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159-503: The Sensational Spider-Man is a comic book series starring Spider-Man published by Marvel Comics for 35 issues (#0–33, with #−1 published in July 1997 between #17 and 18), from January 1996 until November 1998. The Sensational Spider-Man title was first used for various reprints, including Marvel Treasury Edition #14 (1977), 22 (1979) and 27 (1980) which featured various reprints from Marvel Team-Up and The Amazing Spider-Man ,

318-650: A freelance photographer by Mr. Jameson to take pictures of Spider-Man, with him being unaware that Spider-Man is Peter Parker. Spider-Man fights his enemies , including superpowered and non-superpowered supervillains —his archenemy and nemesis Green Goblin and then Doctor Octopus , Sandman , Chameleon , Lizard , Vulture , Kraven the Hunter , Electro , and Mysterio , defeating them one by one —but Peter finds juggling his personal and superhero life difficult. In time, Peter graduates from high school and enrolls at Empire State University (a fictional institution evoking

477-693: A healing factor that allows him to recover from injuries sustained during battle. In the aftermath of the 1989 " Acts of Vengeance " storyline, Spider-Man was said to have "superhuman recuperative abilities" that sped up his recovery from the exhaustion he suffered in defeating the Tri-Sentinel. Gwen Stacy The character was portrayed by Bryce Dallas Howard in Spider-Man 3 (2007) and by Emma Stone in The Amazing Spider-Man film series (2012–2014) and Spider-Man: Across

636-545: A story arc depicting the negative effects of drug use. In the story, Peter Parker's friend Harry Osborn becomes addicted to pills. When Spider-Man fights the Green Goblin (Norman Osborn, Harry's father), Spider-Man defeats him by revealing Harry's drug addiction. While the story had a clear anti-drug message, the Comics Code Authority refused to issue its seal of approval. Marvel nevertheless published

795-503: A trade paperback in 1988 featuring Frank Miller 's Spider-Man work, and a prestige format one-shot special called The Sensational Spider-Man: Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut ( ISBN   0-87135-572-8 ) in 1989, which reprinted The Amazing Spider-Man #229 and 230. The ongoing The Sensational Spider-Man series was initially conceived to be the flagship showcase for the new Ben Reilly version of Spider-Man. It replaced

954-482: A "Superior" Spider-Man. A portion of Peter survived in his original body in the form of a subconsciousness. Later, realizing that he failed in his role as the "Superior" Spider-Man, Otto willingly allows Peter to reclaim his body in order to defeat Osborn and save Anna Maria Marconi, Otto's love. In the aftermath of these events, Peter began to amend the relationships damaged by Otto's arrogance and negligence, both as Peter Parker and Spider-Man. He additionally took up

1113-399: A "sixth sense", which warns him of danger, the inspiration for Spider-Man's "spider-sense". Although at the time teenage superheroes were usually given names ending with "boy", Lee says he chose "Spider-Man" because he wanted the character to age as the series progressed, and felt the name "Spider-Boy" would have made the character sound inferior to other superheroes. He also decided to insert

1272-414: A Spider-Man tryout in what Lee, in numerous interviews, recalled as what would be the final issue of the science-fiction and supernatural anthology series Amazing Adult Fantasy , which was renamed Amazing Fantasy for issue #15 ( cover-dated August 1962, on sale June 5, 1962). In particular, Lee stated that the fact that it had already been decided that Amazing Fantasy would be canceled after issue #15

1431-647: A black costume with a white spider design on his chest. The new costume originated in the Secret Wars miniseries on an alien planet where Spider-Man participates in a battle between Earth's major superheroes and supervillains. He continues wearing the costume when he returns, starting in The Amazing Spider-Man #252. The change to a longstanding character's design met with controversy, "with many hardcore comics fans decrying it as tantamount to sacrilege. Spider-Man's traditional red and blue costume

1590-617: A change in the timeline results in a continuity in which the Squadron Supreme are Earth's mightiest heroes while the Avengers never came to be. In this reality, Gwen was inspired by her mother to become a psychiatrist at Ravencroft Asylum. After the death of the Falcon (which mirrors how Gwen died in the main continuity), she was trained by Nighthawk and became the vigilante known as Nightbird . She briefly dated Flash Thompson for

1749-498: A clone. She tries kissing him, to no avail which only pushes him to put the mask back on. Gwen witnesses Jackal order his cloned villains to kill Spider-Man and decides to help Peter. Doctor Octopus pulls a switch that activates the Carrion Virus in all of the revived, including Gwen and George, and causes them to start rapidly decaying. After Gwen's father deteriorates in her arms, she assists Spider-Man by helping him get to

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1908-490: A closer friendship, and eventually to romance. Miles Warren, one of Gwen's professors, was secretly in love with her. Following her death, Warren goes insane and adopts the persona of the Jackal . In the fourth and final issue of the miniseries Marvels (April 1994), photographer Phil Sheldon befriends Gwen Stacy, who has absolved Spider-Man of any blame for her father's death. Gwen's simple faith in heroes convinces Sheldon of

2067-436: A coma. Peter, desperate to save her, exhausts all possibilities and makes a pact with the demon-lord Mephisto , who saves May's life in exchange for Peter and Mary Jane agreeing to have their marriage and all memory of it disappear. In this changed reality, Spider-Man's identity is secret once again, and in #545 (Jan. 2008), Mary Jane returns and is cold toward him. The controversial storyline "One More Day" rolled back much of

2226-408: A costume and, as "Spider-Man", becomes a novelty television star. However, "[h]e blithely ignores the chance to stop a fleeing thief , [and] his indifference ironically catches up with him when the same criminal later robs and kills his Uncle Ben." Spider-Man tracks and subdues the killer and learns, in the story's next-to-last caption, "With great power there must also come—great responsibility!" In

2385-503: A cure for cancer after his Uncle Ben died from it. Peter was experimenting with spider venom to create the cure, but one of the spiders bit Harry Osborn , making Harry this universe's Spider-Man. Harry, alongside Gwen Stacy as this universe's Green Goblin , started to fight crime together, where they even took down Vulture. This lasted until a fight with the Sandman where both Harry and George Stacy were killed. The accident did something to

2544-423: A distance-dependent interaction between his body and surfaces, known as the van der Waals force , though in the 2002 Spider-Man film , his hands and feet are lined with tiny clinging cilia in the manner of a real spider's feet. Spider-Man's other powers include superhuman strength, agility, and balance and a precognitive sixth sense referred to as his "spider-sense", which alerts him to danger. Spider-Man has

2703-518: A friend. She is killed by Carnage , a symbiote which was the offspring of the Venom symbiote, as he sucks the essence from her, draining her body to a husk. Although Peter is not in the area when she dies, he still feels some responsibility for her death, as he allowed Dr. Connors to use his genetic material for experimentation. His guilt makes him decide to retire as Spider-Man for a while. Eventually, he takes up his hero identity when his responsibility for

2862-414: A genetics lab, where he would prove Gwen's maternity of the twins, Sarah confronted him, and Spider-Man unmasked Sarah —finding her to be "a dead ringer for Gwen". Gwen Stacy herself, however, only appears in this story arc in flashback, as Mary Jane explained to Peter that she knew about Gwen's illegitimate offspring and Norman's paternity thereof because she overheard Gwen and Norman arguing over custody of

3021-513: A high school student from the Queens borough of New York City, as Spider-Man's secret identity, whose "self-obsessions with rejection, inadequacy, and loneliness" were issues to which young readers could relate. While Spider-Man was a quintessential sidekick, unlike previous teen heroes Bucky Barnes and Robin , Spider-Man had no superhero mentor like Captain America and Batman ; he had learned

