History Sandbox / SpiderManTropesMerger

** 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]]

** 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.

* DistressedDamsel: All of Spider-Man's girlfriends and love interests at some point or another. Gwen Stacy is most famous for the fact that Spider-Man didn't save her. MJ, on the other hand, often fights like a wildcat when someone non-superpowered tries to grab her.

** 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.

** Gwen Stacy hasn't come back either. [[CloningBlues Except as a clone.]] [[{{Retcon}} Probably.]] And no, [[Comicbook/SpiderGwen alternate universe version]] doesn't count.

* 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.

** 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.

* GenreBusting: Spider-Man as a whole is a superhero story that is also a classic {{Bildungsroman}}, 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.

!!The Spectacular Spider-Man

!!Web of Spider-Man

!!Amazing Fantasy Vol 2

!!The Avenging Spider-Man

!!''Peter Parker: Spider-Man''

!!Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

* IronicNickname: Tom Taylor's first issue in Volume 2 of ''Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'' {{Lampshades}} this when after Spidey saves a little girl and her father, the small child slaps his spider emblem on his chest out of her dislike for spiders:

!!The Sensational Spider-Man

!!Marvel Knights Spider-Man

!!Spider-Man's Tangled Web

* {{Kayfabe}}: The comics treated the fight between Peter and the wrestler as real, though it was explained in issue #14 of ''Spider-Man's Tangled Web'' that Crusher Hogan was actually a "shoot" wrestler--in which the outcome of the match is not scripted.

!!Amazing Spider-Man
* ArtisticLicensePhysics: During the first Sinister Six fight, Spidey grounds himself to make himself immune to Electro's electricity blasts. This actually would make him much ''more vulnerable'' to them. This was corrected in at least some reprints, including Marvel Tales.
* ChicAndAwe: Peter reluctantly agrees to go on a blind date with the niece of one of his aunt's friends. He avoided it for weeks beforehand, assuming that the girl needed to go on blind dates cause something was wrong with her. He hears his aunt talking about the girl and opens the door... only to gasp as he sees a red-headed model, Mary-Jane Watson, for the first time.
* CoverIdentityAnomaly: In the early 1990s arc where Peter Parker's parents return from the dead, May realizes they're imposters when they refer to the wrong date for their anniversary, indicating that they somehow don't know about their secret wedding several months prior.
* CurbStompBattle: ComicBook/DoctorDoom delivers an incredibly one-sided one to Spider-Man in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #350, where the Latverian tyrant wipes the floor with him, reduces him to a pulp, and basically forces him to bargain for his life or face certain death.
* DemandOverload: InUniverse. In ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #533, when Spider-Man publicly revealed his secret identity, the Internet broke down because too many people were trying to do a name search on "Peter Parker" simultaneously.
* DramaticDislocation: In ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #575, Spider-Man does this in order to put a ''dislocated jaw'' back into place after battling Hammerhead. Proportionate strength of a spider + metal garbage bin = ''ow''.
* FurnaceBodyDisposal: In ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #151, Spider-Man disposes of the body of the first clone of Peter Parker (created by the Jackal) by dumping it down a smokestack into an industrial incinerator.

* {{Kayfabe}}: The comics treated the fight between Peter and the wrestler as real, though it was explained in issue #14 of ''Spider-Man's Tangled Web'' that Crusher Hogan was actually a "shoot" wrestler--in which the outcome of the match is not scripted.

!!Others
* DeliveryNotDesired: In ''ComicBook/SpiderManBlue'', Peter records a message to the deceased Gwen Stacy, reflecting on his time with her and explaining she's the reason he's always a bit blue around Valentine's Day. When his wife Mary Jane hears him, rather than be upset that he's talking to his lost love, she understands and asks him to say hello for her.
* FestivalEpisode: In ''ComicBook/UntoldTalesOfSpiderMan'' #19, teenage Peter Parker is taking pictures of a festival for J. Jonah Jameson.
* 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."
* LookMaNoPlane: In [[VideoGame/SpiderMan2 the game of the second movie]], you end up chasing one... if you go too close to the rotors, exactly what you'd expect happens.
* SaveTheJerk: In ''ComicBook/UntoldTalesOfSpiderMan'' #15, Spidey saves his long-time antagonist J. Jonah Jameson from being framed by the mob. And was neither the first nor last time. Spidey has saved Jonah's behind so many times - with absolutely no gratitude from Jonah after all of it - you have to wonder why he bothers.
* SaveTheJerk: Creator/NickSpencer has also had Spidey dealing with the Thieves Guild, normally confined to the X-Men side of the Marvel Universe.
* 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."
* SkyscraperMessages: A 1970s story has the Shocker doing this with whole city blocks as part of an extortion scheme. Unsurprisingly, a later story has [[PsychoElectro Electro]] doing the same thing.

* TenMinuteRetirement: Occasionally Spidey will get sick and tired of [[WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld juggling the demands of heroics and ordinary life]] for the benefit of [[HeroWithBadPublicity an unappreciative world]] and hang up the web-shooters until something spurs him into action again.
* AbnormalLimbRotationRange: One of Spidey's lesser-known powers, famously emphasized by Todd [=McFarlane=] during his run.

* AesopCollateralDamage: The origin of Spider-Man is all about this: he [[BystanderSyndrome refuses to stop a fleeing criminal]], and subsequently Uncle Ben is killed by that criminal, teaching our hero that valuable lesson that WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility.
* AlertnessBlink: Most times the SpiderSense activates. The thick, tapering wavy lines around his head are one of the most famous examples of this in the West.

* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Peter got bullied in high school because he was a nerd; meanwhile, Spider-Man gets treated like a criminal by the same media that worships all of the other super-heroes, especially in the case of J. Jonah Jameson, who even treats mutants (the feared and hated minority of the Marvel Universe) better than he does Spider-Man. Ironically because of this, Spider-Man has traditionally been a huge supporter and ally of the X-Men.
* AllWebbedUp: Peter created a set of wrist-mounted web shooters on his own in one of the clearest displays of scientific genius on his part. The formula for his webs in particular is nothing short of miraculous, given its tensile strength and adhesive properties. It disappears after a couple of hours or so, so he doesn't even leave a mess. For a time after his first encounter with the Queen up to One More Day, Peter underwent a secondary mutation that gave him organic web shooters that functioned in much the same way as his artificial ones. [[SwissArmySuperpower There is little he can't do with his webs]]. Possibly justified -- in real life, spiders do tend to be pretty brilliant with them.

** In Creator/DanSlott's run, 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.
* AnimalThemedSuperbeing: Peter is Spider-Man and can crawl on walls and adhere to any surface and any angle, he also has the proportional strength of a spider, a special SpiderSense, and the agility and flexibility of a spider, or one enhanced genetically. Over time, it has been established that Peter didn't entirely win the SuperpowerLottery, and that's why he only has ''some'' spider-based powers and not the much larger library he could have. This has also been used to help differentiate some of his {{Legacy Character}}s, giving them certain unique powers whilst still preserving the fundamental theme of being a Spider-Hero.
* TheAnticipator: Spidey is fond of abusing his SpiderSense for this purpose; he can sense when someone, especially an enemy someone, is coming, and can quickly set up a nice little alleyway confrontation with them. Or simply just not be surprised when someone's behind him; his SpiderSense averts this trope happening fully to him for the same reason of his power being able to sense when someone hostile is lurking about (unless it's Venom, whom the SpiderSense cannot detect).

* ArmoredVillainsUnarmoredHeroes: Spider-Man, pretty much an archetypal skintight-suit superhero, periodically though not invariably goes up against armored opponents of various kinds, such as the Rhino or assorted Spider-Slayer robots. Though he averts this on occasion, building specialized suits or even PowerArmor to deal with specific foes.

* ArtisticLicensePhysics: During the first Sinister Six fight, Spidey grounds himself to make himself immune to Electro's electricity blasts. This actually would make him much ''more vulnerable'' to them. This was corrected in at least some reprints, including Marvel Tales.
* AscendedExtra: [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman Flash Thompson is the current host of Venom,]] [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman since S.H.I.E.L.D. decided that just the Venom symbiote EXISTING]] [[SealedEvilInACan made him the greatest threat on Earth]].

* BadassBookworm: Spider-Man is a superhumanly skilled acrobat with danger-based precognition and superhuman strength and resiliency (including an ability to block out pain better than ordinary humans). He's also got a high I.Q. and a natural affinity for science.

* BettyAndVeronica: See the Alternate Name, "Gwen And Mary Jane". Later, "Mary Jane and Felicia".
* BewareTheNiceOnes:
** Spidey is entirely well-meaning, but in times of severe stress and/or provocation (such as Gwen Stacy's death), he will often fly into UnstoppableRage, which invariably ends very painfully for the target of that rage. Basically, when he's not wisecracking, the villains had best ''watch out''.
** [[ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} Logan]] once made some [[MyGirlIsNotASlut insensitive remarks about Mary Jane.]] In response, Pete put Logan through [[ComicBook/IronMan Mr. Stark's]] "unbreakable" glass windows [[DestinationDefenestration from the umpteenth floor]]. GoodThingYouCanHeal indeed.
** ''WebVideo/SuperPowerBeatdown'' showed perfectly how dangerous Spidey can be. During his fight with Darth Maul, he uses his SpiderSense and agility to constantly dodge ''a Force user's lightsaber attacks''. However, when the Symbiote bonds with Spidey again, TheGlovesComeOff and it doesn't take Spidey ''three'' seconds to use his senses and agility to have Maul cut off his own head.

* BigDamnHeroes: Spider-Man has been on both sides of this trope, either showing up at the last minute to pull off an amazing rescue, or being bailed out by his superhero buddies, such as when the Sinister Twelve were about to kill him.
* BigGood: Downplayed. Although ComicBook/CaptainAmerica is the Marvel Universe's Big Good, Spider-Man has proven to have the potential to be as effective a leader as he is and on rare occasions shows more innocence and purity than Steve. If Steve is the Marvel Universe's [[TheParagon Soul]], then Peter is definitely the [[IncorruptiblePurePureness Heart]]. His idealism, which often rivals Cap's obviously, is powerful enough to unite the most cynical of heroes and loathsome villains together and/or bring out the best in them. If he wasn't a HeroWithBadPublicity, he might have fulfilled this trope a long time ago.
** Very much downplayed in the greater scheme of things since he [[DependingOnTheWriter tends to be]] one of the younger heroes on display. To make up for that fact, it is commonly acknowledged that he is extraordinarily experienced as a superhero, especially so for his age. Since he started at 15-16 or so, he has spent at least a decade, including his formative years, fighting evil on a nearly constant basis. Hence comes the wisdom of handing him the reins in a pinch.
** In any series that takes place in the future -- particularly if it's one that involves successor superheroes, this is taken to its logical conclusion. Most of these timelines depict any heroes' response to Peter as one of reverence -- a living legend whose only equal is MU's other living legend (Captain America). And as in his nature, he downplays his importance, though with enough wisdom to use that respect to help younger heroes.
* BodyHorror:
** In "The Six Arms Saga", Spidey created a formula to rid himself of his spider powers, which instead caused him to sprout four extra arms. On no less than three separate occasions he has been forcibly turned into a man-spider hybrid. As if the poor guy didn't have enough to deal with...
** 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.
* BoxingLessonsForSuperman: During one arc, Spider-Man lost his "SpiderSense" ability. After struggling to defeat enemies who he'd normally have no problems handling he realised just how much he'd relied on it in battle and decided to get training in martial arts from Shang-Chi, The Master of Kung-fu. Together they created "The Way of the Spider", a unique martial art based around Spider-Man's unique combination of superpowered strength, speed, and agility to compensate for the loss of his SpiderSense. When Spider-Man regained his SpiderSense he was able to combine his SpiderSense with The Way of the Spider to make him an even more dangerous opponent than he was before the loss.

* BreakingTheFourthWall: Not quite as much as [[ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} Marvel's]] [[ComicBook/SquirrelGirl usual]] [[ComicBook/SheHulk examples]], but [[http://segamarvel.deviantart.com/art/Bonified-4th-wall-breaker-419114915 occasionally]].

* BrilliantButLazy: Peter is a genius that can reasonably be compared to the likes of [[ComicBook/AntMan Hank Pym]], [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]], [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Bruce Banner]] and [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]], but far more than simply being a case of ReedRichardsIsUseless, his only notable inventions are the webslinger and webs, way back at the start of his career. He spends most of his time fighting bad guys rather than doing sciencey stuff, which he usually only employs to fight whatever bad guy is making trouble on any particular day. Though the latest CrisisCrossover has left him with his own company, Stark Industries à la mode, so he may be inching towards subverting this trope.\\\
While Parker Industries is doing quite well as a company, it was created by the Superior Spider-Man, a.k.a. Doc Ock in Peter's body. Since Peter has taken over the reins (of the body and the company), he's usually much more interested in getting away and Spider-Manning rather than being a scientist or businessman. Even when PI produces nifty gadgets or socially-conscious initiatives, it's more a case of Peter saying "Invent this thing, anonymous science lackeys."
* BuildingSwing: Spider-Man's usual mode of travel around the city, natch.

* CameraSniper: Common, but most of the time it's Peter Parker's own camera on auto-shutter taking the pictures of Spidey in action. But not always.
* CanAlwaysSpotACop: Spidey goes hot and cold with this trope. He doesn't really encounter police officers except when they're trying to arrest him, or when he's swinging in to give them a hand. Peter is observant and intelligent enough to pick up subtle clues that someone is a cop, but not consistently. His SpiderSense does sometimes warn him that someone is carrying a gun, but that's only when they have hostile intentions towards him. Therefore it normally doesn't ping on undercover cops that he's around either in his civilian identity or as Spider-Man, since they don't usually have any hostile intentions towards him in either guise.

* CartesianKarma: This is Peter's problem after he gets his body back following the ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' arc, in which Doctor Octopus controls his body. Many of his prior relationships are strained, especially that with his former lover, ComicBook/BlackCat, who has made a FaceHeelTurn and doesn't care that it was Octavius in Peter's body when she was attacked.

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

* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Justified in that he blames himself for his inaction with Uncle Ben when he could have saved him just by stopping the robber earlier, he takes this to the logical extreme and even other superheroes think he needs a vacation at times.
* ClarkKentOutfit: Numerous people are surprised to note that the scrawny-looking 'Puny Parker' has "muscles like a ''weightlifter's''" under his clothes.
* ClimbSlipHangClimb: Ordinarily, this never happens to Spider-Man for obvious reasons, but it does turn up in stories where he loses one or more of his powers and has to fake it.
* CloningBlues: [[ShapedLikeItself Let's start with]] ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga''.
* ClothesMakeTheLegend: Even the black suit retained the form.

** Spidey himself gets a ComicBook/IronMan-esque suit of armor, greatly enhancing his powers. In this suit, he's called "Iron Spider".
*** More than once. The first was a silver and blue one that evaporated in water. Then there was the one from Stark that could shapeshift, and we have a new one coming.

* ComicBookTime: Peter was 15 when he got his spider powers in 1962. Come 2014, he's 28 in-universe.

* CoolLoser: Peter Parker after high school. He becomes a handsome, good-looking, and muscled guy (and indeed is often called hunk by many girls) but he still remembers and defines himself in the time he was a nerd. He also has little difficulty in attracting girlfriends but a hard time holding on to them.
* CoverIdentityAnomaly: In the early 1990s arc where Peter Parker's parents return from the dead, May realizes they're imposters when they refer to the wrong date for their anniversary, indicating that they somehow don't know about their secret wedding several months prior.

* CurbStompBattle: While Spider-Man's strength is not on the high end of the scale, he is a lot stronger than he was originally, and his mix of speed, agility, and reflexes are debatably the best outside of speedsters. His webs, jumping, and wall-crawling give him mobility only surpassed by flyers and teleporters, with his webbing also providing surprisingly versatile ranged combat options. When you combine all that with his SpiderSense (which gives him an enormous advantage in battle), you've pretty much got a nearly unbeatable combination. He holds back so much because he probably spends more time than any other hero except Daredevil just dealing with ordinary criminals committing street crimes, and he's genuinely afraid of killing someone. That being said, most of the people who know him are fully aware of how dangerous he can be when he's really pissed off. Daredevil was nearly unable to prevent him from beating the Sin Eater to death, and the sight of Spider-Man (whom he had always known beforehand as being lighthearted and easygoing) being so brutal left a ''serious'' impression on Daredevil. In the 80s, Peter gives Doctor Octopus a beating so brutal that Doc has developed a fear of spiders and Spider-Man, one that would last for a few years. In ''ComicBook/SecretWars1984'', he outfought the entire starting line-up of the X-Men. Later in that same series, he gave such a vicious beating to Titania that she avoided any chance of coming into contact with him for years. Even Wolverine, a close-quarters combat expert with literally decades of experience and adamantium claws that can slice through flesh and bone with barely any effort, once observed that he would ''not'' want to fight Peter in a serious match-up.

* DatingCatwoman: Literally, with the Black Cat becoming Spider-Man's girlfriend for a while before getting back together with and later marrying Mary Jane.
** Subverted with The Queen. Despite her beautiful appearance and her flirting, Spider-Man is not attracted to her at all and finds her disgusting, but that doesn't stop her from forcing herself on him. However, all of New York thought this trope was being played straight when the News captured the first kiss between them and assumed it was Spider-Man who initiated the kiss with his new adversary.

* DeliveryNotDesired: Peter records a message to the deceased Gwen Stacy, reflecting on his time with her and explaining she's the reason he's always a bit blue around Valentine's Day. When his wife Mary Jane hears him, rather than be upset that he's talking to his lost love, she understands and asks him to say hello for her.
* DemandOverload: InUniverse. When Spider-Man publicly revealed his secret identity, the Internet broke down because too many people were trying to do a name search on "Peter Parker" simultaneously.
* DependingOnTheWriter: Just how strong is Spider-Man? Current canon says he can lift about 25 tons, previously it was 10 tons, but he's been regularly shown struggling with weights that were far lower than that (such as being unable to fully lift a passenger car off the ground) or being physically outmatched by the Kingpin (who's only a BadassNormal). The latter is usually explained as Spider-Man holding back so as not to injure Kingpin, but that doesn't explain why he's shown being unable to escape being grappled. On other occasions, Spider-Man has been shown performing feats of strength that greatly exceed his state limit, like holding up an entire building.
* {{Determinator}}: No matter how hard he gets beat down, or how bad his life can get, Peter ''never'' gives up. He's the page image for the Comic Book section of this trope ''for a reason''.

