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616 Continuity

Though the world may mock Peter Parker, the timid teenager... ...it will soon marvel at the awesome might of...Spider-Man!
— Character's first word-balloons, on the cover of Amazing Fantasy #15, written by Stan Lee (1962)

Like Costume Heroes? Confidentially, we in the comic mag business refer to them as "Long Underwear Characters"! And, as you know, they're a dime a dozen! But, we think you may find our Spiderman just a bit...different!
The Narrator, Amazing Fantasy #15 the first words in any Spider-Man story ever. Written by Stan Leenote  (1962)

Okay, world — Better hang onto your hat! Here comes the Spider-Man!
Peter Parker, Amazing Fantasy #15, Written by Stan Lee (1962)

And a lean, silent figure slowly fades into the gathering darkness, aware at last that in this world, with great power, there must also come—great responsibility! And so a legend is born and a new name is added to the roster of those who make the world of fantasy the most exciting realm of all!
The Narrator, Amazing Fantasy #15, complete full closing caption. Written by Stan Lee. (1962)

Am I always to be thwarted, embarrassed, frustrated by Spider-Man?? I hate that costumed freak more than I've ever hated anyone before!...All my life I've been interested in only one thing—making money! And yet, Spider-Man risks his life day after day with no thought of reward! If a man like him is good—is a hero—then what am I??...Spider-Man represents everything that I'm not! He's brave, powerful and unselfish! The truth is, I envy him! I, J. Jonah Jameson—millionaire, man of the world, civic leader—I'd give everything I own to be the man that he is!
J. Jonah Jameson, Amazing Spider-Man #10, written by Stan Lee. (1964)

Now you listen to me, Peter Parker...!! Even though I'm an old woman, I'm not a quitter! A person needs gumption—-the will to live—-to fight—-you mustn't worry about me so much, Peter dear! We Parkers are tougher than people think!
Aunt May, Amazing Spider-Man #18, written by Stan Lee. (1964)

''No! I dare not give up now! If I close my eyes—I'll go under! Must stay awake—must clear my head! Keep trying—trying—! I'll do it, Aunt May! I won't fail you! No matter what—I won't fail—! Anyone can win a fight—when the odds—are easy! It's when the going's tough—when there seems to be no chance—that's when—it counts!
Spider-Man lifting a gargantuan piece of metal equipment off himself, Amazing Spider-Man #33, written by Stan lee. (1966)

That Peter Parker certainly is a nice boy! He's sincere—well-mannered—and devoted to his Aunt! Too bad there aren't many more young men like that! Too bad someone like him can't be an idol for teenagers to imitate instead of some mysterious, unknown thrill-seeker like—Spider-Man!
— From the end Issue #33, written by Stan Lee. (1966)

No one can win — every battle — but — no man should fall — without a struggle!
Spider-Man himself, Amazing Spider-Man #67, written by Stan Lee. (1968)

Mary Jane Watson: You're the tensest person I've ever met, Pete. I think that's what makes you so loveable. You always look like you're going to fall apart — like a Charlie Brown who's just had the football jerked away from him.
Peter Parker: That's the strangest compliment I've ever received]], MJ. If it was a compliment.
MJ: Oh, it was, baby. It was.
The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1, #141, dialogue by Gerry Conway (1975)

"I'm Spider-Man — and if that means anything...it means, I DON'T GIVE UP!!"
Marvel Team-Up, Issue #66, dialogue by Chris Claremont. (1978)

Timothy Harrison: Geez, do ya have to be so hard on yourself? I know you messed up...but at least you've tried to make up for it.
Spider-Man: I'll be making up for it, for a long, long time.
The Amazing Spider-Man, Issue #248, "The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man", dialogue by Roger Stern. (1984)

"His strength—! His speed—! Unbelievable! He is AWESOME!"