3180-514: A high school student to attending college to currently being somewhere in his late 20s. Peter has been a member of numerous superhero teams, most notably the Avengers and Fantastic Four . Doctor Octopus also took on the identity for a story arc spanning 2012–2014, following a body swap plot in which Peter appears to die. Marvel has also published comic books featuring alternate versions of Spider-Man , including Spider-Man 2099 , which features

3339-535: A high-speed fall. An issue of Peter Parker/Spider-Man revisits the issue, and further confirms Gwen died of a broken neck due to the use of the webbing. On the other hand, in the 1987 edition of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe , Gwen's death is attributed to the fall, not to Spider-Man's webbing, though the listed cause of death is still technically true – if she hadn't fallen from

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3498-487: A hoax. Shortly afterward, in The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #13 (#454, Jan. 2000), Mary Jane is killed in an airplane explosion. She is revealed to be alive in volume 2, issue #28 (#469, April 2001), but she and Peter are completely separated in the following issue. Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski began writing The Amazing Spider-Man , illustrated by John Romita Jr. , beginning with volume 2, #30 (#471, June 2001). Two issues later, Peter, now employed as

3657-543: A hyphen in the name, as he felt it looked too similar to Superman, another superhero with a red and blue costume that starts with an "S" and ends with "man" (although artist Steve Ditko intended the character to have an orange and purple costume). At that time, Lee had to get only the consent of Marvel publisher Martin Goodman for the character's approval. In a 1986 interview, Lee described in detail his arguments to overcome Goodman's objections. Goodman eventually agreed to

3816-485: A legitimate resurrection. During the " Last Remains " storyline, Kindred visits the cemetery where Gwen Stacy and George Stacy were buried. He exhumed their bodies and placed them around the table at his hideout while awaiting for Spider-Man to find him. When Spider-Man finally confronts Kindred, Gwen and George's corpses were sat around a dinner table alongside the exhumed bodies of Ben Parker , Flash Thompson, J. Jonah Jameson Sr., Jean DeWolff , and Marla Jameson. In

3975-649: A mission and they both agree to look out for each other. Gwen is sent to recruit an alternate version of Peter Parker who is driven insane after he failed to save the Gwen Stacy in his dimension, killed the Green Goblin, and became the Hobgoblin . She tells him that he can become the man he once was if he joins them, but they are attacked by the Inheritors. Hobgoblin sacrifices himself to save Gwen. After

4134-461: A multitude of print and video interviews, Lee stated he was inspired by seeing a spider climb up a wall—adding in his autobiography that he has told that story so often he has become unsure of whether or not this is true. Besides the name, the Spider was wanted by both the law and the criminal underworld (a defining theme of Spider-Man's early years) and had through years of ceaseless struggle developed

4293-448: A new kid that Tony Stark tries to ask out on a date. She rejects him because he's a kid with a goatee and mustache. Another version of her is a member of Arcadia's's A-Force . On Earth-8, she is married to Miles Morales and they have two children with Spider Powers. In Web Warriors , Spider-Punk mentions that the Gwen Stacy in his dimension was a musical icon, who ultimately died young. Issue #1 of Spider-Man: Fairy Tales follows

4452-603: A new life in London, but before she is murdered by the Gwen Stacy clone known as Abby-L shows signs of clone degeneration. Another Gwen clone appears in The Amazing Spider-Man #399 (March 1995). This clone believes she is the real Gwen. She dies from clone degeneration in Spider-Man #56 (March 1995), the next issue of the story arc. A further Gwen clone appears in the "Sibling Rivalry" crossover storyline between Superior Spider-Man Team-Up and Scarlet Spider . She joins

4611-441: A note on the letters page of issue #125 states: "It saddens us to say that the whiplash effect she underwent when Spidey's webbing stopped her so suddenly was, in fact, what killed her." The following issue, Spider-Man vengefully attacks and overpowers the Green Goblin, who kills himself accidentally in the ensuing battle with Spider-Man. Working through his grief, Peter eventually develops tentative feelings toward Mary Jane, and

4770-535: A plane crash. Lee, Ditko, and later creators had the character deal with the struggles of adolescence and young adulthood and gave him many supporting characters , such as Flash Thompson , J. Jonah Jameson , and Harry Osborn ; romantic interests Gwen Stacy , Mary Jane Watson , and the Black Cat ; and enemies such as Doctor Octopus , the Green Goblin , and Venom . In his origin story , Peter gets his superhuman spider powers and abilities after being bitten by

4929-402: A possessed Silk, agrees to help Spider-Man. However, Peter dies when fighting Kindred. While dead, Peter's consciousness remembers the fateful day of the start of One More Day ; Kindred is willing to resurrect Peter. "People often say glibly that Marvel succeeded by blending super hero adventure stories with soap opera. What Lee and Ditko actually did in The Amazing Spider-Man was to make

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5088-429: A radioactive spider. These powers include superhuman strength , agility, reflexes, stamina, durability, coordination, and balance; clinging to surfaces and ceilings like a spider; and detecting danger with his precognition ability called " spider-sense ". He builds wrist-mounted " web-shooter " devices that shoot artificial spider-webs of his own design, which he uses both for fighting and travel, or "web swinging" across

5247-498: A real-life mock wedding using actors at Shea Stadium , with Stan Lee officiating, on June 5, 1987. David Michelinie , who scripted based on a plot by editor-in-chief Jim Shooter , said in 2007, "I didn't think they actually should [have gotten] married. ... I had actually planned another version, one that wasn't used." Peter publishes a book of Spider-Man photographs called Webs , and returns to his Empire State University graduate studies in biochemistry in #310 (Dec. 1988). In

5406-463: A responsibility to help Norman and keep him from becoming the Green Goblin again. The Progenitor deems Peter as worthy and rewards him by briefly resurrecting the real Gwen to give them one last moment together. Norman witnesses their reunion but brushes it aside as it is revealed the Progenitor also appeared to him as Gwen. In the two-issue mini-series X-Universe , which details what happened to

5565-430: A scientist, a savvy businesswoman, and a peace activist – and had a decidedly hostile relationship with chemical weapon developer Norman Osborn . Mary Jane Watson, a popular actress in this reality, played Gwen Stacy in the film adaptation of Spider-Man's life story. Gwen and her father read textual accounts of their deaths in the main universe, though they believe this simply to be the morbid imaginings of Peter Parker, who

5724-418: A second chance at life, the clone's relationship with the original Peter apparently not surviving the revelation of her clone status. She and Ben eventually split up and she renamed herself Helen Carroll. After years of therapy, she was inspired to become a prison therapist to help those whose lives were ruined by super heroes and worked closely with Norman Osborn and J. Jonah Jameson. In the fourth issue of

5883-531: A separate creation to the one he saw in the five pencilled pages that Kirby had completed. To support this, Ditko used the analogy of the Kirby/Marvel Thor, which was based on a name or idea of a character in Norse mythology: "If Marvel's Thor is a valid created work by Jack, his creation, then why isn't Spider-Man by Stan and me valid created work, our creation?" Kirby noted in a 1971 interview that it

6042-567: A similar history to the main iteration of the character, until she encountered a Gwen Stacy from a future alternate timeline. At first, thinking that this Gwen was a clone, she later learned that this Gwen was actually a superhero, but when trying to get more information, Spider-Gwen fled in a rage. She learned that Spider-Gwen's father had been put in a coma, which caused her rage, then Gwen helped her counterpart to come to epiphany that she should treasure that she still has her father alive in contrast to her, whose father had died. After that, Gwen with

6201-575: A teacher at his old high school, meets the enigmatic Ezekiel Sims , who possesses similar spider powers and suggests that Peter, having gained such abilities, might not have been a fluke—that Parker has a connection to a totemic spider spirit. In vol. 2, #37 (#478, Jan. 2002), Aunt May discovers her nephew is Spider-Man. Peter and Mary Jane reconcile in (vol. 2) #50 (#491, April 2003), and in #512 (Nov. 2004)—the original issue numbering having returned with #500—Parker learns his late girlfriend Gwen Stacy had had two children with Norman Osborn . He joins