* DoomMagnet: ''Nothing'' goes right for Peter. Whether he's wearing the mask or not, his life always ends up being a downward spiral of misery, something he dubs "Parker luck".
* DorkInASweater: Peter Parker often wore sweaters before being bitten by the spider. He rarely does after until it gets cold (New York remember).
* DramaticDislocation: He once did this in order to put a ''dislocated jaw'' back into place after battling Hammerhead. Proportionate strength of a spider + metal garbage bin = ''ow''.

** Rarely, ''Spider-Man himself'' can fall victim to this, being too preoccupied with his own thoughts to pay attention to his SpiderSense warning him he's about to get blind-sided. Those times he's been deprived of his SpiderSense, he falls into this fairly constantly, since he's come to rely on it so much, even in his everyday life.
-->'''Peter:''' I haven't had to look both ways before crossing the street since I was a sophomore!
* FailureHero:
** Peter defines himself by his failure to save Uncle Ben, and later Gwen Stacy, and later instances of Peter trying and failing to save people he cared about (such as Jean [=DeWolff=]) triggered a violent NoHoldsBarredBeatdown from him. Marvel also tried to back away somewhat, noting that after killing off Gwen Stacy, Marvel realized that they could not do that to Peter's other LoveInterest, since they felt it would make him too much of a failure that Spider-Man's fun quippy personality would not be possible to maintain.
** He can't even escape it in other Creator/MarvelComics; take one appearance in ''ComicBook/SheHulk'', where he managed to take Jameson to court for libel, but had to call the whole proceeding off because if Jameson went down, Peter Parker would have to go next, as he had supplied Jameson with the pictures the Daily Bugle had used for their slanderous stories.
** For long term readers, ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' more than ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'' has made Peter this for all time. Noting that Peter's run after that is more or less of a guy stuck in a LotusEaterMachine as a result of a pact with ''Mephisto'' that he is not even aware of.

* FestivalEpisode: In ''ComicBook/UntoldTalesOfSpiderMan'' #19, teenage Peter Parker is taking pictures of a festival for J. Jonah Jameson.
* FirstGirlWins: Spider-Man's earliest love interest Betty Brant didn't become his long-term love and the two characters have basically settled into being "best friends". Gwen Stacy was his first real relationship and the first girl he fell in love with, while Mary Jane Watson was the first girl Peter proposed to, and the only one to say yes (which remains true even Post-OMD since the wedding nearly did happen) for the time being.

* FormulaWithATwist: Spidey 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.

* FriendlessBackground: In Peter's original appearance he had no friends unless you count Liz who was nice to him on occasion, and Betty who was his girlfriend until he got to college. But he notably never really had a confidant to share his secret identity with, unlike Batman (who had Alfred and Robin) or Superman (who had Ma and Pa Kent). For a long time, it was only his villains (the Osborns, Miles Warren) who knew his secret, which increased Peter's sense of vulnerability and isolation, and made his social life tense and painful (since people around him inevitably saw him as aloof, distant, slightly asocial and undependable).
* FriendlyNeighborhoodSpider: Invoked with Spider-Man, a superhero with a [[AnimalThemedSuperbeing spider-theme]], who also has the RedBaron of being "[[TropeNamer Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man]]", usually being nice to people and being the savior of New York countless times. Also, this is extended to various of his spider-allies as well as his AlternateContinuities alter-ego (as well as his allies like ComicBook/SpiderGwen).
* FriendsWithBenefits: Shortly after ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'', Spidey tried having this with the Black Cat. It didn't last long.

* FromShameHeroism: Peter Parker tried to turn his newfound powers into a means of making money. But when the fight promoter stiffs him on the payout, Peter turns his back when the promoter is robbed, letting the thief escape. This comes back to bite him hard, when he comes home to find his Uncle Ben murdered. Enraged, Peter dons his Spider-Man costume and pursues the robber, only to find that the man who murdered Uncle Ben is the same robber he chose not to stop, earlier. Now, Peter serves as Spider-Man because he fears that not acting to help others could cost him even more.
* FromZeroToHero: Spider-Man was just a scrawny teenager named Peter Parker until he was bitten by a radioactive spider. Gifted with a platter of spider-based powers, he eventually becomes one of the most recognized (if not always respected) superheroes in the world.
* FurnaceBodyDisposal: Spider-Man disposed of the body of the first clone of Peter Parker (created by the Jackal) by dumping it down a smokestack into an industrial incinerator.
* FuzzballSpider: DependingOnTheArtist, Spidey's costume usually has a sharply defined spider as the chest emblem, but the spider on the back is much less anatomically correct as the legs are shown attached to the abdomen instead of the cephalothorax.

* GeneticMemory: Every {{clon|ingBlues}}e of Peter will invariably have his memories.
* GeniusBruiser: Spider-Man is one of the highest skilled students in his schools, and with spider-DNA in his blood he can beat the ''piss'' out of foes. In fact, he's a rare case of the genius LightningBruiser but without the size.

* TheGimmick: Spidey possesses several: The Spider theme, the quick wit, and, out of universe, JustForFun/OneOfUs.

* AHandfulForAnEye: Spider-Man gives his opponent a faceful of webbing to temporarily blind them, he does it so much it’s practically his SignatureAttack. He first used this tactic during his first rematch against Doctor Octopus.
** And basically every subsequent encounter with him, to the point that the good doctor began [[ItOnlyWorksOnce treating his goggles with a special solvent]].
** '''No villain''' is safe from this attack, even Thanos who got [[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS_HTxwLvqDv6ENAPC8BVz1LEA3shuC36j0wPL3tUaqqjDbBTwuURskUZH6WQ a facefull of webbing]] in ''ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet'' as part of Spidey’s DynamicEntry into the scene. Another time Spider-Man was ballsy enough [[http://media.comicbook.com/uploads1/2015/02/spider-man-infinity-abyss-122450.jpg to do it to one of Thanos’s replicants who was in the shape of Galactus]].
** Subverted when Spider-Man does it to ComicBook/IronMan, Tony just uses the vents in his helmet to burn the webbing off.
** It's also mostly useless against those who can simply tear it off, a la Incredible Hulk and Hercules. Mister Hyde also attempted this, but it turns out his SuperToughness is not up to mark, resulting in him [[FacialHorror tearing the skin off his face]].

* HeroesWantRedheads: The woman Peter eventually married and his most prominent love interest to date, is the redheaded Mary Jane. However, if you look at his list of girlfriends you will find that a lot of them [[EveryoneLovesBlondes tend to be blonde]] (Liz Allan, Gwen Stacy, Felicia Hardy, Carlie Cooper according to some artists).
* HeroWithBadPublicity: To the point where he's the trope picture. He saves countless people, the entire city, and even the entire universe many, many, ''many'', times, but he will still not get the credit he deserves. This has dialed down in recent years since while JJJ continues to harbor an irrational (almost obsessive) hatred for Spider-Man, the average New Yorker is as likely to think of Spider-Man as a great, if not the greatest, hero as they are to think of him as a menace. Even JJJ has admitted, at times and usually under extreme duress, that Spider-Man is at least trying to do good.

* IdiotBall: Spider-Man is tossed one of these nearly any time he is taken by surprise by an attack, considering that his comic named the trope for [[SpiderSense the ability to sense when something potentially dangerous is about to happen.]]
** It makes sense considering that the SpiderSense is not infallible. Pete has misinterpreted it at times and been too distracted or in too bad of a condition to pick up on it clearly at other times. It is danger precognition... not omniscience. At one point it was triggered by his own sneezing when he was suffering a truly awful cold.
* IfIHadANickel: Spidey responding to a threat made by the Green Goblin during the "Goblins at the Gate" arc.
-->'''Spider-Man:''' Goblin, if I had a nickel for every time I heard a threat like that... well, I'd be one very rich friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
* InformedAbility: Some [[AllThereInTheManual Marvel Databooks]] states that Spidey can lift and support the weight of around 10 tons, and yet [[DependingOnTheWriter many writers]] had Spidey struggle with situations that his SuperStrength could easily do the work; common examples are when he is saving people from some catastrophe that wrecked the city, so there are civilians stuck in cars (inside or under them) and debris, much of the time he is struggling to lift some car or piece of concrete that can't weight over a ton and half. It seems Peter can only do justice to his informed strength when he is in {{Determinator}} mode, he has supported the weight of collapsing buildings more than once, which in itself is much more than he could possibly endure. Of course, databooks aren't always reliable.
* InsecureProtagonistArrogantAntagonist: Peter was just a 16-year-old kid who was still trying to figure out being a hero and having superpowers on top of being a high school student and keeping up with his grades and trying to have some sort of social life. Meanwhile, he was put up against adult villains like the Kingpin, a mob boss who confidently ran a vast criminal empire, or the MadScientist Doctor Octopus. While Spider-Man has grown substantially more confidant over the years, he tends to revert to this whenever he's put up against some of his more powerful foes, like the Green Goblin or Morlon, since they know his secrets and are exceptionally dangerous foes.
* InterclassFriendship: During the early days of the series, Peter Parker, living with his widow Aunt May Parker, was friends with Harry Osborn, son of [[CorruptCorporateExecutive evil businessman]] Norman Osborn. Sadly, the friendship falls apart thanks to Harry learning his dad was the Green Goblin and Peter was Spider-Man and thinking he killed him. Indeed, in Peter's circle in college, the only one of his friends who shared his working-class background was ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson.
* IronicNickname: Something that is lost on account of Spider-Man's fame, but Spider-Man's nickname as "the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man" is a major one since before most people saw spiders as [[SpidersAreScary creepy house pests]]. Spiders aren't supposed to be part of a neighborhood and certainly not part of a friendly one, or be considered friendly themselves. Peter being your friendly neighborhood spider-man inverts that completely.

* JackOfAllStats: Spidey isn't the strongest hero, with various other heroes outranking him in combat skill, intelligence, speed, reach, or strength. However, he's usually stronger ''or'' faster ''or'' smarter than any given opponent, and clever enough to leverage whatever advantages he has to victory.

* JuxtaposedHalvesShot: During UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks, when Peter Parker's SpiderSense is triggered while he's in civvies, we often see his face half normal and half in his costume's mask.
* KeepingSecretsSucks: Just ask him yourself. Contrary to what other superheroes make it look like, a dual identity is ''very'' hard to manage even if you keep it for years.

* ALessonLearnedTooWell: Peter Parker gets told that "with great power comes great responsibility." Cue years later, where his family and friends never get any personal time, because he can't let go of his mission to protect the general public by stopping super-villains.
* LetsYouAndHimFight: Most new and old Marvel characters have fought Spidey at least once.
* LifeDrinker: Morlun belongs to a race, the Ancients, that maintains immortality by draining life energy from people, especially people who are an animalistic totem.
* LikesClarkKentHatesSuperman:
** Both of Peter's first love interests Betty Brant and Gwen Stacy liked Peter but hated Spider-Man with Gwen even believing and repeating Jameson's screed against the wall-crawler and blaming him for her father's death.
** Jameson was a jerk to both Peter and Spider-Man (and actually to most people), but he did like Peter more, and during ''Civil War'' proclaimed betrayal that someone who [[LikeASonToMe he saw as his own son]] had been essentially lying and undermining him all these years.
** Aunt May in the classical era loved Peter but hated Spider-Man albeit she mellowed down later, and in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #400, claimed to have been a SecretSecretKeeper for some time. When this was retconned it was back to the same old same old until JMS had her learn his secret leading her to overcome her suspicions over Spider-Man, making up for it (by cancelling her subscription to the Daily Bugle), becoming closer to Peter, and then when that was retconned, her Post-OMD version on the whole has no animus against Spider-Man's identity, and likewise, Spider-Man now has public favor anyway.

* LogicalWeakness: The SpiderSense alerts him of danger, but it does not tell him ''why'' something is dangerous. Sometimes his foes have taken advantage of this by presenting an obvious danger so he does not notice a subtle one at the same time.
* LookMaNoPlane: Spider-Man swings by helicopters all the time. In the game of the second movie, you end up chasing one... if you go too close to the rotors, exactly what you'd expect happens.
* LoserProtagonist: Part of the appeal is that, rather than being a millionaire playboy or any other kind of extra-awesome person that other superheroes are, Peter's a normal guy who has to deal with the same mundane problems as anyone else.
* LovesMyAlterEgo: Spider-Man [[InvertedTrope inverted this]] dynamic originally owing to the fact that unlike Superman and Batman, both of whom are more charismatic figures than their civilian alter-egos (in the classical era certainly), Spider-Man started out as a HeroWithBadPublicity and weirdo, who is distrusted by the press. For most of Peter's run, a major hurdle for his girlfriends and stress in their relationships with him, wasn't them liking Peter but if they were able to look past the general sentiment and public opinion against his alter ego and see him for the hero he was.
** Both Betty Brant and Gwen Stacy liked Peter but hated and distrusted Spider-Man, with the latter blaming him for the death of her father. ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson, Peter's long-term love interest was the first one to admit outright that Spider-Man was cool, and she would flirt with both Peter and Spider-Man during their early interactions. In addition, a later {{Revision}} has it that she always knew, but didn't say anything. In the original context, [[WhatYouAreInTheDark the fact that MJ liked Spider-Man at his most distrusted and went against public opinion and general sentiment to express that view]], meant that [[ZigZaggedTrope she actually did like]] the real Peter Parker, contrary to the general trope.
** [[ComicBook/BlackCat Felicia Hardy]] is more conventional, in the Silver Age Lois Lane sense of preferring Spider-Man over his bland alter-ego but putting a new wrinkle in that it's based not on ignorance but knowing Peter's double life and still liking Spider-Man over "plain ol' Peter". Black Cat proves compatible as Spider-Man's sidekick and partner but not in his civilian life, which needless to say confuses Peter to no end.
** Interestingly, in the case of Felicia Hardy vs. Mary Jane, there's a divide between which Alter Ego of Peter's they prefer with their preferences reflected in their favorite Spidey costumes. Felicia likes Peter's "Black Symbiote" look (which has colors similar to her outfit), while Mary Jane likes Peter in his classic red and blue (and red of course being her signature color).
** After the CosmicRetcon of ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' attempts were made to claim that ''Mary Jane Watson'', of all people, only ever loved Peter because [[SecretSecretKeeper she knew he was Spider-Man all along]]. To say that this would be [[OutOfCharacter contradictory]] to her previous characterisation or ignorant of the original context, would be an [[DerailingLoveInterests understatement]]. When Creator/NickSpencer took over the franchise from Creator/DanSlott, one of the first things he did was affirm that MJ always loved Peter Parker for who he is, recognizing that Peter and Spider-Man weren't separate individuals but essentially the same person.
** In a non-romantic sense, Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a huge fan of Spider-Man while usually being a bully to Peter and thinks he's the coolest guy on the planet, albeit as Peter notes, not usually for the right reasons in that he likes Spider-Man for being strong powerful and beating people up i.e. seeing him as another kind of bully. Generally, he grows out of it and he ends up friends with Peter in his older years and cites Spider-Man as an inspiration for joining the army and becoming a serviceman. In ''Go Down Swinging'', Flash learns Peter is Spider-Man and dies shortly after but calls out Peter as his friend and hero.

* TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife: There is hardly a time where he ''is not'' faced with this dilemma. Even at an adult age.

* MistakenForCheating: When Spider-Man first fought The Queen in ''Spider-Island'', she easily defeated him before [[ForcefulKiss forcibly kissing him while he was unconscious]]. This public makeout was captured on the News, but all of New York assumed that ''Spider-Man'' was the one who kissed Queen. Aunt May accidentally revealed the kiss to Mary Jane before she found out herself and Mary Jane gave Peter a hard time for awhile because of the kiss.
* MoneyDearBoy: This is what Peter Parker first thought of using his spider powers for before it resulted in Uncle Ben's death.

** Peter's own motives can also be questioned. After being bitten by the radioactive spider, he tries to make money, create web fluid, learns his Aesop about power and responsibility, and alternates all his time caring for Aunt May, studying in college, and saving the world, without any long-term plans to "fight crime", help his family or advance his social career, aside from just helping around with fighting crime. The attempt by writers to spin new material out of a guy who's more or less still static and stuck in the same place when he was still bitten by the spider is arguably one of the reasons for the more controversial storylines later on.

* 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."
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When he recognizes the murderer of his uncle as the man he allowed to escape earlier.

* NeverMyFault: A lot of folks blame poor Spidey for things they are to blame for themselves.
* NewTechIsNotCheap: One of Spidey's major plots is his budgetary restrictions on the expensive chemicals for his web shooters.

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

* OneWingedAngel: During a trip to the Savage Land, Spider-Man is forcibly mutated into a spider-like monster.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Spidey will usually toss off a steady stream of jokes and one-liners during a fight... unless he's ''seriously'' ticked off, in which case whoever he's fighting is about to have a really bad day.
** Played with at least once, with him being silent, eliciting a few OhCrap reactions, and at least one classic Spider-Foe quickly giving up. Turned out Spidey simply had a sore throat from a cold and couldn’t talk normally.

* OutsideRide: Spidey often uses this technique, particularly when he needs a longer-ranged or faster mode of travel than his usual [[BuildingSwing web-swinging]]. His powerset (superhuman reflexes and leaping ability to catch a ride and [[WallCrawl clinging ability]] to hang on) makes it fairly easy for him.