Titania: Impossible! Nobody can move that fast!
Spider-Man: Nobody else! Now, why does a woman who can lift locomotives find my humble talents so surprising? With a little room to operate, no one can lay a glove on me — not the X-Men, not the Absorbing Man, and not you! How do you think I've survived all this time?
Titania: When I get you, I'll—aggh!
Spider-Man: All you're going to get is frustrated... and eventually, thrashed!
Titania: No! It's not fair!
Spider-Man: But if we were fighting in a broom closet, that'd be fair, right?
Titania: Stop it! Stop it! Stop--!
Spider-Man: You ought to be happy, cuddles! You aspired to be a bully, and man, you're a classic! You talk tough when you got the upper hand, but when you're losing... well, that's when the little wimp-ette inside comes spilling out!
Titania: N-not fair...
Secret Wars #8, written by Jim Shooter (1984)

Firelord: You dare...!
Spider-Man: What have I got to lose? You've already been trying to French Fry me all day because of some imagined slight to your precious little, alien ego! Well, I've had enough! Enough! ... You may be bigger, and far more powerful — but that's just not good enough, Mister! You'll never stop me...no matter how strong you are! I'm just too stubborn to know when to quit! I'll keep on coming back...keep fighting...until I find a way to beat you! To win! I won't give you, you hear? I won't I won't!!
The Amazing Spider-Man, Issue #270, dialogue by Tom Defalco. (1985)

There is no Spider-Man. He's a mask. A myth. A lie. Oh, sure, It'd be great if putting on a costume could miraculously change the man underneath. But it can't. I'm not Spider-Man. I'm just...Peter Parker...But they'll never understand that. How could they? How could anybody? Sometimes I wish I could get into their heads...see myself the way they see me. On second thought — maybe not...Wouldn't want to get too close to "the wall-crawling freak," would you? Wouldn't want to find out that he's as human as you are? As fragile? As scared of dying? That's what it's all about isn't it? Yesterday, Ned Leeds. Today, Joe Face. Tomorrow...Aunt May? Mary Jane? Me? Funny. I'm out there facing death every day as Spider-Man — But I never really think about it. Guess I don't let myself. Yet so many people I love have died before their time: Uncle Ben, Captain Stacy, Gwen...Do I think I'm somehow immune? I'm going to die. But not yet.
Spider-Man, Kraven's Last Hunt, captions, written by J. M. DeMatteis. (1987)

"To the rest of the world, I was a loser today. Just a clown in a costume. I should be angry, frustrated, smashing my fists into walls! But...I don't feel that way. I did what I had to do. I know that. And somehow, that's enough. Well, I'll be. Take yourself a bow, Peter Parker. I think you just became an adult."
— Closing thought bubbles. Amazing Spider-Man #297, written by David Michelinie. (1988)

Doctor Strange: We cannot save everyone.
Peter: Then what's the point?
Doctor Strange: Do you know what is the greatest gift anyone can receive in his lifetime?
Peter: No. And I don't care. What does this have to do with--
Doctor Strange: The greatest gift we can receive is to have the chance, just once in our lives, to make a difference. Do you understand how many gifts you have received? How many times you have made a difference? Enough for a hundred lifetimes.
Amazing Spider-Man #500, written by J. Michael Straczynski (2003)

Johnny Storm: I don't believe it. How is it possible?
Peter Parker: Well there was this radioactive spider, and—-
Johnny Storm Not that. I mean, how can just one guy have it all? To grow up and have someone like your Aunt May there...to be this big hotshot photographer...to have a brain the size of Mr. Fantastic's...and the babes! Man, the girls I've seen you with! God, how I envied you. You always had everything going for you!
Peter Parker: What?!
Johnny Storm: Over the years, I even came up with a term for it. I called it 'the Parker luck'.
Spider-Man/Human Torch, Issue #5 "I'm With Stupid", written by Dan Slott. (2005)

You pass into their lives, then out of them, in a matter of minutes or, or seconds, and you forget that their lives continue after you swing away. They go back to their homes, their jobs, apartments... because of something you did. You, Peter Parker.
The One Above All, Sensational Spider-Man #40, written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. (2006)

There are, in fact, brief and fleeting moments when my life is totally awesome, yes.
Peter Parker, "To Have and to Hold", written by Matt Fraction. (2007)

Spider-Man, on the other hand, is more of an anomaly. Acting like this is all one big joke—it's hard to believe his legacy will someday be that he was the greatest hero of all. But not today...
Cable, Avengers: X-Sanction #4, written by Jeph Loeb. (2012)