6360-469: A time, but her refusal to be with him drove him to be insane and become the second Jackal. She also appears to have a close relationship with Misty Knight . In the reality seen in the "House of M" storyline, in which the Scarlet Witch alters reality to make mutants the ruling class over humans, Gwen was never killed. Instead, she married Peter Parker, and the couple had a young son. She had become

6519-450: A version of Gwen with the powers of Wolverine called Gwenverine , was brought along with the other Wolverines by Mojo , into fighting the pacifist Monk Wolverine. During the return of the Inheritors , Spider-Gwen's device to travel through the multiverse got destroyed by Verna and then Gwen got stranded in an alternate universe. In this universe, Peter Parker and this universe's Gwen Stacy got jobs at Oscorp and Peter wanted to create

The Sensational Spider-Man - Misplaced Pages Continue

6678-539: Is Harry, who leaves town to raise him. One of Doctor Octopus' Octobots swaps his and Spider-Man's personality, causing Peter to become trapped in the Doctor's dying body, while he in turn claimed Peter's life for himself. Though Peter failed to reverse the change, he manages to establish a weak link with the Doctor's mind, forcing him to relive all of his memories; Otto understands Peter's ideals of power and responsibility and swears to carry on with Peter's life with dignity as

6837-490: Is a helpful vigilante or a clever criminal. Cultural historian Bradford W. Wright notes: Spider-Man's plight was to be misunderstood and persecuted by the very public that he swore to protect. In the first issue of The Amazing Spider-Man , J. Jonah Jameson, publisher of the Daily Bugle , launches an editorial campaign against the "Spider-Man menace". The resulting negative publicity exacerbates popular suspicions about

6996-540: Is accidentally killed during a battle between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus (issue #90, November 1970). In issue #121 (June 1973), the Green Goblin throws Gwen Stacy from a tower of either the Brooklyn Bridge (as depicted in the art) or the George Washington Bridge (as given in the text). She dies during Spider-Man's rescue attempt, and Spider-Man swears revenge against his nemesis;

7155-579: Is approached by Norman with the offer of a job within the Dark Avengers. It is later revealed that it is a ruse to coerce Harry into taking the American Son armor, whom Norman had planned to kill, in order to increase public sympathy. When Harry has the option of killing Norman, Spider-Man says to decapitate him, since Norman's healing factor may repair a blow to the head. Spider-Man also cautions Harry that killing Norman will cause Harry to "become

7314-490: Is bitten by a radioactive spider (erroneously classified as an insect in the panel) at a science exhibit and "acquires the agility and proportionate strength of an arachnid ". Along with heightened athletic abilities, Parker gains the ability to adhere to walls and ceilings. Through his knack for science, he develops a gadget that lets him fire adhesive webbing of his own design through small, wrist-mounted barrels. Initially seeking to capitalize on his new abilities, Parker dons

7473-463: Is broken by the whiplash from her sudden stop. In Superior Spider-Man #3, Peter briefly reunites with Gwen and her father in the afterlife, along with all his other lost loved ones, while in Doctor Octopus's failing body. Peter apologizes to them both for failing them but neither hold Peter accountable with Gwen even saying that “it worked out” because they were “together” and kissed him on

7632-473: Is complicated by the fact Gwen's father is still trying to take down Carter's criminal family. In the limited series, Marvel Zombies Return , Gwen of 'Earth Z' is still a college student out with her friends Mary Jane and Harry Osborn. The zombified Spider-Man travels to this earth and, despite his best intentions, turns the Sinister Six . They then slay and partly consume Gwen and her friends. To stop

7791-601: Is kidnapped by Kaine and taken to Parker Industries to be studied. Kaine reveals that he and Spider-Woman came to this Earth to assist Spider-Man because they saw that Spider-Man agreeing with the Jackal's offer on other worlds always results in a global disaster. Rhino and the second Electro are sent to retrieve Gwen after attacking the staff, but Gwen tells them to take Kaine with him too because his condition could help with Jackal's experiments. Anna Maria Marconi also volunteers to come with because she has studied both Kaine and

7950-673: Is later taken in by Aunt May after her father, police captain John Stacy, is killed by a burglar wearing a Spider-Man costume and her estranged mother does not want to take her in. Her living in the Parker house creates more tension between Peter and Mary Jane, and leads to their temporary break-up. Peter's relationship with Gwen is further complicated by her hatred of Spider-Man, whom she blames for her father's death. When Peter finds his friend Eddie Brock , Gwen confides in him about her feelings of isolation. Eddie then tries to kiss her and Gwen

8109-497: Is recruited by Spider-UK to team up with other Spider-Totems across the multiverse, and next appears on Earth-616 with Old Man Spider-Man of Earth-4 and Spider-Man of Earth-70105 (who in that reality is Bruce Banner ) to rescue Kaine , who was under attack by the Inheritors . Marvel-616 Peter is hesitant to put Gwen in action and she is told by the others of how he failed to save her in his world. However he does recruit her for

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8268-694: Is rekindled. According to Lee, who scripted all of the stories featuring Gwen Stacy up to this point, the original intent was for Gwen Stacy to be Spider-Man's central love interest. However, Mary Jane Watson 's unexpected popularity with readers after her debut changed the course of the plan as fans liked Mary Jane more and demanded she be Peter Parker's main love interest instead, and that "no matter how we [i.e. Lee and his artist/co-plotter collaborators] wrote it, Mary Jane always seemed more interesting!" Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas succeeded Stan Lee as writer and editor, respectively, of The Amazing Spider-Man . Together with inker John Romita, Sr. , they came to

8427-499: Is seemingly consumed by the fire. The story arc "Sins Past" by J. Michael Straczynski apparently reveals that Gwen Stacy had an affair with Norman Osborn and fell pregnant with twins, a girl and a boy, to whom she gave birth while in France, and named Sarah and Gabriel Stacy , respectively. Gwen vowed to raise the twins with Peter Parker and refused to allow Norman access—an event which precipitated Norman's decision to kill her. By

8586-678: Is shocked. When she eventually learns Peter is Spider-Man, the angry Gwen pulls her father's gun on him. He manages to convince her he is not to blame for her father's death. Gwen runs off but returns, explaining she is just really mad at everything at the moment. She wouldn't have really shot him, a fact Peter already knew because his spider sense didn't go off despite Gwen's wrath. Gwen then agrees to keep his secret. Gwen Stacy dies in Ultimate Spider-Man #62. Before her death, she made peace with Mary Jane and assured her she never had romantic feelings for Peter. She considered him just as

8745-700: Is suffering from mental health issues. Gwen Stacy first appeared in Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #53 as a new student of Midtown High. She had transferred from her previous school after the Torino Gang, a powerful New York mob, began harassing her in an attempt to keep her father, police captain George Stacy, from arresting members of their gang. However, the Torinos continued to harass Gwen at Midtown, prompting Spider-Man to help

8904-480: Is the original and Peter is the clone. Complicating matters, Mary Jane announces in The Spectacular Spider-Man #220 (Jan. 1995) that she is pregnant with Peter's baby. Later, however, a resurrected Green Goblin (Norman Osborn) has Mary Jane poisoned, causing premature labor and the death of her and Peter's unborn daughter. It is later revealed that The Green Goblin switched the results of

9063-517: The Judgment Day crossover event, the Celestial known as the Progenitor is resurrected and gives humanity 24 hours to justify their existence and judges each human individually. The Progenitor appears to Peter in the form of Gwen, who watches him as he spends the day helping his friends and loved ones. When he shows visible discomfort over Peter working for Norman Osborn, Peter tells him he has