* ParentalSubstitute: As an orphan who lost his parents, and then Uncle Ben, Peter constantly seeks some form of adult validation in both his civilian and superhero career:
** Captain George Stacy, the father of his crush, served as this for Peter, and he became the first adult to approve of both Peter and Spider-Man, and was even okay with him dating his daughter. This didn't make Spider-Man's life easier since he died, making him guilty, and Gwen never knew this, and she blamed Spider-Man for this, and then she died anyway.
** Peter's older superhero buddies also serve as this. The Fantastic Four were the team that Spider-Man auditioned to join, with Reed Richards being the scientist Peter most admired. Likewise, Captain America belongs to the same generation as both Ben and May and Peter often said that Steve Rogers reminds him of Uncle Ben (who also served in the army during World War II). Tony Stark also served as one during the New Avengers arc, although recently Peter has become more of a rival and has a "rebellious kid" dynamic after becoming CEO of Parker Industries. Given Tony's playboy reputation, he's also uncomfortable seeing MJ working with him. This carried over into the MCU.
* PersonalHorror: The origin story involves this, as Uncle Ben's death is indirectly caused by Peter's irresponsibility.

* PlotDrivenBreakdown: "I'm out of Web Fluid!"
* PopularityPower: How Spidey gets to beat the ''really'' tough villains and heroes. Somewhat justified by the fact that, as pointed out on this page, when he really goes all-out, he's a ''lot'' more capable and dangerous than he seems to be at first glance. This is also why Mary Jane Watson remains the most iconic of all of Peter's girlfriends no matter what writers and editors do; even Creator/StanLee couldn't manage to do anything about it.

* ProjectileWebbing: Spider-Man relies heavily on his famous palm-held web-shooters, which shoot large quantities of webbing to produce both thick ropes with which to swing from buildings and nets with which to trap villains. This trope is also employed by most other spider-themed superheroes, such as ComicBook/ScarletSpider and ComicBook/SpiderGwen.
* PronouncingMyNameForYou: Spider-Man goes out of his way to point out you gotta "pronounce" the hyphen so it's two words ("Spider-Man") and tends to get up in arms whenever someone pronounces it as one whole word ("Spiderman"). Apparently, it makes it seem like a Jewish last name or something to that effect.
* ProWrestlingIsReal: When Spider-Man first got his powers, he entered a wrestling tournament and beat a wrestler by the name of Crusher Hogan. Interestingly enough, Crusher came back years later, publicly stated that wrestling was fake, and that he [[BlatantLies purposefully threw the fight to Spidey.]]

* ReallyGetsAround: Peter Parker possibly has had more girlfriends than any superhero simply because his comics were among the first superhero stories took romance and relationships seriously (unlike Superman who at time spent most of his time [[{{Superdickery}} messing over Lois and/or Lana]] in his LoveTriangle until TheEighties). He has most famously been in relationships with Betty Brant, Gwen Stacy, Black Cat, Debra Whitman, as well as many other minor one-time girlfriends in-between while having a major on-and-off relationship with Mary Jane Watson before their marriage. After OMD, Peter once again hits the dating scene and goes through a number of dead-end relationships before recently returning once again to MJ.
* RecklessPacifist: All very well when Spidey's dealing with supervillains, but sometimes he seems to forget how much ordinary people can take.

* RichSuitorPoorSuitor: Shows up all the time in many (overlapping) love triangles:
** During his period in high school, Peter often felt insecure about his crushes (Liz Allan, Betty Brant) because his rivals (Flash Thompson, Ned Leeds) were simply better matches owing to him being a struggling working-class student with an aunt to care for, and hardly had time and resources to show the girls a good time. Of course eventually Liz had feelings for him anyway but nothing came of it, while Betty and Ned Leeds had a troubled marriage before the latter's death.
** This is gloriously inverted when Peter gets to college and becomes the lust-object for the gorgeous ladies -- Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson. Gwen is the rich suitor he met in college and whose Dad was a respected and well-off city official, and MJ was the poor suitor from the same Queens neighborhood who his Aunt tried to set him up on a date with. Peter and Gwen hit it off since Peter found MJ flaky, unpredictable, and insensitive at the time, but eventually after Gwen's death, he and MJ fell for each other and had a long relationship before breaking up later, and then picking up their relationship after that which led to their marriage.
** MJ for her part could have had Harry Osborn and his inherited wealth for the taking but she chose Peter instead, breaking up with Harry over his drug habit, and still pining for Peter even after Gwen and he are in a serious relationship. After Gwen's death, she and Peter grew closer and fell in love which so upset and enraged Harry that he placed a bomb in his apartment to kill both Peter and MJ, with Peter saving both at the last moment.

* RomanticRibbing: Spider-Man's relationship with the Black Cat was often written this way, with the two frequently trading snarky comments about the other's quirks such as Peter's focus on responsibility or Felicia's StickyFingers. Sometimes this would escalate into outright hurtful insults when the writers wanted real drama. Felicia and Peter still retained their habit of ribbing each other after they broke up.

* SamaritanSyndrome: ''Big time.'' After [[DeathByOriginStory Uncle Ben]], Pete has taken much more responsibility for the safety of New York than a hero of his modest power set should have. Other heroes respect the hell out of him for it, but consider it unhealthy.

* SarcasmFailure: Spider-Man is famous for his [[YouFightLikeACow habit of quipping his way through fights]]. If he's not joking, it probably means the villain has ''really'' pissed him off, and is in for quite a bit of pain.
* SaveTheJerk: Spider-Man has often found himself coming to J. Jonah Jameson's rescue due to the latter being a target of supervillains, [[CreateYourOwnVillain some of which were created by Jameson himself]]. Despite this, [[UngratefulBastard Jameson rarely, if ever thanks the Wall-Crawler]] and is more likely to continue his crusade against the hero than admit he is wrong about Spider-Man.
** In ''ComicBook/UntoldTalesOfSpiderMan'' #15, Spidey saves his long-time antagonist J. Jonah Jameson from being framed by the mob. And was neither the first nor last time. Spidey has saved Jonah's behind so many times - with absolutely no gratitude from Jonah after all of it - you have to wonder why he bothers.
** Creator/NickSpencer has also had Spidey dealing with the Thieves Guild, normally confined to the X-Men side of the Marvel Universe.
* 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.)

* SecondLove: After the death of his original true love, Gwen Stacy, he eventually fell in love with Mary Jane, who is his most well-known love interest to this day and defined the concept.
* SecondSuperIdentity: Spider-Man did this as an entire group of heroes. When Spider-Man was accused of murder during the "Identity Crisis" storyline, he temporarily adopted four other costumed identities to allow him to continue fighting crime without appearing as Spider-Man: Hornet, Prodigy, Ricochet, and Dusk. Eventually, these personae were adopted by other heroes, creating The Slingers.
* SecretIdentity: Spider-Man's identity was originally secret, before the Green Goblin found out. Since then, a handful of Spidey's RoguesGallery have found out that it was Peter Parker, Peter unmasked after proposing to Mary Jane, Aunt May walked in on an unconscious and bloody Peter in costume, and it gradually became an open secret amongst part of the superhero community. Then ComicBook/{{Civil War|2006}} came, and Spider-Man publicly unmasked, before ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' erased the knowledge of Spider-Man's identity from ''everyone''. Since then, none of his villains have found out his identity, but he has revealed it to the Fantastic Four and the Avengers.
** Kaine still knows, being a clone of Spider-Man. The Jackal also knows, due to his cloning work. And [[spoiler: The Queen knows,]] since the Jackal is working for her.
* SeductionProofMarriage: Spider-Man gets a lot of attention from seductive female villains and female fans, while Mary Jane, a glamorous actress/model who has guys drooling after her and likes to party and dance, gets a lot of unwanted attention from men who think they will come and sweep her off. However, they are completely loyal to each other and would never cheat.
** 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."

* {{Sidekick}}:
** Spider-Man was notable as one of the first teenage superheroes to not be a sidekick, but a full-fledged superhero in his own right. In his early run, he did everything on his own, without relying on confidants like Alfred or Robin, making his own web-shooters, doing his own crime research, and enjoying the reputation of being a lone-wolf weirdo among the superhero community. Of course, Spider-Man tried to join a team, the ComicBook/FantasticFour (ComicBook/TheAvengers weren't invented yet) but he got turned down because Reed insisted that they were a family and not a team (years later, he did join the Future Foundation). And despite being offered a place in ComicBook/TheAvengers later on, he turned it down because he felt it would come in the way of helping his Aunt May.
** Though he normally works alone (except during team-ups obviously), writers have entertained the idea of giving Spidey a sidekick of his own, though it never lasts. In his team-up with Miles Morales, the latter played junior partner to him and is presently New York's street-level Spider-Man while Peter is running Parker Industries.
** In any superhero team-up, Spider-Man nearly always defers to a senior, whether it's Mister Fantastic, the Thing, Captain America, Wolverine, and especially Iron Man. The exceptions include Daredevil (where they are often equal partners, somewhat echoing the Superman and Batman World's Finest dynamic), but in either case, Spider-Man has never been a team leader.
* SkyscraperMessages: A 1970s story has the Shocker doing this with whole city blocks as part of an extortion scheme. Unsurprisingly, a later story has [[PsychoElectro Electro]] doing the same thing.

* SneakingOutAtNight: Originally, Peter Parker would often sneak out of his house at night to fight crime without his Aunt May finding out. This angle was dropped once he entered college and moved out.
* SpiderLimbs:
** Firstly, there's arch-enemy Doctor Octopus.
** Then there's the PoweredArmour [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]] gives Spider-Man in the ''ComicBook/{{Civil War|2006}}''.

** Spider-Man once had a teenage fanboy 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 has added similar waldoes to his second costume. [[spoiler:Makes sense, since he's actually Doctor Octopus [[GrandTheftMe after stealing Spidey's body and life]].]] They are destroyed during the [[GrandFinale "Goblin Nation"]] arc.

* SpiderPeople: While Spidey himself generally doesn't qualify, being just a normal-looking human with spiderlike ''powers'', there have been occasions where he mutated further into "Man-Spider", a far more monstrous form somewhere in between a bipedal human and a giant multi-armed spider.
* SpiderSense: The one, the only, the TropeNamer. His ability to sense danger (combined with his enhanced reflexes) makes him a difficult target.
* SpidersAreScary: Subverted by his fun-loving wise-cracking personality (unless he's fighting somebody who has ''seriously'' pissed him off). That said, his superhuman athletic moves and ability to catch foes by surprise can inspire fear, particularly among common {{mooks}}.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** The infamous death of Gwen Stacy. Spidey caught her by the leg with his web to keep her from falling, only for the inertia from the sudden stop to snap her neck and kill her.
** The strain of trying to maintain a balance between his personal life and superheroing really starts to pile up on Peter. Between being unable to socialize, keep up with his studies, and enduring the constant scorn of the press via his own boss he eventually gives it up. Albeit temporarily.
** Peter's goal after he discovers his powers is finding a way to monetize them, which emphasizes the social-material dimension of superheroics in a way the likes of Superman and Batman never did[[note]]The former doesn't need to make a living since his parents in Kansas own property and are self-sufficient, and Clark has a job in the Daily Planet, and as Superman doesn't really need to feed himself to survive anyway. While Batman is of course filthy rich[[/note]]. Even after Uncle Ben's death due to neglecting to stop a burglar, when Peter understands the importance of responsibility, he's poor enough that he is constantly trying to find a way to earn a living, such as working as a performer in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #1 and later trying to monetize his web-shooters.
* {{Superhero}}: Alongside Batman and Superman, Spider-Man is ''the'' archetypical proverbial superhero. He's the TropeMaker and TropeCodifier for modern superhero stories, which explore the impact of their vigilante lives on their social life, and his stories inspired the later direction and characterization undergone by both Batman and Superman (namely failing to protect the ones he loves, which became a Batman trope in TheEighties, sharing his secret identity with his love interest and wife, which Superman did with Lois in ''ComicBook/PostCrisis'' but never in the classic era). Likewise, Spider-Man was swinging and grappling and parkouring across buildings long before Batman started doing so (having only gotten ''his'' Grappling Hook from the Tim Burton Batman film which seeped into his comics).
* SuperReflexes: Closely coupled with his SpiderSense.
* SuperStrength: Heavily DependingOnTheWriter. Spider-Man has occasionally struggled with much lighter weights, and on other occasions has achieved far greater feats. Spider-Man can go from struggling to match Daredevil or Captain America (who are a lot weaker, Daredevil in particular isn't even in the Superhuman range, though they are more skilled fighters and Peter holds back) or struggling to stop a limo with the help of Luke Cage to supporting a portion of the Daily Bugle. Regardless, it is generally accepted that Spider-Man is stronger than the likes of Captain America and ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}. ComicBook/TheMightyThor has confessed that Spider-Man boasts vast strength for a mortal.
* SurpriseJump: In his first appearance (and many subsequent presentations of his [[SuperheroOrigin origin story]]), Peter discovers his powers when, distracted by the odd sensations he feels after the spider bite, he nearly gets hit by a car -- and reflexively leaps halfway across the street to find himself clinging to the side of a building.
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Spidey has a reputation for panels mostly dedicated to the protagonist talking. Sometimes it's done artistically -- Spidey will be drawn in several places in the same panel to showcase his agility, so presumably, he has more time to say all that. Other times it's really an InnerMonologue. But one way or another, that's a ''lot'' of talking. Fortunately, it works for the character; Spider-Man [[YouFightLikeACow is known for using witty banter]] to annoy the hell out of his enemies (and hide his own insecurities) during battle. In fact, he came off as more "emo" in [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy the movies]] because it's hard to work this battle tactic into a live-action fight scene.
* TearsOfRemorse: In the penultimate panel of his origin story.
* TeenGenius: He designed his web fluid while still in high school and later designed the Spider-Tracer (which inspired the development of the real tracing bracelet).

* {{Thememobile}}: {{Deconstructed|Trope}} with the Spider-Mobile, a vehicle that Spider-Man reluctantly endorsed in the early 1970s. He drove it into the East River almost as soon as he got it and is hideously embarrassed whenever someone reminds him of it. Part of a RunningGag is that Peter, being a native New Yorker and being able to webswing since he was 15, never learned to drive.

* ATrueHero: Peter Parker's [[ClassicalAntiHero human flaws]], relatively modest powers, and [[WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld everyday problems and responsibilities]] often (both in-universe and out) see him as one of the greatest heroes because he shows that anyone can become a hero.

* TwoPersonLoveTriangle:
** Both Betty Brant and Gwen Stacy liked Peter more than Spider-Man who they blamed for the death of their brother[=/=]father, which was an inversion (since originally Lois disliked Clark but preferred Superman). Later, [[DatingCatwoman Black Cat]] barely tolerated Peter Parker's presence, but was hot to trot for Spider-Man any time, the catch is that Black Cat knows that they are one and the same person and chooses Spider-Man in full knowledge. This goes back a long way with him; at the end of a very early adventure, Peter Parker calls Liz Allen on the phone to ask for a date only to have her tell him she's already told off his rival Flash Thompson and wants him off the line as well, since she's anticipating a call from Spider-Man. As she slams down the receiver, he laments that "Only a guy with ''my'' nutty luck could end up being his own competition!"
** Also, in her early mainstream appearances, Mary Jane flirted both with Peter Parker and Spider-Man (when he rescued her) and often expressed admiration or attraction to Spider-Man. Years later, it was revealed that MJ knew that the two are one and the same all along. Making things interesting, MJ actually didn't want a serious relationship with Peter ''because'' she knew he was Spider-Man and she knew the issues with dating a superhero but her feelings for Peter were too strong for her to keep away entirely, especially after Gwen's death.

* UnrequitedLoveSwitcheroo:
** At the start of the story Peter has a crush on Liz Allan. However, she is Flash's girlfriend and initially considers Peter something of a loser, even taking part in the general ridicule that Peter endures on a daily basis. After, she hears an ailing Peter donned a Spider-Man costume in order to save Betty Brant from Doctor Octopus and develops a crush on him. By this time, however, Peter's interest has waned considerably, as he notes that Liz never showed any real interest in him until he began dating Betty Brant and assumes that Liz's feelings are little more than a schoolgirl crush.
** After OMD, Peter and MJ were on the outs. She moved on and developed a relationship with others while Peter wasn't ready to move on. Peter eventually decided to start a relationship with Carlie Cooper, while MJ started to reevaluate her feelings for Peter and eventually came to the realization that she still loved him during ''Spider-Island''. The pair slowly tried getting back together, only for the events of ''Superior Spider-Man'' to drive them apart again. After Peter got his body back, MJ had already moved on and started a relationship with another man before again flirting with each during "Go Down Swinging" until she saw his Spider-Man outfit, but they are officially back together in Creator/NickSpencer's run.
* UpbringingMakesTheHero: Thanks to Uncle Ben and Aunt May.
** To drive the point home: in ''ComicBook/BulletPoints'', the very same upbringing sans Uncle Ben (and, therefore, without a fatherly figure) resulted in Peter being ''a total jerk'' instead.
* UnluckyEverydude: This is just putting it very lightly for Peter. He isn't just unlucky, but his poor luck almost [[DoomMagnet seems to seep onto anyone he meets.]]

* WaifFu: For all that Spider-Man is a full-blown LightningBruiser by any human measure his agility and combat precognition lends itself to this fighting style. It is especially noticeable when the wiry fellow of middling height deals with massive behemoths that seriously outclass him in the bruiser category.

* WallCrawl: Spidey may actually be the TropeNamer for this trope -- "Wall-Crawler" has been one of his nicknames for decades.
* WarriorTherapist: Spider-Man has done this as a way to help villains such as The Lizard or Vermin. More often than not, he actually uses this in a way that is normally reserved for villains or anti-heroes: he humiliates them verbally, making them reckless. It has been revealed that a number of his foes have actually suffered some mental trauma because of this, but many of them were crazy already.

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatPerks: How Peter was before the fateful day when he learned WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility.

