| Spider-Man | |
|---|---|
.png) Spider-Man (Ultimate Marvel) as appeared inUltimate Spider-Man comic book series. Character concept art byMark Bagley. | |
| Publication information | |
| First appearance | Ultimate Spider-Man #1 (September 2000) |
| Created by | Brian Michael Bendis Mark Bagley Bill Jemas Ralph Macchio Mark Millar Bryan Hitch |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Peter Benjamin Parker |
| Place of origin | Ultimate Marvel (Earth-1610) |
| Team affiliations | Daily Bugle Ultimates |
| Partnerships | Mary Jane Watson Kitty Pryde |
| Notable aliases | Webhead, Wall-crawler, Spidey, Spider-Boy, Punk in a Onesie |
| Abilities |
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Spider-Man (Peter Parker) is asuperhero appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. He is a modernized, alternate universe counterpart ofSpider-Man who is in his youth, a superhero first created byStan Lee andSteve Ditko in 1962. The Ultimate version of the character originated inUltimate Marvel, a line of comic books created in 2000 that is set in a parallel universe with a narrative continuity separate and independent from themain continuity of Marvel Comics stories that began in the 1960s.
Ultimate Spider-Man, the first and flagship title of the Ultimate line, was created by the writerBrian Michael Bendis and artistMark Bagley, and debuted in September 2000, which featured the first appearance of the Ultimate version of the character. Based on the original Spider-Man who debuted in 1962, he was bitten by a genetically-mutated spider, which gave him superhuman spider-like abilities which led him to become the superhero Spider-Man, and fight crime after the tragedy of his lateUncle Ben. The biggest difference is that this version of Parker is killed at the age of 16, being Spider-Man for a span of almost a year before being replaced by the 13-year-oldMiles Morales. However following theSecret Wars storyline, Miles and his family wereretconned into the history of the prime universe and Peter who had been resurrected had resumed his superhero role. To differentiate him from other incarnations, Peter Parker from this universe is commonly dubbedUltimate Spider-Man.
At around the age of six, Peter Parker was orphaned after the death of his parents in a plane crash and was raised by his father's brother,Ben Parker, and his wifeMay. Nine years later, Peter grew to be an exceptionally bright teen and a high school genius, being particularly skilled in physics and chemistry. However, he was also an introverted outcast among his peers and was frequently bullied and tormented byFred "Flash" Thompson andKenny "King Kong" McFarlane. On a school field trip to the scientific corporationOscorp, he was bitten by a genetically-mutated spider, which gave him spider-like superhuman abilities. The head of Oscorp,Norman Osborn, discovered this and experimented with the same mutagen injected within the spider's bloodstream on himself, but the experiment went awry, mutating him into a monstrous, green-coloured and hulking goblin-like creature later known as theGreen Goblin.
After discovering his new abilities, Peter used his powers for personal gain, like his standard counterpart, to financially support his family as a professional wrestler and to become popular by becoming the school's top basketball player thanks to his enhanced spider-powers. However, he began to selfishly utilise his abilities and started to act irresponsibly, which adversely affected his studies and behavior, all of which worried his aunt and uncle. Peter was later fired from his job as a wrestler under suspicions that he was responsible for a recent robbery, much to his chagrin and disappointment. Later that night, as he was walking to his house, he encountered an armed robber escaping from a nearby convenience store, but refused to stop him out of spite and continued to walk home. After returning home and having a heated argument with his aunt and uncle over his failing grades and increasingly reckless nature, Peter ran away from home out of anger. After regretting his argument with his aunt and uncle, he returned home intending to apologise and reveal his spider-powers to them, but upon arriving, he saw a police car and an ambulance parked outside his house, and to his horror, he discovered that Uncle Ben had been murdered by an armed thief. Fueled with rage and a thirst for vengeance, a masked Peter hunted down his uncle's killer. After cornering the criminal within an abandoned warehouse, Peter managed to subdue him and found out, to his shock, that the killer was the same robber whom he refused to stop earlier that night. He then handed over the killer to the arriving police. Guilt-ridden, Peter vowed to follow his uncle's motto, "with great power comes great responsibility", and became the masked vigilante Spider-Man in order to utilise his spider-powers for a noble purpose and to atone for his uncle's death.[1]
In his first year as Spider-Man, Peter encountered the Green Goblin, who later disappeared into the river below the Brooklyn Bridge, following his defeat.[2] Peter Parker later got a job as a web designer for theDaily Bugle upon being hired byJ. Jonah Jameson, the snarky and cynical editor of theDaily Bugle, who disliked Spider-Man and constantly ran defamatory smear campaigns against the vigilante.[3] Later, he confessed his identity to his classmate, crush and childhood friend:Mary Jane Watson and they formed a close romantic relationship.[4] Peter Parker later metGwen Stacy, which initially put pressure on Spider-Man's current relationship with Mary Jane Watson. This issue was later resolved and the three became good friends.[5]
After being defeated by Spider-Man in a sudden reappearance, the Green Goblin was apprehended and incarcerated in the Triskelion alongsideDoctor Octopus,Electro,Kraven the Hunter, andSandman. They escaped from the Triskelion and formed theUltimate Six. When the Green Goblin threatened to harm Aunt May, Spider-Man reluctantly allied with the Ultimate Six and they attacked theWhite House. WhenCaptain America confirmed that Aunt May is safe, Spider-Man assisted theUltimates in fighting the Ultimate Six.[6]
