Warning: Spoilers for Spider-Boy #1!After his very status within the Marvel Universe remains questionable,Spider-Boy has finally earned the right to beSpider-Man's sidekick.Spider-Boy entered the Marvel Universe claiming to have been there the whole time, even if no one in Marvel remembers him. Spider-Boy's existence and re-emergence under the Marvel banner has been a point of contention for everyone, ranging from heroes to villainsand even the citizens of New York.

However, Spider-Boy finally earns his stripes all over again inSpider-Boy#1 by Dan Slott, Paco Medina, Ty Templeton, Erick Arciniega, Dee Cunniffe, VC's Joe Caramagna, and Elizabeth Pyle. Bailey Briggs claims to have demonstrate his value to Spider-Man and the public in the past before everyone forgot about him. But now, he actually proves it.

Spider-Boy proves himself as a sidekick and as the hero he is destined to be.

Spider-Boy Takes After Spider-Man's Understanding of Villains

This issue puts Spider-Boy in front of his latest adversary, Hellifino, who was once his friend Eli before becoming a product of Madam Monstrosity's experimentation. As Hellifino, Eli unwillingly becomes a massive humanoid rhino-elephant hybrid. Both Eli and Bailey were experimented on by Madam M, but a poorly timed joke from Bailey gave her the idea to transform Eli. When they meet again as enemies, only Bailey remembers all of this. Bailey is more determined to try to talk sense into Eli than to fight him. It seems to get through to Eli to some extent, as he spares Spider-Boy for now, but it's not enough for Bailey, who declares he's going to save Eli the next time they see each other.

Spider-Boy is Determined to Save Everyone - Just Like His Mentor

The more readers pay close attention to Bailey, the more it starts to show how he really does take after Peter in a number of ways. Most of the comparisons up until this point, though, have been surface level, as Spider-Boy is constantly cracking jokes and annoying people around him. But he's also got the heart of a hero, which is all the more prevalent in this moment with Eli. If there is one thing that Spider-Boy's rogues' gallery has in common with Spider-Man's, it's that most of these baddies are merely victims of circumstance.

This is a fact that Peter has always been hyper-aware of, with his villains often starting out with good intentions before derailing into evil. It's why he tries to give them the benefit of the doubt and wants to help them.Spider-Man's mission statement has always been to rehabilitate his villains, and now it's been made clear that his protégé has adopted that mentality. Even if his mentor doesn't know or remember him, his influence on Bailey is evident. By knowing that his rogues' gallery is just victims of circumstance and understanding the core ofSpider-Man's mission - that everyone is capable of change -Spider-Boy finally SHOWS how he truly is his mentor's sidekick.