* TheWorfEffect: Seems to get knocked around by his enemies more often than other heroes. Then again, he usually comes back to win, so the Effect isn't as bad as it otherwise would be.
** If anything, you could argue it's an inversion: Spidey gets knocked around all the time (and often fights enemies who are much stronger and/or larger than he is) to show that he's weak and spindly. But wins anyway.
** If there is a "standard formula" to a Spider-Man story, it's this: Spidey meets a new villain (or old villain with new and/or improved powers), gets his ass kicked, comes up with a scientific solution to neutralize the baddy's advantage, then delivers a CurbStompBattle. Probably the best example of this, in prolonged format, is the 'Spider-Island'' event. If Spidey isn't triumphing after total defeat through science and ingenuity, he's probably doing it through HeroicResolve and being TheDeterminator.
* WorfHadTheFlu: It's quite common for Spidey to come down with some illness for an issue or two which allows a villain to gain the upper hand in a fight. This is usually used to show off his HeroicWillpower by fighting through the illness and he typically loses one fight and then wins the rematch and the illness goes away as soon as he gets back home.
* WorkingClassHero: One of the many reasons why Peter Parker was such a fresh character from its beginnings. He very believably came across a poor scholarship boy whose daily pressures (education, being an orphan, having elderly guardians) were already a strain before his superpowers. It's also there in his identity as a "Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man" and a SmallStepsHero. This aspect tends to be toned down in more recent stories.
* WouldntHitAGirl: When Spidey was first starting out, he was reluctant to harm women. [[EnforcedTrope It]] ''[[EnforcedTrope was]]'' [[EnforcedTrope the 1960's, after all]]. Later averted with female villains like Moonstone, Shriek, Nebula, and Titania, whom Spidey doesn't hold back against.

* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: For all of his strength and speed, Peter beats himself up to the extreme whenever he fails to save someone, or even when people get hurt while he's fighting one or many supervillains, so he has to be reminded of this at times, usually by Mary Jane, but sometimes by people like Logan or Captain America.

* GeniusSerum: In the story, "Flowers for Rhino", the dim-witted Rhino is tired of being treated like a joke and undergoes a dangerous surgical procedure to greatly increase his intelligence. He eventually becomes so smart that he thoroughly trounces Spidey in a fight and uses an algorithm to determine his SecretIdentity. But he soon begins experiencing IntelligenceEqualsIsolation as he simply grows bored of everything and can only see the numbers and science behind the world around him instead of enjoying it for what it's. As a result, he ends up getting another surgery to revert his intelligence and make him dumber than he already was.
* {{Kayfabe}}: The comics treated the fight between Peter and the wrestler as real, though it was explained in issue #14 of ''Spider-Man's Tangled Web'' that Crusher Hogan was actually a "shoot" wrestler--in which the outcome of the match is not scripted.

* ComesGreatResponsibility: [[TropeNamers Trope Namer]], of course.

* AdaptationDistillation:
** In AlternateContinuity comics like ''Spider-Man: Chapter One'' and ''Ultimate Spider-Man'', the origins of Peter and his RoguesGallery are merged or connected to an overarching plot or villain (Norman Osborn, S.H.I.E.L.D.).
** In the Creator/SamRaimi films, Spider-Man's webbing is organic, MJ is the central girlfriend from high school being merged with Liz Allan, with Peter having SingleTargetSexuality for her. Gwen Stacy shows up ''after'' he starts dating Mary Jane and is a composite with Ann Weying (Eddie Brock's ex-wife). Harry Osborn is Peter's high school friend rather than meeting him in college.
** In ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'', Peter no longer creates his own web fluid, the Lizard's family is adapted out, Gwen becomes Peter's SingleTargetSexuality and becomes a mixture of herself and Mary Jane (namely knowing and accepting Peter and Spider-Man and serving as confidant and partner which Gwen never did), shows up in high school rather than college, the Daily Bugle and staff don't appear at all, and Harry Osborn becomes the Green Goblin rather than Norman.
** In the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, Peter no longer creates his classic costume but rather is given it by Tony Stark/Iron Man. He makes his own web fluid, however.

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

** ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' is the first animated Spider-Man series to focus his time as a teenager in high school, as it was originally in the comics. The show is also widely considered an AdaptationDistillation as it stays true to the comics (through using a lot of elements from the original Spider-Man comics that were written by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko; the show brought in characters, storylines, and plot elements with a similar balance of action, drama and comedy as well as a high school setting) in addition to utilizing material from all eras of the comic's run and other sources such as the more recent the ''Comicbook/UltimateSpiderMan'' comics and the [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy Sam Raimi movies]], making a Spider-Man cartoon that is very popular and recognizable to both older and younger fans.

* TenMinuteRetirement: Occasionally Spidey will get sick and tired of [[WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld juggling the demands of heroics and ordinary life]] for the benefit of [[HeroWithBadPublicity an unappreciative world]] and hang up the web-shooters until something spurs him into action again. Inverted in the mid-90s story "Peter Parker No More", in which Spider-Man suffers a mental breakdown after one emotional hit too many, and decides to all but give up his civilian identity, spending all his time in costume.

* AlertnessBlink: Most times the spider-sense activates. The thick, tapering wavy lines around his head are one of the most famous examples of this in the West.

** In Dan Slott's run, 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.
* AnimalThemedSuperbeing: Peter is Spider-Man and can crawl on walls and adhere to any surface and any angle, he also has the proportional strength of a spider, a special spider-sense, and the agility and flexibility of a spider, or one enhanced genetically. Over time, it has been established that Peter didn't entirely win the SuperpowerLottery, and that's why he only has ''some'' spider-based powers and not the much larger library he could have. This has also been used to help differentiate some of his {{Legacy Character}}s, giving them certain unique powers whilst still preserving the fundamental theme of being a Spider-Hero.
* TheAnticipator: Spidey is fond of abusing his Spider-Sense for this purpose; he can sense when someone, especially an enemy someone, is coming, and can quickly set up a nice little alleyway confrontation with them. Or simply just not be surprised when someone's behind him; his Spider-Sense averts this trope happening fully to him for the same reason of his power being able to sense when someone hostile is lurking about (unless it's Venom, whom the Spider-Sense cannot detect).

* 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 Stan Lee 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 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, 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 that it’s a [[ItsPersonal very personal]] conflict between the two and that 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.
* ArmoredVillainsUnarmoredHeroes: Spider-Man, pretty much an archetypal skintight-suit superhero, periodically though not invariably goes up against armored opponents of various kinds, such as the Rhino or assorted Spider-Slayer robots. Though he averts this on occasion, building specialized suits or even PowerArmor to deal with specific foes (notably, in Ends Of The Earth, he built essentially Spider-Man themed Iron Man armor specifically designed to take on the latest iteration of the Sinister Six).

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: During one StoryArc, the father of Spider-Man's foe Sandman is framed for the murder of an alternate reality Ben Parker, and given a quick death sentence. When the governor (or maybe NYC's mayor) learns that Sandman's going to break out his father, he orders the immediate execution of the man, something that violates a wide range of laws and civil rights protections, and nobody involved in law enforcement bothers to say 'you can't do that; it's illegal'.

** ''WebVideo/SuperPowerBeatdown'' showed perfectly how dangerous Spidey can be. During his fight with Darth Maul, he uses his Spider-Sense and agility to constantly dodge ''a Force user's lightsaber attacks''. However, when the Symbiote bonds with Spidey again, TheGlovesComeOff and it doesn't take Spidey ''three'' seconds to use his senses and agility to have Maul cut off his own head.
* 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 Franchise/FantasticFour, the global fights like Franchise/TheAvengers, and the mystic fights like ComicBook/DoctorStrange, Spidey will ''always'' be seen webslinging across the Manhattan skyline.

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

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

* CanAlwaysSpotACop: Spidey goes hot and cold with this trope. He doesn't really encounter police officers except when they're trying to arrest him, or when he's swinging in to give them a hand. Peter is observant and intelligent enough to pick up subtle clues that someone is a cop, but not consistently. His Spider-Sense does sometimes warn him that someone is carrying a gun, but that's only when they have hostile intentions towards him. Therefore it normally doesn't ping on undercover cops that he's around either in his civilian identity or as Spider-Man, since they don't usually have any hostile intentions towards him in either guise.
* CanonDiscontinuity: ''Spider-Man and Power Pack'' #1, A one-off special on child abuse, revealed that Peter had been sexually abused.
* CantDefaultToMurder: In a 1970s-era story when Spider-Man was forced to team up with ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'', Spidey enforced his No-Killing rule by making Frank use rubber bullets. Frank complied, both because they didn't have any time for arguing and because this was ''very'' early in Frank's history, before he became the ''Creator/GarthEnnis''-molded BloodKnight he is now. Of course, a rubber bullet to the head or throat is just as lethal, and an experienced Marine like Frank could have swapped out magazines holding real bullets without Spidey ever noticing. Other heroes, such as Captain America or Daredevil, have also tried to make Frank refrain from killing when teaming up with him. He doesn't always comply.
* 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:

** A number of Spider-Man's villains over the years tend to be wealthy types, such as the Kingpin, Norman Osborn, and Roderick Kingsley. In ''Marvel Knights Spider-Man'', Norman Osborn mocks Peter with classist insults, for being a loser who works as a high-school teacher despite his great talent, which Spider-Man retorts by pointing out that Norman could well have cured cancer with all his wealth and connections if he actually cares about improving lives. Norman then replies that he only said it to hurt Peter by his values, because he on the other hand as he puts it, "I don't give a rat's ass".
** An interesting example of this trope is how writers tackle the idea of a successful Peter Parker. Dan Slott 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. Nick Spencer 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.

* CloseOnTitle: "The Night That Gwen Stacy Died" does not show its title and splash panel until the last page, in order to prevent readers from finding out too early which ''Spider-Man'' character Marvel decided to kill off.

** For instance a flashback to ''Kraven's Last Hunt'' 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 ''The Clone Saga''. Nick Spencer's 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.

* CriticalPsychoanalysisFailure: Stan Lee and Marcos Martin's non-canon story "Identity Crisis" (not to be confused with the in-canon 616 story of the same name), has Spider-Man going to a psychologist Dr. Gray Madder (a pun on gray matter) and talking 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, {{lampshad|eHanging}}ing the bizarre changes to Spider-Man continuity that actually drives Dr. Gray Madder nuts and has ''him'' going to a shrink.

* CurbStompBattle: In the ''Back In Black'' storyline, when Aunt May is shot and nearly killed, Peter [[BerserkButton loses it big time]] and tracks down the responsible party. When it turns out to be the Kingpin, Peter effortlessly and quite savagely ''beats the living shit'' out of him, then informs the battered, broken Kingpin that if May dies, so will he.
** While Spider-Man's strength is not on the high end of the scale, he is a lot stronger than he was originally, and his mix of speed, agility, and reflexes are debatably the best outside of speedsters. His webs, jumping, and wall-crawling give him mobility only surpassed by flyers and teleporters, with his webbing also providing surprisingly versatile ranged combat options. When you combine all that with his spider sense (which gives him an enormous advantage in battle), you've pretty much got a nearly unbeatable combination. He holds back so much because he probably spends more time than any other hero except Daredevil just dealing with ordinary criminals committing street crimes, and he's genuinely afraid of killing someone. That being said, most of the people who know him are fully aware of how dangerous he can be when he's really pissed off. Daredevil was nearly unable to prevent him from beating the Sin Eater to death, and the sight of Spider-Man (whom he had always known beforehand as being lighthearted and easygoing) being so brutal left a ''serious'' impression on Daredevil. In the 80s, Peter gives Doctor Octopus a beating so brutal that Doc has developed a fear of spiders and Spider-Man, one that would last for a few years. In ''ComicBook/SecretWars1984'', he outfought the entire starting line-up of the X-Men. Later in that same series, he gave such a vicious beating to Titania that she avoided any chance of coming into contact with him for years. Even Wolverine, a close-quarters combat expert with literally decades of experience and adamantium claws that can slice through flesh and bone with barely any effort, once observed that he would ''not'' want to fight Peter in a serious match-up.

* 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 story-lines or even spin-off mini-series.

** Rarely, ''Spider-Man himself'' can fall victim to this, being too preoccupied with his own thoughts to pay attention to his Spider-Sense warning him he's about to get blind-sided. Those times he's been deprived of his Spider-Sense, he falls into this fairly constantly, since he's come to rely on it so much, even in his everyday life.

* FreakLabAccident: How Andy Maguire, soon-to-be Alpha, got his powers in a parallel to Spidey.

* GeniusSerum: In the story, "Flowers for Rhino", the dim-witted Rhino is tired of being treated like a joke and undergoes a dangerous surgical procedure to greatly increase his intelligence. He eventually becomes so smart that he thoroughly trounces Spidey in a fight and uses an algorithm to determine his SecretIdentity. But he soon begins experiencing IntelligenceEqualsIsolation as he simply grows bored of everything and can only see the numbers and science behind the world around him instead of enjoying it for what it's. As a result, he ends up getting another surgery to revert his intelligence and make him dumber than he already was.

* GrandTheftMe: The premise of Dan Slott's ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' is Doc Ock pulling this on Spidey.

** Its also mostly useless against those who can simply tear it off, a la Incredible Hulk and Hercules. Mister Hyde also attempted this, but it turns out his SuperToughness is not up to mark, resulting in him [[FacialHorror tearing skin off his face]].
* HandWave: A rather famous excuse for whenever people ask where Spider-Man could be swinging from with no building in sight is that his webline is attached to an off-panel/offscreen helicopter.

* ItsCuban: For fun, mob boss Kingpin invites himself to a superhero poker game bearing a BriefcaseFullOfMoney to sweeten the pot. If the heroes win, they can donate it to a charity. If Kingpin wins, he'll buy a boat to rub their loss in their faces, as well as a Cuban cigar:
-->'''Kingpin:''' Which I shall obtain ''illegally''.

* JuxtaposedHalvesShot: During UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks, when Peter Parker's Spidey Sense is triggered while he's in civvies, we often see his face half normal and half in his costume's mask.
* {{Kayfabe}}: The comics treated the fight between Peter and the wrestler as real, though it was explained in issue #14 of ''Spider-Man's Tangled Web'' that Crusher Hogan was actually a "shoot" wrestler--in which the outcome of the match is not scripted.

* KeepTheHomeFiresBurning: Mary Jane gets this plot a lot, notably in the [[http://spiderfan.org/comics/reviews/spiderman_web/031.html Kraven's Last Hunt]] storyline.
* KnightOfCerebus: Most of Spidey's villains are silly and corny -- even Venom can pull off a great few laughs. ComicBook/{{Carnage}} is 9 times out of 10 ''not'' that villain -- resorting to DeadBabyHumor and just wanting to kill ''everyone in the entire planet for his own twisted excitement''.

* LifeDrinker: Morlun belongs to a race, the Ancients, that maintain immortality by draining life energy from people, especially people who are an animalistic totem.
* LighterAndSofter: See "DarkerAndEdgier". The first notable example was when John Romita replaced Steve Ditko and Peter Parker's existence became less of a CrapsackWorld as a result.

* LogicalWeakness: The Spider-Sense alerts him of danger, but it does not tell him ''why'' something is dangerous. Sometimes his foes have taken advantage of this by presenting an obvious danger so he does not notice a subtle one at the same time.

** After the CosmicRetcon of ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' attempts were made to claim that ''Mary Jane Watson'', of all people, only ever loved Peter because [[SecretSecretKeeper she knew he was Spider-Man all along]]. To say that this would be [[OutOfCharacter contradictory]] to her previous characterisation or ignorant of the original context, would be an [[DerailingLoveInterests understatement]]. When [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManNickSpencer Nick Spencer]] took over the franchise from Dan Slott, one of the first things he did was affirm that MJ always loved Peter Parker for who he is, recognizing that Peter and Spider-Man weren't separate individuals but essentially the same person.

* MagnetismManipulation: The villain Electro once had this as his ''main'' power. Where he was able to negate his weakness to water by making them evaporate with electromagnetism before it touches 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.

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

* MistakenForCheating: When he first fought The Queen she easily defeated him before [[ForcefulKiss forcibly kissing him while he was unconscious]]. This public make out was captured on the News, but all of New York assumed that ''Spider-Man'' was the one who kissed Queen. Aunt May accidentally revealed the kiss to Mary Jane before she found out herself and Mary Jane gave Peter a hard time for awhile because of the kiss.
* MoneyDearBoy: This is what Peter Parker first thought of using his spider-powers for before it resulted in Uncle Ben's death.
* 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).

** Green Goblin's early motives was become New York's crime lord, humiliating Spider-Man, and then after being hit with EasyAmnesia, he goes dormant as reformed!Norman Osborn, 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: Any of Spider-Man's girlfriends qualify as this with examples like Betty Brant, Gwen Stacy, or Carlie Cooper, but [[Characters/MarvelComicsMaryJaneWatson Mary Jane Watson]] and [[Characters/BlackCatMarvelComics Black Cat]] [[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman pretty much rank #1 on the list]].
* MutualEnvy: The Franchise/SpiderMan[=/=]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."

** 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 Nick Spencer's run, he rather liked the fame and adulation that came with being a CEO of a company with unearned wealth and degree.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: When Spidey's rescuing Alpha from The Jackal, he at one point tries to encourage Alpha to free himself. Unfortunately, he makes the mistake of telling Andy that he'd lose his powers if The Jackal managed to drain them from him, prompting Andy/Alpha to break free and state that he would rather die [[IJustWantToBeSpecial than lose his powers and go back to being a powerless nobody]] like Jackal's failed clones. It's after this incident that he emancipates himself from his parents, strikes out with the family lawyer for greater fame and profit, and also becomes even more conceited than he already was. Not quite the result Peter had hoped for.

* NotSoDifferentRemark: In regards to Alpha, MJ points out to Peter their similarities. Deep down, Peter knew that if it weren't for the tragedy of losing Uncle Ben, he'd probably be doing exactly the same things Alpha was doing then.

* OneWingedAngel: Sometimes, Spider-Man mutates into a spider-like monster.

