Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero with various super-powers, including enhanced strength, increased speed and agility, the ability to stick to walls, and a psychic 'spider-sense' which warns him of impending danger. Spider-Man also employs devices on his wrists that fire his 'webs,' a sticky, stringy substance that dissolves after several hours; these devices are of his own design. (In the modern film version, he produces the webbing from his own wrists, as one of his super-abilities.)
Meek high school student Peter Parker was observing an experiment in radioactivity when a spider - which had been saturated by radiation - bit him on the hand. The irradiated spider's venom caused Parker to gain his spider-like abilities, and within days he had constructed a costume and his web-shooting gadgets and took to fighting crime under the name Spider-Man. The new superhero quickly made a name for himself in his native Manhattan; although he picked up some valuable allies during this time (including the powerful Fantastic Four), he gained a greater number of strange and dangerous enemies.
Spider-Man's enemies are known both for their formidability but also for their startling weirdness. His greatest foe is perhaps the Green Goblin, originally an alter-ego of an insane industrialist; later, his son would take over the title. Doctor Octopus was a dumpy scientist who, due to an industrial accident, had four powerful mechanical arms grafted to his body, which he could control at will. The Sandman was an escaped convict who - through being immersed in radioactive sand - was able to transform his body into sand, and take various shapes and degrees of viscosity. The Chameleon was a master of disguise. The Rhino was a dull-witted criminal whose body was covered in a thick, indestructible hide. Kraven the Hunter was a world-renowned big-game hunter who sought to make Spider-Man his greatest prize. The list goes on from there.
Spider-Man was introduced in 1961 in Amazing Fantasy magazine, produced by Marvel Comics. Although the initial cover image was by Jack Kirby, the interior art was by Steve Ditko, with a script by editor Stan Lee. The issue was so well-received that soon the first issue of Amazing Spider-Man appeared, which started a successful run of several decades. In time the character would go on to star in other regular sereis, including Marvel Team-Up (in which he would inevitably be paired with another character); Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man which ran parallel to the main series starting in 1976; Marvel Tales, which reprinted older issues of Amazing S-M; and later, Spider-Man and Ultimate Spider-Man, among others.
Copyright 2007 Todd Frye
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