to haunt him.
** Flash Thompson seems to be an aversion, as he ends up sharing an apartment with Peter Parker. Averted/lampshaded when he loses his legs when serving in Iraq, saving a fellow soldier, fulfilling the jock ending up crippled aspect of this trope.
* LifeDrinker: Morlun belongs to a clan called [[Characters/SpiderManTheInheritors the Inheritors]] that maintain their immortality by draining life energy from people, especially people who are [[AnimalThemedSuperBeing animalistic totems]].
* LizardFolk: The Lizard, [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting is sometimes]] a straight up bi-pedal version. After ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' his villain Komodo is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, a Komodo dragon.
* LustObject: ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson and ComicBook/{{Black Cat|MarvelComics}} pretty much fall into this, due to [[MsFanservice them]] being among the [[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman most beautiful women]] in all of Marvel. In [[HeadTurningBeauty Mary Jane]]'s case, [[SoBeautifulItsACurse it's a lot darker]] due to her attracting stalkers. With [[ClassyCatBurglar Black Cat]], it's a bisexual case, with a wide range of male suitors and female lovers she's dated.
* MadonnaWhoreComplex: Pops up quite a bit in regards to Peter's romantic life. The women in his life tend to be divided amongst the "Madonnas" such as Gwen, Aunt May, and Carlie Cooper, and those deemed "The Whores" as seen with Felicia and Mary Jane. Characters like Gwen and Aunt May are treated with solemn reverence and treated as the most important women in Peter's life, while Felicia and Mary Jane were derided for their sexual agency and confident personalities and argued for being "Not a good fit" for Peter.
* MagicMeteor: The Looter's whole shtick was stealing meteorites for their power-granting ability.
* MagnetismManipulation:
** Electro once had this as his ''main'' power, being able to negate his weakness to water by making it evaporate with electromagnetism before it touched him, and he was also able to paralyze people by ''overcharging their synapses'' with it. Otherwise, his normal ShockAndAwe powers had basic electromagnetic capabilities which he used for things like WallCrawl and fast travel on metal objects.
** Spidey himself does this on a lesser scale, as his WallCrawl powers are explained to be him using electromagnetism to adhere to any surface he desires.
** Spider-Man's AlternateUniverse daughter ComicBook/SpiderGirl had an even more powerful version, as she could use her magnetic field to repel whatever she was sticking to and stick others to walls.
* MakeSomeNoise:
** Clayton Cole, a.k.a. Clash, is a self-proclaimed "Superstar of Sound", allowing him to torture Spidey with painful sound waves without causing damage to their surroundings. But he can still demolish walls and even bring down buildings with his sonic pulse generators.
** Shriek has the ability to fire damaging sonic blasts out of her hands, in addition to giving off a psychic aura that makes people more violent and impulsive.
* MakeThemRot:
** Carrion can cause organic matter to rot with a touch.
** DK can cause a person to immediately dissolve by touching them.
* MasterOfDisguise:
** The Chameleon. He wears exquisitely made latex masks, is a skilled mimic, and his own mask is equipped with voice changer software. For a time, the Chameleon also used a holographic belt that could instantly create an image of whoever he wanted to pose as. Chameleon is also astounding at being able to imitate someone. When he poses as Tigra, ''ComicBook/AvengersAcademy'' member Finesse (who prides herself on knowing a person through their fighting moves) is in denial Chameleon could duplicate Tigra's micro-expressions enough to fool her.
---->'''Chameleon''': Well...that's why I'm a professional.
** Aside from his robotics and special effects skills, ComicBook/{{Mysterio}} is also an expert at passing himself off as an ordinary person. He used the alias of "Ludwig Rinehart" both in a plot to drive Spider-Man crazy and then as the malevolent manager of a retirement home, and in ''The Amazing Mary Jane'' disguised himself as a PrimaDonnaDirector to secure funding to make a movie about himself.
* MasterOfIllusion:
** ComicBook/{{Mysterio}} falls into this trope, and he even titles himself "The Master of Illusion". Though his illusions are all based on his previous employment in the special effects industry, they can still be terrifyingly effective (though trying it on [[Characters/MarvelComicsXMan an Omega Class psychic?]] is not a good idea). After Mysterio [[spoiler:committed suicide in ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'', and returned from the dead, [[DeathIsCheap his subsequent appearances]] revealed that he may or may not have CameBackWrong, with actual illusion-casting powers]]. In the ''ComicBook/OldManLogan'' storyline, Mysterio [[spoiler:makes illusions so real that it tricks Wolverine into killing '''all''' of the other X-Men and breaking him when he dismisses the illusion]].
** It's also done on occasion by [[MasterOfDisguise the Chameleon]].
** ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga'' included a mysterious villain named Judas Traveller who appeared to have almost unlimited reality warping powers. After many issues of build-up, it came as something of a disappointment when it finally turned out he was just an illusionist.
** A minor foe, Mirage, and Fusion, who appeared in only two stories. (Admittedly one of them was awesome.)
* MetaOrigin: The spider that bit Peter was revealed to have given powers to two others, Silk (who was also bitten) and the Thousand (who ate it in a bid to become superhuman, explaining what happened to it).
* MonsterModesty: Spidey has had several monstrous villains over the years. While some employ NonhumansLackAttributes, we do get characters like [[LizardFolk The Lizard]] and [[RodentsOfUnusualSize Vermin]], two monster characters who have varying degrees of intelligence and enjoy running around in torn-up pants (and a [[BadassLabcoat lab coat]] in the Lizard's case).
* MoralMyopia:
** ComicBook/NormanOsborn runs on this; if it happens to him it's unforgivable, but if he does it to someone else, it's business as usual. Best shown in ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied''; he laughs off killing Gwen Stacy and openly mocks her death to Spider-Man's face, but when Spidey damages his Goblin Glider, he flies into an UnstoppableRage and swears to make Spidey pay for doing so.
** Miles Warren, aka the Jackal, often rants about how Spider-Man is "blind to the value of human life" based on nothing more than the death of Gwen Stacy, when the wall-crawler's only role in that event was that he failed to stop the Goblin killing her. Considering that Warren has gone so far as to create multiple clones suffering from cellular degeneration that will inevitably kill them as part of his plans to get "revenge" on Spider-Man, it becomes clear that ''he'' is the one with no thought for the value of human life, treating living beings as expendable pawns in his plans for revenge.
** Felicia Hardy, aka The Black Cat takes any betrayal by Spider-Man, real or imagined, very personally and will often go to extreme lengths to make him pay for it. Perhaps the best example is when she became TheQueenpin after Spider-Man (actually Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man's body) sent her to prison for theft and she tried to take revenge on the real Spider-Man by defeating and unmasking him. This is despite the fact that Peter is often very forgiving of Felicia when she violates his trust in some way like when she stole and sold a sample of his blood.
* MotiveDecay: None of Spider-Man's villains ever started out with stable motives:
** ComicBook/DoctorOctopus bobbed up and down from wanting to complete his life's work, world domination, petty thievery, and just wanting revenge on Spidey for past humiliation. Usually excused by the fact that the accident made him plumb crazy, and the [[AIIsACrapshoot AI in his arms was screwing with him]]. Plus his short foray into trying to cure AIDS! To be fair, in-universe it was believed that he was trying to create some form of biological weapon. Only the readers knew that he was searching for a cure purely to save [[spoiler: his first love.]]
*** 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.
*** In ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski'', Doc Ock had a rival who'd stolen his design for the arms. There was a three-way battle between Ock, Spidey, and the rival in a hotel, and when the rival took out some support columns Spidey tried to get people out. Ock braced the falling ceiling and got people out - but then let it fall on Spidey and went off to get at that rival. He never lost sight of his objective and went into "get Spider-Man 'cause I'm a bad guy and that's what bad guys do!" mode. It seems he's gotten out of this. Of course, he'll be back ''again,'' and will need a reason.
** ComicBook/GreenGoblin's early motives were to become New York's crime lord, humiliating Spider-Man, and then after being hit with EasyAmnesia, he goes dormant, resurfaces to murder Gwen Stacy, goes underground in Europe, and plots ComicBook/TheCloneSaga [[MissingStepsPlan for, profit?]] and then since returning, he has become even more erratic than usual.
* MsFanservice: Spidey's [[Characters/SpiderManLoveInterests love interests]] are, usually, shown like this.
** Back when Creator/SteveDitko drew the book, not so much since UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode was in effect and they all wore modest dresses, and most of them were in high school. By college, however, characters like ComicBook/GwenStacy and ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson were introduced. Gwen, however, stopped being this par for the course of her CharacterDevelopment [[spoiler:and, y'know, [[ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied death]]]]. Mary Jane, however, kept the revealing clothes and flighty personality even after maturing, though in her case it's justified: She's an actress/model, and it's literally her ''job'' to be hot. Still, while most superheroines have an ImpossibleHourglassFigure, MJ is almost always buxom and leggy, and she doesn't have the superpowers to justify it.
*** Most fans will attest that Mary Jane fit the Trope most during Todd [=McFarlaine's=] run on ''Amazing Spider-Man''; he did several "cheesecake" shots of female characters, and as the most visible member of the supporting cast, she had most of them, the art during his run giving her a sudden preference for midriff revealing tops and [[NavelDeepNeckline dangerously daring necklines.]]
** Gwen is a very beautiful blonde-haired woman who wears outfits (particularly skirts with thigh-high socks and boots as well as dresses) that highlight her very voluptuous body (that's nearly as sexy as MJ's body), buxom breasts, [[ImpossibleHourglassFigure hourglass figure]], and long, toned legs.
** ComicBook/BlackCat had a suit designed for NavelDeepNeckline, made out of black PVC, and had a build that would require lots of surgery to get in real life, even more so than a lot of other heroes. Her miniseries ''[[ComicBook/SpiderManBlackCatTheEvilThatMenDo The Evil that Men Do]]'' opens with a ShowerScene focuses a great deal on her body, such as a [[LegFocus close up of her washing her legs]] or showing her figure via SexySilhouette.
** In a very weird way, Marvel has been trying to turn Carlie Cooper into this, most likely to increase her popularity. Low cut jeans, bared midriff, a tattoo that's near her lady bits but still visible in order to increase the midriff, and was probably the only girl in ''ComicBook/SpiderIsland'' shown during the 'Naked New York' scene. However, because people [[CreatorsPet just can't stand her]], it's been rather ignored.
* MultiArmedAndDangerous:
** In ''[[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan1963 The Six Arms Saga]]'', Spider-Man attempted to get rid of his superpowers... but the attempt failed rather spectacularly, giving him ''six'' arms.
** The Spider Doppelganger has multiple clawed arms.
** [[Characters/MarvelComicsOttoOctavius Doctor Octopus]] famously sports four additional mechanical limbs, as do derivatives from Doc Ock's mold like Lady Octopus and the Squid.
** ''ComicBook/SpiderManDeadpool'': Itsy Bitsy is a woman who received DNA from both Spider-Man and Deadpool, which caused her to turn into a psychotic spider-like creature. She has six arms armed with guns and sharp organic webbing.
* MutualEnvy: The Spider-Man[=/=]Human Torch Trade Paperback ''"I'm With Stupid"'' shows their relationship through the years, with the last story, "I'm With Stupid" pointing out the good things they have: Spidey gets to be near all the hot women and also be able to follow Reed without needing a translation into "normal," Johnny gets to have the trappings of fame and go to various universes Spidey would do anything to go to. Or the perks of power "with NONE of the responsibility."
* {{Narcissist}}: A trait that nearly all Spider-Man characters to some level have shown at different times:
** Peter after being bitten by a spider, decides to court celebrity and fame as a performer rather than use his newfound superpowers and changes for [[ReedRichardsIsUseless scientific analysis and research]]. While Uncle Ben's death teaches him why this isn't good, he still retained a narcissistic streak well into his later years such as Roger Stern's "The Daydreamers" where he dreams about winning the Pulitzer, the Nobel, joining the Avengers and the Fantastic Four at the same time with both of them fighting each other over him, and of course Jameson kisses his boots and grovels at his feet. This changes after his marriage with Mary Jane when both of them realize their HiddenDepths and he becomes more genuinely selfless. Post-OMD, he retains some sense of it, such as insisting to Mary Jane that it's okay for him to lie to Carlie Cooper for his double life because he wants her to love him for "plain ol' Pete" only for her to dump him, as MJ more or less predicted she would when she finds out that he lied to her. And as Peter {{Lampshades}} in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'', he rather liked the fame and adulation that came with being a CEO of a company with unearned wealth and degree.
** Even his work as Spider-Man has an element to it. Peter's main angst as Spider-Man is primarily how his guilt affects him and him personally, how it screws up his life, and how his attempts to help others cause problems for him because he's misunderstood or he's unlucky. His reaction to Goblin killing Gwen is how Norman killed "his woman". In Slott's "No One Dies", his excessive concern and grief over losing loved ones leads him to add a new HeroicVow which Mary Jane points out is excessive and grandiose since he's a superhero and not god and that his great sensitivity tends to make him lose sight of what he is actually capable of and what his actual responsibilities are.
** Narcissism is also a trait and flaw for many of Peter's supporting cast one which they overcome. Flash Thompson goes from a selfish jock to a dedicated serviceman inspired by Spider-Man to serve something bigger than himself. Gwen Stacy in Ditko's run started out as a self-absorbed IceQueen before mellowing out to an overly sensitive girl in Lee-Romita's run. J. Jonah Jameson is of course almost supremely self-absorbed and self-centered even when he is doing good, acting noble, and serving something bigger than himself, with his narcissistic side co-existing with his heroic side.
** Mary Jane is interesting for someone whom others see as this, and who also tells herself that she is one many times, but actually proves to be more consistently selfless than most. After walking out of her broken home and abandoning her sister to make something of her life, she became devoted to her Aunt Anna and even her neighbor May Parker, notably being friendly and visiting them even when Peter was too busy. Her decision to stick by Peter in ''The Night Gwen Stacy Died'' even after she lashes out at him. Her support and encouragement of Peter being Spider-Man during one of his "Spider-Man no more" phases when they were friends (thinking out how she, the most irresponsible person she knows, prefers Peter continuing to remain the most responsible man person she has ever met), and ultimately becoming a very devoted, faithful, and loving wife to Peter. Post-OMD, MJ lapses into her pre-character development narcissism but her selfless streak returns from time to time (such as encouraging Peter to find love and happiness even if she is still in love with him herself), helping her boss Tony Stark, and flirting with superheroics even when she doesn't want to.
* NobleDemon: Spidey's RoguesGallery consists of a few.
** A literal example is Demogoblin, who was created due to a curse placed on the second Hobgoblin, who had previously made a DealWithTheDevil. Throughout most of his career, Demogoblin acted like a SinisterMinister, killing people who he believed were sinners, which usually included many {{Innocent Bystander}}s. ''However'', in a battle with the actual Hobgoblin, he made a HeroicSacrifice to save an innocent child who the Hobgoblin had deliberately put in harm's way, dying in the process. This made Spider-Man more disgusted with the Hobgoblin than he ever had been; in the end, the demon who his wickedness had spawned had been nobler than he had been.
** Sandman is often portrayed as somewhat heroic, or at least he's [[OnlyInItForTheMoney only doing super crime for the money]]. But he has a moral code and is not above teaming up with Spider-Man if the situation requires it.
** ComicBook/{{Venom}} may be a violent psychopath determined to destroy Spider-Man and anyone who gets in the way of that goal, but he always tries to avoid hurting innocents and tends to go out of his way to protect them. This is because, in Brock's delusional mind, he's the hero of the people and Spider-Man is the monster that New York needs to be saved from.
* NoOntologicalInertia: "The Lizard" was created by a man, Dr. Curt Connors, trying to grow his right arm back. When he becomes the Lizard, his right arm does, indeed, grow back. When he's cured and reverts to normal, however, he loses his arm again. Connors's RIGHT ARM has No Ontological Inertia. Ditto for Kommodo, who uses an improved version of Dr. Connors's formula, that allows her to transform at will. In human form, she ''has no legs''. Where on earth do [[ShapeshifterBaggage they come from]]?
* NotMeThisTime: This happens to Spider-Man a '''lot''', apparently. In ''[[ComicBook/TheDeathOfCaptainAmerica Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America]]'', Peter visits Uncle Ben's grave and sees Rhino walking through the cemetery. He attacks, thinking he's up to something (despite Rhino pleading that he isn't here to fight), and their fight breaks a gravestone belonging to Rhino's mother... which was the only reason he was there in the first place. When he realizes this, Spider-Man attempts to apologize, but Rhino is, understandably, far too angry to listen.
** Subverted in that even though Norman Osborn will often deny involvement in a scheme hurting Spider-Man, lazy writing will often retcon him as being the mastermind.
** In the Spider-Man spin-off ''ComicBook/{{Jackpot}}'', the heroine, later accompanied by Spidey himself, beats up a minor villainess who was smuggling but really hadn't anything to do with what Jackpot wanted to know about. The snippy answer of the villainess was something along the lines of: "What? Do you think every villain in New York gets a daily update about every crime?!"
* NotQuiteFlight: Spider-Man sometimes uses his webbing to create glider-wings, parachutes, bungee cords, and other means to send himself through the air when there are no convenient tall buildings or trees to swing from.
* TheNotableNumeral: The Sinister Six.
* OfficialCoupleOrdealSyndrome: Spidey and Mary Jane. Dating a superhero makes you a target of hundreds of supervillains. Marrying him [[ComicBook/OneMoreDay means the writers want to break it up as much as possible]]. And yet, because this is [[IronWoobie the web-slinger]] we're talking about, things could be even [[ILetGwenStacyDie worse]].
* TheOneWhoMadeItOut: Some of the stories (at least before the Creator/DanSlott era[[note]]Where Peter is a CEO businessman[[/note]]) deal with Peter's {{Angst}} about the fact that being Spider-Man is delaying or hurting his ambitions and plans for his career or attempts to live up to his potential. This is also part of the arc of his supporting characters.
** Norman Osborn in his revival often taunted Peter for being an underachiever who more or less still lives in the same way he did as a young man, was still poor, and came off as an underachiever. Doctor Octopus in the ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' initially expressed the same views.
* OutdatedOutfit: ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko'' was especially bad for this. Seeing almost all the adult men wearing fedoras, teenage boys wearing bow ties, and girls wearing long skirts are especially jarring by today's standards.
** ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson is a huge victim of this, being a fashion model during her appearances in the 1980s and 1990s. The funny thing was that the contemporary "[[EightiesHair big hair]]" look that Creator/ToddMcFarlane gave her in the 1990s actually dated more quickly than her "so outdated it's cool again" 1960s hairstyle, which was then brought back.
** Supporting character Captain Jean [=DeWolff=] dressed like someone out of a 1940s {{film noir}} and drove a matching vintage roadster, but that seems to have been a deliberately retro look.
* OutsideGenreFoe: While Peter does live in the FantasyKitchenSink that is the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, he largely sticks to traditional supervillains. However, he has encountered a few villains who fall into either more grounded or fantastical genres:
** Shathra and Morlun are more on the magical side of things, the former being the avatar of spider wasps while the latter is a type of vampire that feeds on the life essense of people from across the multiverse who are connected to the web of life and destiny.
** While they haven't lasted long, he has encountered ordinary people who for whatever reason have come into conflict with him as Peter Parker with many of them belonging to more dramatic and realistic genres. A notable example is Jonathan Caesar, a stalker who kidnapped Mary Jane and threatened to kill her if they don't get married.
* PaintedOnPants: Mary Jane usually wears these. So does the Black Cat, both in and out of costume.
* PairTheSpares: It's fairly common for supporting cast members to get bounced around like this. Harry Osborne used to date Mary Jane, but ended up marrying Peter's high school love interest Liz Allen after she hooked up with Peter. Similarly, Flash Thompson has dated Mary Jane, Gwen Stacy, Black Cat, Liz Allen, and Betty Brant, though only Betty and the Black Cat were exes at the time.
* {{Phlegmings}}: Spider-man's collection of symbiote villains (ComicBook/{{Venom}}, ComicBook/{{Carnage}}, et al.) have this in spades.
* PickOnSomeoneYourOwnSize: Most of the villains Spider-Man met when he was a teenager only developed a hatred for him after he kept getting in their way.
** While the adult ComicBook/GreenGoblin originally fixated on the then-teenaged Spider-Man because he intended to make an impression on the New York mobs by capturing Spider-Man, who he thought would be an easy target, the Goblin soon became obsessed with the idea of making the much younger Peter Parker the "heir" to his legacy as the Green Goblin, seeing in Peter Parker the traits he wanted his heir to carry on, but found lacking in his own son.
* PortableHole: The Spot has power over interdimensional portals, which he can place and remove as if they were solid objects.