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

* PatiencePlot: In an early story, a character called the Hitman had been given a contract to kill Spidey. The Vulture gets involved, and the Hitman tags both Spider-Man and the Vulture with a tracer so he can track them down. Later, looking at a tracking screen in his hideout:
-->'''Hitman:''' Both Spidey and Vulture's blibs are stationary. Looks like they've both settled in for the night. Only thing to do now is wait. ''[sits at a table and starts cleaning his guns]'' Waiting. That's something I could ''never'' teach them back in the old days. Either they were naturals who knew it instinctively, or they never learned... and died because of it. So simple. You wait. And then, you strike.
* PerpetualTourist: In one story, Mysterio's ultimate goal when he takes over the Maggia is to grab as much money as he can, and "buy an island in the tropics where I can sit under palm trees and drink things out of coconuts".

* PostMortemComeback: The entire robot-disguised-as-parents plan was set in motion by Harry Osborn (Green Goblin II) sometime before his death. It gets even better because while Harry eventually forgave Spider-Man and moved on, the last time he was seen (prior to One More Day) was here, on a videotape he'd made, gloating over an enraged Spider-Man.

** 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 Dan Slott's run.

** 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. Though 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.

** Nick Spencer has also had Spidey dealing with the Thieves Guild, normally confined to the X-Men side of the Marvel Universe.
* SaveTheVillain

* SecondLove: After the death of his original true love, Gwen Stacy, he eventually fell in love with Mary Jane, who is his most well known love interest to this day and defined the concept.
* SecondSuperIdentity: Spider-Man did this as an entire group of heroes. When Franchise/SpiderMan was accused of murder during the "Identity Crisis" storyline, he temporarily adopted four other costumed identities to allow him to continue fighting crime without appearing as Spider-Man: Hornet, Prodigy, Ricochet and Dusk. Eventually these personae were adopted by other heroes, creating The Slingers.

* SeductionProofMarriage: One story has Spidey get kidnapped by a sultry villainess that offers him "anything he wants". He request a solid cage thingy so she'll leave him alone as he was HappilyMarried to MJ at the time. Mary Jane herself being a glamorous actress and model who has guys drooling after her and likes to party and dance gets a lot of unwanted attention by men who think they will come and sweep her off. In "To Have and To Hold", a SHIELD agent who was formerly her 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:
-->'''MJ:''' 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 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.
* ShooOutTheNewGuy: Alpha certainly seems to come off as this. Andy has many parallels to Peter, with the major differences being he was an average, underachieving nobody[[note]]Peter at least had the whole 'science geek' thing going for him[[/note]] before he got his powers and after he got them, he never really learned to be [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility responsible]] with them like Peter had, using them to become famous. He was even given a bit of hype before his appearance ''and'' became Spidey's sidekick only to be promptly de-powered by Spidey himself after one mistake too many in the third issue he appeared in, seemingly dropping off the face of the earth. In fact, one of the fuels for his rashness was an in-universe comment on his fansite calling him ''ThePoochie''!

** Though he normally works alone (except during team-ups obviously), writers have entertained the idea of giving Spidey a sidekick of his own, most recent being Alpha, though it never lasts. In his team-up with Comicbook/MilesMorales, the latter played junior partner to him and is presently New York's street-level Spider-Man while Peter is running Parker Industries.

** There's also Midnight Sons rogue Spider-X, who has boney spider-limbs.

* SpiderSense: The one, the only, the TropeNamer. His ability to sense danger (combined with his enhanced reflexes) make him a difficult target.

* StatuesqueStunner: Stunner, who's over seven feet tall and looks like a bodybuilder in 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, didn'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 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.

** 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 Stan Lee'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.

** 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 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 Stan Lee left, it ends conclusively in Conway's ''The Night Gwen Stacy Died''.

** 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.

** The strain of trying to maintain his personal life and superheroing really starts to pile up on Peter. Between being unable to socialize, keep up with his studies, and enduring the constant scorn of the press via his own boss he eventually gives it up. Albeit temporarily.

* SuperReflexes: Closely coupled with his spider-sense.

* TakeThat: A big one early in the ''Big Time'' storyline towards those who disguise their racism through being adamantly against immigration. The Goblin biker gang justifies their idolization of a known criminal by saying Norman Osborn also was a good businessman who made jobs for "good, white Americans," instead of Asgardians.
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Spidey has a reputation for panels mostly dedicated to the protagonist talking. Sometimes it's done artistically -- Spidey will be drawn in several places in the same panel to showcase his agility, so presumably he has more time to say all that. Other times it's really an InnerMonologue. But one way or another, that's a ''lot'' of talking. Fortunately, it works for the character; Spider-Man [[YouFightLikeACow is known for using witty banter]] to annoy the hell out of his enemies (and hide his own insecurities) during battle. In fact, he came off as more "emo" in [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy the movies]] because it's hard to work this battle tactic into a live-action fight scene.

* {{Thememobile}}: {{Deconstructed|Trope}} with the Spider-Mobile, a vehicle that Spider-Man reluctantly endorsed in the early 1970s. He drove it into the East River almost as soon as he got it, and is hideously embarrassed whenever someone reminds him of it. Part of a RunningGag is that Peter, being a native New Yorker and being able to webswing since he was 15, never learned to drive.

* ThousandYardStare: Andy, immediately after Spider-Man de-powers him.

** The entire point of "The Gauntlet" story arc was this, giving each of Spidey's classic villains a revisit and making them more dangerous than they had been before.
** "The Origin of the Species" arc gives one to Spidey after he almost loses it when he's tricked by the Chameleon to think Lily Hollister's baby was killed while he was trying to protect the baby from villains trying to sell it to Octopus. He then starts to hunt all villains in town to avenge the baby and find the one responsible.
** 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 Stan Lee 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.

* UnexpectedInheritance: Aunt May once inherited a ''nuclear power plant.''

** At start of the story Peter has a crush for Liz Allan. However, she is Flash's girlfriend and initially considers Peter something of a loser, even taking part in the general ridicule that Peter endures on a daily basis. After, she hears an ailing Peter had donned a Spider-Man costume in order to save Betty Brant from Doctor Octopus and develops a crush on him. By this time, however, Peter's interest has waned considerably, as he notes that Liz never showed any real interest in him until he began dating Betty Brant and assumes that Liz's feelings are little more than a schoolgirl crush.
** After OMD, Peter and MJ were on the outs. She moved on and developed a relationship with others while Peter wasn't ready to move on. Peter eventually decided to start a relationship with Carlie Cooper, while MJ started to reevaluate her feelings for Peter and eventually came to the realization that she still loved him during ''Spider-Island''. The pair slowly tried getting back together, only for the events of ''Superior Spider-Man'' to drive them apart again. After Peter got his body back, MJ had already moved on and started a relationship with another man before again flirting with each during "Go Down Swinging" until she saw his Spider-Man outfit, but they are officially back together in Nick Spencer's run.

* UnsoundEffect: A very recent battle with Mysterio gave us "Groing". For a [[GroinAttack groin shot]]. Also counts as a [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Crowning Moment Of Funny]].

** Creator/JMichaelStraczynski's [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski run]] had quite a few of those, through a lot of time the serious issues like bullying or school shooting were organic parts of the plot. Some of the straighter examples would be an issue in which Peter tries to help one of his students who has a junkie brother [[spoiler: and turns out they're both homeless]] (and in a subversion to the way the trope is usually played this issue opens with a longer story arc and the girl is one of the central characters of it). The straightest example however would be an issue about 9/11 and it's still considered one of the better written comics about that tragedy.
* VileVulture: Adrian "The Vulture" Toomes is a villain who stylizes himself as a vulture to rob banks and to kill Spider-Man.
* VillainOverForDinner: Aunt May and Mary Jane have a tendency of being 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 or May were ever in any danger. Venom never made any threatening moves towards 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]].

** Aunt May almost got married to Doc Ock once. She also '''took out the Chameleon''' disguised as Peter Parker with poisoned cookies because [[SpotTheImposter she knew he wasn't the real Peter]].

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Retroactively done with the ''Amazing Fantasy Starring Spider-Man'' mini-series, which bridged the gap between ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 and ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #1. In the second issue of the series, Peter meets Joey Pulaski, a teenage superheroine who he became friends with. She ends up being sent to jail after Spider-Man turns her in for committing a number of crimes, and for the rest of the mini-series, Spider-Man is devastated by the memory of her. Of course, since she was created in the mid-nineties, and her story set between those published in the early 60s, her existence begs the question "why haven't we heard of her until now?". The only time she ever appears is in the one story, and her existence is never explored again.
** This happens a lot with these retroactive issues. The other villains in the same mini-series (a man named Undertaker and a supervillain named Supercharger), despite being Spider-Man's first supervillains, never get any mention (indeed, the Chameleon is still toted as Spider-Man's first supervillain in the comics), and the original villains for ''Untold Tales of Spider-Man'' generally have never reappeared. The exception to this is The Scorcher, (Spider-Man's first black villain), who died within the series.

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

** 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 Norman Osborn and bore two children.]]

* WouldntHitAGirl: When he first met Princess Python, Spidey lamented that he couldn't hit her. [[EnforcedTrope It]] ''[[EnforcedTrope was]]'' [[EnforcedTrope the 1960's, after all]]. Later averted with female villains like Moonstone, Shriek, Nebula, and Titania, whom Spidey doesn't hold back against.
* WrestlingMonster: Played straight with MaskedLuchador El Muerte. This is played with when wrestling god El Diablo shows up. [[PiratesWhoDontDoAnything He never appears in the ring of any promotions and fights with swords.]]

* AbsurdlyHighStakesGame: ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' #21 had a somewhat lighter-hearted version of this. The New York superheroes have a yearly poker game with twenty-dollar stakes with the winner donating their winnings to charity. Then along comes the Kingpin with a ridiculous amount of money. There's nothing really at stake more than pride and a good cause, but that doesn't mean it's any less entertaining to watch Spider-Man and Kingpin play out the final round with ludicrous piles of chips each. (Spidey won- his Spider-Sense means that [[ParanormalGamblingAdvantage he always knows whether or not someone's bluffing]].)

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

!!The Amazing Spider-Man
* ArtEvolution: Mark Bagley's issue as guest penciller, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #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.
* BigDamnHeroes: In ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #261, Spider-Man appears just in time to save Harry Osborn from a fight with the Hobgoblin.
* BookEnds: In a sense. [[http://marvel.wikia.com/File:Amazing_Fantasy_Vol_1_15_Variant_Original_Ditko_Cover.jpg This]] was intended to be the cover of ''Amazing Fantasy #15''. Many years later, it ended up being [[http://marvel.wikia.com/File:Amazing_Spider-Man_Vol_1_700_Steve_Ditko_Variant.jpg a variant cover]] for ''The Amazing Spider-Man #700''.
* ComingOfAgeStory: Comics scholars generally see ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 to ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #149 (the Lee-Ditko, Lee-Romita, and Conway-Romita era) as an extended coming-of-age saga where Peter Parker gets superpowers at age 15, briefly use them for profit, then after failing to help stop a criminal who later kills his Uncle Ben, making him commit so becoming a Superhero and learn responsibility by becoming the caretaker and provider for his Aunt May, working for a living, and going to high school at the same time. The "Master Planner" arc was the period in which Peter ended his youth and became a college-going young adult, he would later form a serious relationship with Gwen Stacy before additional tragedy ends up leading to a [[InnocenceLost loss of innocence]], where his adult social circle is marked by tragedy and broken friendships (Gwen and Harry respectively). Most notably, Conway's final issue in his run, Issue 149, has Peter finally passing his [[SexAsARiteOFPassage rite of passage]] when it ends with what is strongly implied to be him and MJ having sex together, finally losing his virginity and becoming a man.
* DarkerAndEdgier: The tone of the Spider-Man comics in the original 100 issues run of ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' was generally light-hearted and grounded but it could vary within issues to something comedic to dark, angsty, and violent stories. Creator/GerryConway's run on Spider-Man was significantly darker than Lee and Romita's (featuring major character death, psychological breakdowns, and breaking up of friendships), and writers after him also balanced extremes in Peter's life.
* ADayInTheLimelight:
** Tom [=DeFalco=] wrote ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #259, focusing on Mary-Jane's backstory which had been hinted at earlier but never elaborated.
** ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #248 focuses on Tim Harrison, a terminally ill child who was a huge fan of Spider-Man.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: The original ''If This Be My Destiny'' arc was this for Spider-Man's entire high-school arc. His Aunt May is sick, he has to fight the Master Planner (Doctor Octopus), and he's just starting in college. Despite being at his lowest ebb with virtually no way to fight back, Peter overcomes the odds, defeats and scares Doctor Octopus and exposes him as the Planner, he finally gets one over JJJ (negotiating a raise), maturely gives up on Betty Brant and passes by, and saves his Aunt. It was the first unambiguous triumph Spider-Man had after many half-hearted back-and-forth failures in the early run and it's still one of the few outright positive moments in all the books.
* GoodColorsEvilColors: In the first 25 issues of ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', almost all of the many classic villains debuted incorporate the color green. Chameleon, Vulture, Tinkerer, Doctor Octopus, the Sandman, the Lizard, Living Brain, Electro, the Big Man, Mysterio, The Green Goblin, and the Scorpion all had green as a part of their overall look (Kraven the Hunter was the most notable exception). Even villains Spidey fought from other comics like Doctor Doom, the Ringmaster and the Beetle all prominently sported green. The creators may have realized this eventually, as many of the classic villains who debuted in the next 25 issues (Crime-Master, Molten Man, the Looter, the Rhino, the Shocker, Kingpin) started to subvert the trend.
* HerCodeNameWasMarySue: Roger Stern's ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #246 shows Felicia Hardy, Jameson, Mary Jane, and Peter Parker having a series of fantasies about their ideal world, in each of them they are larger-than-life, special, important, and come up on top.

* HypocriticalHumor: In ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #66, Spider-Man, of all people, tells Mysterio to ''Skip The Sarcasm''
* IApprovedThisMessage: In ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #611, ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} claims to have ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'' symbols on his toenails ("My feet are a rainbow of power!") with a footnote reading "I'm Creator/GeoffJohns and I approve this message -- Creator/GeoffJohns, former ''[[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]]'' writer".
* KnockoutGas: Lampshaded in "The Amazing Spider-Man #46", Just as Spider-Man is wondering where to start looking for The Shocker (A vibration based villain) He spots a cop in a police call box reporting strange tremors, causing Peter to say.
---> Spider-Man: "Boy! if it had happened that easy in a movie, I'd say it was too phony!"
* MasterOfDisguise: Chameleon is first introduced impersonating Spider-Man in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #1.
* MoneyDearBoy: ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #1 features Spider-Man attempting to join the Fantastic Four because he thinks the members get paid.
* MythologyGag: The civilian name of Alpha, Spider-Man's sidekick[=/=]protege introduced in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #692? [[Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan Andrew]] [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy Maguire]].
* NoDialogueEpisode: Back in February 2002, Marvel did "'Nuff Said Month". ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (Vol. 2) #39 sees Peter, Mary Jane, and Aunt May trying to live their normal lives, but still struggling with the recent changes to them. ''Peter Parker: Spider-Man'' (Vol. 2) #38, meanwhile, saw a gang of criminal mimes going after Spider-Man.
* TheOneWhoMadeItOut: It was in the background of the ''If This Be My Destiny'' story which heightens the isolation and loneliness Peter faces with Aunt May dying, struggling to pay bills, and coming off as aloof, while the final panel has the doctor noting how Spider-Man gets credit while TheRealHeroes like Peter get little reward. This was part of the reason why Peter initially avoided being set up on a date by Aunt May for the as-yet-unseen Mary-Jane because he was drawn to the wider social circle of Empire State University while he felt that Aunt May's match would be a little too typical for his sake (he was wrong of course).
* ReadTheFinePrint: In ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14, Spidey signs a contract to appear in a movie. When the producer gives up on the idea of starting another movie, he reveals that, according to the fine print, Spidey doesn't "get any money until the picture is completed". Spidey will never be paid for his work in the film because it'll never be [[ExactWords completed]].
-->'''Spider-Man:''' You're not related to J. Jonah Jameson by some chance, are you?
* RealPlaceBackground: Marvel actually got into trouble for this in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #138. Ross Andru, Gerry Conway's collaborator, was fond of taking photographs and inserting real architecture into his backgrounds. However, for one issue he used a real house in Queens and made it into the location of the Mindworm. Readers in that area however recognized the house and immediately went over and pestered the owners about its unintended celebrity as the lair of the Mindworm which led the owners to sue Marvel and settle, and after that Marvel saw fit to disguise their use of locations better.
* ARiddleWrappedInAMysteryInsideAnEnigma: In ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #26, the narrator asks, "Can Spider-Man solve this dark riddle, cloaked within a grim puzzle, hidden beneath the shadows of a deadly enigma??"
* RoguesGalleryShowcase: ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #100 features Spidey briefly battling various enemies, who call him out on his various insecurities, usually one that they share, finally culminating in his speaking with the recently deceased Captain George Stacy.
* SiblingFusion: ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #208 introduces twin brothers Hubert and Pinky Fusser. Both worked at the same company but in different professions; Hubert was a scientist while Pinky was a janitor. An accident occurs during one of Hubert's experiments causing the two brothers to merge together into a being known as Fusion the Twin Terror.
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: In ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' issue #4, Spider-Man spies some no-good crooks casing a jewelry store and swoops out of the sky to punch their lights out....only for them to run to the nearest police officer and complain. Peter mentally facepalms for picking a fight with them before they've actually broken any laws.
** Although immediately after Spidey swings away, the cop tells the men to leave the area and not to come back. He's an experienced beat cop and can tell at a glance they're up to no good.
--->'''Cop:''' You guys have got larceny written all over you.
* TakeThat: Dan Slott takes one at ''ComicBook/BrandNewDay'' in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #789. Peter, now crashing in Mockingbird's apartment and at one of the lowest ebbs of his life, is the recipient of an attempted moral-boosting speech by Bobbi:
-->'''Mockingbird:''' C'mon. It's been weeks. ''I've'' found a new job. New digs. It's ''your'' turn. Time to get on with your life. [[ComicBook/BrandNewDay Brand new day!]]\\
'''Peter:''' [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Don't. Say. That.]]
** The same issue also mocks the infamous "Ask Me About My Feminist Agenda" T-shirt from Mockingbird's [[ComicBook/MockingbirdMarvelComics solo run]]. She ribs Peter about the clothes he's wearing (unseen heretofore to the audience) saying that it's '''not''' a good look. The POV switches over to a shot of Pete on the couch, wearing said shirt and retorting that it's Mockingbird's.
* TookALevelInBadass: Electro was given a major power increase in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #425 to allow him Magneto-esque control over electromagnetic energies.
* TokenMotivationalNemesis: The nameless thief who took Uncle Ben's life isn't mentioned for over a decade until he returns and dies in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #200. His only identified name is 'Carradine', and, thanks to the film, most fans have taken to calling him Dennis Caradine.
* WhamLine: ''Amazing Spider-Man 698:''
-->'''Doc Ock:''' "No...'' [[GrandTheftMe I'm]]'' [[GrandTheftMe Peter Parker]]."
** For those who don't understand, Doc Ock, at death's door, reveals that he's Peter Parker, and the Peter Parker we've been following for the last issues was, in fact, Doc Ock in Peter's body. And now, he can't do anything to stop him.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: In ''The Sensational Spider-Man'' vol. 2 29#, Eddie Brock is dying of cancer. [[ByronicHero Alone, and forgotten except as a remorseless monster to the public at large,]] [[OhCrap and the remnants of his old]] [[TheSymbiote "pal"]] [[ByronicHero are floating around in his head telling him]] that he still has one chance at revenge by killing a comatose May Parker or just disappearing off the world with nothing to show for it. Or he can just sit in his bed waiting to die with Venom tormenting him until the end of his wasted life. [[http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/3/31005/1080771-last_temptation_9_super.jpg Instead,]] [[TakeAThirdOption he]] [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled cuts himself trying to remove the remnants of Venom from his blood]] and it works. After Spider-Man saves him, he tells the remnants of the symbiote to shut up. After being exonerated for the crimes he committed as Venom, he met Mr. Li, who offered him a job. Eddie accepted, and when Mr. Li touched him, the remnants of TheSymbiote were fused to his immune system, turning him into Anti-Venom.