Spider-Man: With great power comes great responsibility.
Hope Summers: What?!
Spider-Man: With great power comes great responsibility.
Hope Summers: What the hell am I supposed to do with that?
Spider-Man: It's something my uncle used to say to me.
Hope Summers: Your uncle.
Spider-Man: The man who raised me, yes.
Hope Summers: He'd say this, what? Over breakfast?
Spider-Man: Sometimes. And this was before I got bit by the spider that dumped its spider powers all over my head and everyone started blaming me for every bad thing that ever happened to New York City. So yeah... The thing is, when he said it I didn't know what the hell he was talking about and I didn't figure out what he was talking about until it was too late. Until some idiot with a gun shot and killed him. An idiot who I could have, maybe, definitely, stopped if I wasn't so busy worrying about myself and, instead, listening to the words he was saying. With great power must come great responsibility. And ever since that day... I've been trying to live a life that resembles what those words mean. And I can tell you they mean everything. And I can tell you this... you can live everyday of your life trying to think of something more profound or on the nose... but for people like us, who suddenly find themselves looking out at a crazy world and not knowing what the hell we're supposed to do in it... I can tell you that just remembering that with great power comes great responsibility... can completely define you.
Hope Summers:...What else did he say? Did he say anything else?
New Avengers #27, written by Brian Michael Bendis. (2012)

Spider-Man's a hero. I understand a lot of people are put off by his mask, and his...comedic sensibilities...but in my opinion? He's one of the greatest men I've ever known.
Captain America, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #310 written by Chip Zdarsky. (2018)

MJ and Peter

Mary Jane: "I will take this man—this very special man—to be the most important thing in my life. Because that's exactly what I've realized, he already is."
Peter Parker: "She knows better than anyone else what she's getting intoand she still wants me! How could I possibly turn down someone like that? I do."
— Their Wedding Vows, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21, written by David Michelinie.

Mary Jane: "I never want to come down."
Peter Parker: "I know, right? It's great up here. It's like you could figure your whole life out up here if you had - if you had a life that wasn't all jacked-up and weird like ours maybe. You could still do it if you wanted. Turn yourself in. I could hide somewhere-"
Mary Jane: "No."
Peter Parker: "Wait for them-"
Mary Jane: "No."
Peter Parker: "Give 'em a good show, then-"
Mary Jane: "No."
Peter Parker: "Slip away-"
Mary Jane: "No, Tiger. One, no. Two, it'd never work. And three, no. Now say it back."
Peter Parker: "No."
Mary Jane: "Yes. There you go. Maybe the rest of the world thinks marriage is something to do between other marriages, but it means something to me. You're my partner and my husband and I love you. This is our life."
Peter Parker: Yeah. You and me, forever and always.
Sensational Spider-Man Annual 1, "To Have & To Hold," written by Matt Fraction.

Peter Parker: "It's funny, though. Giant Monsters versus awkward social situations? I'd go for the former nine times out of ten. The Spider-Man stuff, well...I can't say it's easy. But it makes more sense than the Peter Parker stuff. Or, at least, my instincts are better."
Mary Jane: "I think the Peter Parker stuff is working for you."
Peter Parker: "You're my wife. You're legally required to say that."
Mary Jane (punches him playfully on the shoulder): "So you're saying you were bitten by a radioactive stand-up comedian, too?"
Peter Parker (laughs): "No. But thanks for the nightmares. I guess I just thought that at some point the normal everyday social stuff would be easy. You make it seem easy."
Mary Jane (holds his hand): "Maybe some of us are just better at faking it. And maybe I am a little biased on the subject... but I think Peter Parker's instincts aren't half-bad."
The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, Issue #19, written by Jody Houser.

"Sometimes being a swinging bachelorette isn't all it's cracked up to be. Sometimes it's so hard to keep on my happy-go-lucky face all day...it seems like a hubby, a house, and 2 to 3 kids would be just the ticket. But you had a shot at that didn't you, M. J.—and you couldn't have asked for a better catch than Peter Parker. There was only one problem: I figured out that Peter was really Spider-Man—and once I realized that, I knew I could never marry someone who I never knew for sure would come home from work alive!...Oh, why does he have to have such a darn high sense of responsibility?...If only he were less altruistic — I would've accepted his proposal on the spot. But if he was different...he wouldn't be the same guy you loved, would he, M. J,? Face it, lady: Peter Parker and Spider-Man—two sides of the same coin."
— M.J.'s thought bubbles, Web of Spider-Man, Issue #6 Vol. 1, written by Danny Fingeroth.

The fact of the matter is I've got a good life...I'm married to the greatest man in the world — even if he does like to spend half the night swinging around New York in his underwear.
Mary Jane Watson-Parker, Spectacular Spider-Man #250, written by J. M. DeMatteis.