* PowerPerversionPotential:
** Webs. As a matter of fact, Creator/ToddMcfarlane wrote an implicitly explicit (consensual) [[https://i.redd.it/d8m5oxcvs4j91.png bondage foreplay scene]] (between [[Characters/SpiderManPeterParker Peter]] and his wife [[Characters/MarvelComicsMaryJaneWatson Mary Jane Watson]]) into an issue during his short run on the explicitly-created-for-him ''Spider-Man'' (no adjective) series from the early 1990s.
** [[Characters/SpiderManCentralRoguesGallery The Chameleon]], a shapeshifter and MasterOfDisguise, provides a very creepy example. On one occasion when he discovers Spidey's secret identity, he disguises himself as Peter with the intention of committing a BedTrick on Mary Jane. It doesn't get further than kissing, however, as she is immediately able to tell that he's not Peter (it helps that she deliberately slips him some misinformation that the real Peter would have known to be wrong, just to make sure). When MJ calls him out on it, Chameleon then turns into a stereotypical muscular hunk, and then a sophisticated-looking older man, to show that he can take any physical visage she might fantasize about, before shifting back to his normal form with the intention of taking her by force anyway. Unfortunately for him, though, this is the moment when MJ beats the ever-loving crap out of him [[BatterUp with a baseball bat]].
* ProgressivelyPrettier:
** Peter Parker is a classic example. Drawn by Steve Ditko, Peter was a skinny, thin-faced geek and Spider-Man was thin and more spider-esque. When John Romita Sr - a former romance comic artist - took over the pencilling duties, Peter Parker became significantly more handsome and Spider-Man took on a more muscle-bound appearance. May be {{Handwave}}d in that when Ditko was drawing it, Spidey was a teenager, and as he got older and got real exercise to go with his superstrength, his frame may well have filled out naturally.
*** The artists' notes in the first volume of ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' bear this out: in that series he's a high-schooler again, and he's drawn explicitly scrawnier and ganglier than the main universe version, with a note that he is supposed to be very thin, not having built up muscle from years of webslinging.
*** Peter does look less spindly and more conventionally attractive even towards the end of Ditko's run. That change began with ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #8 when Flash Thompson broke his glasses, and Peter decides he doesn't need to do that much ClarkKenting, considering the spider bite corrected his vision.
*** This is acknowledged in "Along Came a Child" from ''Marvel Comics Presents #120'', which features a teenager who turns out to be the boy who witnessed Peter climbing up a building in ''Amazing Fantasy #15''. Having figured out that Spider-Man is the same odd boy he saw years ago, he strikes a deal with J. Jonah Jameson, and the Daily Bugle publishes a police-sketch that accurately depicts Peter as he appeared in ''AF #15''. Of course, Peter no longer looks like that.
** Also, surprisingly enough, Gwen Stacy. In her early appearances, as drawn by Steve Ditko, she had highly, angular eyebrows, pinned up hair, a constant haughty expression, and fairly modest clothing; her features were sharp and angular and although she could occasionally pull off a nice pout, the fact that lots of characters [[InformedAttractiveness called her pretty]] was the only hint to the fact that she actually was so. But when John Romita took over the drawing, Gwen was softened, her features became more angelic, she let her hair down, gaining her iconic bangs and headband, and she dressed in much sexier clothes.
** 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.
** When he was first introduced, [[Characters/VenomEddieBrock Eddie Brock]] was a ''very'' poorly kempt middle-aged man, and although he was very muscular, he had an oversized, grotesque frame. All of this was meant to signify that he was in a poor place mentally and that he was clearly villainous. [[BeautyEqualsGoodness As he became more heroic]], he got more of a standard HeroicBuild and looked about a decade younger, to the point where nowadays he's a bona fide ChickMagnet.
** It even happened to ''Aunt May'' for a few issues when Romita took over! Luckily, the fans complained she looked too young and she was soon back to her old appearance.
* PsychoElectro: Electro is normally a very {{downplayed|Trope}} version of this trope. However, he went crazy after the ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan (actually [[Characters/MarvelComicsOttoOctavius Doctor Octopus]] in Peter's body, at that time) experimented on him. [[PowerIncontinence He can no longer control his powers]] (to the point of accidentally frying his ally/lover) and has frequent nightmares of Spider-Man torturing him.
** The Electro of ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' is very psychotic, unhinged, and paranoid, unlike his original Marvel counterpart, where he was (at the time, anyway) just your basic thug with electricity powers.
** Max Dillon's successor as Electro, Francine Frye, is a much bigger case, a MonsterFangirl that soon after getting electric abilities gave a KissOfDeath to Max in order to absorb his power.
* PunchClockVillain:
** The Shocker differs from his peers mainly because he considers supervillainy more of a job than a way of life. He is essentially a gifted inventor that considers robbing banks to be more entertaining than a typical desk job, and has taken pains to avoid causing casualties in the past. Later, he starts working for Hammer Industries, which hires him out as muscle, where he punches into work and has a supervisor, etc.
** The Sandman is, while a supervillain, still a halfway decent person, who, among other things, changed his real name so that [[DontTellMama his mother wouldn't get caught up in his criminal career]]. He even tried a heroic career, and kept it for quite a while before the ChronicVillainy set in. He is still shown to be a relatively amiable person once you get past the life of crime, and is noticeably less violent and cruel than his peers in Spidey's RoguesGallery. He occasionally gains traits of an AntiVillain as well, especially in ''Film/SpiderMan3'', where he was a full on AntiVillain who only commits crimes to save his daughter. In the early Marvel days, Sandman and [[ComicBook/TheThing Ben Grimm]] ran into each other in a neighborhood bar. They put down some minor troublemakers who were disturbing the peace, then spent the rest of the afternoon sitting side-by-side at the bar, swapping stories over beers.
* PutOnABus: This happened to several characters over the years, ranging from Liz Allan to Flash Thompson to Debra Whitman to Harry Osborn to even Mary Jane herself. It turned out to be a [[TheBusCameBack round]] [[CommutingOnABus trip]], since subsequent writers would bring them all back at one point or another.
* 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 Doctor Strange likewise was an esoteric figure:
** A number of famous stories and plots use real-life places and monuments. Most notably, Gwen Stacy died at the George Washington Bridge (though confusingly Romita Sr. modeled it on the Brooklyn Bridge) and it's not uncommon for real-life tourists and visitors to treat the real bridge as a memorial to her fictional death. Likewise, Peter and MJ's famous MakeOutPoint is at the top of the Empire State Building, celebrated as their spot since "The Wedding" annual, and revisited in Matt Fraction's "To Have and to Hold" as well as ''Spider-Island''.
* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: Curt Connors' experiment to help people with missing limbs, like himself, caused him to transform into The Lizard, a monstrous reptile who [[KillAllHumans detests all "warm-blooded" life]] (though it probably goes without saying that he doesn't like spiders either). In [[WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries the well-loved '90s cartoon]], he looked a great deal like a giant, very anthropomorphic Anole. The latest revamp of Connors gives him the ability to activate the "[[ArtisticLicenseBiology lizard brain]]" of humans, encouraging them to act like reptiles. Apparently, lizards are ''really'' sexually aggressive and mindlessly violent towards their own kind. Who knew? Komodo, who might count as a DistaffCounterpart of The Lizard, manages to be an exception. She was Connors' lab assistant and stole some of the formula that turned Connors into the Lizard, perfected it (for herself, anyway), and used it to grow new legs. Even though the use of said legs requires her to stay in her reptile form, she's still able to change back and forth (though being human means her legs go away), and in reptile form, she suffers no desire to KillAllHumans.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge:
** Spider-Man has one in ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfJeanDeWolff''. The Sin-Eater is murdering people left and right, and one of his victims is Captain Jean [=DeWolfe=]. As she was one of Spider-Man's friends and supporters, he takes her death very hard and this adventure very personally. Ultimately, Spider-Man finds the Sin-Eater (who has no superpowers, by the way) and brutally beats him to a pulp. If not for ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}, Spider-Man seemed quite likely to kill him.
** In the ''ComicBook/GrimHunt'' storyline, the Kravinov family had been messing with Spidey for weeks and eventually killed several of his superpowered friends. Spider-Man goes berserk, taking out the whole clan and even used his wall-crawling grip to tear off a chunk of Sasha Kravinov's face.
** And of course, there was right after the events of ''ComicBook/{{Civil War|2006}}'' when Aunt May is shot by an assassin sent by [[Characters/MarvelComicsTheKingpin the Kingpin]] after Peter exposes his identity to the world. Donning his black costume to let everyone know that [[DarkerAndEdgier he means business]], he tears across New York until finally locating and delivering a huge beatdown on the Kingpin, threatening to finish the job if he can't find a way to save Aunt May (we all know [[ComicBook/OneMoreDay how that turned out]]). In an issue of ''ComicBook/WhatIf'', the assassin shoots (and kills) Mary Jane instead, causing Peter to snap and actually ''kill'' the Kingpin.
* RoguesGallery: His [[Characters/SpiderManRoguesGallery gallery]] includes [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn the Green Goblin]][[note]]a CorruptCorporateExecutive with a MadBomber SplitPersonality after taking a PsychoSerum[[/note]], [[LegacyCharacter Hobgoblin]][[note]]a sane, albeit sociopathic fashion designer who uses a modified Goblin arsenal[[/note]], ComicBook/DoctorOctopus[[note]]a MadDoctor who has four mechanical arms fused to his back[[/note]], ComicBook/{{Venom}}[[note]]a mentally troubled reporter bonded to an alien symbiote, sharing a hatred for Spider-Man[[/note]], [[PsychoElectro Electro]][[note]]a man who controls all forms of electricity[[/note]], ComicBook/{{Mysterio}}[[note]]a failed special effects artist who uses his technology to become a villain[[/note]], [[DishingOutDirt Sandman]][[note]]a crook whose molecules are fused with sand particles[[/note]] [[Characters/MarvelComicsKravenTheHunter Kraven the Hunter]][[note]][[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame a big game hunter]] with the abilities of a SuperSerum[[/note]], [[EvilOldFolks the Vulture]][[note]]an old businessman who utilizes a electromagnetic winged harness[[/note]], ComicBook/{{Carnage}}[[note]]a psychopathic SerialKiller bonded to ''another'' symbiote spawned from Venom's own[[/note]], [[JekyllAndHyde the Lizard]][[note]]a scientist with a SplitPersonality which transforms him into a humanoid reptilian[[/note]], [[DumbMuscle the Rhino]][[note]]a brute with his skin fused with a rhino-like hide costume[[/note]], ComicBook/BlackCat[[note]]a master cat burglar who goes by her father's words to "never settle for second best"[[/note]], [[BewareMyStingerTail the Scorpion]][[note]]an investigator turned insane PsychoForHire trapped in a scorpion-esque armor[[/note]], [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain the]] [[VibrationManipulation Shocker]][[note]]a robber who created an insulated battle suit with vibro-shock gauntlets[[/note]], etc. Together with ComicBook/{{Batman}} and ComicBook/{{Superman}}'s, it's considered probably the most well-known Rogues Gallery in all of comicdom.
** The villains are also good examples of villains crossing over to fight new heroes besides their traditional sparring partners. Electro, for example, has become an enemy to Daredevil as well as Spider-Man, while Spidey himself has thrown down with the enemies of everyone from ComicBook/IronMan to the Hulk to Captain Marvel.
*** A glaring example is Wilson Fisk, ComicBook/TheKingpin. He's become so closely associated with ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} that both [[Film/{{Daredevil}} the 2003 movie]] and [[Series/Daredevil2015 the Marvel Studios/Netflix series]] used him as the BigBad.
*** ComicBook/DarkReign upgraded Norman "The Green Goblin" Osborn to a universe-wide villain when he [[spoiler:took over the Avengers]].
* RoguesGalleryShowcase: The original "Sinister Six" story was this more than anything, as the story featured Spider-Man fighting each of his enemies one on one rather in a group.
* RoguesGalleryTransplant: A regular import-export trade exists in the rogues gallery between Spider-Man and other Marvel heroes:
** One example that is practically the TropeCodifier for this effect: Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime. He began as a Spider-Man villain, and a generic villain mob-boss at that. Creator/FrankMiller revived and reinterpreted him as a major threat (modeled on The Octopus from Creator/WillEisner's ''ComicBook/TheSpirit'') during his run on ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}, making him Matt Murdoch's archenemy and playing a relatively smaller role in Spider-Man stories after that. Miller's Fisk became an iconic and influential supervillain of TheEighties inspiring the ComicBook/PostCrisis take on ''ComicBook/LexLuthor'' which in a case of LostInImitation later inspired the Post-Clone Saga ''Norman Osborn''.
** It almost happened with The Sandman. After the first two battles he had with Spidey, he became an almost exclusive ComicBook/FantasticFour villain for the next 10 years. And later on he had a HeelFaceTurn and temporarily joined ''ComicBook/TheAvengers''. A similar situation happened with the Rhino, who for a while clocked more time as a villain in ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk.
** Mysterio did this once on purpose because the real Spidey wasn't available, and made enough of an impression (notably, he indirectly caused the death of Karen Page) that he arguably still has a place among ''Dardevil's'' foes. He is still mostly a Spidey villain but when he shows up, there is a higher-than-normal chance that Daredevil will too.
*** Likewise in ''ComicBook/OldManLogan'' he became a villain for ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}''.
*** He briefly becomes a nemesis of [[Characters/MarvelComicsXMan Nate Grey]] (who, partly thanks to being friends with Spidey, had a tendency to run into Spidey's enemies), and even successfully trapped him in a fantasy world. Unfortunately, Nate is arguably Marvel's most powerful psychic. Needless to say, Karma followed very quickly.
** Boomerang, a standard Spidey foe, was initially a villain to the ''Hulk''. He was moved to Spidey when it became clear that a monster like the Hulk was a little out of the weight class of a BadassNormal with trick boomerangs.
** Spider-Man has also tussled with a few of ''ComicBook/FantasticFour's'' villains (since historically he has had the closest bond with them). Most notably ''ComicBook/DoctorDoom'' has appeared in some major stories, being the first Marvel Wide villain Spider-Man fought in the Lee-Ditko era, when he accidentally kidnapped Flash thinking he was Spider-Man (of course, Doom has fought pretty much ''every'' hero in the Marvel Universe at one point or another). Their paths also crossed a number of times, most notably in recent times being in the 50th issue of JMS' run where Spider-Man saves his life from a terrorist attack when [[ARareSentence Peter, MJ, Captain America and Doom were all stranded at the Denver Airport on account of a storm]].
** One of Spider-Man's all-time greatest battles with any villain was with the Juggernaut, an X-Men villain, in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #229–230. This battle got a sequel during the ''ComicBook/GrimHunt'' arc. Then later, Spider-Man fought Firelord, a former Herald of Galactus, who was a villain of ''The Avengers'' in ASM #269-270. Both villains were intended to establish Spider-Man as the ultimate underdog, battling enemies beyond his wheelhouse, and defeating them on his own when usually they gave both the X-Men and the Avengers problems and needed a super-team to take them down.
** Shriek started off fighting ComicBook/CloakAndDagger but more commonly fights Spidey since, due to their relative obscurity compared to Spidey. She's also well-known as Carnage's girlfriend.
** As of ''Dark Reign'', Norman Osborn has become an archenemy of the entire Earth-based Marvel universe, second only to Doctor Doom before being downgraded and returning to Spider-Man's titles in Creator/DanSlott's run.
** Beetle IV, or Lady Beetle, started out fighting ComicBook/CaptainAmerica before quickly being moved to Spidey's corner.
** Shocker has been a consistent Spidey villain, outside of his stints with the Masters of Evil and the Thunderbolts. As of 2018, however, he's moved to New Jersey and started tangling with [[ComicBook/MsMarvel2014 Kamala Khan]].
** Interestingly, Arcade debuted in ''ComicBook/MarvelTeamUp'', [[TeamUpSeries a series about Spidey teaming up with different heroes]], but quickly became an X-Men villain before antagonizing the Avengers Academy without ever crossing paths with Spider-Man. In ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'', he's resurfaced as a Spidey foe once more.
* RousseauWasRight: DependingOnTheWriter. A running theme in Spider-Man stories, at least after Ditko left (since his run of stories generally had one-dimensional villains and his later objectivist turn was explicitly anti-Rousseauian). Spider-Man often believes that even his enemies are capable of being good or reforming, since as an imperfect man with the blood of his Uncle on his hands, he is himself trying to be a better person.
** The incident with letting the robber run straight past him taught Peter that doing the right thing matters more than anything else in the world, sometimes even including love, happiness, and getting revenge for a lost loved one. Peter believes in caring for others so hard, [[https://mediachomp.com/spider-man-comic-about-a-homeless-girl-is-heartbreaking/ just one homeless girl who was a fan of his that he missed on the street and is on death’s door by the time he finds her — breaks his heart even though she died loving him.]]
** One Marvel ChristmasSpecial has J.Jonah at the children’s ward trying and failing to teach the kids that Spidey is a selfish freak and only met with a collective “No you’re wrong geezer” as all the children share stories about how Spider-Man has visited and comforted them in their illness, including the terminal cases.
** 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 Doctor 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 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. Even JJJ has turned around now after Peter revealed his identity to him.
* RunTheGauntlet:
** Spidey's first battle with the Sinister Six was one of these, where he was forced to battle the Vulture, Electro, Kraven, Sandman, Mysterio, and Doctor Octopus one after another to save Aunt May and Betty Brant. This has been [[{{Handwave}} explained]] as being so each villain would have a chance to get the "honor" of killing Spidey himself. Spidey has since called this a "bone-headed method of teaming up" and in all subsequent fights, the Six attack en masse.
** Gently parodied in Spider-Girl's fight with the Savage Six -- the entire issue was one big homage to the entire first Sinister Six issue, the leader of the Savage Six employed the same method of attack, and his brother, also a super-villain, called him an idiot. The final fight (between the exhausted hero and fresh villain) is thoroughly subverted when Spider-Girl calls in a few favors, and the last villain is confronted by just about every hero in the ''ComicBook/MarvelComics2'' 'verse. He wisely surrenders at that point.
** Norman Osborn once claimed that only a gauntlet would work against Spider-Man since the webhead is "good with groups," using the opponents' powers against them and causing infighting.
** After a period where the classic villains were put aside to focus on new faces, there was an arc ''titled'' "The Gauntlet," where the Kravenoff family set up Spidey's classic RoguesGallery to fight him one after another and wear him down. The cover for the first collected volume encapsulates the trope almost perfectly - Spider-Man lies battered atop his fallen enemies.
** In the novel ''[[Literature/SinisterSixTrilogy Revenge of the Sinister Six]]'', Spider-Man lampshades the fact that [[ConservationOfNinjutsu whenever the Six get together, he always takes them down faster than when they fight him one at a time,]] and it's because [[BewareTheNiceOnes when they overwhelm him, he's no longer able to hold back so much.]] To punctuate the point, while he's doing this, he's also dodging Doctor Octopus' robotic arms...before crushing his real ones.
** A ''ComicBook/SpiderHam'' anniversary issue lampshaded the origin of the Sinister Six with Mysteriape of the Swinester Six suggesting the same and getting mocked for it.
* SanctuaryOfSolitude: ComicBook/{{Venom}}'s origin story: Eddie Brock, down-on-his-luck reporter, [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Venom_origin_in_church.jpg is contemplating suicide in a church]] while Spider-Man is trying to escape from the Symbiote. After he successfully drives it off, it bonds with Eddie, and Venom is born.
* SaveTheVillain: Shortly before the ''Gathering of Five'' arc, Spidey actually had to rescue Norman Osborn, and this Trope can be combined with WhatYouAreInTheDark for that occasion. The Kingpin sent Nitro the Living Bomb to assassinate Osborn, which resulted in him, Spidey (in his civilian identity as Peter Parker) and Norman's little grandson Normie trapped in an elevator that was about to collapse, both of them pinned. Norman, being the MagnificentBastard he is, actually took this time to gloat a little, telling Peter that he had no idea whether or not the security cameras were still working, and telling him that any displays of SuperStrength by Peter could possibly give him away to anyone who was watching. Of course, Norman was just as strong, but claimed he was unwilling for that very reason. (Or maybe he was waiting until the last second, or was ''actually'' unable to free himself, just too proud to ask for help. We may never know.) Eventually, Peter had to take the chance to save Normie (and found out quickly that the security cameras had been quite broken by the explosion) and might have considered leaving his enemy to fall. But when Normie begged him to save his grandfather, he relented, and helped get Norman out. ''Even then'', Norman couldn't help but goad him a little, telling him that if he had done nothing he would have been victorious in their feud. (And this would be a ''very'' large turning point in it; Norman would perform the Gathering of Five to gain more power to prevent things like this again, would be driven far more insane, his identity of the Goblin would be revealed, and his enmity with Spider-Man would become ''much'' deadlier than before.)
* SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp:
** Averted with Flash Thompson, originally a rampaging JerkJock, who comes back from his overseas military service much wiser and more mature. He actually forms a friendship with one-time target Peter Parker, as both men have grown since their high school days. Flash was never all that bad compared to other bullies. He later becomes a superhero in his own right, as Agent Venom.
** Played straight with the Creator/GarthEnnis story, "The Thousand", where the villain turns out to be a guy who bullied Peter when they were kids. He saw Peter get bitten by the spider and saw his first display of powers. He then promptly went back and ''ate'' the dead spider, hoping that'd give him Spider-Man powers. Instead, he turned into a thousand spiders that could take over a person by eating them from the inside.
** Played very straight with Tombstone, who bullied Joe "Robbie" Robertson when they were at school together, and grew up to be a full-fledged supervillain.
* ScreensAreCameras: The earliest versions of the Spider-Slayer robots work this way. The robots would seem to have no technological ''need'' to project the face of whoever remotely controls them onto a TV screen mounted on the robot's "head", but that's exactly what they do.
* SecondFaceSmoke: J. Jonah Jameson does this a lot; Spidey has found ways of reversing it on him once in a while.
* SeductionProofMarriage: In "To Have and To Hold", a SHIELD agent who was formerly MJ's bodyguard in Los Angeles where they were friendly in a period where she and Peter were briefly separated tries to signal an interest in her, which she rebukes:
--> '''Mary Jane''': "Is that what you think we were? You work my security detail for a few months and now -- now you’re Mr. S.H.I.E.L.D. man here to rescue me from my big, bad life? He’s my husband. You’re just some dude."
* SeductiveSpider:
** The Queen is a villainess with mystical control over spiders and is an extremely sexy woman who uses both her beauty and mental powers to seduce and control others. She once chose Spider-Man as her "mate"; unfortunate for him, as he was both married at the time, and "mating" meant that ''he'' [[MisterSeahorse would be the one impregnated]], not the other way around.
** ComicBook/{{Silk}} and Spider-Man mutually-secreted hormones that made the two of them irresistibly attractive to one-another. Even though they eventually decided they were BetterAsFriends, whenever they had a conversation, it was always laced with heavy {{Sexual Euphemism}}s and unintentional ([[TheTease as well as intentional]]) flirting.
* SexySecretary: Betty Brant, J. Jonah Jameson's secretary was Peter Parker's first love, although she was not terribly sexpot. She briefly got replaced by Glory Grant, who was sex on two long legs.
* SexyStewardess: In ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski'' #51, while doing a favor for an aging crime boss (don't ask), this was once attempted on Spider-Man. Since this happened during the period he and Mary-Jane were back together, the results were quite humorous.
-->'''Spider-Man:''' *from inside a large amount of webbing he's put up to keep the scantily-dressed "attendant" at bay* Just slip the food through the webs and no one gets hurt.
* ShamelessFanserviceGirl: ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson and ComicBook/BlackCat have moments like this ''especially'' when they are alone with Spider-Man. Given that they are both MsFanservice and their [[TheTease seductive personalities]], [[ItMakesSenseInContext it makes sense]]. %%Zero Context Example -- Please explain how they fall under the trope before uncommenting.
* ShoutOut: Probably the most of any Marvel character outside of ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}, as Spider-Man's quippy nature and [[JustForFun/OneOfUs slight geekiness]] makes these easy. It goes far enough that at one point when he shows up in ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'', and the characters begin to say "Look! It's--" he interrupts with "That's right... [[{{Catchphrase}} I'm]] ComicBook/{{Batman}}."
* SickEpisode: Peter was always getting sick for an issue or two, but then his spider-strength would allow him to recover in record time. Unfortunately, he always [[RuleOfDrama happened]] to get this ''right'' when the MonsterOfTheWeek showed up.
** The most famous is probably Spider-Man having a cold ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied.
** A special mention goes out to the ''ComicBook/GrimHunt'' storyline, in which the villains actually plan their attack to take place when he's sick [[spoiler:using the precognitive abilities of Madame Web.]]
** One comedic short in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' Annual (2014) had Spider-Man terrifying a group of villains by not speaking, which is considered a massive OutOfCharacterMoment for him, as it meant he was pissed. [[spoiler:Actually, he had laryngitis this time.]]
* SkySurfing: The Green Goblin and Hobgoblin can do this with their respective Goblin Gliders.
* SleepsInTheNude:
** [[Characters/FantasticFourTheFantasticFour Johnny Storm]] sleeps in the nude, he claims due to heightened body temperature thanks to his fire powers. Peter discovers this when he lets Johnny crash at the Baxter Building (currently the home of Parker Industries) and finds Johnny asleep in his bed. And the only thing Johnny has to cover himself with is Peter's [[HandOrObjectUnderwear pillow]]. Peter is definitely not amused.
** In ''[[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManDanSlott Amazing Spider-Man 2018]]'' #9, [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Peter]] is sleeping naked on his bed when he's woken by ComicBook/{{Silk}} who begins EatingTheEyeCandy, partially fueled by [[FantasticArousal the pheromones]] that make them attracted to each other.
** Rather infamously done in ''ComicBook/SpiderManReign'', where the initial printing of the first issue was recalled because it showed the schlong of the aged Peter Parker as he sat nude in bed.
* SpiderLimbs: A lot of instances of this trope have cropped up over the comic's history.
** Firstly, there's arch enemy ComicBook/DoctorOctopus and his four back-mounted mechanical tentacles.
** Then there is the [[PoweredArmor Iron Spider armor]] [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]] gives Spider-Man in the ''ComicBook/{{Civil War|2006}}'' has three retractable arms.
** There's also Midnight Sons rogue Spider-X, who has bony spider-limbs.
** Pre-dating the ''ComicBook/{{Civil War|2006}}'' Iron Spider armor, a possible future Spider-Man was shown to be a genius with PoweredArmor using a similar system to Doc Ock's. Interestingly, the future Goblin serving as his nemesis had equivalent technology on ''her'' armor as well.
** Spider-Man once had a teenage fanboy named Ollie Osnick who built himself a set of mechanical spider legs and tried to become Spidey's sidekick. Since he was a clumsy, [[GeekPhysique out-of-shape]] teenager with no combat experience, it was a good thing that Spider-Man was able to talk him out of it before he hurt himself. A few years later, he reemerged as the Steel Spider, having gotten into shape and learned some hand-to-hand fighting ability in the interim. After beating up some guys who'd attacked his girlfriend, he decided to hang up the costume but then reemerged during the ''ComicBook/{{Civil War|2006}}'' on the anti-registration side. His super-hero career apparently ended when he fought the Thunderbolts and Venom bit off and [[IAmAHumanitarian ate]] one of his arms and he was imprisoned in the Negative Zone.
** The ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan adds similar waldoes to his second costume. [[spoiler:Makes sense, since he's actually ComicBook/DoctorOctopus [[GrandTheftMe after stealing Spidey's body and life]].]] They are destroyed during the [[GrandFinale "Goblin Nation"]] arc.
** The third and fourth ComicBook/SpiderWoman both possessed these at different points. Originally they were a power of Charlotte Witter (Spider-Woman IV), as a result of [[LegoGenetics genetic manipulation]] by Doc Ock. After a lot of back-and-forth [[AllYourPowersCombined power-stealing]], the limbs -- [[SuperpowerLottery along with the other powers of all three other "Spider-Women"]] -- ended up with Mattie Franklin (Spider-Woman III).
** This has happened to Spidey before, but he managed to cure his condition thanks to the help of Dr. Curt Connors (a.k.a. the Lizard).
* StacysMom:
** For a time in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski'', where the ''Sins Past'' storyline was taken as a legitimate event in Spider-Man's history, ComicBook/NormanOsborn was this to Gwen Stacy. Fits with LoveFatherLoveSon, as she also dated Harry Osborn for a time. '' Sins Past'' was ultimately revealed to be an elaborate ruse by a Harry Osborn A.I. in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'', using hocus pocus from Mysterio and clones to deceive Spider-Man into thinking Norman and Gwen had a relationship.
** Norman had an affair with his son's fiancee Lily Hollister as well (After she had turned into the [[LegacyCharacter Goblinesque]] Menace), and for a time was believed to be the father of her child (later plot twists established Harry as the real father, and later runs would reveal Post-OMD Harry himself was in reality a clone of the long deceased original). Norman is not a very nice person.
* StatuesqueStunner: Stunner, who's over seven feet tall and looks like a bodybuilder in a skintight leotard. True to her name, she is described as breathtakingly beautiful, and in her first appearances, brags about how beautiful she is to some patrons at a bar, who judging by the smiles on their faces, don't disagree. It's later revealed that the reason why she's so beautiful is because she's actually a [[HardLight virtual reality construct]] (tangible hologram) controlled by Angelina Brancale. Angelina is an obese woman who wants to be thin and beautiful, so Doctor Octopus, another Spider-Man villain and her lover at the time, gives her a machine that allows her to be a Stunner.
* StatusQuoIsGod:
** Until approximately ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #38, Spider-Man had organic real-time CharacterDevelopment going from 15-year-old teenager to high school student, to freshman at college similar to other Marvel characters at the time which averted ComicBookTime. When this EarlyInstallmentWeirdness ended (mostly because it became clear that Creator/StanLee's trope-playing and trope-defying approach which he saw as best a temporary fad, had led to a lasting series of IP), Marvel adopted a new approach called "the illusion of change" as a result of which Peter Parker's aging and situation has frozen into more or less what it was since he was in college. He's at best in his mid-twenties and has been so since the late-60s.
** The only major status-quo change since Peter graduated high school was when he married, an event that happened mostly by accident mostly because it was unexpectedly popular as an idea among the regular public. It lasted for 20 years in real-time where multiple generations of readers saw Spider-Man as ''the'' married superhero. Marvel editors and executives spent most of their time since then backpedaling and reversing Peter to single status. [[ComicBook/OneMoreDay They succeeded after]] ''Civil War'' in the regular continuity at least.
** Spider-Man is the street hero, and he's still struggling, a bit of a ButtMonkey and a loner hero among the superhero continuity. The situation changed briefly in the run-up to the Civil War and stayed in place until ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' alienated him from the superhero community again.
** Mary-Jane Watson remains Peter's on-off LoveInterest and no matter how many girlfriends and dates Peter and she have, they almost always return and start dating again sooner or later.
* StoryArc: Whenever single writers work on an extended run, they tend to create a particular serialized plot and story either dealing with a particular story or villain, or on a character and thematic level, this allows them the satisfaction of providing their readers a conclusion of some sort even if the serialized nature continues. ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko'', ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski'' and ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManDanSlott'' have their own pages dealing with stories in their runs. For other writers:
** Lee-Romita's arc was more episodic but the overall theme was to give Peter a social circle and a series of friends, and try and have Peter get some direction for the future. Peter also struggles in this arc with his duties as a superhero and as friend and boyfriend (to both Harry Osborn and Gwen Stacy), getting neurotic because he keeps lying to them. This story arc gets resolved three times. The first is when Captain George Stacy, his second father figure after Ben's death and Spider-Man's first friendly authority figure dies, which also throws a wrench in his relationship with Gwen. Harry Osborn's drug issues create problems in his friendship with him, and then after Creator/StanLee left, it ends conclusively in Conway's ''The Night Gwen Stacy Died''.
** Creator/GerryConway's story arc which began with the death of Gwen Stacy and concluded in Issue #149 was essentially ending Peter's college era, and moving on from Gwen and falling in love with Mary Jane. Their growing friendship, love, and relationship which includes their FirstKiss and ends with TheirFirstTime (and probably Peter's first) was intended by Conway to signal Peter finding and overcoming tragedy and suffering, and experiencing a more adult romance than before. It also marked the end of Peter's ComingOfAgeStory from teenager to man.
** Roger Stern who came over more than fifty issues after Conway left during which Spider-Man was run by Len Wein and Marv Wolfman who tended to avoid big story arcs, dealt with Peter at the midpoint of his youth. Where after leaving college he goes to graduate school and is considering becoming a serious scientist. He also introduced the Felicia and Peter romance and towards the end the love triangle between them and MJ. Likewise, Stern introduced the Hobgoblin mystery and the overall thematic arc is what people think of and expect of Spider-Man such as Felicia imagining Spider-Man as being a more sophisticated man than her, and Spider-Man as an object of wish fulfillment and heroism. The theme of masks and social roles is also dealt with deeply.
* StrangerBehindTheMask:
** There was an early storyline, where the masked Crime Master, built up as a major threat similar to his predecessor Big Man (who had been Daily Bugle reporter Frederick Foswell). However, unlike Big Man, when Crime Master is shot and killed by police during the story climax, it's revealed that the man is completely unknown to both Spider-Man and the reader, though the police identify him as a fugitive. Spidey lampshades it by thinking "Sometimes, the culprit isn't always [[TheButlerDidIt the butler]]."
** When Peter unmasks Electro, since he has no connection to Electro's civilian identity Max Dillon, he has no idea who it is.
** Despite lots of foreshadowing that he may be Harry Osborn (among others) when the fifth Green Goblin was unmasked, he turned out to be... nobody. Literally, it was some kind of ArtificialHuman created by ComicBook/NormanOsborn.
** It's easy to forget this, but {{ComicBook/Venom}} was originally done like this. During Venom's introductory story arc, Spidey was being stalked by this maniac in the black symbiote suit he'd discarded who seemed to know his identity and monologued angrily to himself about how Spider-Man had ruined his life. He was seen unmasked early in the story, but the readers were unable to identify him, leaving them puzzled about who this mystery man actually is. Then when he finally captures Spider-Man and unmasks himself before him... he's a completely original character, whose backstory was {{Retcon}}ned into an existing Spider-Man story (the infamous Sin-Eater arc). Even worse, ''Peter'' knows who Brock is (although not to the extent that they knew each other in ''Spider-Man 3''), making this a Stranger Behind The Mask for the readers ''only'', verging on RememberTheNewGuy.
** Happened again during ComicBook/TheCloneSaga, thanks to an editorial screwup. In an attempt to clean up the [[KudzuPlot out of control storyline]], Marvel retconned everything into being the work of a mystery man named Gaunt. He was intended to be Norman Osborn, the only villain with the credibility to pull off such a wide-ranging plot, but one writer didn't get the memo and dropped hints that Gaunt was serving [[TheManBehindTheMan a more powerful villain]]. They did an AuthorsSavingThrow by making Osborn this more powerful villain, and Gaunt was eventually unmasked as... Mendel Stromm, Osborn's business partner in his pre-supervillain days and a D-list villain called "The Robot Master" who'd had all of two previous appearances: the first in 1966 and the second in 1986, a full ten years before The Clone Saga.
** Subverted at the end of ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan''. For over a dozen issues, the Goblin King has been dropping increasingly broad hints that he's Norman Osborn but always refuses to take the mask off. At the climax, Spider-Man rips off his mask, only to discover it's... some redheaded guy with a mustache he's never seen before. It turns out it really is Norman Osborn -- [[MultilayerFacade he'd gotten plastic surgery]] since his original face had gotten too well-known.
** Flipped on Spidey himself during the Creator/MarkMillar run in ''[[Creator/MarvelKnights Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #4]]'', in which an injured Spider-Man is abducted from his hospital bed by the Vulture, who angrily tears off the bandages covering his face and is completely deflated by the realization that he and his criminal buddies have been losing to a "nobody" for all this time.
* TeethFlying:
** ComicBook/{{Venom}}'s teeth often go flying when Spider-Man gives him a beating. Not that it matters much, since they grow back in seconds.
** During Spider-Man's first fight with Tombstone he knocks out several of his teeth.
** In "The Mortal Past" from ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' Annual #28 after Carnage's friend Billy tricks him into taking off his costume so he can kill him as Cletus Kasady, Spider-Man takes advantage of the situation while he's more vulnerable in this state so he knocks him unconscious with a punch knocking out one of his teeth in the process.
** In ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #122, during Spider-Man's beatdown of The Green Goblin for killing his girlfriend Gwen Stacey, he knocks out some of his teeth.
* ThenLetMeBeEvil:
** While it never actually happens, ''Spider-Man'' comics have repeatedly teased the reader with the possibility of Spider-Man becoming a menace due to the AllOfTheOtherReindeer mentality of the world around him. In the ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderman'' comics, ComicBook/NickFury was particularly worried that all of the tragedy and bad publicity in Peter's life would drive him to villainy -- and given the combination of Peter's intelligence, determination, and superpowers, that would be a very bad thing.
** The closest it came in the mainstream Marvel Universe was during the ''ComicBook/ActsOfVengeance'', when he gained the godlike powers of Captain Universe, which he could not control, making the New Yorkers more scared of him than ever. The fact that super-villains were attacking him for no seemingly reason at all (something that was happening to the entire hero community during the crisis) only made him angrier. Finally, during his battle with the robot T.E.S.S. One, the insults from the people he was trying to help made him lose his temper, and he screamed, "You want a menace?? ''I've got your menace right here!!''" And then he blew T.E.S.S. One to smithereens. (He may have eventually ''truly'' fallen into this trope had he not been able to win their respect by saving the city and winning their respect again -- at least for a while.)
** The Scorcher, a Spider-Man foe, reportedly started out like this. According to his origin story, research scientist Steven Jamal Hudak was framed for embezzlement by a co-worker and had to go into hiding to avoid his arrest. Being a wanted man with little chance of finding work at his chosen field, Hudak used his scientific knowledge to build a PoweredArmor and started a career as a freelance mercenary.
* ThinksOfSomethingSmartSaysSomethingStupid: In the ''Omega Effect'' crossover, Spider-Man meets up with ComicBook/ThePunisher. When he sees that Frank Castle has a female sidekick, [[https://i.redd.it/ajrcnqry1gr71.jpg Spidey thinks to himself]] that cracking a joke about it will just piss Frank off--but he can't stop himself from saying it.
-->'''Spider-Man's internal monologue:''' Of course... The Punisher... and he's brought a friend. Who's a girl. Don't ''say'' it resist the ''urge'' he'll kill you don't ''don't''--\\
'''Spider-Man:''' So I see you've started ''dating'' again.\\
'''Spider-Man's internal monologue:''' Stupid ''mouth!''
* TookALevelInBadass:
** Spider-Man's writing team is making all his classic villains either take a level in badass or be replaced by stronger and more dangerous counterparts (Vulture, Rhino). ComicBook/DoctorOctopus took control over all of New York's technology with his last appearance, Chameleon (written by, already mentioned above, Fred Van Lente) returned to his original ways, becoming a perfect -- and dangerous -- impersonator and assassin. Electro can now turn into lightning and [[spoiler: destroyed the Daily Bugle building]], Sandman can make multiple copies of himself ([[spoiler:some of them are murderous]]), Mysterio [[spoiler: took control over the [[strike:Mafia]] Maggia with his tricks]]. Not so classic White Rabbit has been turned from a complete joke into a dangerous drug dealer and crazy killer and together with the Spot and a bunch of CListFodder villains -- Scorcher, Speed Demon, Bloodshed, Squid, Lightmaster, and Answer -- almost destroyed Mr. Negative's criminal empire and defeated his immortal servants and Hammerhead (they lost only because [[spoiler: Negative brainwashed Spider-Man and sent him to fight them]]).
** Spider-Man is all about taking a level in badass. That's essentially what happened to Peter Parker from the very start!
*** And in ''ComicBook/SpiderIsland'', after losing his spider-sense and having to learn how to fight without it (Spider-Fu), it has returned and now Spider-Man is even more dangerous! Baddies beware.
*** He's done this multiple times over the course of his career as he has grown from a raw teen hero into a mature adult one. He's added tools, refined his webshooters, even gotten training from ComicBook/CaptainAmerica (who had pointed out to him that relying on instinct in a fight isn't always a good idea).
** Although never exactly weak, ComicBook/NormanOsborn went from being Spider-Man's enemy (who Spider-Man constantly defeated) the Green Goblin, to being the man who [[ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied killed Gwen Stacy]], to being the one behind ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga'', to taking over the entire Franchise/MarvelUniverse in ''ComicBook/DarkReign''.
** Mary Jane Watson started off as just a flirtatious, free-spirited love interest for Spider-Man. As time went on, she became his main love interest, and was strong enough that she once beat one of his enemies up with a baseball bat and hardly ever gets captured; she seems well able to defend herself from villains and even rescued Spider-Man when she needed to.
** Also, Spidey's one-time girlfriend Betty Brant. After the murder of her husband Ned Leeds, she went from one nervous breakdown to another, was brainwashed by a cult for a while, and in general, was a DamselInDistress. Eventually, after a long absence from the comic, she came back [[ActionGirl packing heat and knowing martial arts]], intent on finding answers to the reasons behind Ned's death. Even Spidey was shocked at the change she had underwent. During Peter David's run on ''Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man'' (shortly before ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay''), the highlight has to be Betty saving Flash and Spidey from [[TheWormThatWalks Arrow]] using a shotgun with silver bullets ([[CrazyPrepared she's a Daily Bugle reporter]]).
** Joke character Hammerhead got this treatment, as part of becoming TheDragon for BigBad Mr. Negative. He got a reinforced skeleton (made out of canonical NightmareFuel[[note]]that is, it actually gives Spidey nightmares... despite the fact that he never actually saw it[[/note]]) and strength and durability upgrades including a Kevlar throat. The very first thing he does is utterly stomp Spidey. As Peter is lying on the floor [[spoiler:''with a dislocated jaw'']], he says "[[LampshadeHanging Why aren't you a joke anymore?]]"
** Anthony Davis was a second-rate CListFodder supervillain known as the Ringer, who was humiliated by Spider-Man before being [[DroppedABridgeOnHim unceremoniously murdered]] along with 17 other supervillains by the villain-killing Scourge. A later {{retcon}} would reveal that Davis was NotQuiteDead when he was found by a group of agents from the technological terrorist group A.I.M., who were investigating the site of the massacre to steal the technology of the dead villains. He got better when A.I.M. turned him into a cyborg with advanced laser weapons and teleportation powers. Now calling himself Strikeback, Davis proved to be a much better fighter than he ever was as the Ringer, defeating the Vulture, Stegron, Boomerang, and Swarm one after another when he reappeared.
** Spider-Man writer Fred Van Lente has been doing this in general with a few F-list villains, taking them and making them into genuinely capable threats. The best example is the Spot, who is developed by Van Lente into a mute killer who's been driven insane by his being trapped in an alternate dimension and who can now only communicate by writing in his own incomprehensible language of dots. We also see just how legitimately terrifying the powers of even the lowliest super-villains can be. More recently, Van Lente has been writing [[ADayInTheLimelight background stories]] featuring some of the classic Lee/Ditko/Romita villains in the new ''Web of Spider-Man'' series that began in late 2009.
*** The Spot always had what should have been extremely dangerous abilities. He was just too stupid to use them effectively.
*** In their first encounter, the Spot beats Spider-Man badly. In their next encounter, Spidey knows what to expect and has the endurance to take his "only" normal human level hits until the Spot has used his powers too much and has given an open spot for him to attack. Thus he is only defeated by his overconfidence.
*** This predated Fred Van Lente's work. The first definitive example of the modern age of Spider-Man comics was Scorpion, formerly an incredibly dim C-List villain ''at best'', becoming the new Venom and thus gaining not only knowledge and experience of how best to fight Spider-Man, but also getting a considerable physical boost despite already being physically (if not mentally) capable of going toe-to-toe with Spidey.
*** After a pretty successful stint as ComicBook/{{Venom}} (see ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}'' and ''ComicBook/DarkAvengers''), he is back as the Scorpion in an even MORE powerful scorpion suit. Spidey still bests him, but he certainly has the powers to be a threat these days.
* TheTopicOfCancer:
** Used as a FateWorseThanDeath in one version of ComicBook/{{Venom}}'s origin. It turns out that Eddie Brock has cancer which, through hormonal imbalance, causes fits of rage, ruining his life. The symptoms also attract [[TheSymbiote the Venom symbiote]] to him. The symbiote wants to take over Peter but ends up attached to Brock and unable to switch hosts again. It has the power to stop the cancer from spreading but can't afford to cure it as it relies on it for food. This leaves Brock superpowered, angry, and in constant pain -- for the rest of his life. It ended up being cured sometime later thanks to Mr. Negative soon after Eddie surrendered the symbiote to be bidden off. In ''ComicBook/VenomDonnyCates'', it is suggested that [[spoiler:Eddie's cancer wasn't actually cancer, but the symbiote manipulating his mind and body to make him think he did, thus they could stay together]].
** A minor but very creepy villain named Styx is at one point called "living cancer". He's a victim of PlayingWithSyringes trying to find a cancer cure by way of AcquiredPoisonImmunity -- by exposing him to mutagens. Instead, it gives him the power to [[MakeThemRot make anything he touches wither and rot]]. The experience also twists his mind -- if his ability wasn't limited to touch, he would be an OmnicidalManiac.
** In ''Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'' Vol 2 #1, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Aunt May has cancer and she's terrified of letting Peter know. When she finally does, one of the things he does is head for ComicBook/DoctorStrange (he was taking a kid there after he had accidentally broken his arm and the kid had no insurance) and start to ask for help. Strange cuts him off and suggests that he just take the time to be with her... and also [[SelfDeprecation to not take up]] [[ComicBook/OneMoreDay deals with interdimensional demons]] (which Peter agrees to)]].
* TrueLoveIsBoring: Outright ''stated'' by WordOfGod as the reason behind the {{Retcon}}ning of Peter and Mary Jane's divorce. And even before ''One More Day'', writers and editors tried to break up, kill off, or otherwise end Peter and MJ's relationship time and time again. Also one of the reasons Gwen Stacy was killed. Nobody at Marvel was ready for a married Spider-Man yet, though in the case of Gwen, her being boring was also a reason (since MJ isn't, it's a lot harder to keep her out of Spider-Man's life).
* UnbuiltTrope: While obviously later writers didn't get the memo, the original Clone Saga by Creator/GerryConway was a {{Deconstruction}} of characters coming BackFromTheDead, being fixated on TheLostLenore, and not dealing with grief in a mature way. In that story, Prof. Miles Warren who became the Jackal (and who was intended as a one-time villain who died at the end of the story) is a stand-in for fans of Gwen Stacy who hounded Conway and others for killing off the character, and who likewise blamed Peter Parker and not the Green Goblin for her death. While the Gwen who came back is revealed later to be a clone, initially Peter and everyone assumed she was real, and Peter's still conflicted about Gwen's return because he's not [[CharacterDevelopment the same person]] who loved her anymore, he has moved on and his feelings for MJ are stronger than his grief for Gwen, because unlike Miles Warren, who had a lecherous and creepy obsessive fixation for Gwen (putting her on a pedestal and fixating on her looks), Peter's at heart a normal and optimistic guy and indeed he overcomes his CloningBlues when he realizes that since he's now in love with Mary Jane, he's the real deal since the clones are all fixated on his past with Gwen. In other words, Conway's story is a proto-deconstruction to a number of comic tropes that came afterwards (i.e. DeathIsCheap, StatusQuoIsGod, DoppelgangerReplacementLoveInterest especially as it came to be seen in the wake of ''ComicBook/TheDarkPhoenixSaga'') and why even should Gwen return, his feelings he once had for her would not be enough to renew a relationship which contrasts heavily with Cyclops dumping Madelyne Pryor for the revived Jean Grey even when he had married and had a child with her. It also contrasts completely against the spirit and intent of the second and more notorious Clone Saga which was a stunt intended to return Peter "back to basics" and reverse his CharacterDevelopment.
* UselessSpleen:
** In the novel ''[[Literature/SpiderManTheVenomFactor The Venom Factor]]'', ComicBook/{{Venom}} states that when he finds whoever is responsible for the murders (that Venom is being wrongly accused of) he will eat his spleen. Spider-Man comments that this is an odd choice of organ to target and that Venom likely doesn't even know where someone's spleen is.
** Comes back in the ''Literature/SinisterSixTrilogy'' where Spider-Man casually jokes about Venom wanting to eat his spleen. He speculates that it's not specifically the spleen he's after, they both just think it's [[InherentlyFunnyWord a funny word]].
* VerySpecialEpisode: Spider-Man has been a very popular character for very special episodes. Select {{narm}}-filled issues show our hero:
** Saving a young boy from being molested by his female babysitter [[http://www.misterkitty.org/extras/stupidcovers/superhero2.jpg by telling the tale about how he was molested as a kid by an adult friend named "Skip", who had an uncanny resemblance to Uncle Ben]]. Marvel has stated, however, that the story is not canon.
** Foiling a plot to [[http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/1333192.html inflict the youth of America with teen pregnancy by giving advice about sexuality.]]
** Saving a stoner from jumping off a building. [[http://wolkin.com/2010/04/152/why-am-i-doing-this-fastlane-commentary-part-1/ This mess]] was actually paid for with tax dollars, mind you.
** Teamed up with ComicBook/{{Storm}} and ComicBook/LukeCage to combat Smokescreen. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNsDvrU-fkA Guess what this one is about]]
** Teaming up with the Rangers and a paraplegic superheroine to teach the Calgary Stampede a lesson about road safety.
** Spider-Man is also known for one of the better Very Special Episodes. Creator/StanLee was asked to write a very special episode about drugs by the government, and, instead of creating a LongLostUncleAesop to focus the story on, he chose to use an existing character, with bonus points for being a rich white male with known emotional issues. UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode then [[IdiotBall refused to approve the comic]], which was the beginning of the end for the CCA.
** All these various issues would later be collected in a TPB "Spider-Man Vs. Substance Abuse".
* VileVulture: Adrian "The Vulture" Toomes is a villain who stylizes himself as a vulture by using a winged suit to rob banks and try to kill Spider-Man. His vulture-like appearance is aided by the fact that he's bald and has a fairly prominent, pointy nose.
* VillainOverForDinner: Aunt May and Mary Jane have a tendency to be visited by Spidey's foes in civilian garb.
** Venom visited them both, although Mary Jane knew who and what he was and spent a long time terrified of him. He visited Aunt May as "a friend of Pete's". However, it has to be noted that due to Venom's twisted sense of fair play, neither Mary Jane nor May were ever in any danger. Venom never made any threatening moves toward either of them, and Eddie Brock even chatted with May in a very friendly manner and helped her with household chores. Brock even gave Peter his word that he would never harm Aunt May. Later MJ took out the Chameleon when she [[SpottingTheThread realized that he wasn't Peter]].
** Norman Osborn did this a lot, obviously since he was one of the first villains to learn of Peter's secret identity. Though, a few of these times, even he wasn't aware he was the Goblin. Norman's son Harry did the same. Once again, Mary Jane was aware of what Harry had become and almost had a HeroicBSOD because of it. Remember, Mary Jane was friends with Harry and even dated him at one point.
* VillainTakesAnInterest: Some versions of Spider-Man give Spidey him this sort of connection to ComicBook/NormanOsborn, aka the Green Goblin. Especially when the Green Goblin's son is [[WhyAreYouNotMySon not living up to his father's expectations]].
* WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld: The Amazing Spider-Man'' may well have ''[[UrExample invented]]'' this trope, and Peter's constant struggles to keep his life on track while fighting crime shows up in almost every other incarnation of the series. In fact, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created Spider-Man around this very premise. They wanted a young superhero who, unlike the then-popular "sidekick" depiction of such a character, had to simultaneously deal with the social and emotional pressures of becoming an adult... and the parade of crazy costumed baddies.
** While Peter in later comics would become an adult in the main continuity, many adaptations would further lean into Peter struggling between being a high-schooler and a superhero. In comic books, the ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' would be best known for showing the concept in the light of the 21st century.
** Peter Parker's [[AffirmativeActionLegacy successor as Spider-Man]] ComicBook/MilesMorales likely falls into this trope, both in the [[ComicBook/UltimateMarvel Ultimate Universe]] and the mainstream continuity.
** ''ComicBook/SpiderGwen'' follows a teenaged [[AlternateSelf alternate version]] of Gwen Stacey who was bitten by a radioactive spider and similar to Peter has to find balance between her normal teenage problems and the life as superheroine Spider-Woman/Ghost Spider.
* WalkingWasteland: Carrion and Styx.
* WifeBasherBasher: [[KnightTemplar Cardiac]] usually doesn't concern himself with this kind of criminal (as a vigilante, his goal is to punish people who hurt others and do horrendous things but use legal loopholes and technicalities to escape justice). However, in one issue, while he is staking out a place, he sees a man assault his wife in a nearby apartment, and decides he can't "in clear conscience", let it happen. (Unfortunately, while he is teaching the wife-beater a lesson, it gave his true target more of a head start than he'd have liked.)
* WillOTheWisp: There's a villain named Will o'the Wisp, who most often fights Spider-Man. He can control his density and hypnotize targets.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity:
** If you're a scientist introduced by name in the Spider-Man comics, you're usually one issue away from your experiments turning you into a deranged {{Supervillain}}. Especially if [[StevenUlyssesPerhero your name conveniently sounds a lot like the type of experiment you're conducting...]]
** In almost every incarnation of Spider-Man, when he gains access to the power-enhancing abilities of the symbiote, he ends up becoming irrationally angry and cocky. Interestingly, this doesn't actually apply to the original comic book version of Spider-Man; he wore the symbiote suit for about a year without any ill effects, and it wasn't until [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything the suit wanted their relationship to be a little more intimate than Spidey was ready for did he realize it wasn't such a great idea]]. The [[WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries '90s cartoon]] was [[LostInImitation responsible]] for the "symbiote makes you a psychopath" aspect, [[RetCanon which eventually came into play in the comic universe]], however it was shown in a ComicBook/WhatIf issue in 1989 (5 years before the premiere of the animated series) that if Spider-Man kept the symbiote it would have possessed him mentally and physically, and eventually would have killed Peter.
** Spidey's ArchEnemy, the [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn Green Goblin]], in his original portrayal, was this. He was a [[ParentalNeglect distant father]] whose business practices were not always [[CorruptCorporateExecutive scrupulous]], but he had redeeming traits, such as genuinely loving his son, and saving Gwen Stacy's father's life. Then the formula that gave him his powers drove him insane, though periodic bouts of amnesia restored him to his former self. After he [[MoralEventHorizon killed Gwen Stacy]], however, he was rewritten as always being sociopathic, with the kinder personality that he possessed during his periods of amnesia being a false personality. The Goblin formula probably enhanced his insanity, however.
* WolverinePublicity:
** As Marvel's BreakoutCharacter, Spider-Man became the company mascot and in the early issues often appeared in multiple titles, predating Wolverine by more than a decade having passed even Wolverine and Deadpool in over-saturation as he is now either a member or guest-starring with the three big teams in the Marvel Universe--including the X-Men, the Avengers (both teams), and the new ComicBook/FantasticFour (known as the FF); plus his own book is released twice a month.
** Interestingly in Spider-Man's early issues, the Fantastic Four made appearances to boost the newcoming Spider-Man's popularity. The Human Torch made campus speeches in Peter's school, and Dr. Doom became the first Marvel-wide villain Spider-Man tussled with.
** Recent comics have seen Spider-Man fall into Iron Man's orbit around the time he was getting his big push in the movies. He, Aunt May, and MJ moved into Stark Tower, Peter wore a suit designed by Tony Stark (Iron Spider), joined his side during the ComicBook/{{Civil War|2006}} (before switching over to Team Cap midway), and in recent comics, Peter has even become Iron Man-lite in that he runs his own business and claims to be Spider-Man's employer and backer, while MJ actually transitioned from his supporting cast into Tony's for a while.
* WomanlinessAsPathos: Gwen Stacy is a constant source of angst and turmoil for Peter, resulting in the circumstances her death being retreaded several times throughout publication, as well as many stories that resulted directly from her death or the events immediately leading up to them. For example, The Clone Saga started when StalkerWithACrush Miles Warren cloned both her and Peter Parker as revenge for Peter letting the object of his affection die. The story ''Sins Past'' revealed more details about her past, including that [[spoiler:she cheated on him with his archenemy ComicBook/NormanOsborn and bore two children.]]
* {{Wring Every Last Drop Out Of H|im}}er: Aunt May has been on the verge of death for ''six decades''.
* XCalledTheyWantTheirYBack: In one story, Peter is going undercover at a club for {{Vampire Vannabe}}s. He dresses in what he thinks is appropriate goth gear, only for an [[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Edward Cullen]] lookalike to taunt "The nineties called, they want their vampire back!"
* {{Yandere}}:
** The ComicBook/{{Venom}} symbiote is a total Yandere for Spider-Man. Its thought process can be summed up as "That bastard! How dare he kick me out! Didn't he realize how awesome I was?! Well screw him! I hate him, I hate him, I want him to die! He deserves to suffer for hurting me! But then... I won't have him! I know, I'll kill off everything he loves and then force him to take me back! Then it will just be us together ''forever''...". It's even been discussed once in Marvel Age Spider-Man and in ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', in which both times Peter pretends to apologize to the symbiote and asks if it wants him to be its host again, which it does, and both times Peter mentions that it's acting like a jealous ex-girlfriend. Also, take a look at the ''What If?'' take on ''The Other'' storyline, where Peter doesn't come back to life and the symbiote ''immediately'' abandons its current host to merge with Peter's body, becoming a new monstrosity called "Poison". It wants Peter so badly it doesn't even mind that he's ''[[{{Necromantic}} dead]]''.
*** On the flip side, Brock is this to the symbiote itself. Or rather, was. As Anti-Venom, he's now dedicated himself to [[TheAtoner destroying it]]. and even before that, he ''hated'' all other symbiotes (and with good reason, because Carnage was [[EvenEvilHasStandards a killer who sickened him]]) and he [[HunterOfHisOwnKind devoted himself to killing them]].
** ''ComicBook/{{Carnage}}'': Cletus Kasady and ''his'' symbiote have this relationship, with the latter willing to do whatever it takes to reunite with its beloved host when they're separated.
** Spider-Man's former wife Mary Jane was actually plagued by ''two'' male versions of this trope, which were, oddly enough, connected. The first, and more obvious one, was her wealthy and AxeCrazy landlord Jonathan Caesar. His first attempt to kidnap her failed, leading to his arrest and imprisonment, but even while behind bars, he was able to use his money and influence to make her life miserable, blacklisting her among the modeling profession until she managed to gain a role in the ''Secret Hospital'' soap opera.
*** The second one was much more subtle. After Caesar was paroled, a few folks who assaulted or abused Mary Jane (including a deluded fan of the soap opera and her angry director) were either murdered or assaulted. Mary Jane suspected it was Caesar's doing, especially when Peter himself was almost a victim, but Peter tended to doubt it, claiming that the attacks didn't fit his MO. Peter turned out to be right. The true culprit was the second Yandere (known only by his last name, Goldman) who had claimed to be a policeman, but was really only a clerk working for the NYPD. When Caesar made a second attempt to kidnap Mary Jane, Goldman murdered him in cold blood, and when Mary Jane rejected him, tried to shoot her too. But she tricked him into to getting close by offering to reveal the future plot of the soap (saying they'd have to change it if she were dead) and was able to knock him out with her purse. (Kind of makes you [[FridgeLogic wonder what she kept in it... Bricks?]])
** One of the worst involved with Spider-Man's life is possibly Miles Warren, the orchestrator of everything that went down in ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga''. He has always had ''one'' motivation for everything, and that is his unhealthy crush on Gwen Stacy. He seeks revenge on Peter not only for her death, but for having loved her when he couldn't. Ben seriously calls him out on this during the FinalBattle, telling him, "Get this through your sick head, ''the Green Goblin killed her'', Peter did ''not''!" and Peter himself, during the ''Dead Man's Hand'' one shot, tells him, "Still hung up on Gwen, huh? Some things never change." The biggest irony is, Gwen's clone eventually fell in love with and ''married'' a far-more lucid clone of Warren (which the real one had abandoned as a failed experiment) so it's possible if Warren had not been such a lustful madman, the real Gwen might have been more accepting (or maybe turned him down in a way he could have accepted).
* YinYangBomb: Mister Negative. By day, Martin Li is the kindly, charitable owner of a soup kitchen whose visitors seem to be miraculously cured of their various ailments. By night the color-inverted Mister Negative is a ruthless gangster who warps Li's charitable works to his own criminal aim (unless it's Li who's covertly redirecting Mister Negative's efforts towards good).
* ZorroMark: Kaine uses his wall-sticking powers ''on your face'' and pulls his hand away, resulting in the disfiguring "Mark of Kaine." Yeeowch. Fortunately (or unfortunately) the person he's doing this to is typically already dead.