9222-520: The Onslaught crossover. Jurgens had by this stage become disillusioned with the immense amount of group planning and constant changes of ideas and directions. He took this as the last straw, resigning from the title. He was succeeded by writer Todd DeZago and penciller Mike Wieringo , who remained as the title's regular creative team for the remainder of its run. It lasted for 35 issues (33 regularly numbered issues, as well as an initial issue #0 and

9381-475: The Village Voice opined in 1965 that "Spider-Man has a terrible identity problem, a marked inferiority complex , and a fear of women. He is antisocial , castration-ridden , racked with Oedipal guilt , and accident-prone ... [a] functioning neurotic ". Agonizing over his choices, always attempting to do right, he is nonetheless viewed with suspicion by the authorities, who seem unsure as to whether he

9540-523: The Web of Spider-Man series. The initial seven issues (#0–6, January–July 1996) were written and pencilled by Dan Jurgens , who had helped revive interest in Superman for DC Comics in the mid-1990s. Jurgens pushed strongly for the restoration of Peter Parker as the true Spider-Man and plans were made to enact this soon, but Bob Harras , the new Editor-in-Chief, demanded the story be deferred until after

9699-690: The Council of Spider-Women and they avoided the Spider-Verse event. She then came across the Spider-Gwen from the past and sent her to her past timeline, creating a time-loop. She then terrorized the Uatus from Earth-65 and Earth-8, since they were fighting the children of Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy. After that, she returned to her reality to fight crime. In the Heroes Reborn event,

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9858-615: The Daily Bugle . Subsequently, Peter became romantically involved with Mary Jane. Briefly, Peter Parker and Spider-Man split into separate beings due to an accident involving the reverse-engineered Isotope Genome Accelerator. Peter eventually manages to reverse the process, and merges his two halves back together before the side-effects worsen and result in their death. Kindred uses the resurrected Sin-Eater 's sins to possess Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Woman, Anya Corazon, and Julia Carpenter. Doctor Strange, who manages to restrain

10017-552: The Marvel Universe , Parker returns to work at the Daily Bugle , which has been renamed The DB under a new publisher. He soon switches to the alternative press paper The Front Line . J. Jonah Jameson becomes the Mayor of New York City in issue #591 (June 2008). Jonah's estranged father, J. Jonah Jameson Sr., marries May in issue #600 (Sept. 2009). During the " Secret Invasion " by shape-shifting extraterrestrials,

10176-525: The Multiverse that banded together to fight the Inheritors, a group of psychic vampires who had begun to hunt down the spider-totems of other realities. During a mission to gather more recruits in 2099, the Spider-Army stumbled upon another party of spider-people led by an alternate version of Otto Octavius. Together, they neutralize the Inheritors. Peter then stops a nefarious plan put forward by

10335-535: The Secret Wars event, where he sometimes works alongside the mainline version of Peter. Spider-Man is one of the most popular and commercially successful superheroes. He has appeared in countless forms of media , including several animated TV series : the first original animated series Spider-Man , with Paul Soles voicing the titular character, a live-action television series , syndicated newspaper comic strips , and multiple series of films . Spider-Man

10494-640: The Skrulls , Norman Osborn shoots and kills the Skrull queen Veranke . He leverages this widely publicized success, positioning himself as the new director of the S.H.I.E.L.D.-like paramilitary force H.A.M.M.E.R. to advance his agenda, while using his public image to start his own Dark Avengers . Norman, by himself, leads the Dark Avengers as the Iron Patriot, a suit of armor fashioned by himself after Iron Man's armor with Captain America's colors. Harry

10653-781: The Vulture who has been terrorizing the city in her absence. She appears as one of the main characters in the Secret Wars Spider-Verse event with Spider-Ham , Spider-Girl , Spider-UK , Spider-Man Noir , and Spider-Man India in a Battleworld called Archania ruled by Norman Osborn. They eventually form a team called the Web Warriors where they help other Spider-Men and Women in various dimensions. A child version of her also appears in Giant Size Little Marvel Avengers vs X-Men as

10812-582: The anthology comic book Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962) in the Silver Age of Comic Books . He has been featured in comic books , television shows , films , video games , novels, and plays . Spider-Man has the secret identity of Peter Benjamin Parker . Initially, Peter was depicted as a teenage high-school student and an orphan raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben in New York City after his parents, Richard and Mary Parker , died in

10971-511: The original Clone Saga . At the end of that story, Gwen's clone, a creation of Spider-Man villain the Jackal , leaves to find a new life for herself, coming to accept that she is not really the same person who had a relationship with Peter Parker. In the 1988 crossover " The Evolutionary War ", the High Evolutionary , who had once been Miles Warren's teacher, captures Gwen's clone. He determines that Warren had actually not perfected

11130-522: The " All-New, All-Different Marvel " event. Among them, The Amazing Spider-Man was relaunched and primarily focuses on Peter Parker continuing to run Parker Industries and becomes a successful businessman who is operating worldwide. In Forest Hills , Queens , New York City, Midtown High School student Peter Benjamin Parker is a science-whiz orphan living with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May . As depicted in Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962), he

11289-425: The " Clone Conspiracy " storyline, a flashback revealed that Gwen Stacy was conscious during Spider-Man and Green Goblin's battle on the bridge, and as she was falling to her death. She overheard their conversation and discovered Peter is Spider-Man in the process. She was angry at Peter for keeping this secret and for his involvement in her father's death. This flashback confirms the Green Goblin's real motivations for

11448-534: The #−1 Flashback issue, released mid-run). In February 2006, with issue #23, the series Marvel Knights Spider-Man was moved from the Marvel Knights imprint and renamed The Sensational Spider-Man (vol. 2) . Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko , he first appeared in

11607-441: The 1950s, in which an orphaned boy living with an old couple finds a magic ring that granted him superhuman powers. Lee and Kirby "immediately sat down for a story conference," Theakston writes, and Lee afterward directed Kirby to flesh out the character and draw some pages. Steve Ditko would be the inker. When Kirby showed Lee the first six pages, Lee recalled, "I hated the way he was doing it! Not that he did it badly—it just wasn't

11766-598: The 2010 Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark . Spider-Man was also voiced by Jake Johnson and Chris Pine in the animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse , with the former reprising his role in the sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse . In 1962, with the success of the Fantastic Four , Marvel Comics editor and head writer Stan Lee was casting for a new superhero idea. He said

11925-544: The Fly. Author and Ditko scholar Blake Bell writes that it was Ditko who noted the similarities to the Fly. Ditko recalled that "Stan called Jack about the Fly", adding that "[d]ays later, Stan told me I would be penciling the story panel breakdowns from Stan's synopsis." It was at this point that the entire concept of the strip went through a major overhaul. "Out went the magic ring, adult Spider-Man and whatever legend ideas that Spider-Man story would have contained." Lee gave Ditko

12084-470: The Green Goblin—sending to Peter a page of an unsent letter from Gwen "from a time when she traveled to Europe between college semesters"—which revealed her pregnancy; an analysis of the letter by police detective Lamont revealed handwriting impressions of a second page—saying that she had given birth, with the twins born fully developed after only seven month's gestation. When Peter as Spider-Man went

12243-496: The Gwen clone a false new life under the name of Joyce Delaney. During the second " Clone Saga ", Joyce, now married to a clone of Professor Warren named Warren Miles, sees a copy of Peter Parker's book of Spider-Man photos, Webs , and remembers (to an extent) her real history. She returns to New York City, but after helping Spider-Man and Scarlet Spider fight the Jackal, she again disappears from Spider-Man's life. She makes herself