* AbsurdlyHighStakesGame: One issue had a somewhat lighter-hearted version of this. The New York superheroes have a yearly poker game with twenty-dollar stakes with the winner donating their winnings to charity. Then along comes the Kingpin with a ridiculous amount of money. There's nothing really at stake more than pride and a good cause, but that doesn't mean it's any less entertaining to watch Spider-Man and Kingpin play out the final round with ludicrous piles of chips each. (Spidey won- his Spider-Sense means that [[ParanormalGamblingAdvantage he always knows whether or not someone's bluffing]].)

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

** Mark Bagley's issue as guest penciller, Amazing #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.

* ArtStyleDissonance: ''Spectacular Spider-Man #86'' was published during Assistant Editor's Month, so the gimmick of that issue was that Bob [=DeNatale=] threw out Al Milgrom's artwork in favor of that of Creator/FredHembeck, whose style is far from realistic. The issue's storyline was that the Fly realised he was losing his humanity and sought revenge upon J. Jonah Jameson and Spider-Man, and the humor is limited to Spidey's usual wisecracks (apart from the humor stemming from Hembeck's art, like the Fly having Xs for eyes when Spider-Man punches him). After the Fly is defeated, Danny Fingeroth (the actual editor of the comic) returns and puts an end to the cartoonish artwork. You can see images from this issue [[http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/peter_parker_the_spectacular_s_73.shtml here]].

* AsideComment: The cover of ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' #246 has 4 bizarre looking villains called the Legion of Losers. It also has Spider-Man turning to look at the reader and saying "You've gotta be kidding!". See it [[http://superdickery.com/images/stories/stupor/spec2463cq.jpg here]].

** ''WebVideo/SuperPowerBeatdown'' showed perfectly how dangerous Spidey can be. During his fight with Darth Maul, he uses his Spider Sense and agility to constantly dodge ''a Force user's lightsaber attacks''. However, when the Symbiote bonds with Spidey again, TheGlovesComeOff and it doesn't take Spidey ''three'' seconds to use his senses and agility to have Maul cut off his own head.
* BigApplesauce: While UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity is home for a lot of Marvel superheroes, this is ''his'' Neighborhood where he does his Friendly stuff. While he can battle the cosmic fights like Franchise/FantasticFour, the global fights like Franchise/TheAvengers, and the mystic fights like ComicBook/DoctorStrange, Spidey will ''always'' be seen webslinging across the Manhattan skyline.

* BigDamnHeroes: Spider-Man has been on both sides of this trope, either showing up at the last minute to pull off an amazing rescue (''Amazing Spider-Man'' #261 is just one of many examples), or being bailed out by his superhero buddies, such as when the Sinister Twelve were about to kill him.
* BigGood: Downplayed. Although ComicBook/CaptainAmerica is the Marvel Universe's Big Good, Spider-Man has proven to have the potential of being as effective a leader as he is and in rare occasions shows more innocence and purity than Steve. If Steve is the Marvel Universe's [[TheParagon Soul]], then Peter is definitely the [[IncorruptiblePurePureness Heart]]. His idealism, which often rivals Cap's obviously, is powerful enough to unite the most cynical of heroes and loathsome villains together and/or bring out the best in them. If he wasn't a HeroWithBadPublicity, he might have fulfilled this trope a long time ago.

* BlowGun: A group of one-time villains (four criminals who learned to copy Vulture's wings) use those. The curare is fatal for humans -- Spider-Man is too tough to die, but gets stiffer with every dart and actually comes close to succumbing. The next issue, he has to save their lives when the real Vulture came to town.

* BookEnds: In a sense. [[http://marvel.wikia.com/File:Amazing_Fantasy_Vol_1_15_Variant_Original_Ditko_Cover.jpg This]] was intended to be the cover of ''Amazing Fantasy #15''. Many years later, it ended up being [[http://marvel.wikia.com/File:Amazing_Spider-Man_Vol_1_700_Steve_Ditko_Variant.jpg a variant cover]] for ''The Amazing Spider-Man #700''.

** Spider-Man's origins as a KidHero in high school are given a huge amount of emphasis in the character's portrayal in various media, including recent movies and animated series. Considering this was one of the things that originally made him so unique and relatable, it makes sense to a degree. However, Peter actually graduated from high school and went to college (the fictitious Empire State University) in Issue 28 of the Lee[=/=]Ditko ''Amazing'' run -- only two and a half years after his first appearance. The classic period of Spider-Man as WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld lasted a very short time indeed, and most of his comic exploits from then on were as an early 20s young man, with it taking ''thirteen'' years for him to graduate college.
** The BettyAndVeronica LoveTriangle between Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy, and Mary Jane Watson that everyone remembers was actually ''very'' short, only lasting a few issues (44-52) before Peter settled on Gwen and Mary Jane became BetaCouple with Harry Osborn, though she would still flirt with Peter and make passes at him later on, which Gwen usually replied with cutting barbs. Her teasing and flirting dialed down when she realized his commitment to Gwen was serious and then MJ was PutOnABus returning semi-regularly from Issue 87 where her dynamic with Gwen was closer to VitriolicBestBuds or "frenemies".
** 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'' Issue #1. In fact, by the time the issue of ''ComicBook/{{Secret Wars|1984}}'' showing how he got the costume was published, he had already ditched the costume and was using the cloth copy.
* BrilliantButLazy: Peter is a genius that can reasonably be compared to the likes of [[ComicBook/AntMan Hank Pym]], [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]], [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Bruce Banner]] and [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]], but far more than simply being a case of ReedRichardsIsUseless, his only notable inventions are the webslinger and webs, waaay back at the start of his career. He spends most of his time fighting bad guys rather than doing sciencey stuff, which he usually only employs to fight whatever bad guy is making trouble on any particular day. Though the latest CrisisCrossover has left him with his own company, Stark Industries à la mode, so he may be inching towards subverting this trope.\\\

* CantStopTheSignal: The ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' issue [[http://www.4thletter.net/2006/11/the-top-100-what-if-countdown-part-19/ "What If Gwen Stacy Had Lived?"]] concludes with a [[spoiler:reversal of this trope, in that it's the ''villain'' who sends information to the press rather than the hero. The Green Goblin posts evidence of Spider-Man's SecretIdentity to the hero's "second-greatest enemy": [[DaEditor J. Jonah Jameson]].]]

** 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.

* ComingOfAgeStory: Comics scholars generally see ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 to ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #149 (the Lee-Ditko, Lee-Romita, and Conway-Romita era) as an extended coming-of-age saga where Peter Parker gets superpowers at age 15, briefly use them for profit, then after failing to help stop a criminal who later kills his Uncle Ben, making him commit so becoming a Superhero and learn responsibility by becoming the caretaker and provider for his Aunt May, working for a living, and going to high school at the same time. The "Master Planner" arc was the period in which Peter ended his youth and became a college-going young adult, he would later form a serious relationship with Gwen Stacy before additional tragedy ends up leading to a [[InnocenceLost loss of innocence]], where his adult social circle is marked by tragedy and broken friendships (Gwen and Harry respectively). Most notably, Conway's final issue in his run, Issue 149, has Peter finally passing his [[SexAsARiteOFPassage rite of passage]] when it ends with what is strongly implied to be him and MJ having sex together, finally losing his virginity and becoming a man.

* ConceptsAreCheap: In lesser stories, "With Great Power ComesGreatResponsibility" 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 ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 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.

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

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

** Gerry Conway's late 1980s, early 1990s ''Spectacular Spider-Man'' run was built upon the concept of "A Day In the Limelight", as far as his run centering around Joe Robertson, a longtime supporting cast member of Spider-Man. Similarly, the only Spider-Man stories by loathed writer Howard Mackie that are liked by fans are the ones that had Howard focusing on the supporting cast members.
** Tom [=DeFalco=] wrote quite a few issues focusing on Mary-Jane's backstory which had been hinted at earlier but never elaborated. Matt Fraction's "To Have and to Hold" is entirely about her and it's considered one of the great Spider-Man stories.
** "The Kid Who Collected Spider-Man" focuses on a single-shot ''Spider-Man'' character.

* EarnYourHappyEnding:
** The original "If This Be My Destiny" Master Planner arc was this for Spider-Man's entire high-school arc. His Aunt May is sick, he has to fight the Master Planner (Doctor Octopus), and he's just starting in college. Despite being at his lowest ebb with virtually no way to fight back, Peter overcomes the odds, defeats and scares Doctor Octopus and exposes him as the Planner, he finally gets one over JJJ (negotiating a raise), maturely gives up on Betty Brant and passes by, and saves his Aunt. It was the first unambiguous triumph Spider-Man had after many half-hearted back-and-forth failures in the early run and it's still one of the few outright positive moments in all the books.
** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sensational_Spider-Man_%28vol._2%29#.22The_Last_Temptation_of_Eddie_Brock.22_.28Issues_38-39.29 Eddie Brock is dying of cancer.]] [[ByronicHero Alone, and forgotten except as a remorseless monster to the public at large,]] [[OhCrap and the remnants of his old]] [[TheSymbiote "pal"]] [[ByronicHero are floating around in his head telling him]] that he still has one chance at revenge by killing a comatose May Parker or just disappearing off the world with nothing to show for it. Or he can just sit in his bed waiting to die with Venom tormenting him until the end of his wasted life. [[http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/3/31005/1080771-last_temptation_9_super.jpg Instead,]] [[TakeAThirdOption he]] [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled cuts himself trying to remove the remnants of Venom from his blood]] and it works. After Spider-Man saves him, he tells the remnants of the symbiote to shut up. After being exonerated for the crimes he committed as Venom, he met Mr. Li, who offered him a job. Eddie accepted, and when Mr. Li touched him, the remnants of TheSymbiote were fused to his immune system, turning him into Anti-Venom.

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

* AFoggyDayInLondonTown: Knight and Fogg were two British super-powered contract killers who appeared in ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' #165-167 back in 1990. The latter saw himself as the personification of the London fog and [[SuperSmoke could transform his body into a gaseous form]] that obscured his opponents' sight; his favorite method of attack was to strangle his targets from afar with his partially solidified hands.

* GoodColorsEvilColors: In the first 25 issues of Amazing Spider-Man where many classic villains debuted, almost all of them incorporate the color green. Chameleon, Vulture, Tinkerer, Doctor Octopus, the Sandman, the Lizard, Living Brain, Electro, the Big Man, Mysterio, The Green Goblin, and the Scorpion all had green as a part of their overall look (Kraven the Hunter was the most notable exception). Even villains Spidey fought from other comics like Doctor Doom, the Ringmaster and the Beetle all prominently sported green. The creators may have realized this eventually, as many of the classic villains who debuted in the next 25 issues (Crime-Master, Molten Man, the Looter, the Rhino, the Shocker, Kingpin) started to subvert the trend.

* HerCodeNameWasMarySue: Roger Stern's "The Daydreamers" (Amazing Spider-Man #246) shows Felicia Hardy, Jameson, Mary Jane, and Peter Parker having a series of fantasies about their ideal world, in each of them they are larger-than-life, special, important, and come up on top.

* HowMuchDidYouHear: In ''Amazing Fantasy Vol. 2 #15'', Spider-Man realizes that in the famous cover of ''Amazing Fantasy #15'', he pretty much declared his real name in the presence of the guy in his armpit. Fortunately for him, [[SpeechBubblesInterruption the guy was screaming too loudly to hear it]].
-->'''Spider-Man:''' Um...you didn't hear that thing I just said, right? You know? About how the world may mock... [[BlahBlahBlah yadda yadda yadda]]?
* HypocriticalHumor: In one of the earlier issues, Spider-Man, of all people, tells Mysterio to ''quit it with the sarcasm.''
* IApprovedThisMessage: In ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #611, ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} claims to have ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'' symbols on his toenails ("My feet are a rainbow of power!") with a footnote reading "I'm Creator/GeoffJohns and I approve this message -- Creator/GeoffJohns, former ''[[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]]'' writer".

* IronicNickname: Something that is lost on account of Spider-Man's fame, but Spider-Man's nickname as "the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man" is a major one since before most people saw spiders as [[SpidersAreScary creepy house pests]]. Spiders aren't supposed to be part of a neighborhood and certainly not part of a friendly one, or be considered friendly themselves. Peter being your friendly neighborhood spider-man inverts that completely. Tom Taylor's first issue in Volume 2 of ''Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'' {{Lampshades}} this when after Spidey saves a little girl and her father, the small child slaps his spider emblem on his chest out of her dislike for spiders:
-->'''Spider-Man:''' It's all good to be fair, I don't exactly have the most kid-friendly costume. It literally has a spider on it.

* {{Kayfabe}}: The comics treated the fight between Peter and the wrestler as real; GrandfatherClause meant that the first movie followed this as well, though it was explained in issue #14 of ''Spider-Man's Tangled Web'' that Crusher Hogan was actually a "shoot" wrestler--in which the outcome of the match is not scripted.

** Lampshaded in "The Amazing Spider-Man #46", Just as Spider-Man is wondering where to start looking for The Shocker (A vibration based villain) He spots a cop in a police call box reporting strange tremors, causing Peter to say.
---> Spider-Man: "Boy! if it had happened that easy in a movie, I'd say it was too phony!"

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

* MasterOfDisguise: Chameleon, impersonating Spidey in ''the first issue''. He wears exquisitely made latex masks, is a skilled mimic, and his own mask is equipped with voice changer software.

* MoneyDearBoy: [[invoked]] This is what Peter Parker first thought of using his spider-powers for, before it resulted in Uncle Ben's death. Even then, the first issue of his regular series features him attempting to join the Fantastic Four because he thinks the members get paid.

* MythologyGag: The civilian name of Alpha, Spider-Man's sidekick[=/=]protege introduced in issue #692? [[Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan Andrew]] [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy Maguire]].

** 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 Nick Spencer's issues, he rather liked the fame and adulation that came with being a CEO of a company with unearned wealth and degree.

* NoDialogueEpisode: Back in February 2002, Marvel did "'Nuff Said Month". ''Amazing Spider-Man'' (Vol. 2) #39 sees Peter, Mary Jane, and Aunt May trying to live their normal lives, but still struggling with the recent changes to them. ''Peter Parker: Spider-Man'' (Vol. 2) #38, meanwhile, saw a gang of criminal mimes going after Spider-Man.

** It was in the background of the ''If This Be My Destiny--'' story which heightens the isolation and loneliness Peter faces with Aunt May dying, struggling to pay bills, and coming off as aloof, while the final panel has the doctor noting how Spider-Man gets credit while TheRealHeroes like Peter get little reward. This was part of the reason why Peter initially avoided being set up on a date by Aunt May for the as-yet-unseen Mary-Jane because he was drawn to the wider social circle of Empire State University while he felt that Aunt May's match would be a little too typical for his sake (he was wrong of course).

* ReadTheFinePrint: In ''The Amazing Spider-Man #14'', Spidey signs a contract to appear in a movie. When the producer gives up on the idea to start another movie, he reveals that, according to the fine print, Spidey doesn't "get any money until the picture is completed". Spidey will never be paid for his work in the film because it'll never be [[ExactWords completed]].
-->'''Spider-Man:''' You're not related to J. Jonah Jameson by some chance, are you?

** 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 Bride in the issue) 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 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''.
** Marvel actually got into trouble for this in Amazing Spider-Man Issue #138. Ross Andru, Gerry Conway's collaborator, was fond of taking photographs and inserting real architecture into his backgrounds. However for one issue he used a real house in Queens and made it into the location of the Mindworm. Readers in that area however recognized the house and immediately went over and pestered the owners about its unintended celebrity as the lair of the Mindworm which led the owners to sue Marvel and settle, and after that Marvel saw fit to disguise their use of locations better.

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

** Played more straight with issue #100, which, [[LateArrivalSpoiler if you haven't read it]], features Spidey briefly battling various enemies, who call him out on his various insecurities, usually one that they share, finally culminating in his speaking with the recently deceased Captain George Stacy.