** The ''[[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski Sins Past]]'' storyline infamously {{Ret Con}}s that Gwen Stacy secretly had twins with ComicBook/NormanOsborn, though it doesn't try to explain ''how.'' FandomVIP J.R. "Madgoblin" Fettinger, having pored over back issues, posted his theory online of when it could have happened: a certain period when she was on the outs with Peter but after Norman had recently saved her father's life. Maybe she went over to thank him and OneThingLedToAnother? He conceded that this wasn't a perfect theory (for example, Gwen doesn't look pregnant when she logically should), but it made more sense than anything else, so [[AscendedFanon the writers made it canon]].[[note]][[ShaggyDogStory Then a later storyline reveals that this was all false anyway]], she never slept with Norman and the twins were clones. Comics![[/note]]

* AmbiguouslyGay: Mysterio is sort of this. In the mainstream comics he's rarely, if ever, shown any interest in women and has had a few hints over the years (plus the Spidey standard of occasional HoYay). Some novels dropped the ambiguously part and made him explicitly gay; said novels are dubiously canon at best but pretty much everyone out-of-universe assumes he's gay at this point, even if the comics have yet to actually say it.

* ConceptsAreCheap: In lesser stories, "WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility" becomes this. It was never really Peter's BadassCreed as later comics made it out to be. It was just a caption voiced by the narrator in ''ComicBook/AmazingFantasyNumberFifteen'' in classic Creator/StanLee dated PurpleProse. But the attempt to make this Spider-Man's ethos often leads to much fuzziness about what powers and responsibilities mean, leading to much InformedAttribute. Peter fights crime for the grand glorious cause of Responsibility: he has the power to do it, so he has to do it. (It ''does'' spin out of his OriginStory, but still.) This may mean that he was doomed to become a superhero no matter what: he was introduced as a young genius almost on par with the other super scientists of the time like [[ComicBook/AntMan Hank Pym]], [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]], and [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]]. Thus, he had great power, and thus, great responsibility.