12402-465: The Jackal (alongside Carrion and a regular Miles Warren clone) in capturing Superior Spider-Man and Kaine . She is sympathetic towards "Peter" and Kaine, but at the same time utterly loyal to the Jackal. When the Spiders break free, Superior Spider-Man disarms and attempts to kill her, but is stopped by Kaine. When the Jackal's lab is engulfed in flames, Kaine offers to save her, but she refuses, and

12561-457: The Jackal. After the events of " Go Down Swinging ", Peter's life was plagued with problems on both sides. As Spider-Man, Mayor Fisk publicly supports him, condemning all other vigilantes in order to isolate him from his superhero peers. As Peter Parker, his academic credentials were revoked after accusations of plagiarizing his doctoral dissertation from Octavius, resulting in Peter being fired from

12720-480: The Marvels is shattered. Following the publication of The Amazing Spider-Man #121, Stan Lee (who had since become Marvel's publisher) was frequently criticized by fans during his public appearances for killing off Gwen Stacy. Lee, who had also found the character's death objectionable, insisted that Conway write a story bringing her back. Conway strongly objected since he felt any sort of resurrection would break

12879-476: The Spectacular Spider-Man , began running parallel to the main series. A third series featuring Spider-Man, Web of Spider-Man , launched in 1985 to replace Marvel Team-Up . The launch of a fourth monthly title in 1990, the "adjectiveless" Spider-Man (with the storyline " Torment "), written and drawn by popular artist Todd McFarlane , debuted with several different covers , all with

13038-682: The Spider-Verse (2023; archive footage). A multiverse Spider-Gwen is voiced by Hailee Steinfeld in the 2018 animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023), and will reprise the role in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (TBA) and Spider-Woman (TBA). Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko , Gwen Stacy first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #31 (December 1965). In her initial appearances, Peter Parker met Gwen while both are studying as undergraduates at Empire State University, but with Aunt May in

13197-501: The adventures of Miguel O'Hara , the Spider-Man of the future; Ultimate Spider-Man , which features the adventures of a teenage Peter Parker in the alternate universe ; and Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man , which depicts a teenager named Miles Morales who takes up the mantle of Spider-Man after Ultimate Peter Parker's apparent death. Miles later became a superhero in his own right and was brought into mainstream continuity during

13356-510: The arc, Quesada said, was ...that we didn't receive the story and methodology to the resolution that we were all expecting. What made that very problematic is that we had four writers and artists well underway on [the sequel arc] "Brand New Day" that were expecting and needed "One More Day" to end in the way that we had all agreed it would. ... The fact that we had to ask for the story to move back to its original intent understandably made Joe upset and caused some major delays and page increases in

13515-519: The audience and band clearing out during the battle. While they are alone, Captain Stacy holds Spider-Woman at gun point, with Gwen taking off her mask to reveal who she is. Shocked upon learning Spider-Woman's identity, he tells her to run before he changes his mind. In the distance, the Captain Britain from Earth-833, called Spider-UK, is watching, saying that Gwen will "do quite nicely". Gwen

13674-465: The battle due to the chemical he used. Spider-Woman is blamed for his death, causing an outcry for her arrest, led by J. Jonah Jameson . Her father, who is also a police chief in this world, begins a hunt for her. This follows Gwen into college, where she is still a member of the Mary Janes. At a gig of theirs, an assassin is sent after Gwen's father, who is in the audience. Gwen defeats the assassin,

13833-529: The bridge, the event that caused her death couldn't have happened. In his book The Physics of Superheroes , physicist James Kakalios confirms that, consistent with Newton's laws of motion , the sudden stop would have killed Gwen Stacy. Within the Marvel Comics , Gwen Stacy's death has enormous repercussions. Mary Jane Watson feels the loss of Gwen deeply and becomes a more mature, compassionate person. Gwen's death also draws Peter and Mary Jane into

13992-454: The character I wanted; it was too heroic". Lee turned to Ditko, who developed an art style Lee found satisfactory. Ditko recalled: One of the first things I did was to work up a costume. A vital, visual part of the character. I had to know how he looked ... before I did any breakdowns. For example: A clinging power so he wouldn't have hard shoes or boots, a hidden wrist-shooter versus a web gun and holster, etc. ... I wasn't sure Stan would like

14151-564: The character swiftly becoming a cultural icon ; a 1965 Esquire poll of college campuses found that college students ranked Spider-Man and fellow Marvel hero the Hulk alongside Bob Dylan and Che Guevara as their favorite revolutionary icons. One interviewee selected Spider-Man because he was "beset by woes, money problems, and the question of existence. In short, he is one of us." Following Ditko's departure after issue #38 (July 1966), John Romita Sr. replaced him as penciller and would draw

14310-502: The character's creation, Ditko described his and Lee's contributions in a mail interview with Gary Martin published in Comic Fan #2 (Summer 1965): "Stan Lee thought the name up. I did costume, web gimmick on wrist & spider signal." At the time, Ditko shared a Manhattan studio with noted fetish artist Eric Stanton , an art-school classmate who, in a 1988 interview with Theakston, recalled that although his contribution to Spider-Man

14469-559: The characters naturally age after Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man in 1962. In 1966, Gwen discovers that Peter is Spider-Man when she sees his costume underneath Peter's shirt at the train station shortly after Flash was deployed to Vietnam. She eventually marries Peter and becomes Chief Biologist for Miles Warren's bio-engineering company. In 1977, Harry Osborn's attack on Warren's company as the Black Goblin revealed that Miles created clones of Norman Osborn, Peter, and Gwen. Harry blows up

14628-485: The cheek. Both the decision to kill Gwen and the method in which Marvel implemented it remain controversial among fans because some believe that Peter himself was the one who caused her death. The death became a pivotal point in both Spider-Man's history and in American comic books in general. Many point to Gwen's death as the end of the Silver Age of Comics . Before her death, except possibly as part of an origin story, superheroes did not fail so catastrophically, nor did

14787-667: The children —a secret of Gwen's that Mary Jane had "promised to keep all these years". Sarah later signed up with Interpol , while Gabriel later become the Gray Goblin. Marvel would later retcon this revelation in the pages of Nick Spencer 's run on Amazing Spider-Man during the Sinister War event. Norman Osborn arrives at the safe house of Gabriel and Sarah in Paris, where an Artificial Intelligence back-up copy of his son Harry reveals to Norman that he never truly fathered

14946-539: The circuitry that enabled Gwen to control the Goblin Glider that left her mostly acting like the Green Goblin, with no memory of being Gwen Stacy. Spider-Gwen is eventually able to free her counterpart from her insanity. To thank her, the Goblin Gwen fixes Spider-Gwen's multiversal travel device to allow her to return to her allies. In the alternate reality designated Earth-65, Gwen Stacy is the one bitten by

15105-431: The city. Peter Parker initially used his powers for his personal gain, but after his Uncle Ben was killed by a thief that Peter could not stop, he began to use his powers to fight crime by becoming Spider-Man. Before Spider-Man first appeared in the early 1960s, teenagers in superhero comic books were usually relegated to the protagonist's sidekick role. The Spider-Man comic series broke ground by featuring Peter Parker,

15264-545: The clone test in an attempt to destroy Peter's life by making him believe himself to be the clone. Ben is killed while saving Peter, in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #75 (Dec. 1996), and his body immediately crumbles into dust, confirming Ben was the clone. In issue #97 (Nov. 1998) of the second series titled Peter Parker: Spider-Man , Parker learns his Norman Osborn kidnapped Aunt May and her apparent death in The Amazing Spider-Man #400 (April 1995) had been

15423-509: The comic Civil War #2 (June 2006), part of the company-wide crossover arc of that title, the U.S. government's Superhuman Registration Act leads Spider-Man to reveal his true identity publicly. A growing unease about the Registration Act prompts him to escape with May and Mary Jane and joins the anti-registration underground. In issue #537 (Dec. 2006), Aunt May is critically wounded from Wilson Fisk 's sniper, and enters into