Peter Parker: When Marla Jameson died, I just couldn't take it anymore. I made a vow. When I'm around, no one dies.
Mary Jane: Peter Parker, I think...that's the stupidest thing you've ever said.
Peter: Hey!
Mary Jane: That's impossible.
Peter: What? I'm impossible. I walk up walls. Bend steel in my bare hands.
Mary Jane: You forget to water the plants and can't parallel park. Yes, sweetie, you're super... but you're still human. People make mistakes. And that vow of yours? No one could live up that.
Amazing Spider-Man #688, written by Dan Slott.

MJ: You seem to have a lot of women in your life lately.
Peter: And all of them challenging. Except for you, of course.
MJ: Huh. (Beat) You don't think I'm challenging?
Peter: Uh... no. Unless you want me to think you're challenging. In which case you have to challenge me. In all the right ways.
MJ: (Laughs) Okay. Well done.
Peter: Thank you.

"I used to dream of a life where we could just be us, you know? With no Green Goblins or Venoms making everything such a horror show. But here's the thing—that wouldn't be us, would it? Because it wouldn't be you. As much as it might scare me or frustrate me or, yeah—even endanger me—I can't change that. I don't want to change that. The guy I'm in love with is a hero. He puts on a costume and risks his life to help other people for no reason other than it's the right thing to do. And, yes, that burden he carries around is why I kept pushing him away, but now I'm starting to realize—it's also why I kept coming back to him."

MJ and others

"You've always been good for a few laughs, Harry — but don't let it go to your head. I'm nobody's girl but my own — and that's the way I like it. See ya around, curly."
— MJ setting clear limits on her relationship with Harry Osborn, Issue #96, written by Stan Lee

Mary Jane: I wish I had it all together like you do, Carol. Sometimes I feel so... out of it.
Carol Danvers: I think once you decide what it is you want, nothing will stop you MJ.
Mary Jane: Yeah. I guess, but that's the hard part.
Carol Danvers: Behind that flighty facade, you've got a first class mind. You'll find yourself, believe me.
—- Ms. Marvel #2 (1977), dialogue by Gerry Conway

MJ: So, in my youth, I was an international runway model...
Amanda Armstrong: You don't have to say that like you're embarrassed.
MJ: I don't. I'm not. It' just a weird thing to say out loud. "Hi, I'm someone who used to trade on her good looks."
Invincible Iron Man #11, (2016), written by Brian Michael Bendis

Tony Stark: Do you like your dad?
MJ: Not particularly.
Tony Stark: Y'have a mean dad?
MJ: Yeah.
Tony Stark: Me too. He was soooo mad at the world. And my general existence wasn't helping him get over it. He sees you standing there and instead of seeing legacy... all he sees are missed opportunities. @#$% you, Howard.
MJ (pause): I left home the second I could.
Tony Stark: So did I.
MJ: Yeah, but you did with a big duffel bag full of cash.
Invincible Iron Man #11, (2016), written by Brian Michael Bendis

About Mary Jane Watson as a character

''This one distinct example of characters taking on a life of their own is what bedevils Marvel Comics to this day. Despite what the Sam Raimi movies have led a generation of moviegoers to believe, Mary Jane Watson was never Peter Parker’s Lois Lane, nor was she supposed to be the love of his life. She was Stan Lee and legendary artist John Romita Sr.’s bemusing attempt at capturing the burgeoning youth culture of the 1960s on the page. MJ was rock n' roll and flower power, Ann-Margret and Beatlemania—she's whatever those kids were listening to these days, man. The entertainment of her being around a square like Peter is that she could see Peter was the most swinging cat in their college friends group, even if he wore suits to class every day...Lee and Romita were never ones for nuance, and they often contrasted...[Gwen Stacy] on the one hand, and a flakey bombshell redhead on the other. The funny thing is that everyone liked the flake better, including Stan Lee and John Romita...Slowly developed by later writers like Marv Wolfman and especially Tom DeFalco, Mary Jane was revealed to be as complicated as Peter Parker, masking her own damaged childhood and abusive father with her outgoing persona. And in 1984, MJ revealed her own big secret: she had known for years that Peter Parker was Spider-Man, having once witnessed him sneaking about in costume...From that moment onward, despite whatever soap opera obstacles thrown their way, she also became the woman Peter had the strongest connection with...Sentimentality aside, there is something charming about how these characters were never supposed to do anything more than flirt, but with almost a will of their own, they kept growing and moving toward each other until Stan Lee finally forced Marvel’s hand and had them married in 1987.
David Crow, Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows & How It Renews Peter Parker, 'Den of Geek', Sep 13, 2015.