** One of Spider-Man's all-time greatest battles with any villain was with the Juggernaut, an X-Men villain, in ''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.

* SavedByTheChurchBell: Famously, Spider-Man used church bells to remove the corrupting Venom symbiote from himself in ''Web of Spider-Man'' #1. The process nearly killed him and he could only go through with it by reminding himself of the people he needed to make up to, like Aunt May, Mary-Jane, and Harry Osborn.

* 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]] Franchise/{{Batman}}."
* SiblingFusion: Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1. Issue #208 introduces twin brothers Hubert and Pinky Fusser. Both worked at the same company but in different professions; Hubert was a scientist while Pinky was a janitor. An accident occurs during one of Hubert's experiments causing the two brothers to merge together into a being known as Fusion the Twin Terror.

** Spider-Man was notable as one of the first teenage superheroes to not be a sidekick, but a full-fledged superhero in his own right. In his early run, he did everything on his own, without relying on confidants like Alfred or Robin, making his own web-shooters and doing his own crime research, and enjoying the reputation of being a lone-wolf weirdo among the superhero community. Of course, Spider-Man tried to join a team, the ComicBook/FantasticFour (ComicBook/TheAvengers weren't invented yet) but he got turned down because Reed insisted that they were a family and not a team (years later, he did join the Future Foundation). And despite being offered a place in ComicBook/TheAvengers later on, he turned it down because he felt it would come in the way of helping his Aunt May.

** Until Issue #38 or so, 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 Stan Lee'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.

** 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 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 which creates problems in his friendship with him, and then after Stan Lee left, it ends conclusively in Conway's ''The Night Gwen Stacy Died''.

** 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 in 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.

** The strain of trying to maintain his personal life and super heroing really starts to pile up on Peter. Between being unable to socialize, keep up with his studies, and enduring the constant scorn of the press via his own boss he eventually gives it up. Albeit temporarily.
** In ''Amazing Spider-Man'' issue #4, Spider-Man spies some no-good crooks casing a jewelry store and swoops out of the sky to punch their lights out....only for them to run to the nearest police officer and complain. Peter mentally facepalms for picking a fight with them before they've actually broken any laws.
*** Although immediately after Spidey swings away, the cop tells the men to leave the area and not to come back. He's an experienced beat cop and can tell at a glance they're up to no good.
--->'''Cop:''' You guys have got larceny written all over you.
** Peter's goals after he discovers his powers is finding a way to monetize it, which emphasizes the social-material dimension on superheroics in a way the likes of Superman and Batman never did[[note]]The former doesn't need to make a living since his parents in Kansas own property and are self-sufficient, and Clark has a job in the Daily Planet, and as Superman doesn't really need to feed himself to survive anyway. While Batman is of course filthy rich[[/note]]. Even after Uncle Ben's death due to neglecting to stop a burglar, when Peter understands the importance of responsibility, he's poor enough that he is constantly trying to find a way to earn a living, such as working as a performer in ''The Amazing Spider-Man #1'' and later trying to monetize his web-shooters.
* {{Superhero}}: Alongside Batman and Superman, Spider-Man is ''the'' archetypical proverbial superhero. He's the TropeMaker and TropeCodifier for modern superhero stories, which explore the impact of their vigilante lives on their social life, and his stories inspired the later direction and characterization undergone by both Batman and Superman (namely failing to protect the ones he love, which became a Batman trope in TheEighties, sharing his secret identity with his love interest and wife, which Superman did with Lois in ''ComicBook/PostCrisis'' but never in the classic era). Likewise Spider-Man was swinging and grappling and parkouring across buildings long before Batman started doing so (having only gotten ''his'' Grappling Hook from the Tim Burton Batman film which seeped into his comics).
* SuperReflexes: Closely coupled with his SpiderSense.

** Dan Slott takes one at ''ComicBook/BrandNewDay'' in ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #789. Peter, now crashing in Mockingbird's apartment and at one of the lowest ebbs of his life, is the recipient of a attempted moral-boosting speech by Bobbi:
-->'''Mockingbird:''' C'mon. It's been weeks. ''I've'' found a new job. New digs. It's ''your'' turn. Time to get on with your life. [[ComicBook/BrandNewDay Brand new day!]]\\
'''Peter:''' [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Don't. Say. That.]]
** The same issue also mocks the infamous "Ask Me About My Feminist Agenda" T-shirt from Mockingbird's solo run. She ribs Peter about the clothes he's wearing (unseen heretofore to the audience) saying that it's '''not''' a good look. The POV switches over to a shot of Pete on the couch, wearing said shirt and retorting that it's Mockingbird's.

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

* TokenMotivationalNemesis: The nameless thief who took Uncle Ben's life isn't mentioned for over a decade, until he returns and dies in the 200th issue of ''The Amazing Spider-Man''. His only identified name is 'Carradine', and, thanks to the film, most fans have taken to calling him Dennis Caradine.

* WhamLine: ''Amazing Spider-Man 698:''
-->'''Doc Ock:''' "No...'' [[GrandTheftMe I'm]]'' [[GrandTheftMe Peter Parker]]."
** For those who don't understand, Doc Ock, at death's door, reveals that he's Peter Parker, and the Peter Parker we've been following for the last issues was, in fact, Doc Ock in Peter's body. And now, he can't do anything to stop him.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Retroactively done with the ''Amazing Fantasy Starring Spider-Man'' mini-series, which bridged the gap between ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 and ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #1. In the second issue of the series, Peter meets Joey Pulaski, a teenaged superheroine who he became friends with. She ends up being sent to jail after Spider-Man turns her in for committing a number of crimes, and for the rest of the mini-series, Spider-Man is devastated by the memory of her. Of course, since she was created in the mid-nineties, and her story set between those published in the early 60s, her existence begs the question "why haven't we heard of her until now?". The only time she ever appears is in the one story, and her existence is never explored again.

* 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.

* TenMinuteRetirement: Occasionally Spidey will get sick and tired of [[WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld juggling the demands of heroics and ordinary life]] for the benefit of [[HeroWithBadPublicity an unappreciative world]] and hang up the web-shooters until something spurs him into action again. Inverted in the mid-90s story "Peter Parker No More", in which Spider-Man suffers a mental breakdown after one emotional hit too many, and decides to all but give up his civilian identity, spending all his time in costume.
* AbnormalLimbRotationRange: One of Spidey's lesser-known powers, famously emphasized by Todd [=McFarlane=] during his run.
* AbsurdlyHighStakesGame: One issue had a somewhat lighter-hearted version of this. The New York superheroes have a yearly poker game with twenty dollar stakes with the winner donating their winnings to charity. Then along comes ComicBook/TheKingpin with a ridiculous amount of money. There's nothing really at stake more than pride and a good cause, but that doesn't mean it's any less entertaining to watch Spider-Man and Kingpin play out the final round with ludicrous piles of chips each. (Spidey won- his Spider-Sense means that [[ParanormalGamblingAdvantage he always knows whether or not someone's bluffing]].)
* 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.

** In comics like ''Spider-Man: Chapter One'' and ''Ultimate Spider-Man'', the origins of Peter and his RoguesGallery are merged or connected to an overarching plot or villain (Norman Osborn, S.H.I.E.L.D.).

** In the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, Peter no longer creates his classic costume, but rather is given it by Tony Stark/Iron Man. He makes his own web fluid, however.
* TheAdjectivalSuperhero: Spidey might have the most adjectives. He has Amazing, Spectacular, Sensational, and his favorite Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. He was called the Bombastic Bag-Man, when he borrowed a Fantastic Four costume with a paper bag as a mask. When Venom acted as him during Dark Reign, Venom was called the Sinister Spider-Man. He is also the Avenging Spider-Man, as a member of the Avengers. And the Fantastic Spider-Man as a member of the FF. And the Superior Spider-Man when Otto takes over as Spider-Man. There's also ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan''.
* AesopCollateralDamage: The origin of Spider-Man is all about this: he [[BystanderSyndrome refuses to stop a fleeing criminal]], and subsequently Uncle Ben is killed by that criminal, teaching our hero that valuable lesson that WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility.
* AlasPoorVillain: Harry Osborn, the second Green Goblin in the later-retconned but still well-remembered story "Best of Enemies" in ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' Issue #200.
* AlertnessBlink: Most times the spider-sense activates. The thick, tapering wavy lines around his head are one of the most famous examples of this in the west.
* 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, Randy Robertson. Randy's father Joe might also count, since his nickname is "Robbie".
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Peter got bullied in high school because he was a nerd; meanwhile, Spider-Man gets treated like a criminal by the same media that worships all of the other super-heroes and in the case of J. Jonah Jameson, him treating mutants (the feared and hated minority of the Marvel Universe) better than he does Spider-Man. Ironically because of this, Spider-Man has traditionally been a huge supporter and ally of the X-Men.
* AllWebbedUp: Peter created a set of wrist-mounted webshooters on his own in one of the clearest displays of scientific genius on his part. The formula for his webs in particular is nothing short of miraculous, given its tensile strength and adhesive properties. It disappears after a couple hours or so, so he doesn't even leave a mess. For a time after his first encounter with the Queen up to One More Day, Peter underwent a secondary mutation that gave him organic web shooters that functioned in much the same way as his artificial ones. [[SwissArmySuperpower There is little he can't do with his webs]]. Possibly justified -- in real life, spiders do tend to be pretty brilliant with them.
* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: Subverted with Gwen Stacy in "ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied".
* 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.
* AnimalMotifs: Spidey and a good portion of his {{rogues gallery}}, 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. Sometimes {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in stories such as ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski'', and other times 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.
* AnimalThemedFightingStyle:
** The hero'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 Dan Slott's run, 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.
* AnimalThemedSuperbeing: Peter is Spider-Man and can crawl on walls and adhere to any surface and any angle, he also has the proportional strength of a spider, a special spider-sense, and the agility and flexibility of a spider, or one enhanced genetically. Over time, it has been established that Peter didn't entirely win the SuperpowerLottery, and that's why he only has ''some'' spider-based powers and not the much larger library he could have. This has also been used to help differentiate some of his {{Legacy Character}}s, giving them certain unique powers whilst still preserving the fundamental theme of being a Spider-Hero.

** A ComicBook/SpiderWoman cartoon, courtesy of Creator/DepatieFrelengEnterprises, aired from 1979-1980.

** ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAndHisAmazingFriends'', which aired around the same time as the above series, saw the webhead team up with ComicBook/{{Iceman|MarvelComics}} and [[CanonImmigrant Firestar]], and is much better-known nowadays.

** There's also ComicBook/{{Venom}}, Carnage, and Toxin as symbiotes that copy Spidey's powers, and the various [[ComicBook/SpiderWoman Spider-Women]].

** Lesser known Spider-Man foes include Tarantula, and Black Tarantula.

* ArchEnemy: Three villains contest for the role: ComicBook/GreenGoblin, ComicBook/DoctorOctopus, and {{ComicBook/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 Stan Lee put it himself: ''"The Green Goblin is Peter Parker's greatest enemy, while Doctor Octopus is Spider-Man's greatest enemy.”''

** ComicBook/NormanOsborn 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 that it’s a [[ItsPersonal very personal]] conflict between the two and that 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.

* 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 has 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 where 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. Now of course the presence and activity of supervillains does not depend on that for explanations, but fundamentally the reduction of crime should mean that Spider-Man's status as a street-level hero being so important as to make demands on his personal and professional life need more justification than "[[BrooklynRage it's New York]]".
** The issue of gentrification and high costs in New York, and the challenge to the print media by online and the rise of cellphones and the internet has also meant that Peter's old job as a photographer for a newspaper and being the guy who "takes pictures of Spider-Man" and making a sufficient living off of that (despite being paid low by JJJ) and still living in New York, makes it harder to accept. It was already dated in TheOughties that Creator/SamRaimi's adoption of the same came off to more than a few observers as AnachronismStew (and Raimi made it work by artificially mixing different aspects of New York history in his film). 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. Creator/DanSlott's run had Jameson become the Mayor of New York which essentially updated their dynamic.

** Ben and May Parker in the comics 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 in 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. Ultimate Ben and May were given a SettingUpdate from Greatest Generation to baby boomers (specifically ex-hippies) for this reason.

** 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 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.

** ComicBook/{{Morbius}} is an AntiVillain who became a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent genetically modified vampire]], with bat genes and an [[LooksLikeOrlok Orlok-like appearance]]. However, in some appearance -- 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, seeing more like an anthropomorphic bat with wings.

* BootstrappedTheme: The theme song for the 1967 cartoon is one for the franchise as a whole. Covers for it and variations appeared in ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'' and a full orchestral symphonic opening for ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming''. It's also a popular standard covered by Music/TheRamones and Music/{{Aerosmith}} among others.

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

** The 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'' Issue #1. In fact, by the time the issue of ''ComicBook/SecretWars1984'' showing how he got the costume was published, he had already ditched the costume and was using the cloth copy.

** ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' takes this further (on account of Bendis being a more liberal figure than either Lee or Ditko were). Uncle Ben and Aunt May are ex-hippies with May still proud of her arrest record over a protest. When Peter tells Aunt May that Norman Osborn is a bad guy, Aunt May quotes Ben about how every rich person he knew acquired it illegally. A number of Peter's enemies, such as the Shocker, are StarvingStudent whose work was hijacked by corporations, the Kingpin owns Spider-Man's intellectual property and can buy his way out of a video showing him killing a man, and likewise Peter's own father Richard Parker had his life's work (the Venom suit intended to cure cancer) defunded and complicated because corporations wanted to make it into weapons.
** An interesting example of this trope is how writers tackle the idea of a successful Peter Parker. The earliest instances of Peter Parker as an industrialist was in an alternate timeline in ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' and ''VideoGame/SpiderManEdgeOfTime'' and in both instances the two wealthy Parkers were shown as jerks and bad guys, as is the Peter from ''House of M''. Dan Slott 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. Nick Spencer who followed Slott, has Peter ruminate about the ethics of grappling 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.

* CloningBlues: [[ShapedLikeItself Let's start with]] ComicBook/TheCloneSaga.

** ''ComicBook/TheKingpin'' was conceived as a homage to Sydney Greenstreet, a character actor in many Humphrey Bogart films where he often played heavy-set bad guys and gangsters. The Greenstreet resemblances were dialed down after Creator/FrankMiller got to him, however.

* ComingOfAgeStory: In nearly all his incarnations:
** Comics scholars generally see Amazing Fantasy #15 to Amazing Spider-Man #149 (the Lee-Ditko, Lee-Romita, and Conway-Romita era) as an extended coming of age saga where Peter Parker gets superpowers at age 15, briefly uses them for profit, then after failing to help stop a criminal who later kills his Uncle Ben, making him commit so becoming a Superhero and learn responsibility by becoming the caretaker and provider for his Aunt May, working for a living, and going to high school at the same time. The "Master Planner" arc was the period in which Peter ended his youth and became a college-going young adult, he would later form a serious relationship with Gwen Stacy before additional tragedy ends up leading to a [[InnocenceLost loss of innocence]], where his adult social circle is marked by tragedy and broken friendships (Gwen and Harry respectively). Most notably, Conway's final issue in his run, Issue 149, has Peter finally passing his [[SexAsARiteOFPassage rite of passage]] [[spoiler:when it ends with what is strongly implied to be him and MJ having sex together, finally losing his virginity and becoming a man]].
** Adaptations tend to follow similar beats even when it is restricted to selected periods (his high school period and occassionally but rarely his college). Modern versions such as Ultimate Marvel and the MCU has Spider-Man trying to go from small steps hero to a bigger kind of hero working for the Ultimates or the Avengers.

* ConceptsAreCheap: In lesser stories, "With Great Power ComesGreatResponsibility" becomes this. It was never really Peter's BadassCreed as later comics and adaptations made it out to be. It was just a caption voiced by the narrator in ''Amazing Fantasy #15'' 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 means, leading to much InformedAttribute.

* DeathByOriginStory: Uncle Ben. His murder is what makes Spider-Man decide to become a crimefighter.
* DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: Peter's parents were agents of [[ComicBook/NickFury S.H.I.E.L.D.]] and once saved ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'s life. Likewise, Uncle Ben was a World War II veteran and a great Dad.

* DemandOverload: In universe. When Spider-Man publicly revealed his secret identity, the Internet broke down because too many people were trying to do a name search on "Peter Parker" simultaneously.

* EgomaniacHunter: Kraven the Hunter, 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.

** The villain Hydro Man can transform all or part of his body into water.

* EmbarrassingFirstName: In ''VideoGame/UltimateSpiderMan'', Spider-Man drops by and says to the Shocker, "I didn't know your name was Herman!". Shocker immediately sulks and angrily spouts "Oh no, it's you!", no doubt offended.

* 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 is just some guy eating in his pajamas and could not possibly be the real deal.

-->'''Peter:''' I haven't had to look both ways before crossing the street since I was a sophmore!

** For long term readers, ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' more than ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'' has made Peter this for all time. Noting that Peter's run after that is more or less of a guy stuck in a LotusEaterMachine as a result of a pact with ''ComicBook/{{Mephisto}}'' that he is not even aware of.

* FixFic: ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' and the follow up ''ComicBook/OneMoreInTime'' was intended as this by the editorial thing though fans question if there was anything broken that needed fixing to begin with. Creator/RogerStern's "Hobgoblin Lives" was likewise one which fixed out the tangled mess left when he couldn't complete the story he had planned.

* FriendlessBackground; In Peter's original appearance he had no friends unless you count Liz who was nice to him on occasion, and Betty who was his girlfriend until he got to college. But he notably never really had a confidant to share his secret identity with, unlike Batman (who had Alfred and Robin) or Superman (who had Ma and Pa Kent). For a long time, it was only his villains (the Osborns, Miles Warren) who knew his secret, which increased Peter's sense of vulnerability, isolation, and made his social life tense and painful (since people around him inevitably saw him as aloof, distant, slightly asocial and undependable). In AlternateContinuity, such as ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'', this is dialed down with Peter having Ultimate MJ as his friend from childhood and confiding in her his secret early in his run, which carried over in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'' and ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' where Peter's no longer entirely alone.