15582-606: The comic book based on the Spider-Man Unlimited animated series, Spidey encounters a Counter-Earth version of Gwen Stacy. She helps him escape a hidden paradise known as "The Haven". Gwen Stacy first appears in the Ultimate Marvel universe in Ultimate Spider-Man #15 (January 2002) as a teenage girl at Peter's high school. In this continuity, Gwen, whose rendition by artist Mark Bagley

15741-508: The comic book expanded from 22 pages to 30 pages for each issue. Later on, The Amazing Spider-Man was published twice a month, beginning with #648–649 (both November 2010). The following year, Marvel launched Avenging Spider-Man as the first spin-off ongoing series in addition to The Amazing Spider-Man , since the previous ones were canceled at the end of 2007. The Amazing series temporarily ended with issue #700 in December 2012 and

15900-420: The containment tubes containing the clones which kills all of them except for Peter's clone. However, Miles reveals that the "Gwen" Peter was with was actually her clone; he abducted the real Gwen with the intention of attempting to win her over later, with the result that the real Gwen died in the explosion. A year later, Peter and Gwen's clones rename themselves as Ben and Helen Parker and move out of New York for

16059-463: The controversial 1990s storyline the " Clone Saga ", a clone of Parker, created in 1970s comics by insane scientist Miles Warren , a.k.a. the Jackal, returns to New York City upon hearing of Aunt May 's health worsening. The clone had lived incognito as Ben Reilly , but now assumes the superhero guise the Scarlet Spider and allies with Parker. To the surprise of both, new tests indicate Ben

16218-420: The costume and thus easily identify with the character. A few months after Spider-Man's introduction, publisher Goodman reviewed the sales figures for that issue and was shocked to find it was one of the nascent Marvel's highest-selling comics. A solo ongoing series followed, beginning with The Amazing Spider-Man #1 ( cover-dated March 1963). The title eventually became Marvel's top-selling series with

16377-418: The decision to have Gwen Stacy killed. It was Romita who first suggested the idea, during a plotting session with Conway when Romita was still penciller on The Amazing Spider-Man . Conway later said his contribution to the decision was motivated by a desire to bring Mary Jane Watson to the forefront, as he shared Lee's feeling that she was a more interesting character than Gwen Stacy: "[Mary Jane] hadn't lost

16536-581: The drug. When Spider-Man is taken to Haven, he catches up with Gwen in the household in the facility, where she tries to convince him to support New U Technologies. Peter still has a hard time believing she is the real Gwen given his other experiences with clones. Gwen tries justifying her existence by telling Peter her memories, including how she overheard the Green Goblin talking to Spider-Man before her death. Peter thinks she died hating him, but Gwen said that she did not hate him, but rather died feeling betrayed. Peter again still has doubts towards Gwen not being

16695-417: The edge that made her an interesting character. Gwen didn't have an edge. She was just a nice person". In The Amazing Spider-Man #121 ("Night Gwen Stacy Died", June 1973), the Green Goblin kidnaps Gwen Stacy and threw her off a bridge (depicted as the Brooklyn Bridge but described in the text as the George Washington Bridge ). Spider-Man shot a web strand at Gwen's legs and catches her, but her neck

16854-725: The end of Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #5. She is the new girl at school and quickly becomes close friends with Peter Parker. In Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #9, Peter and Gwen take their relationship to the next level by sharing a tender kiss, much to the dismay of Mary Jane . They date for a time, though Gwen breaks up with Peter when she learns Mary Jane is the girl he claims he truly loves. MJ, attempting to fix this, breaks up with Peter and reunites with Harry, though eventually she and Peter realize that neither of them are as happy with Gwen and Harry as they were with each other, and break up with them to start dating each other again. Spider-Man: Life Story features an alternate continuity where

17013-408: The events of Spider-Verse , Gwen returns to her home of Earth-65 where she continues her career as Spider-Woman in her own solo series, Spider-Gwen . She first saves George Stacy from mercenary Aleksei Sytsevich who was sent by Wilson Fisk and his lawyer Matt Murdock to target him; Murdock is ultimately revealed to be the real Kingpin, with Fisk serving as his patsy . Then she begins a hunt for

17172-427: The fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood , reimagined with Mary Jane Watson as the titular character. Gwen Stacy has been previously killed by the wolf. Issue #4 is an adaption of Cinderella with Gwen as Princess Gwendolyn. She falls in love with the masked "Prince of Arachne" who is revealed to be Peter Parker, servant to Sir Osborn , but is killed during a fight between Osborn and Parker. Gwen Stacy first appears at

17331-413: The fictional continuity at the behest of editor-in-chief Joe Quesada , who said, "Peter being single is an intrinsic part of the very foundation of the world of Spider-Man". It caused unusual public friction between Quesada and writer Straczynski, who "told Joe that I was going to take my name off the last two issues of the [story] arc", but was talked out of doing so. At issue with Straczynski's climax to

17490-476: The first issue of The Amazing Spider-Man (March 1963), despite his superpowers, Peter struggles to help his widowed Aunt May pay the rent, is taunted by Flash, and continues fighting crime and saving the city as Spider-Man, but his heroic deeds engender the editorial wrath of newspaper publisher of the Daily Bugle , J. Jonah Jameson , holds a grudge against Spider-Man, and continues making false statements about Spider-Man despite his heroism. Peter gets hired as

17649-511: The help of Tony Stark and Hank Pym of this reality, successfully send Spider-Gwen to her timeline. After this encounter, Gwen was inspired to become a detective and bonded to the Venom symbiote of her reality to become Spider-Woman . With the use of a Dimensional Travel Watch, she was able to travel across the multiverse and encountered other versions of herself; some of which who had also become Spider-Woman. With these Spider-Women, they formed

17808-488: The hero's loved ones die so suddenly and without warning. A note on the letters page of The Amazing Spider-Man #125 states: "It saddens us to say that the whiplash effect she underwent when Spidey's webbing stopped her so suddenly was, in fact, what killed her". The comic book Civil War: Casualties of War: Captain America/Iron Man (2007) concurred that the proximate cause of death was the sudden stop during

17967-588: The hospital, Peter was troubled and ignores her advances. She dated both Flash Thompson and Harry Osborn to make Peter jealous. Gradually, however, a romance develops; Gwen, a science major, appreciated Peter's intellect. Their relationship began almost immediately after Peter stops going out with Mary Jane Watson , whom he begins to see as shallow and self-absorbed. Later issues introduced Gwen's father, NYPD Captain George Stacy , as well as her mother Helen Stacy and her uncle Arthur Stacy. Though her father

18126-455: The idea for Spider-Man arose from a surge in teenage demand for comic books and the desire to create a character with whom teens could identify. As with Fantastic Four, Lee saw Spider-Man as an opportunity to "get out of his system" what he felt was missing in comic books. In his autobiography, Lee cites the non-superhuman pulp magazine crime fighter the Spider as a great influence, and in

18285-499: The idea of covering the character's face but I did it because it hid an obviously boyish face. It would also add mystery to the character.... Although the interior artwork was by Ditko alone, Lee rejected Ditko's cover art and commissioned Kirby to pencil a cover that Ditko inked. As Lee explained in 2010, "I think I had Jack sketch out a cover for it because I always had a lot of confidence in Jack's covers." In an early recollection of

18444-578: The lab. When the cloned villains get to the lab doors, Gwen locks Spider-Man inside the lab and sacrifices herself to give him more time. Following the Carrion Virus being thwarted, Spider-Man and Anna check the building and see that Gwen has been reduced to dust. In the sequel ongoing series Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider , the embodiment of Death herself confirms that all clones Ben created of deceased people had their souls intact on being brought back, while clones of living people (like Ben himself) had unique souls of their own, making Gwen's revival by him