"Of course the Peter and Gwen relationship came to a tragically abrupt end when she was thrown off a bridge and killed by the Green Goblin (or was it Peter’s webbing that snapped her neck? Damn it, why won’t anyone ever CONFIRM this?). And that’s the genesis of this very somber, bittersweet moment, where MJ graduates from part-time romantic accessory to a shoulder to cry on and an actual friend to Peter. Up until this moment, you never really got the impression that Peter was friends with any of the women he dated — even Gwen...Now we’re obviously a number of issues removed before Peter and MJ actually become truly romantically linked...But the groundwork is laid here for Peter and MJ to ultimately engage in some kind of mature relationship. We never truly know what is said between Peter and MJ in this scene –- I’m going to speculate that it was a whole lot of silence. But judging by how the two interacted going forward, it was clear that MJ stayed and comforted Peter through all of it...MJ went from “face it tiger, you hit the jackpot” bravado, to stoic, matriarchal comforter. It’s the strongest I’ve ever seen a woman, not named Aunt May, act around Peter. And that’s what made their inevitable courtship, break-up, reunion and marriage all the more rewarding –- the fact that readers saw on this one page, the power and strength and character like MJ brought to the series."
Mark Ginocchio, "Reading Experience: Peter and Mary Jane Grow Up", December 12, 2011, 'Chasing Amazing Blog'

"As for Mary Jane, I am sure her creator Stan Lee himself never calculated her potential to be so immense. A character who started out as a playful distraction blossoming into one of the very best supporting characters in superhero comics? Especially a character who was a non-superpowered young girl? Unheard of in the early 70s! And yet, Gerry Conway realized just how much promise MJ Watson—a fresh off the Second Wave take on women's representation in a predominantly male targeted medium, had. He sensed she was too good and unique a personality to be marginalized and made his decision to give her a much more substantial and important role in the Spidey mythos."
— Reader "Eve K.", recorded by Brian Cronin in the commentary for the entry of The Night Gwen Stacy Died in CBR's 50 Greatest Spider-Man Stories, where it is second to Kraven's Last Hunt.

"As long as we're discussing the women Peter's mag, do not ever have Mary Jane Watson fall in love with Harry! Of course M. J. is immature (so is Harry; he's the one on LSD), but that doesn't mean she hates men. She just doesn't want any short-haired, neurotic, spoiled acid-head (or even a well adjusted dude) trying to own her. Keep her independent, but do develop her personality. You people haven't yet gotten over the notion that the way to give a female character personality is to give her a romance. We know M. J. isn't made out of Wonder Bread and mayonaisse like a certain happily-departed blonde-brain, but what is she made of?"
Jane C. Hollingsworth, Letter to the Editor, "The Spider's Web" Column, published in Amazing Spider-Man, #125 (October, 1973), an example of Mary Jane's popularity among female readers of the time.

"Mary Jane is fast becoming my favorite character in the SPIDER-MAN book. This issue [ASM #127] reinforces that...Mary Jane has shown us all that her egotistical, sarcastic self was merely a put-on for a very tender-hearted interior; as Joni Mitchell said, in Clouds, "And if you care, don't let it show..." M.J. isn't as rock-hard as we all thought — she's covering up; she doesn't want to be weak...but she is. I can admire her, because for all her insecurities, she actually gives of herself, and has devoted almost all of her time to Peter in a vain attempt to cheer him up. M.J. is a real heroine, the best Marvel's got. Without her, would there even be a SPIDER-MAN worth reading? Probably not."
Bob Rodi, Letter to the Editor, "The Spider's Web" Column, published in Amazing Spider-Man, #132 (May 1974)

"There was a time when it upset me even to see Peter speak to her, and now I’m beginning to think that if Peter ever unburdened himself (secret identity and all) to anyone, it should be Mary Jane."
Nan Brower, Letter to the Editor, "The Spider's Web" Column, published in Amazing Spider-Man, #139 (December 1974)

"When Tom Defalco established Mary Jane as a runway model. That is a very specific thing. For fashion shows within the industry. He did not intend when he threw that line out there...he did not intend for that to turn into policemen recognizing her as a magazine cover model. Those are two completely different things. But different writers take things in different directions...it ended up with Mary Jane being this hybrid soap opera/actress famous cover model person which people would recognize on the street. The original plan for that was far more modest."
Ron Frenz, Superior Spider-Talk #26: Superior Spider-Man #23 w/ Ron Frenz, by Mark Ginocchio and Dan Gvozden, January 20, 2014. Timestamp 1:22:00 — 1:25:00.