* Following Zdarsky's success on Spectacular Spider-Man, Marvel stated that it continues its commitment to the second series, with ''Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'', a title that had last been written by Peter David during the JMS era, revived under Tom Taylor starting from 2019. Meanwhile, Spider-Man's legacy characters will continue their adventures under new teams, with Creator/SaladinAhmed writing ''ComicBook/MilesMoralesSpiderMan'' and Christos Gage writing the sequel series to ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan''.

** Peter Parker's [[AffirmativeActionLegacy successor as Spider-Man]] Miles Morales likely falls into this trope, both in the [[ComicBook/UltimateMarvel Ultimate Universe]] and [[ComicBook/MilesMoralesSpiderMan the mainstream continuity]].

** The ComicBook/HumanTorch played this role in early stories. No one character plays the role now. Torch and Spidey eventually switched the roles for awhile. Peter was smart enough that he could keep up with Reed's scientific lectures, developed a friendly rapport with Sue and Ben, and was even good with watching Franklin. There was a period where Johnny resented the fact that Peter was practically more of a member of his own family than ''he'' was. They eventually worked this out, though, and became best buddies, until ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' caused an identity reset. While they're friends again, sort of, now that Peter's again revealed his identity to the Four, they aren't near as close as they once were.

** [[ComicBook/HumanTorch Johnny Storm]] sleeps in the nude, he claims due to heightened body temperature thanks to his fire powers. Peter discovers this when he lets Johnny crash at the Baxter Building (currently the home of Parker Industries) and finds Johnny asleep in his bed. And the only thing Johnny has to cover himself with is Peter's [[HandOrObjectUnderwear pillow]]. Peter is definitely not amused.

** Nick Spencer also wrote the highly popular cult series ''ComicBook/TheSuperiorFoesOfSpiderMan'' to show the LowerDeckEpisode of Spider-Man's RoguesGallery. Eventually, Spencer would succeed Slott [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManNickSpencer at the end of 2018 as the mainline Spider-Man writer]].

* '''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManNickSpencer:''' Following on from Slott's extended run. Spencer's first story arc promised "Back to Basics" with Peter Parker downgraded back to graduate student after a plagiarism scandal undoes some of his recent successes, though Peter acknowledges that said successes were unearned. Spencer also reignited the Peter and Mary Jane love story in the mainline continuity after a ten-year absence (the longest period in which Peter and Mary Jane were apart after they started dating in earnest in the Conway era). A new mysterious villain, and a story-arc dealing with Boomerang, a villain Spencer had touched on in his ''Superior Foes'' series forms the focus of the initial arc. 2019 introduces ''ComicBook/{{Hunted}}'', Spencer's first event.

* ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManNickSpencer'' (Vol. 5) (July 2018 - September 2021)

* ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManNickSpencer'' (2018-2021)

** ''ComicBook/{{Hunted}}'', the first story event from ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManNickSpencer'' {{Lampshades}} this when Spider-Man points out that it's "not hard to see the theme here" among the many animal-themed rogues being rounded for Kraven the Hunter's latest evil scheme. Two of the bad guys doing the rounding up, Taskmaster and Black Ant actually discuss in a dark comedic way whether Hammerhead, the mob boss with a metal plate in his skull fits given the shark name but they decide that he hadn't committed, i.e. actually dress up and use gadgets which fit his animal gimmick. When all the rounding up is done, Taskmaster gloats to Black Ant, when he betrays him, that hey an ant is also an animal.

** ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManNickSpencer'' tied Mary Jane's miscarriage at the end of ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga'' and Peter's infamous DealWithTheDevil in ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' together with the revelation that they're both part of Mephisto's efforts to prevent Peter and Mary Jane's daughter from being born, as she's apparently destined to dethrone him when he conquers Earth in a possible future.

** When [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManNickSpencer Nick Spencer]] took over writing ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' in 2018, the early issues had some noticeable potshots at former writer [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManDanSlott Dan Slott's]] portrayal of the character, with several characters even calling Peter out on irresponsible behavior made during Slott's run. Spencer's very first issue saw the long-awaited reunion of Peter and [[ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson Mary Jane]], with subsequent issues deconstructing their previous reasoning for not getting back together and [[{{Reconstruction}} ultimately refuting it.]] Unfortunately for Spencer, his efforts were for naught, as the two were immediately broken up again after Creator/ZebWells took over [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2022 the comic]].