In a later encounter withNick Fury, Spider-Man learned that Nick Fury learned his secret identity upon finding evidence including footage of the spider that bit Peter Parker and the fact that Doctor Octopus was ranting in his cell about Peter Parker being Spider-Man.[7]
During the "Ultimatum" storyline, Peter and those in his life survived the Ultimatum Wave caused byMagneto, with Peter helping save civilians.[8] While Spider-Man was doing heroic acts, J. Jonah Jameson started publishing his heroic acts. While working with theHulk, Spider-Man found the body of Daredevil, who became one of the casualties of the Ultimatum Wave. When the two of them arrived at the ruins of theSanctum Sanctorum, Spider-Man and the Hulk found a rift open whereDormammu and different demons were emerging at the time when Doctor Strange was possessed byNightmare. When the Hulk caused an explosion during the fight, Spider-Man was caught in the explosion.[9] Following the death of Magneto, the Ultimates found Spider-Man unconscious while searching for survivors.[10]
As Spider-Man was no longer having problems with the police following the Ultimatum Wave incident, Peter Parker had to take a temporary job at the Burger Frog when theDaily Bugle was temporarily shut down during the Ultimatum Wave incident.[11]
During "The Death of Spider-Man" storyline, Spider-Man learns that Norman Osborn has reformed the Ultimate Six withVulture replacing Spider-Man. While searching for them following Doctor Octopus' death, Spider-Man throws himself in front of Captain America when he is targeted by Punisher and is shot in his place. After dressing the wound, Spider-Man battles the Ultimate Six, who injure him further. Before Electro can attack Spider-Man, Aunt May shoots him, causing him to discharge energy that knocks out Kraven the Hunter, Sandman, and Vulture. Spider-Man and the Green Goblin continue their fight, which leads to them mortally wounding each other.[12]
Sometime later, under unknown circumstances, Peter awakens in an abandoned laboratory and makes his way back to New York City. To investigate if he was still dead, he and Mary Jane go to his grave, learning that somebody dug his body out of his grave. Not wanting to surprise Aunt May, Peter goes to retrieve his web-shooters from Miles Morales' apartment, only for Miles to enter his room. Both of them fought over the part of telling Aunt May, which led to a short scuffle ending with Peter knocking Miles out and making off with his web-shooters. After the also-resurrected Green Goblin ambushed Miles in Queens, Peter came to his aid, finally clad in his old costume. Peter's intervention on Green Goblin attempting to kill Miles surprised those who witnessed his return. It is discovered that the OZ Formula that affected Peter and Osborn had apparently given them virtual immortality. After Green Goblin is defeated, DetectiveMaria Hill shoots him and immolates his body. Peter retires as Spider-Man and gives his web-shooters to Miles, as well as his blessing to uphold the Spider-Man mantle. Bidding farewell to Aunt May and Gwen, Peter and Mary Jane leave New York to find out how he came back to life.[13]
Following theSecret Wars storyline, the Ultimate Universe is restored and Peter Parker resumes the mantle of Spider-Man, as Miles now resides in the prime universe. After helping the Ultimates fight and detain the Green Goblin once more, Peter Parker attends a party to welcome Kenny McFarlane home from army service.[14]
In November 2023, writerJonathan Hickman and artistMarco Chechetto announced they would be relaunching the Ultimate Universe under the new designation ofEarth-6160. Following the events ofUltimate Invasion,the Maker created a new universe completely devoid of superheroes, having gone back in time and personally prevented the origins of several famous heroes. One such hero wasPeter Parker, whose spider bite at the Oscorp Research Facility was prevented by the Maker.
Years later, following a terrorist attack that killed hundreds of civilians (most notably theAunt May andNorman Osborn of this world), an older Peter, now married to Mary Jane Watson with two children named Richard and May, is visited by a hologram ofTony Stark, who presents Peter with the same spider the Maker had captured nearly twenty years earlier. Providing him with a synthetic stealth suit, Stark's message encourages Peter to let the spider bite him and transform him into the hero he could've been before the Maker took that away from him.
An amalgamated incarnation of Spider-Man based on his Ultimate and mainstream counterparts appears in an interactive attraction built inNiagara Falls as part of "Marvel Superhero Adventure City". His appearance is based on the Ultimate version, but he is more experienced like his mainstream counterpart.[18][19][20]
Brian Michael Bendis' modernized re-imagining of Peter Parker/Spider-Man has been met with a widely positive response from fans and critics, with many considering the Ultimate Marvel version of Spider-Man to be the one of best modern interpretations of Spider-Man and has even influenced other non-comic Spider-Man adaptations in the television, video game and cinematic mediums. Many critics and fans praised Ultimate Peter Parker/Spider-Man as a fresh, unique and distinctively contemporary, but familiar and faithful twist on the classic Spider-Man mythos, being called as a well-rounded and likable, but also vulnerable, humanly flawed and struggling everyman teen hero, with a commendable character-arc from being a selfish, angry teen who irresponsibly uses his super-powers for his own personal gain to a more heroic and altruistic figure as Spider-Man and accepting his new life as a solo teen superhero and the consequences and negative side-effects that comes from it, his relatable struggles, internal conflicts, the constant mental self-doubts about his responsibilities as a superhero and his struggles with said responsibility and the realistic depiction of how being a superhero would negatively affect an individual's life and his relations with his close ones, similar to Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's original depiction of Spider-Man in the early 1960s Spider-Man comic-books.
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