Writing MJ in Brand New Day and in Big Time and Superior. It's very much the relationship that can't go anywhere. Because we always know that they're not getting married. If Marvel went through all this trouble to get them unmarried, you as a fan know they're not gonna get married. So whenever they're together, it's "here's a relationship that can't go anywhere" and that's not fun. It could be with anyone else. But now it's Secret Wars (2015)''...and he's married again. It kind of feels like writing Mary Jane without limits.
Dan Slott, describing The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, Comicvine, C2E2 2015: Dan Slott (Part 1) The Amazing Spider-Man - Renew Your Vows, by Tony 'G-Man' Guerrero | Apr. 28, 2015 9:33 am. Timestamp 03:00 — 03:50.

Villains

Spider-Man: You've got it all figured out, don't you, Kingpin? You've covered all the angles! Everybody gets what they want...I just get used!
Fisk: Spider-Man, I've made several fortunes via the practice of using people like you. Idealists. Optimists. Trusting idiots who believe there is happiness to be had on this planet. Fools who believe in justice. I trade on the hopes and dreams of the righteous.
Spider-Man: And nobody has the guts to stand up to you! Nobody has what it takes to pull the plug on you!
Fisk: My death would serve no purpose...other than to bloody the hands of such God-fearing men as yourself. You face an undefeatable foe, Spider-Man. Accept it, as others have.

Alternate Universe

Mark Raxton: Man, what is so special about Peter Parker anyway?
Mary Jane Watson: Everything.
Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 1, Issue # 78, dialogue by Brian Michael Bendis

Being a hero isn't just about punching the bad guys. Even if that's what we spend a lot of our time doing. It doesn't mean you only help the people you completely trust or act only when it's safe. Heck, sometimes it means you walk into a trap knowing it's a trap. Because there could be lives at stake. Great power, great responsibility. I know you've heard it a million times. But it's about more than just choosing to take action. It's about choosing to take on the risk. Sometimes you'll be wrong. Sometimes you'll swing straight into danger for no good reason at all. But you'll do it anyway, because there's the smallest chance that someone needs your help. And that's the responsibility you accepted when you put on that mask.
Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, Issue #15, written by Jody Houser. (2018)

From Movies

Whatever life holds in store for me, I will never forget these words: 'With great power comes great responsibility.' This is my gift, my curse. Who am I? I'm Spider-Man.
Peter Parker, Spider-Man (2002)

I believe there's a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble and finally allows us to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams.
May Parker, Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Really? You seriously think I'm a cop, dressed in a skin-tight red and blue suit?
Peter Parker, The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Captain America: You got heart, kid. Where you from?
Spider-Man: Queens.
Captain America: Brooklyn.

You can't be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man if there's no neighborhood. Okay, that didn't really make sense, but you know what I'm trying to say.
Spider-Man, Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

My husband Peter Parker was an ordinary person. He always said that it could be anyone behind the mask. He was just a kid who happened to get bit...He didn't ask for his powers. But he chose to be Spider-Man...My favorite thing about Peter is that he made us each feel powerful. We all have powers of one kind or the other and in our own way we are all Spider-Man, and we are all counting on you.
Mary Jane Watson, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

From Games

Venom: Surf the web, Surf the web!
Spider-Man: Shut Up, Brock! We don't have time.
Spider-Man (2000)

Venom, get ready for a world of PAIN!
Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (2008)

Writers' Opinions on Spider-Man

If you take a look at a current Spider-Man comic, you’ll find that he’s maybe twenty years old, he worries a lot about whats right and what’s wrong, and he has a lot of trouble with his girlfriends...Do you know what Spider-Man was doing fifteen years ago? Well, he was about nineteen years old, he worried a lot about what was right and what was wrong and he had a lot of trouble with his girlfriends.
Alan Moore, Blinded by the Hype, 1983, The Daredevils.