** For instance a flashback to ''ComicBook/KravensLastHunt'' from Post-OMD issues implies that it was Uncle Ben's memory that gave him the HeroicResolve to come out of the grave when in the comic it was MJ and her role as his newlywed wife that gave him his strength. Likewise, Quesada also claims that Baby May never happened when that was a major part of the entire ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga''. Creator/NickSpencer's [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManNickSpencer Spider-Man]], which opens with a ShoutOut to Matt Fraction's "To Have and to Hold" (an annual that celebrates Peter and MJ's marriage and is fundamentally about it), alludes to it being a dream Peter had about how things should be, which alludes to the fact that the marriage was crucially relevant to several stories that no longer work with a substitute.

** ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManNickSpencer'': Nick Spencer took over as the title's head writer in 2018, ending Creator/DanSlott's [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManDanSlott ten year run]]. The very first issue ends with Peter and Mary Jane getting back together, after Slott spent his entire run repeatedly baiting and sinking the ship. Additionally, subsequent issues deconstruct and refute Slott's reasoning for keeping them apart.

* JustFriends: After a tumultuous on-again, off-again relationship, Spider-Man and the ComicBook/BlackCat settled into this. It lasted from the '90s to the mid-2000s before ComicBook/BrandNewDay reset them back to sexual partners with Felicia not knowing Peter's identity and then had her become an antagonist as a result of the events of ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan. [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManNickSpencer Nick Spencer's run]] has seen them reconcile as friends.

** Peter after being bitten by a spider, decides to court celebrity and fame as a performer rather than use his newfound superpowers and changes for [[ReedRichardsIsUseless scientific analysis and research]]. While Uncle Ben's death teaches him why this isn't good, he still retained a narcissistic streak well into his later years such as Roger Stern's "The Daydreamers" where he dreams about winning the Pulitzer, the Nobel, joining the Avengers and the Fantastic Four at the same time with both of them fighting each other over him, and of course Jameson kisses his boots and grovels at his feet. This changes after his marriage with Mary Jane when both of them realize their HiddenDepths and he becomes more genuinely selfless. Post-OMD, he retains some sense of it, such as insisting to Mary Jane that it's okay for him to lie to Carlie Cooper for his double life because he wants her to love him for "plain ol' Pete" only for her to dump him, as MJ more or less predicted she would when she finds out that he lied to her. And as Peter {{Lampshades}} in Creator/NickSpencer's [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManNickSpencer run]], he rather liked the fame and adulation that came with being a CEO of a company with unearned wealth and degree.

** Interestingly, Arcade debuted in ''ComicBook/MarvelTeamUp'', [[TeamUpSeries a series about Spidey teaming up with different heroes]], but quickly became an X-Men villain before antagonizing the Avengers Academy without ever crossing paths with Spider-Man. In ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManNickSpencer'', he's resurfaced as a Spidey foe once more.

** For a time in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski'', where the ''Sins Past'' storyline was taken as a legitimate event in Spider-Man's history, ComicBook/NormanOsborn was this to Gwen Stacy. Fits with LoveFatherLoveSon, as she also dated Harry Osborn for a time. '' Sins Past'' was ultimately revealed to be an elaborate ruse by a Harry Osborn A.I. in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManNickSpencer'', using hocus pocus from Mysterio and clones to deceive Spider-Man into thinking Norman and Gwen had a relationship.

* BestKnownForTheFanservice: [[Characters/MarvelComicsMaryJaneWatson Mary Jane Watson]] and [[ComicBook/BlackCat Felicia Hardy/Black Cat]] both provide {{Fanservice}} in the majority of their appearances in the franchise. This is due to their professions as a fashion [[FanserviceModel model/actress and Felicia's [[SpyCatsuit choice of clothing]] as well as being a [[ClassyCatBurglar sexy cat thief]] and a [[FemmeFatale seductress]], it's not surprising.
** Gwen Stacy is also notable, as the only reason that the Mexican Spider-Man comics from the 1970s are discussed by English speakers [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Spiderman/comments/rx3y5a/in_the_70s_marvel_let_a_mexican_publisher_put_out/ is due to the size of her posterior in those comics]].

* '''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, Mister Negative, Jackpot, Menace, and 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.

** In the storyline ''ComicBook/{{Hunted}}'', it is suggested that all appearances of Kraven the Hunter since the end of ''Grim Hunt'' was actually one of his 87 clones. This seemingly includes an appearance in ''ComicBook/ScarletSpider'' where he tried to force Kaine to kill him and his appearances in ''Unbeatable Squirrel Girl'' where she tried to help him along with a HeelFaceTurn.

** Kaine falls into this during the "Grim Hunt" arc. He's so terrified of the Kravinoffs that after they capture Araña and Arachne, he insists to Peter that they can't win and their best option is to "run and screw the rest." Spidey responds by decking Kaine in the face and giving him a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, absolutely disgusted that Kaine shares his DNA and memories yet acts like a selfish coward. This actually reaches Kaine, who subsequently knocks Peter out, dons his costume, and dies fighting the Kravinoff family in his place.

** In the ''Grim Hunt'' storyline, the Kravinov family had been messing with Spidey for weeks and eventually killed several of his superpowered friends. Spider-Man goes berserk, taking out the whole clan and even used his wall-crawling grip to tear off a chunk of Sasha Kravinov's face.

** One of Spider-Man's all-time greatest battles with any villain was with the Juggernaut, an X-Men villain, in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #229–230. This battle got a sequel during the ''Grim Hunt'' arc. Then later, Spider-Man fought Firelord, a former Herald of Galactus, who was a villain of ''The Avengers'' in ASM #269-270. Both villains were intended to establish Spider-Man as the ultimate underdog, battling enemies beyond his wheelhouse, and defeating them on his own when usually they gave both the X-Men and the Avengers problems and needed a super-team to take them down.

** A special mention goes out to the ''Grim Hunt'' storyline, in which the villains actually plan their attack to take place when he's sick [[spoiler:using the precognitive abilities of Madame Web.]]

* CharacterRerailment:
** The entire purpose of ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' was to get Spider-Man single again and make him "young and fresh" again. In order to do this, he was made to [[CharacterDerailment make a deal with Mephisto to save his aunt from dying, at the cost of his wife and unborn child]], then was reset to being single, "young and fresh", and... living with his elderly aunt again. Safe to say, this [[ThisLoserIsYou didn't work out so well]], but later writers have done their best to salvage it. ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManNickSpencer'' is a better attempt at this as it restores some of the development and ethos the books had lost since OMD.
** Following an encounter with the ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' that resulted in her going to jail, the Black Cat decided [[BigBadWannabe to reinvent herself as an up-and-coming mob boss in the New York crime scene]]. This change was controversial, to say the least, and following her roles in ''Venom Inc.'' and Brian Michael Bendis's ''Defenders'', Felicia pulled a HeelFaceTurn. Nick Spencer's ''[[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManNickSpencer The Amazing Spider-Man]]'' run also restored her knowledge of Spider-Man's identity, the loss of which some fans had felt regressed Felicia greatly; Spencer seems to agree with them, as he explicitly states in-story that the loss was messing with her head.

[[folder: 1962 -- 1980]]

[[folder: 1980 -- 1994]]

[[folder: 1994 -- 2018]]

[[folder: 2018 -- ongoing]]

** It's easy to forget this, but {{Comicbook/Venom}} was originally done like this. During Venom's introductory story arc, Spidey was being stalked by this maniac in the black symbiote suit he'd discarded who seemed to know his identity and monologued angrily to himself about how Spider-Man had ruined his life. He was seen unmasked early in the story, but the readers were unable to identify him, leaving them puzzled about who this mystery man actually is. Then when he finally captures Spider-Man and unmasks himself before him... he's a completely original character, whose backstory was {{Retcon}}ned into an existing Spider-Man story (the infamous Sin-Eater arc). Even worse, ''Peter'' knows who Brock is (although not to the extent that they knew each other in ''Spider-Man 3''), making this a Stranger Behind The Mask for the readers ''only'', verging on RememberTheNewGuy.

* '''''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 Doctor Octopus, getting Black Cat injured in the process; the battle between Spider-Man and Doctor 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.

* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: Peter Parker is a more up-to-date take on Clark Kent, an orphaned kid raised by foster parents. A nerd who works at a daily newspaper office for a grumpy boss but secretly fights crime in a red and blue costume. Even the wisecracking nature of the character and being chased by the police have roots in Superman's early days. His love life and woes with him/Gwen/MJ/Felicia can also be sourced to Superman and the girls who had crushes on him (Lois and Lana). Likewise, Spider-Man and Superman both share the distinction of actually marrying their long-time girlfriends. Spidey was originally conceived as a teenager, so Peter Parker was essentially picking up where [[Comicbook/{{Shazam}} Billy Batson]] (who had been planned as a child and aged into his teens, and was out of print when Lee and Ditko created Spidey) left off. Whenever Spider-Man teams up with Daredevil, their dynamic echoes the World's Finest team-up albeit on a much smaller scale.

** The ComicBook/HumanTorch played this role in early stories. No one character plays the role now. Torch and Spidey eventually switched the roles for awhile. Peter was smart enough that he could keep up with Reed's scientific lectures, developed a friendly rapport with Sue and Ben, and was even good with watching Franklin. There was a period where Johnny resented the fact that Peter was practically more of a member of his own family than ''he'' was. They eventually worked this out, though, and became best buddies, until ''Comicbook/OneMoreDay'' caused an identity reset. While they're friends again, sort of, now that Peter's again revealed his identity to the Four, they aren't near as close as they once were.
** The symbiotes appear to have this as a biological rule, as each symbiote inherits the powers of it's parent to a greater degree. Comicbook/{{Venom}} is outclassed by his spawn, Comicbook/{{Carnage}}, who in turn is outclassed by ''his'' spawn, Toxin. This element was downplayed and eventually phased out completely as the comics continue, however: While Toxin was PutOnABus, Venom acquired several Superhuman hosts and mutations, while Carnage repeatedly tampered with Multiversal (well, microversal...) energy and Chtonic magic to power himself. Nowadays, whenever the Symbiotes brawl there never seems to be a "definitive" stronger one.

** The entire premise of ''Comicbook/SuperiorSpiderMan'', which sees Otto Octavius becoming a DarkerAndEdgier Spider-Man after performing a FreakyFridayFlip with Peter Parker and then leaving him to die in Ock's frail body. As Spider-Man, Otto spies on criminals 24/7 with automated "Spider-bots" equipped with cameras, employs a private mercenary army called "Spider-Patrol 7", and even has his own force of eight-legged HumongousMecha decked out in Spider-Man's classic red and blue. Notably, where Peter was the classic HeroWithBadPublicity who was frequently treated as a criminal nuisance by the cops and the press, Otto frequently ''gives orders'' to the police and city hall.

** Gwen Stacy being killed off is treated by comics fans and other creators as a bold gutsy move to really drive home personal stakes and shake up the status quo by getting rid of a prominent supporting character and LoveInterest. The reality is that Gwen Stacy was killed off in an iconic story, ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'', because the writer and many of its fans saw her as a bland LoveInterest, a [[WetBlanketWife wet blanket girlfriend]], and as such someone who was disposable and fair-game (the original plan to kill off Aunt May was vetoed). She was someone who liked Peter but hated Spider-Man and whom the writer Creator/GerryConway thought would be more interesting as TheLostLenore than if she was alive, while the more developed and interesting ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson was established as Peter's real love. The problem starts when other versions, such as ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' and ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'' decide to adapt the same story and situation, but depart from the original context (i.e. she was a bland character whose dynamic was more informed than visible) and make Gwen into a fleshed out and interesting supporting character, too valuable and attracting too much investment from the audience for her to be disposed of in a low-stakes story[[note]]i.e. a story which is not intended to be Spider-Man's last adventure or major turning point a la ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'' or ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow''[[/note]]. In the Ultimate comics, they killed her off gratuitously and then brought her back again much later as a clone-but-not-clone-as-good-as-the-real-thing, while the decision to kill off the highly popular and beloved version played by Creator/EmmaStone was seen as a stupid move since it removed by far the most beloved and liked character in the film (the plans before the planned sequel was canceled were copying ''Ultimate'' in reviving her as Carnage... and also an alternate universe Spider-Woman Gwen, years before Comicbook/SpiderGwen was actually a thing!).

** Peter Parker. Science nerd. Photographer. Spider-Man. Once punched ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} through an unbreakable plate glass window to fall to the street 15 stories below when he was mad. The epitome of this trope due to being the first known teenage outcast super hero. He's the master of this trope because, despite being a nerd, he gets all sorts of awesome powers and is a straight up ChickMagnet. Second only to Tony Stark in that area (also a fellow Badass Bookworm), but Parker is the original Nerd Franchise/{{Superman}}.

** Comicbook/TheKingpin uses both his powerful brains and more powerful brawn to keep the costumed villains in their place, and screw over the heroes.

* FromBadToWorse: Cletus Kasady was an AxCrazy SerialKiller serving 12 consecutive life sentences for the roughly 10% of his crimes they could prove. Then his blood got infected with a stronger evolved version of the Comicbook/{{Venom}} symbiote. Then it got switched out for a cannibalistic cosmic parasite. Then got robot legs.

%%** Tiny, one of Flash's pals, is like this in ''Comicbook/UntoldTalesOfSpiderMan'', but both the reader ''and'' Peter discover why he's such a jerk: He's under constant pressure from his abusive father to keep his grades up for football but genuinely lacks the intelligence, so he takes it out on Pete because school seems so easy for him.

* KnightOfCerebus: Most of Spidey's villains are silly and corny -- even Venom can pull off a great few laughs. Carnage is 9 times out of 10 ''not'' that villain -- resorting to DeadBabyHumor and just wanting to kill ''everyone on the entire planet for his own twisted excitement''.

* LaserGuidedKarma: J. Jonah Jameson's poor treatment of Peter Parker and his financing attempts to capture/kill Spider-Man have repeatedly come back to haunt him.
* LifeDrinker: Morlun belongs to a race, the Ancients, that maintain their immortality by draining life energy from people, especially people who are an animalistic totem.
* LizardFolk: Well, The Lizard.
* LustObject: Mary Jane Watson and Black Cat pretty much fall into this, due to [[MsFanservice them]] being among the [[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman most beautiful women]] in all of Marvel. In [[HeadTurningBeauty Mary Jane]]'s case, [[SoBeautifulItsACurse it's a lot darker]] due to her attracting stalkers. With [[ClassyCatBurglar Black Cat]], it's a bisexual case, with a wide range of male suitors and female lovers she's dated.

