As a fan of Spiderman, you’ve likely read the comics and watched the movies countless times, but did you know there are some lesser-known facts about the iconic superhero?
Spider-Man was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1962. The character first appeared in August 1962 in the comic book Amazing Fantasy #15. Lee specifically placed a hyphen in the name of the character to indicate that the character was made up of two parts and also to add a visual element to it.
Here are 10 interesting Spiderman facts you may not have known:
1. Peter’s Parker parents worked for S.H.I.E.L.D
This is one of the most interesting spiderman facts you might have now known!
The story behind Peter Parker’s parents is one of the most mysterious ones in comic book history. It turns out that Peter’s parents were S.H.I.E.L.D agents – a fact that was known to Nick Fury before anyone else. Sadly, they lost their lives in a plane crash, caused by none other than Red Skull, shortly after their son’s birth.
However, despite their untimely deaths, they did manage to save the life of Wolverine once! This heroic act shows just how much these two devoted parents truly cared for the world and its inhabitants – even if they didn’t live long enough to see how their son would eventually become the beloved friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!
2. He wasn’t the original Spider-Man
Stan Lee had an inspiration behind the making of Spider-Man that you probably didn’t know about – Richard Wentworth, otherwise known as “The Spider.” Before Spider-Man was introduced to the Marvel universe, Richard Wentworth was crime-fighting in his series of pulp magazines.
He wasn’t enhanced like the iconic web-slinger we all know, but he did share similarities with a certain caped crusader.
The Spider may have been the creative spark for Stan Lee to create Spider-Man, but he wasn’t the first spider coming out of Charlotte’s web.
Other superheroes before him such as Arachne and Acrobat had similar characteristics and backstories before Peter Parker started swinging through New York City.
3. Spider-Man went by a few different names
It’s a little-known fact that before Spider-Man was known as the beloved Marvel hero, he had a few different names!
Stan Lee, who created the character, was inspired by a fly crawling up a wall and started his first drafts with:
- “Stick-to-Wall Man”
- “Insect-Man”
- “Fly-Man”
- “Mosquito-Man”
Who could have guessed the iconic superhero would have such humble beginnings?
The journey from insect-inspired names to Spiderman is an interesting one and it’s proof that you should never judge an idea too quickly or give up on your aspirations.
4. Michael Jackson was a huge fan of Spider-Man
It’s no secret that Michael Jackson was a massive fan of Spider-Man! He tried to buy the Marvel company in the ’90s for an astonishing sum of money, $1 billion!
MJ even went so far as to approach Stan Lee several times about buying the film rights to play Spider-Man himself. Michael Jackson had high hopes for portraying the beloved superhero and surely would have done justice to Spidey with his legendary moves and charisma.
Too bad the deal didn’t work out – can you imagine if he had taken on the role?
5. Spider-Man has died numerous times
Spider-Man, one of the classic superheroes of all time, has sadly died on three occasions.
The first was in 2005’s The Other story arc when he was beaten senseless by villain Morlun and had his eye ripped out.
Despite Peter using all his strength to defeat this villain, he tragically became another fallen hero and succumbed to his injuries. But shortly after, two issues later he made a miraculous comeback from a cocoon, alive and well.
In Ultimate Spider-Man #160 from 2011, Green Goblin kills Peter Parker and is replaced by Miles Morales but that didn’t last for long as Pete resurfaced a few years later back in our world.
Finally in Amazing Spider-Man #700 from 2012, Spiderman sadly expired during a fight with Doc Ock only for the villain to take possession of Spidey’s body and masquerade as him for over a year – much to the discontentment of fans!
Not willing to have their favorite superhero gone forever, Marvel brought Peter back to life once again.
6. He once prevented teen pregnancy around the world
Spiderman has always been a force of good in the world. But he recently did something truly heroic and unexpected – he helped to save the world from an epidemic of teen pregnancy!
In 1976, Marvel teamed up with Planned Parenthood to create an educational comic book PSA about the dangers of unprotected sex.
The story, The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Prodigy, follows Peter Parker as he battles an evil alien posing as a teenager who is spreading false information about having sex and the risks of getting pregnant.
This villain tries to convince teens that getting pregnant is a great way to clear up acne and that you can’t get knocked up your first time! Thankfully, Spiderman swoops in and exposes these outrageous lies, saving our planet’s youth from making misinformed decisions about their reproductive health.
7. He’s collaborated with Superman, Batman, Transformers, Saturday Night Live, and Barack Obama.
Spider-Man has been known to team up with some seriously unexpected partners – including Superman, Batman, the Transformers, and even the cast of Saturday Night Live!
In the third issue of Transformers, Peter Parker had to take pictures of Decepticons and Autobots battling in Oregon. And what’s more, Spider-Man was able to contain Megatron by wrapping him in webbing!
Then, Superman and Spider-Man came together for a crossover story when they had to take down Lex Luthor and Doctor Octopus. Batman then joined forces with the web-slinger against Carnage and Joker.
Going even further, Spidey also teamed up with the original 1970s cast of SNL – managing to defeat Silver Samurai with help from Bill Murray who clobbered someone over the head using a fake Mjolnir.
The final surprise team-up happened back in 2008 when Peter Parker covered President Barack Obama’s inauguration.
It turns out two Obamas were present at the ceremony – which was solved by Spider-Man asking what Barry’s high school nickname was. This revealed that it was only Chameleon posing as Obama; so one fist bump later and all was back on track! This Amazing Spiderman #583 issue is now known as one of Marvel’s best-selling comics of this millennium.
8. He developed some extra arms
In The Amazing Spider-Man #100, Peter’s attempts to concoct a serum that could take away his powers backfired – it gave him extra powers instead! He briefly ended up with four extra arms, making him even more of a superhero than he was before.
While the other Spider-Man powers such as wall climbing and Spidey-sense are not-so-spider related, this added power is something that only a spider could do! Of course, being able to grow extra arms is something no human can ever achieve, so this makes Spiderman even more special and unique.
9. His deceased parents reappeared as androids
The fate of Peter Parker’s dead parents, Richard and Mary Parker, had remained a mystery for many years.
However, in the 1968 Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5 comic series, it was finally revealed that they were secret agents killed by the third Red Skull.
But this wasn’t the end of their story – in 1994, Richard and Mary made a surprise comeback as androids.
These amazing androids looked exactly like their late son’s parents, with their personalities perfectly reproduced too. It was an incredible experience for Peter – to have his parents back even if it were only a robotic version of them.
They protected him from harm until the infamous Onslaught Saga where they sacrificed themselves to save Peter from certain disasters. Although he was devastated at their second disappearance, this time he knew that it was his parents’ wish for him to carry on without them entering danger’s way.
10. He almost had a child
In one of Spiderman’s contentious stories, Peter and his clone Ben Reilly were deceived into believing that Ben was indeed the original and Peter was the clone.
This clone saga, however, had far-reaching consequences, as it forever altered Spiderman’s life.
When Mary Jane became pregnant, it must have been decided that Ben should become Spider-Man so that Peter could settle down in Portland with Mary Jane.
When they returned to New York, Norman Osborn poisoned Mary Jane.
As a result, she miscarried their child, and Peter was never able to become a father.
As a Spiderman fan, these facts might be interesting to you and give a new perspective on the character. Spiderman is not just a superhero, but also a cultural icon that has been loved by millions of people.