The stuff that happened with Spider-Man, that was revolutionary stuff too. Superman was always with Lois Lane. He never dumped Lois and took up with a new hottie. And you pick up Spider-Man and you start reading and it’s “okay, the only girl in this is Liz Allen, okay” and suddenly she’s not important anymore. And it’s Betty Brant and then suddenly you got Gwen Stacy and you got Mary Jane and it’s all very interesting, especially to a kid like I was at the time. A high school kid, a college kid. Time passed in Marvel comics, which was amazing for me at the time. I was a high school kid and Spider-Man was a high school kid. We were practically in sync. And then I graduated high school and went on to college, and Spider-Man graduated high school and went on to college...But then at some point, I got out of college—I got a Bachelor’s after four years and a Master’s after five—and then I was out of college and Spider-Man took, like, 15 years, I think, to get out of college. And he entered his early ’20s and kinda stayed there for 40 years or so.
George R. R. Martin, "The Marvel Life", 2012 Interview, DAPS Magic Interview.

Now many people would say that the biggest mistake of the Spider-Man continuity was the marriage. I would argue that things went askew earlier on with the Death of Gwen Stacy. One of the best stories ever written, but I think from that moment on Mary Jane and Peter were destined to get married. We had the perfect triangle between Gwen, Peter and Mary Jane. One which could have been exploited for years to come. No death=no marriage=no baby=no clones.
Howard Mackie, Interview

Unto themselves, the 1990s were hardly the best era for Spider-Man comics. Despite a number of classic and character-defining stories greeting the beginning of the decade by the likes of writers J.M. DeMatteis or even David Michelinie (on his better days), that era was plagued for years by Marvel resisting the simple conceit that Peter Parker was designed by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko to grow and evolve. And however slowly that has continually happened for the perpetually 20-something character, it nevertheless did happen. After creating the high school character in 1962, both Lee and Ditko were still on board when the web-slinger graduated in 1965. By 1978, he was out of college. Eventually he found several career paths, a brief and failed stint as a graduate student, and even settled down with longtime flame, Mary Jane Watson...For any Millennial born during or after 1987 (including this writer), Peter Parker and Mary Jane Parker were always a couple, and even during the worst stories, that was their strength. And few stories could be worse than the time that Marvel, or more precisely then Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, finally freed themselves from the marriage in One More Day...If you haven’t read the actual miniseries, it’s not as bad as it sounds; it’s much worse...The old Marvel adage is that writing comic books is about creating 'the illusion of change.' Yet, unlike almost any other superhero, Peter Parker changed rapidly throughout his comic book career from boy to man, from amateur to professional, and finally from single to husband.
David Crow, Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows & How It Renews Peter Parker, 'Den of Geek', Sep 13, 2015.

Many, if you asked them...would say that [Spider-Man] is the experience of being a teenager. And it’s hardly unfounded...The high school years, and everything that comes with them, are indisputably at the center of the earliest adventures...Those earliest of stories are at the center of everything good about the character...but increasingly, they’ve become just as much the heart of everything that’s gone wrong...The Parker Luck, in those earliest days? Largely amounted to costumes shrinking in the wash, or misunderstandings with his girlfriend(s) You unmitigated cad...Almost as often as Pete wondering if he’s..."Why do I do it? Why don’t I just give the whole thing up?", the earliest stories end with him privately celebrating his victory, with things turning out A-Okay, or at least him breaking just about even. Even back before Gwen and MJ, he had two bombshells doing some 60s-females-in-comics-weeping over not being able to win his heart in the form of Liz Allen and Betty Brant, with Ms. Watson’s niece perpetually waiting in the wingsknown by readers to be gorgeous almost beyond words as far back as Amazing #25...and his late-night adventuring hardly seemed to get in the way of the studies that would net him a full scholarship to ESU...By the standards of the other costumed adventurers of the time his experiences were certainly unorthodox (which was, of course, the point), but from any objective standpoint the boy was leading a charmed life...But that's not something that can last. It was never really meant to last. There’s an endpoint to the story of Peter Parker, Teenage Superhero, by a team no less official than Stan Lee and Steve Ditko...He’s no longer Spider-Man, the Teenage Superhero, but Spider-Man the young adult...He’s about growing...the desire to reduce Spider-Man to an easily—repeatable equation...would be twisted into Loss and the Soap Opera dynamics...while self-sacrifice has long been part of the Spider-Man story...it’s gone past the point of all reason. It’s gone from Gwen Stacy dying...to Peter being the person people die around. It’s gone from Peter having trouble explaining himself to the person who can't be trusted with even the simplest tasks...in fact, he has become truly forgetful and neglectful a great deal of the time. He’s gone from a whiz-kid who has to take pictures of himself to pay the bills because of his aunt to the 250 I.Q. mega-genius who can barely scrape by, an empathetic naturally good-humored friend who can’t hold a relationship, a trouble-magnet whose luck once explainable by his own mistakes and misfortunes can at this point only be explained by witchcraft. He’s become the loser he was always afraid he was. What are we supposed to learn from this irresponsible schmuck, exactly?
David Mann, Spider-Man Was Never Just the “Loveable Loser” Fri, 2 May 2014, Sequart Organization