* FuzzballSpider: DependingOnTheArtist, Spidey's costume usually has a sharply-defined spider as the chest emblem, but the spider on the back is much less anatomically correct as the legs are shown attached to the abdomen instead of the cephalothorax.

* AHandfulForAnEye: Spider-Man gives his opponent a faceful of webbing to temporarily blind them, he does it so much it’s practically his SignatureAttack. He first used this tactic during his first rematch against ComicBook/DoctorOctopus.

** Its also mostly useless against those who can simply tear it off, a la Incredible Hulk and Hercules. Mister Hyde also attempted this, but it turns out his SuperToughness is not upto mark, resulting in him [[FacialHorror tearing skin off his face]].

* InsecureProtagonistArrogantAntagonist: Peter was just a 16-year-old kid who was still trying to figure out being a hero and having superpowers on top of being a high school student and keeping up with his grades and trying to have some sort of social life. Meanwhile, he was put up against adult villains like ComicBook/TheKingpin, a mob boss who confidently ran a vast criminal empire or the MadScientist ComicBook/DoctorOctopus. While Spider-Man has grown substantially more confidant over the years, he tends to revert to this whenever he's put up against some of his more powerful foes, like [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn the Green Goblin]] or Morlon, since they know his secrets and are exceptionally dangerous foes.

* IRejectYourReality: Jameson refuses to accept the opinions of others, including his own son, that Spider-Man is a hero, trying make his confronters second guess themselves.

* KnockoutGas: Enemies of Spider-Man have used it from time to time. Mysterio, Kraven, the Chameleon, the Hobgoblins, and [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn Green Goblins]] are all culprits.

* LoserProtagonist: Part of the appeal is that, rather than being a millionaire playboy or any other kind of extra-awesome person that other superheroes are, Peter's a normal guy that has to deal with the same mundane problems as anyone else.
* LostInImitation: On account of Spider-Man's adaptation into diverse movies, games, cartoons and even newspaper strips, which take a CompressedAdaptation and CompositeCharacter approach, many elements get lost in the process. Not helping is when elements from these adaptations became CanonImmigrant. This tends to polarize Spider-Man's fanbase and it's partially to correct this, that recent stories like ''Spider-Verse'' were put into effect. The end result is that depending on where you start from, you end up having a different Spider-Man in your head.
** For many people, before Creator/SamRaimi's films, especially internationally[[note]]Marvel comics in its back issues didn't always publish regularly and serially in TheEighties and TheNineties around the globe and even then the decades of continuity and ongoing stories made it hard for newcomers to get into[[/note]], their main exposure to Spider-Man was Creator/StanLee's newspaper strip that was published and syndicated in many newspapers around the world. It was in this newspaper that Spider-Man first married Mary-Jane Watson. In this strip, which is LighterAndSofter than the regular continuity, Peter Parker is an ExperiencedProtagonist who is HappilyMarried and his dynamic with MJ is closer to [[Literature/TheThinMan Nick and Nora]] rather than the WetBlanketWife she was in the mainstream comics. Most of the action has Peter working for JJJ at the Daily Bugle as a photographer (when Peter had [[WhyDoYouKeepChangingJobs taken a variety of jobs]] in 616 continuity). Eventually the marriage went from the newspaper strip to the main comics continuity, and for a long time, Peter became known for being the most famous superhero who was a married man, which explains the backlash with ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay''.
** Until very recently, most audiences who knew of Spider-Man tended to see Mary Jane as his ComicBook/LoisLane and never even knew about Gwen Stacy (or Betty Brant, or Liz Allan), except through the internet. The ''ComicBook/SpiderGirl'' comics likewise established the most famous LegacyCharacter of Peter's at the time to be his daughter with MJ. The reason is that most of the cartoon adaptations and Sam Raimi's movies had established her as Peter's true love and the fact that Gwen Stacy had died was something that censorship would not allow kids cartoons to put across. Gwen Stacy's fame as a murder victim in regular continuity is further diluted with her appearance as a supporting character in ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' and the success of ''ComicBook/SpiderGwen'' and the upcoming animated series where she has spider-powers from the start.
** Likewise, for most people who come to the character from the newspaper strip or follow the regular continuity, Spider-Man hasn't been a KidHero or high-school student since his early issues. He graduated from high school to college similar to Marvel Comics EarlyInstallmentWeirdness where they averted ComicBookTime and had characters age and progress. However, cartoons and movies by focusing on his origins tends to paint him as that. Creator/BrianMichaelBendis' popular ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' wrote 200 issues with Peter still not graduating high school and the series ended without him graduating.

** Just about every adaptation featuring him has gone out of their way to invert this for Venom, making his dislike of Spidey and / or Peter much more personal, if not any more well-founded.

** Peter's own motives can also be questioned. After being bit by Spider-Man he tried to make money, create web fluid, learnt his aesop about power and responsibility, and alternates all his time caring for Aunt May, studying in college, and saving the world, without any long term plans to "fight crime", help his family or advance his social career, aside from just helping around with fighting crime. The attempt by writers to spin new material out of a guy who's more or less still static and stuck in the same place when he was still bitten by the spider is arguably one of the reasons for the more controversial storylines later on.

* {{Narcissist}}: A trait that nearly all Spider-Man characters to some level have showed at different times:
** Peter after being bitten by a spider, decides to court celebrity and fame as a performer rather than his 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 where 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 Nick Spencer's issues, 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, and how it screws up his life, and how his attempts to help others causes 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 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 who 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 on 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 is 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 to 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.

* NewTechIsNotCheap: Twice with film and comicbook canons, with the expenses of web chemicals and the films' plot-related illegal fusion research spurring on crime.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: When Spidey's rescuing Alpha from The Jackal, he at one point tries to encourage Alpha to free himself. Unfortunately, he makes the mistake of telling Andy that he'd lose his powers if The Jackal managed to drain them from him, prompting Andy/Alpha to break free and state that he would rather die [[IJustWantToBeSpecial then lose his powers and go back to being a powerless nobody]] like Jackal's failed clones. It's after this incident that he emancipates himself from his parents and strikes out with the family lawyer for bigger fame and profit, and also became even more conceited than he already was. Not quite the result Peter had hoped for.
* NoDialogueEpisode: Back in February 2002, Marvel did "'Nuff Said Month". ''Amazing Spider-Man'' (Vol. 2) #39 sees Peter, Mary Jane and Aunt May trying to live their normal lives, but still struggling with the recent changes to them. ''Peter Parker: Spider-Man'' (Vol. 2) #38, meanwhile, saw a gang of criminal mimes going after Spider-Man.

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

* TheOneWhoMadeItOut: Some of the stories (at least before the Creator/DanSlott era[[note]]Where Peter is a CEO businessman[[/note]]) and adaptations of ''Spider-Man'' 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.
** It was in the background of the ''If This Be My Destiny--'' story which heightens the isolation and loneliness Peter faces with Aunt May dying, struggling to pay bills, coming of as aloof, while the final panel has the doctor noting how Spider-Man gets credit while TheRealHeroes like Peter get little reward. This was part of the reason why Peter initially avoided being set up on a date by Aunt May for the as-yet unseen Mary-Jane because he was drawn to the wider social circle of Empire State University while he felt that Aunt May's match would be a little too typical for his sake (he was wrong of course).
** ComicBook/NormanOsborn 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 of as an underachiever. Doctor Octopus in the ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' initially expressed the same views.

* OutdatedOutfit: Mary Jane for one, but 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 is especially jarring by today's standards.

* OutsideGenreFoe: While Peter does live in the FantasyKitchenSink that is the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, he largely sticks to traditional super villains. However he has encountered a few villains who fall into either more grounded or fantastical genres:

** 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 didn't get married.

* 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..

* PopularityPower: How Spidey gets to beat the ''really'' tough villains and heroes. Somewhat justified by the fact that, as pointed out on this page, when he really goes all-out, he's a ''lot'' more capable and dangerous than he seems to be at first glance. Also why Mary Jane Watson remains the most iconic of all of Peter's girlfriends no matter what writers and editors do; even Creator/StanLee couldn't manage to do anything about it.

** Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley explicitly modeled Ultimate Peter on Romita's version, and their Peter is a fairly good-looking teenager. In the film versions, Creator/AndrewGarfield looks the most like the handsome Peter of the comics, while both Tobey Maguire's and Tom Holland's version of Peter, resembles the original version of Peter [[TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse who could pass for nearly anyone on the street]].

* RoguesGallery: Just about every adaptation has presented the classic villains (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.

** 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 (the biggest one in recent history was in the ''Back in Black'' arc and ''Ultimate Spider-Man''). 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 ''ComicBook/NormanOsborn''.

** 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, except for 1992's ''VideoGame/SpiderManAndTheXMenInArcadesRevenge''. In ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManNickSpencer'', he's resurfaced as a Spidey foe once more.

** Shortly before the Gathering of Five arc, Spidey actually had to rescue ComicBook/NormanOsborn, and this Trope can be combined with WhatYouAreInTheDark for that occasion. ComicBook/TheKingpin 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.)

** Spider-Man's non-sidekick status gets diluted a little in AlternateContinuity like ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'' and ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'', where Peter is designated as officially in "apprentice status" to either Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. or to Tony Stark. And in the case of the latter, Spidey has his suit and equipment handed to him by Tony Stark.

* SneakingOutAtNight: Originally, Peter Parker would often sneak out of his house at night to fight crime without his Aunt May finding out. In the comics, this angle was dropped once he entered college and moved out. Many adaptations that use his younger iterations where he's still a teenager (e.g. ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'', or cartoons like ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' and ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012'') sometimes use this trope, partially to get some drama out of it. One common example is Spidey thinking that he needs to wrap up a fight quickly so he can be home before May discovers he's gone.

** Firstly, there's arch enemy ComicBook/DoctorOctopus.

** The ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan has added 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.

* {{Thememobile}}: {{Deconstructed|Trope}} with the Spider-Mobile, a vehicle that Spider-Man reluctantly endorsed in the early 1970s. He drove it into the East River almost as soon as he got it, and is hideously embarrassed whenever someone reminds him of it. Part of a RunningGag that Peter, being a native New Yorker and being able to webswing since he was 15, never learned to drive.

** ''ComicBook/KravensLastHunt'' made Kraven a badass after several decades of being a loser villain. Similarly, Electro was given a major power increase in ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #425 to allow him Magneto-esque control over electromagnetic energies, Harry Osborn when he's AxCrazy, Roderick Kingsley when he became Hobgoblin.
** The entire point of "The Gauntlet" story arc was this, giving each of Spidey's classic villains a revisit and making them more dangerous then they had been before.

** Used as FateWorseThanDeath in one version - It turns out [[ComicBook/{{Venom}} 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 a power to make anything he touches wither and rot. The experience also twisted his mind - if his ability wasn't limited to reach, he would be an OmnicidalManiac.
* ATrueHero: Peter Parker's [[ClassicalAntiHero human flaws]], relatively modest powers, and [[WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld everyday problems and responsibilities]] often (both in-universe and out) see him as one of the greatest heroes because he shows that anyone can become a hero. In particular, in ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'', both J. Jonah Jameson and Captain America come to see Peter as the truest hero of all because he is the one that [[SmallStepsHero puts saving lives above more grandiose goals]] and is willing to sacrifice his own safety or personal needs to help others.

* 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.]]

** If there is a "standard formula" to a Spider-Man story, it's this: Spidey meets a new villain (or old villain with new and/or improved powers), gets his ass kicked, comes up with a scientific solution to neutralize the baddy's advantage, then delivers a CurbStompBattle. Probably the best example of this, in prolonged format, is the Spider Island event. If Spidey isn't triumphing after total defeat through science and ingenuity, he's probably doing it through HeroicResolve and being TheDeterminator.

* WorkingClassHero: One of the many reasons why Peter Parker was such a fresh character from its beginnings. He very believably came across a poor scholarship boy whose daily pressures (education, being an orphan, having elderly guardians) was already a strain before his superpowers. It's also there in his identity as a "Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man" and a SmallStepsHero. This aspect tends to be toned down by some adaptations (with the exception of ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'') and more recent stories.
* WouldntHitAGirl: When he first met Princess Python, Spidey lamented that he couldn't hit her. [[EnforcedTrope It]] ''[[EnforcedTrope was]]'' [[EnforcedTrope the 1960's, after all]]. Later averted with female villains like Moonstone, Shriek, Nebula and Titania, who Spidey doesn't hold back against.
* WrestlingMonster: Played straight with MaskedLuchador El Muerte. Played with when wrestling god El Diablo shows up. [[PiratesWhoDontDoAnything He never appears in the ring of any promotions and fights with swords.]]

* 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!"
** "[[GodwinsLaw Hitler]] called, he wants his look back." That was Aunt May from ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan''. At J. freaking Jonah freaking Jameson.

** ''WesternAnimation/SpideyandhisAmazingFriends'' Disney Junior's take on the web-slinger for the preschool crowd.

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

* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: For all of his strength and speed, Peter beats himself up to the extreme whenever he fails to save someone, or even when people get hurt while he's fighting one or many supervillains, so he has to be reminded of this at times, usually by Mary Jane, but sometimes by people like Logan or Captain America.

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

* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: For all of his strength and speed, Peter beats himself up to the extreme whenever he fails to save someone, or even when people get hurt while he's fighting one or many supervillains, so he has to be reminded of this at times, usually by Mary Jane, but sometimes by people like Logan or Captain America.
* YouFightLikeACow: Spider-Man's the undisputed master of this trope.

* ILetGwenStacyDie: The franchise has played with this trope in different ways, [[TropeNamers being the origin of the trope]]. And it all starts with the comic...
** [[ComicBook/GwenStacy Gwendolyn "Gwen" Stacy]] is the {{Trope Namer|s}}. In the story ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'', after Gwen (Spidey's LoveInterest at the time) is thrown off a bridge by the [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn Green Goblin]], Spidey tries to use his webbing to save her... [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou but pulls too quickly and snaps her neck]]. Her death had a particular impact on comic book fans because it was a ''rare'' and early example of an important character dying (and a subversion of NotTheFallThatKillsYou to boot). As if the preventable [[DeathByOriginStory death of Uncle Ben]] wasn't enough, Gwen's possibly preventable death sent Spider-Man spiraling into a whole new level of {{angst}}. He learned from Gwen's death to play out his web-lines so people he rescued would decelerate gradually, including Green Goblin trying it again with Mary Jane.
** Captain George Stacy (Gwen's father) [[DeathBySecretIdentity found out Peter was Spider-Man]], but died as a bystander during a fight Spider-Man had with Doctor Octopus. Peter's feelings of guilt strained his romance with Gwen.
** In the alternate-future mini-series ''ComicBook/SpiderManReign'', Peter falls into a deep, long depression after accidentally causing the death of his wife Mary Jane. The depth and duration of his despair keeps him from putting on his costume again until her ghost (or something like a ghost) tells him that her final words to him ("go...") were actually cut short. She really meant to say, "Go get 'em tiger" one more time so he would know she was proud of him and didn't blame him for her death.
** In ''Edge of the ComicBook/SpiderVerse'' #2, Gwen Stacy is bitten by a radioactive spider and becomes [[ComicBook/SpiderGwen Spider-Woman]], and Peter Parker dies on her watch in a DeathByOriginStory. Peter decides to try to be more like her so she'll no longer have to protect him, but he ends up becoming the Lizard and going on a rampage. After Gwen subdues him, Peter dies in her arms after turning back to normal, as her toying with him during the fight allowed more time for the poisonous Lizard serum to fatally damage his organs. Gwen quickly becomes a fugitive who the general public believes killed an innocent teenage boy, and remains one for the majority of the Latour/Rodriguez/Renzi run of her solo series.
** A interesting version of this occurs in ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfJeanDeWolff''. However, the reason it's interesting is despite being a Spider-Man story, it isn't Peter himself blaming himself for Jean's death, but ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} when Judge Rosenthal is killed by the Sin-Eater after a brief tussle Matt had with the killer.
%%** We later learn that there's ''another'' Peter who went through this. [[spoiler:However, this broke him so badly, he killed the Green Goblin, ''killed'' Spider-Man, and became a Goblin of his own. It takes him meeting Spider-Gwen to get him on the right path.]]

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

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
** The original Stan Lee/Steve Ditko run actually reads quite differently from later versions. The characters, for instance, look quite different. From her more recent depictions, you'd never guess that Gwen Stacy started out as [[http://www.superdickery.com/gwen-stacy-is-like-the-village-bicycle/ this]] kind of character. Likewise, her personality was also a good bit colder. Peter Parker himself was drawn to look fairly plain whereas John Romita Sr. made him quite handsome.
** From the way the Aesop WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility is emphasized (with some likening it to Batman's "My parents are dead!"), it's often surprising how underplayed it is in the early stories. For one thing, the Aesop was never spoken by Peter out loud nor attributed to Uncle Ben, it comes from the narrative captions at the end of ''Amazing Fantasy #15'' and later writers would {{Retcon}} this into a message Uncle Ben told Peter. For instance, Issue 1 of ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' has Peter trying to work as a kind of performing artist in New York and parlay his superheroics into some form of income, which belies the impression from later adaptation that Uncle Ben's aesop transformed him overnight into a monkish commitment to superheroism. In fact, for most of the run, Peter was constantly trying back and forth to sort out his life, with the basic impression being that Peter was always muddled and divided about how his life would be like.
** The first appearance of Spider-Man in movies or TV was the "Spidey Super Stories" segment on ''Series/TheElectricCompany1971''. The villains Spidey encounters are... very different.

* EvilCounterpart:
** Venom is often positioned as an evil Spider-Man, making Brock similar to Peter but not accepting Great Responsibility. Currently in the comics, the latest Hobgoblin ([[spoiler:Phil Urich]]) is being made into one.
** Doc Ock is also one of these, being a fellow man of science, having an "eight-legged animal" theme, having a freak lab accident as his origin...

* ThousandYardStare: Andy, immediately after Spider-Man de-powers him.