18603-442: The lesson for himself that " with great power comes great responsibility " —a line included in a text box in the final panel of the first Spider-Man's origin story, but later retroactively attributed to the late Uncle Ben Parker. Marvel has featured Spider-Man in several comic book series , the first and longest-lasting of which is The Amazing Spider-Man . Since his introduction, the main-continuity version of Peter has gone from

18762-492: The murder: he clearly states that Gwen "is just a pawn", contradicting the whole core of Sins Past in which Osborn wanted to kill her to keep the twins with him and silence her forever. The "Stacy-Osborn" affair was retconned during the Sinister War event, 17 years later. In the present, Gwen is revived by the Jackal in a clone body. The Jackal offers Gwen the opportunity to be his business partner as he tries to change

18921-554: The mysterious Spider-Man and makes it impossible for him to earn any more money by performing. Eventually, the bad press leads the authorities to brand him an outlaw. Ironically, Peter finally lands a job as a photographer for Jameson's Daily Bugle . The mid-1960s stories reflect the political tensions of the time; early 1960s Marvel stories often deal with the Cold War and communism . Wright writes: From his high-school beginnings to his entry into college life, Spider-Man remained

19080-464: The origin of Spider-Man in the 13-issue limited series Spider-Man: Chapter One (Dec. 1998–Oct. 1999), similar to Byrne's adding details and some revisions to Superman's origin in DC Comics ' The Man of Steel . During that time, the original The Amazing Spider-Man ended with issue #441 (Nov. 1998), and The Amazing Spider-Man started with volume 2, #1 (Jan. 1999). In 2003, Marvel reintroduced

19239-512: The original Spider-Man version to Lee, who liked the idea and assigned Kirby to draw sample pages of the new character, but disliked the results—in Simon's description, " Captain America with cobwebs". Writer Mark Evanier notes that Lee's reasoning that Kirby's character was too heroic seems unlikely—Kirby still drew the covers for Amazing Fantasy #15 and the first issue of The Amazing Spider-Man . Evanier also disputes Kirby's given reason that he

19398-442: The original numbering for The Amazing Spider-Man and what would have been volume 2, #59, became issue #500 (Dec. 2003). When the main series The Amazing Spider-Man reached issue #545 (Dec. 2007), Marvel dropped its spin-off ongoing series and instead began publishing The Amazing Spider-Man three times monthly, beginning with #546–548 (all January 2008). The scheduling of The Amazing Spider-Man lasted until November 2010, when

19557-559: The plausibility of the stories, but ultimately gave in under the condition that after reviving Gwen, he could write her out of the book as soon as he wanted. He decided that cloning would be the best means to bring the character back. In the resulting story, written approximately two years after the story of Gwen Stacy's death, "Gwen" reappears, perfectly healthy but with no memory of the time since her death. This story, published in Amazing Spider-Man #144 (May 1975), initiated

19716-424: The police take down the gang. Like her father, Gwen believes Spider-Man is a hero. She subsequently began participating in a "Spider-Man Appreciation Society" designed to foster better public opinion of Spider-Man. Gwen is also attracted to Spider-Man's alter ego Peter Parker; although she openly flirted with him, Peter began dating a different girl, Sophia "Chat" Sanduval , which made Gwen very unhappy. Later, Gwen

19875-416: The premise of a teenager bitten by a spider and developing powers, where Ditko would expand upon to the point he became what Bell describes as "the first work for hire artist of his generation to create and control the narrative arc of his series". On the issue of the initial creation, Ditko stated, "I still don't know whose idea was Spider-Man". Ditko did, however, view the published version of Spider-Man as

20034-676: The process, and instead injected a young woman with a genetic virus carrying Gwen's DNA, turning her into a copy of Gwen. After a subsequent altercation of Spider-Man and the Young Gods against the High Evolutionary's Purifiers, this woman is purged of the virus by the Young Goddess Daydreamer. This is later retconned , with the High Evolutionary stating that Warren had in fact succeeded in perfecting his own cloning technique, and Daydreamer had accidentally given

20193-458: The purpose of the "Marvels" (i.e., superheroes)—to protect innocents such as Gwen. He resolves to write a book to praise the heroes and what they should mean to humanity. When the Green Goblin kidnaps Gwen and holds her hostage to bait Spider-Man, Sheldon frantically follows the resulting chase in a taxi and witnesses her death. While it is reported that she died from the shock of the fall, Sheldon thinks it looks like something else. Sheldon's faith in

20352-452: The radioactive spider, and becomes a superhero going by the name of Spider-Woman . She is also a member of a band fronted by Mary Jane Watson, simply called the Mary Janes. Shortly after Gwen begins fighting crime, Peter Parker, her best friend attempts to exact revenge on those who bullied him, becoming this universe's version of the Lizard . Gwen subdues him, but Peter dies towards the end of

20511-460: The real-life Columbia University and New York University ), where he meets roommate and best friend Harry Osborn and girlfriend Gwen Stacy , and Aunt May introduces him to Mary Jane Watson . As Peter deals with Harry's drug problems, and Harry's father, Norman Osborn , is revealed to be the Green Goblin, Peter attempts to give up his costumed identity for a while. Gwen Stacy's father, New York City Police detective Captain George Stacy ,

20670-429: The reins of Parker Industries, a small company founded by Otto after leaving Horizon Labs. Peter soon learns a second person had been bitten by the radioactive spider, Cindy Moon . Spider-Man tracks her down and frees her from a bunker owned by the late Ezekiel Simms. Not long after rescuing Cindy, who went on to adopt her own heroine identity as Silk, Spider-Man encounters a contingent of spider-people from all over

20829-623: The rest of the Marvel Universe during the "Age of Apocalypse" storyline, the Green Goblin never killed Gwen Stacy. Instead, she became the bodyguard of Donald Blake, who, in this reality, had never become the Mighty Thor . Sometime later in the mainstream universe in X-Man #37, the Age of Apocalypse version of Gwen is pulled from her reality to the mainstream Earth's George Washington Bridge, much to Spider-Man's shock. The Gwen Stacy of this reality had

20988-581: The revision of the Comics Code Authority . Previously, the Code forbade the depiction of the use of illegal drugs, even negatively. However, in 1970, the Nixon administration's Department of Health, Education, and Welfare asked Stan Lee to publish an anti-drug message in one of Marvel's top-selling titles. Lee chose the top-selling The Amazing Spider-Man; issues #96–98 (May–July 1971) feature

21147-436: The same interior content. All four versions combined sold over three million copies, an industry record at the time. Several miniseries , one-shot issues, and loosely related comics have also been published, and Spider-Man makes frequent cameos and guest appearances in other comic book series. In 1996, The Sensational Spider-Man was created to replace Web of Spider-Man . In 1998, writer-artist John Byrne revamped

21306-456: The series an ongoing novelistic chronicle of the lead character's life. Most super heroes had problems no more complex or relevant to their readers' lives than thwarting this month's bad guys... Parker had far more serious concern in his life: coming to terms with the death of a loved one, falling in love for the first time, struggling to make a living, and undergoing crises of conscience." Comics historian Peter Sanderson Sally Kempton for

21465-431: The series for the next several years. In 1968, Romita would also draw the character's extra-length stories in the comics magazine The Spectacular Spider-Man , a proto- graphic novel designed to appeal to older readers. It lasted for two issues and represented the first Spider-Man spin-off publication, aside from the original series' summer Annual s that began in 1964. An early 1970s Spider-Man story ultimately led to

21624-401: The series. Also, the science that Joe was going to apply to the retcon of the marriage would have made over 30 years of Spider-Man books worthless, because they never would have had happened. ...[I]t would have reset way too many things outside of the Spider-Man titles. We just couldn't go there.... In this new continuity, designed to have very limited repercussions throughout the remainder of