The biggest problem — in the future — would be that it would be hard to play some of these same notes again; that "Aunt May is too fragile to handle the truth about Peter being Spider-Man" or that "Peter needs to protect his secret identity in order to protect his loved ones" when we've seen both of those played out in print. In the latest issue -- out this week -- there's a bad guy who is on the trail of figuring out who Spider-Man is. How much suspense is there when, just two weeks ago, Spider-Man's identity being public knowledge was the status quo? After the marriage and the efforts made to undo it, why should we, as readers, believe any relationship he has in the future will ever lead to him getting married again? They're pretty much told the readers that Peter's life is never going to progress past a certain point.
Erik Larsen, on the Post-OMD Status Quo of Spider-Man

I've heard it said that Peter Parker's reason was that he was a nerd. Not true. Sure, some people thought he was anti-social or fixated on test tubes and formulas to the exclusion of real-life — but let's examine the evidence... He was good-looking. Even super-popular Liz Allan said so. He was even secretly stronger and more athletic (after the radioactive spider-bite) than Flash, which must have at last been comforting. And he wanted to join in with the crowd, have a normal high school social life, have fun.
Jim Shooter, Marvel Saga: The Official History of the Marvel Universe, #22.

Music Lyrics

Spider-Man, Spider-Man,
Does whatever a spider can!
Spins a web, any size,
Catches thieves just like flies!
Look out...
Here comes the Spider-Man!

Is he strong?
Listen bud,
He's got radioactive blood!
Can he swing from a thread?
Take a look overhead!
Hey, there...
There goes the Spider-Man!

In the chill of night
At the scene of a crime,
Like a streak of light
He arrives just in time!

Spider-Man, Spider-Man
Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!
Wealth and fame,
He's ignored!
Action is his reward!

To him...
Life is a great big bang-up,
Wherever there's a hang-up,
You'll find the Spider-Man!
Spider-Man (1967) theme song, composed by Paul Francis Webster and Robert "Bob" Harris (recorded at RCA Studios, Toronto, 1967).

I was born in the middle of the night
When I went and did the wrong thing right
Stood and watched like a spider on the wall

Doing nothing made my whole world fall

While you’re sleeping in the comfort of your bed
I’ll be swinging through the city’s hot breath
Like I’m running on an endless track
But nothing that I do will ever bring him back

Web Slinger, Hope Bringer
They call me by my name
They say I’m a sometimes hero, sometimes zero
A menace on most days
But it’s all the same, this weight, the guilt
I can’t shake


I was woken in the middle of the night
Like a firework burning in the bite
Power coursing through the river of my veins
That moment on I knew that nothing was the same

How do you go to school? How do you hold a job?
How do you find the time to save the world and still have time to love?

Sometimes the only thing to do is laugh
That’s why I always make a joke beneath the mask


Web Slinger, Hope Bringer
They call me by my name
They say I’m a sometimes hero, sometimes zero
A menace on most days
But it’s all the same, this weight, the guilt
I can’t shake

Since that night years ago
I’ve been here on my own
I’ve seen friends come and go
I’ve seen more than you know
This is what I’ve been handed
And I’ve been trying to find strength
Inner peace, never forget the words
With great power comes responsibility
I was born, I was born
I was born, I am a...

Web Slinger, Hope Bringer
They call me by my name
They say I’m a sometimes hero, sometimes zero
A menace on most days
I am a...
Web Slinger, Hope Bringer
I’m known by many names
And that’s okay, this weight, this gift
(Oh oh)
And that’s okay, this weight, this gift
I will take
Web Slinger, Hope Bringer, Kirby Krackle (Music)

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