* MagnetismManipulation: The villain Electro once had this as his ''main'' power. He was able to negate his weakness to water by making it evaporate with electromagnetism before it touched him. he was also able to paralyze people by ''overcharging their synapses'' with it. Otherwise, his normal ShockAndAwe powers had basic electromagnetic capabilities which he used for things like WallCrawl and fast travel on metal objects.
* MakeSomeNoise: Clayton Cole, aka Clash, is a self-proclaimed "Superstar of Sound", allowing him to torture Spidey with painful sound waves without causing damage to their surroundings. But he can still demolish walls and even bring down buildings with his sonic pulse generators.
* MakeThemRot: Carrion, a minor enemy, has the ability to cause organic matter to rot with a touch.
* MasterOfDisguise: Chameleon. He wears exquisitely made latex masks, is a skilled mimic, and his own mask is equipped with voice changer software.
* MasterOfIllusion: Mysterio. It's his specialty, and he is even often referred to by this exact title. Though his illusions are all based on his previous employment in the special effects industry, it can still be terrifyingly effective (though trying it on [[Characters/MarvelComicsXMan an Omega Class psychic?]] is not a good idea).

** Doctor 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.
** Green Goblin's early motives were to become New York's crime lord, humiliating Spider-Man, and then after being hit with EasyAmnesia, he goes dormant, resurfaces to murder Gwen Stacy, goes underground in Europe, and plots ComicBook/TheCloneSaga [[MissingStepsPlan for, profit?]] and then since returning, he has become even more erratic than usual.

** Doppelganger has multiple clawed arms.
** Doctor Octopus famously sports four additional mechanical limbs, as do derivatives from Doc Ock's mold like Lady Octopus and the Squid.

** Peter after being bitten by a spider, decides to court celebrity and fame as a performer rather than use his newfound superpowers and changes for [[ReedRichardsIsUseless scientific analysis and research]]. While Uncle Ben's death teaches him why this isn't good, he still retained a narcissistic streak well into his later years such as Roger Stern's "The Daydreamers" where he dreams about winning the Pulitzer, the Nobel, joining the Avengers and the Fantastic Four at the same time with both of them fighting each other over him, and of course Jameson kisses his boots and grovels at his feet. This changes after his marriage with Mary Jane when both of them realize their HiddenDepths and he becomes more genuinely selfless. Post-OMD, he retains some sense of it, such as insisting to Mary Jane that it's okay for him to lie to Carlie Cooper for his double life because he wants her to love him for "plain ol' Pete" only for her to dump him, as MJ more or less predicted she would when she finds out that he lied to her. And as Peter {{Lampshades}} in Creator/NickSpencer's run, he rather liked the fame and adulation that came with being a CEO of a company with unearned wealth and degree.

* NoOntologicalInertia: The Lizard always regrows his right arm when in monster mode, and it just dissolves when he reverts to human.

* NotMeThisTime: Subverted in that even though Norman Osborn will often deny involvement in a scheme hurting Spider-Man, lazy writing will often retcon him as being the mastermind.
* OfficialCoupleOrdealSyndrome: Pretty much all of Spidey's love interests, but Mary Jane will be the stand out example, since she's not only the target of the villains, but also of [[RunningTheAsylum Marvel editors]].

* OutdatedOutfit: The early Creator/SteveDitko-drawn issues are especially bad for this. Seeing almost all the adult men wearing fedoras, teenage boys wearing bow ties, and girls wearing long skirts are especially jarring by today's standards.

* {{Phlegmings}}: Just about every time Venom or some other symbiote-based character appears.
* PickOnSomeoneYourOwnSize: Most of the villains Spider-Man met when he was a teenager only developed a hatred for him after he kept getting in their way. One notable exception was the Green Goblin, who intended to make an impression on the New York mobs by capturing Spider-Man, who he thought would be an easy target. It all went downhill from there.
* PortableHole: The Spot's main gimmick (due to a FreakLabAccident, of course).
* PowerPerversionPotential: [[Characters/SpiderManCentralRoguesGallery The Chameleon]], a shapeshifter and MasterOfDisguise, provides a very creepy example. On one occasion when he discovers Spidey's secret identity, he disguises himself as Peter with the intention of committing a BedTrick on Mary Jane. It doesn't get further than kissing, however, as she is immediately able to tell that he's not Peter (it helps that she deliberately slips him some misinformation that the real Peter would have known to be wrong, just to make sure). When MJ calls him out on it, Chameleon then turns into a stereotypical muscular hunk, and then a sophisticated-looking older man, to show that he can take any physical visage she might fantasize about, before shifting back to his normal form with the intention of taking her by force anyway. Unfortunately for him, though, this is the moment when MJ beats the ever-loving crap out of him [[BatterUp with a baseball bat]].

** 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 StereotypicalNerd 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.
* PsychoElectro: It's a guy named ''Electro''. Of course he's an insane bastard.

* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: Apparently turning into a reptile is what turns Curt Connors into a humanity-hating villain. Blame it on that "lizard brain" thing, supposedly.
* RoguesGallery: The Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Electro, the Shocker, the Rhino, Mysterio, etc. It's probably the second most famous rogues gallery in comics, with only ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' outdoing it.

** It almost happened with The Sandman. After the first two battles he had with Spidey, he became an almost exclusive Comicbook/FantasticFour villain for the next 10 years. And later on he had a HeelFaceTurn and temporarily joined ''Comicbook/TheAvengers''. A similar situation happened with the Rhino, who for a while clocked more time as a villain in Comicbook/TheIncredibleHulk.

* RunTheGauntlet: Spidey's first battle with the Sinister Six was one of these, where he was forced to battle the Vulture, Electro, Kraven, Sandman, Mysterio, and Doctor Octopus one after another to save Aunt May and Betty Brant.
* SanctuaryOfSolitude: Venom's origin story: Eddie Brock, down-on-his-luck reporter, [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Venom_origin_in_church.jpg is contemplating suicide in a church]] while Spider-Man is trying to escape from the Symbiote. After he successfully drives it off, it bonds with Eddie, and Venom is born.

* SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp: Subverted in that Flash Thompson matured and became a much nicer guy after he graduated from high school and enlisted in the army. His tour of duty made him a much more intelligent and introspective character.
* ScreensAreCameras: The earliest versions of the Spider-Slayer robots worked this way. The robots, piloted remotely by J. Jonah Jameson, would seem to have no technological need to project JJJ's face onto a TV screen mounted on the robot's "head," but that's exactly what they do.

** The Queen is a villainess with mystical control over spiders, and is an extremely sexy woman that uses both her beauty and mental powers to seduce and control others. She once chose Spider-Man as her "mate"; unfortunate for him, as he was both married at the time and "mating" meant that ''he'' [[MisterSeahorse would be the one impregnated]], not the other way around.
** ComicBook/{{Silk}} and Spider-man mutually-secreted hormones that made the two of them irresistibly attractive to one-another. Even though they eventually decided they were BetterAsFriends, whenever they had a conversation, it was always laced with heavy {{Sexual Euphemism}}s and unintentional ([[TheTease as well as intentional]]) flirting.

* SickEpisode: Quite a few over the years, invariably right before a major opponent shows up. Kraven the Hunter is a good example. The most famous is probably Spider-Man having a cold ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied.

* StrangerBehindTheMask: When Peter unmasks Electro, he has no connection to Electro's civilian identity Max Dillon and so has no idea who it is.

* TeethFlying: Venom's teeth often go flying when Spider-Man gives him a beating. Not that it matters much, since they grow back in seconds.

* ThinksOfSomethingSmartSaysSomethingStupid: In the Marvel Comics ''Omega Event'' crossover, Spider-Man meets up with ComicBook/ThePunisher. When he sees that Frank Castle has a female sidekick, [[https://i.redd.it/ajrcnqry1gr71.jpg Spidey thinks to himself]] that cracking a joke about it will just piss Frank off--but he can't stop himself from saying it.

** ''ComicBook/KravensLastHunt'' made Kraven a badass after several decades of being a loser villain.
** MJ, during her character development and switch from friend to romantic interest. She started packing heat, took fighting lessons, and became far more practical and pragmatic in danger. Notable in the Newspaper comics, when Creator/StanLee got criticized for always making her a DistressedDamsel, so instead he turned her into a badass who often saves Peter's behind, which may or may not be the reason for her becoming a badass in comics too.

** Used as FateWorseThanDeath in one version - It turns out Eddie Brock has cancer which, through hormonal imbalance, causes fits of rage, ruining his life. The symptoms also attract the symbiote to him. The symbiote wants to take over Peter but ends up attached to Brock and unable to switch hosts again. It has the power to stop the cancer from spreading but can't afford to cure it as it relies on it for food - this leaves Brock superpowered, angry, and in constant pain - for the rest of his life.
** A minor but very creepy villain Styx was at one point called "living cancer" - he was a victim of PlayingWithSyringes trying to find a cancer cure by way of AcquiredPoisonImmunity - by exposing him to mutagens. Instead, it gave him the power to make anything he touched wither and rot. The experience also twisted his mind - if his ability wasn't limited to reach, he would be an OmnicidalManiac.

* UselessSpleen: In the novel ''The Venom Factor'', Venom states that when he finds whoever is responsible for the murders (that Venom is being wrongly accused of) he will eat his spleen. Spider-Man comments that this is an odd choice of organ to target and that Venom likely doesn't even know where someone's spleen is.

* VileVulture: Adrian "The Vulture" Toomes is a villain who stylizes himself as a vulture to rob banks and kill Spider-Man.

* VillainTakesAnInterest: The Green Goblin, especially since he's disappointed in the offspring.

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Green Goblin's origin. Though he was a piece of work for a long time before the formula made him worse.

* WomanlinessAsPathos: Gwen Stacy is a constant source of angst and turmoil for Peter, resulting in the circumstances of her death being retreaded several times throughout publication, as well as many stories that resulted directly from her death or the events immediately leading up to them. For example, The Clone Saga started when StalkerWithACrush Miles Warren cloned both her and Peter Parker as revenge for Peter letting the object of his affection die. The story ''Sins Past'' revealed more details about her past, including that [[spoiler:she cheated on him with his archenemy Norman Osborn and bore two children.]]
* {{Wring Every Last Drop Out Of H|im}}er: Aunt May has been on the verge of death for ''four decades''.

* {{Yandere}}: The Venom Symbiote for Spider-Man.

* AsideGlance: In an issue of ''Marvel Knights: Spider-Man'', Peter and Liz Allan get talking during a high-school reunion. Liz reflects on how weird their lives have been, from the Living Brain attacking the school to Harry Osborn (and his dad) both being the Green Goblin and concludes that sometimes, it feels like Peter's [[DramaticIrony the only normal person she knows.]] Peter's reaction is priceless.

* MasterOfIllusion: Mysterio. It's his specialty, and he is even often referred to by this exact title. Though his illusions are all based on his previous employment in the special effects industry.

** Mysterio did this once on purpose because the real Spidey wasn't available, and made enough of an impression (notably, he indirectly caused the death of Karen Page) that he arguably still has a place among ''Dardevil's'' foes. He is still mostly a Spidey villain but when he shows up, there is a higher than normal chance that Daredevil will too. Likewise in ''ComicBook/OldManLogan'' he became a villain for ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}''.

* AlliterativeName: Creator/StanLee, Spidey's creator, was the TropeCodifier for the trend because he found names easier to keep track of if he used alliteration as a mnemonic. Examples include Betty Brant, Curt Connors, Spencer Smythe, Glory Grant, J. Jonah Jameson, John Jameson, Otto Octavius, Peter Parker, and Randy Robertson. Randy's father Joe might also count since his nickname is "Robbie".

* ArachnidAppearanceAndAttire: ** Spider-Man is a notable example for being very colorful, except when he's wearing his black costume. He and other spider-heroes also usually crack jokes or act silly when fighting bad guys, further subverting this trope. Peter Parker is "Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man", after all. However, when the situation becomes dire enough for these various Spideys to ''stop'' quipping, they become absolutely ''terrifying'' opponents that practically codify this trope.

** Norman Osborn is a different story. For him, being a supervillain with a [[SecretIdentity secret identity]] has never really carried any pragmatic benefits and has not served any goal aside from channeling his psychopathic and sadistic urges while maintaining a [[VillainWithGoodPublicity façade of respectful businessman]]. Since his very motivation as the Goblin (and later as Osborn himself) is to play out power fantasies, he was angry that someone stood up against him and swiftly decided to [[EvilIsPetty punish the person behind the mask]]. This dynamic between the characters eventually led to a lot of tragedy and pain in Peter’s life over the years as he saw [[RevengeByProxy numerous deaths and tortures of his loved ones]], starting with [[ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied Gwen Stacy]], at the hands of Norman. Needless to say it’s a [[ItsPersonal very personal]] conflict between the two and Peter hates no one as much as he hates Osborn. He even had to [[ThouShaltNotKill stop himself from killing the latter]] several times. If Otto challenges the idea of Spider-Man as a superhero, Norman Osborn challenges Peter’s morality itself.

* ContinuityReboot: * ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' 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 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.

* 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, the prospective heir of Norman, while MJ came from the same working-class Queens background that Peter did.
* HandWave: A rather famous excuse whenever people ask where Spider-Man could be swinging from with no building in sight is that his web line is attached to an off-panel/offscreen helicopter.
* HatesMySecretIdentity: It is a staple of any version of that franchise that Flash Thompson will bully Peter Parker while admiring Spider-Man. Also the case for Gwen Stacy who liked Peter but hated Spider-Man.

** The Sandman eventually decided to try and go straight. It worked for a while, until John Byrne decided to have him declare he was faking reformation (which pissed off fans so much, that [[AuthorsSavingThrow Marvel had to rush out a back-up story declaring that Wizard had brainwashed Sandman back to being evil/claiming he faked redemption]].
** Eddie Brock did this, first as Venom and later as Anti-Venom. Eddie could almost qualify as a HeelFaceRevolvingDoor.
* IconicSequelCharacter: Depending on your definition of "sequel" is:
** 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 didn'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 didn't make his first real appearance until issue 299 in 1988, over 25 years of publication later.
* IrrationalHatred: Jameson for Spider-Man, and in fact most villains for Spider-Man, such as Harry "Green Goblin II" Osborn who resented Peter for being his AlwaysSomeoneBetter.
* IRejectYourReality: Jameson refuses to accept the opinions of others, including his own son, that Spider-Man is a hero, trying to make his confronters second guess themselves.
* ItBeganWithATwistOfFate: It varies based on universe and continuity, but Spider-Man generally gets bitten by a certain spider and gains his superpowers through a genuine twist of fate--by simply being in the right place at the right time. A character in a later story claimed that the spider chose Peter as it was dying. It saw Peter's suffering as a benefit, as someone like that once given power would never allow themselves to be a victim again.

* JerkJock: Flash Thompson. Later subverted in that he smartened up and returned from his overseas military service a much better man. However, 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.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: [[DependingOnTheWriter Sometimes]], J. Jonah Jameson.
* KeepTheHomeFiresBurning: Mary Jane gets this plot a lot, notably in the ''Kraven's Last Hunt'' storyline.

* ''ComicBook/SpiderManVerrsusWolverine'' (1987)