21783-463: The son Norman always wanted". Harry instead backs down, and turns away from his father forever. At Loki 's suggestion, Norman Osborn creates a rationale to invade Asgard , claiming the world poses a national security threat. He is defeated, and ends up incarcerated in the Raft penitentiary. A conflict between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus over Osborn's son ends when it is revealed the child's father

21942-465: The spread of the virus, Spider-Man obliterates the bodies. In the Powerless mini-series, Gwen Stacy again appears as the girlfriend of Peter Parker. Norman Osborn again kidnaps and attempts to kill her as a part of a plan to intimidate Peter. In a twist, the powerless Peter (with a limb crippled from a spider bite) manages to save Gwen from falling to her death. In Secret Wars : Battleworld #3,

22101-550: The story and claimed Lee had minimal involvement in the character's creation. According to Kirby, the idea for Spider-Man had originated with Kirby and Joe Simon , who in the 1950s had developed a character called the Silver Spider for the Crestwood Publications comic Black Magic , but the character was left unused. Simon, in his 1990 autobiography, disputed Kirby's account, asserting that Black Magic

22260-443: The students with his assumed obligation to combat lawlessness as Spider-Man. As a law-upholding liberal, he finds himself caught between militant leftism and angry conservatives. Peter Parker has superhuman spider-powers and abilities derived from mutations resulting from the bite of a radioactive spider. Since the original Lee - Ditko stories, Spider-Man has had the ability to cling to walls. This has been speculated to be based on

22419-399: The superhero most relevant to the world of young people. Fittingly, then, his comic book also contained some of the earliest references to the politics of young people. In 1968, in the wake of actual militant student demonstrations at Columbia University, Peter Parker finds himself in the midst of similar unrest at his Empire State University.... Peter has to reconcile his natural sympathy for

22578-501: The superhero team The New Avengers in New Avengers #1–2. After a deranged, superpowered former high-school classmate destroys their respective homes, Peter, Mary Jane, and May move into Stark Tower , and Peter begins working as Tony Stark 's assistant while freelancing for The Daily Bugle and continuing his teacher career. In the 12-part 2005 story arc " The Other ", Peter undergoes a transformation that evolves his powers. In

22737-498: The three issues without the Comics Code Authority's approval or seal. The issues sold so well that the industry's self-censorship was undercut, and the Code was subsequently revised. In 1972, a second monthly ongoing series starring Spider-Man began: Marvel Team-Up , in which Spider-Man was paired with other superheroes and supervillains. From that point on, there have generally been at least two ongoing Spider-Man series at any time. In 1976, his second solo series, Peter Parker,

22896-408: The time that Peter and his (then-considered-to-be) wife, Mary Jane Watson -Parker, discovered the twins' existence, they were grown to adult proportions, despite the relatively "short" time since Gwen's death, due to the genetic effects of their father's "goblin formula". Sarah and Gabriel revealed their existence to Peter, with threats and as masked figures, after their father was publicly exposed as

23055-531: The twins, and that he never had a sexual encounter with Gwen Stacy. The whole plan was to convince him he had the heirs he always wanted, so AI Harry hypnotized Norman and Mary Jane Watson with the help of Mysterio and the Chameleon , while Mendel Stromm created the mutated twins in a lab (this explains their rapid aging, as it's not truly related to Osborn's Goblin serum). Thus, this is all an elaborate scheme of Harry's to torment both his father and Peter. In

23214-462: The two "become confidants rather than lovers". A romantic relationship eventually develops, with Parker proposing to her in issue #182 (July 1978), and being turned down an issue later. Peter went on to graduate from college in issue #185, and becomes involved with the shy Debra Whitman and the extroverted, flirtatious costumed thief Felicia Hardy, a.k.a. the Black Cat , whom he meets in issue #194 (July 1979). From 1984 to 1988, Spider-Man wore

23373-475: The world with his new technology. Gwen is hesitant about this new life at first but accepts it when the Jackal shows that he has reanimated her father, who is in much better health than he was before he died. When Spider-Man arrives at the incorporation and discovers the Jackal's experiments, he is surprised by Gwen's presence and notes that unlike the other people the Jackal revived, who were all clones, Gwen does not trigger his spider sense, making him wonder if she

23532-439: Was "almost nil", he and Ditko had "worked on storyboards together and I added a few ideas. But the whole thing was created by Steve on his own ... I think I added the business about the webs coming out of his hands." Ditko claimed in a rare interview with Jonathan Ross that the costume was initially envisioned with an orange and purple color scheme, rather than the recognizable red and blue. Kirby disputed Lee's version of

23691-413: Was "too busy" to draw Spider-Man in addition to his other duties, since Kirby was, said Evanier, "always busy". Neither Lee's nor Kirby's explanation explains why key story elements like the magic ring were dropped; Evanier states that the most plausible explanation for the sudden change was that Goodman, or one of his assistants, decided that Spider-Man, as drawn and envisioned by Kirby, was too similar to

23850-446: Was Ditko who "got Spider-Man to roll, and the thing caught on because of what he did". Lee, while claiming credit for the initial idea, had acknowledged Ditko's role, stating, "If Steve wants to be called co-creator, I think he deserves [it]". He has further commented that Ditko's costume design was key to the character's success; since the costume completely covers Spider-Man's body, people of all races could visualize themselves inside

24009-501: Was both fond of Peter and supportive of his alter-ego Spider-Man, his death strained Peter's relationship with Gwen after he is killed by falling debris during a battle involving Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus . Gwen blamed Spider-Man for his death, and left for Europe to cope with her loss. She wanted Peter to ask her to marry him and convince her to stay, but his guilt stopped him from proposing. Gwen's feelings for Peter eventually prompted her to return to New York, and their relationship

24168-420: Was brainwashed by Emma Frost into believing she was dating Peter. Gwen's brainwashing wore off (or was undone by Emma), but Gwen now believes her relationship with Peter ended when he chose Chat over her, causing her to treat Chat very coldly. She has since warmed to Chat, however. Recently, Gwen began a close friendship with Carter Torino who is the grandson of the head of the Torino Gang. Their relationship

24327-638: Was first portrayed in live-action by Danny Seagren in Spidey Super Stories , a recurring skit on The Electric Company from 1974 to 1977. In live-action films, Spider-Man has been portrayed by actors Tobey Maguire in Sam Raimi 's Spider-Man trilogy , by Andrew Garfield in two films directed by Marc Webb , and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Tom Holland . Reeve Carney originally starred as Spider-Man in

24486-556: Was iconic, they argued, on par with those of his D.C. rivals Superman and Batman ." The creators then revealed the costume was an alien symbiote , which Spider-Man rejects after a difficult struggle, though the symbiote returns several times as Venom for revenge. Peter proposes to Mary Jane in The Amazing Spider-Man #290 (July 1987), and she accepts two issues later, with the wedding taking place in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21 (1987)—promoted with

24645-412: Was inspired by an early-career Madonna , has amber eyes, wears punk-style clothing, and harbors a rebellious personality. In her first appearance, she gives a rousing speech on 'super powers' and later pulls a knife on Kong , one of Peter 's bullies, and is suspended from school temporarily. Gwen becomes friends with Peter, which leads Mary Jane Watson to believe she is vying for his affections. Gwen

24804-514: Was not a factor and that Simon devised the name "Spider-Man" (later changed to "The Silver Spider"), while Kirby outlined the character's story and powers. Simon later elaborated that his and Kirby's character conception became the basis for Simon's Archie Comics superhero, the Fly . Artist Steve Ditko stated that Lee liked the name Hawkman from DC Comics , and that "Spider-Man" was an outgrowth of that interest. Simon concurred that Kirby had shown

24963-511: Was replaced by The Superior Spider-Man , which had Doctor Octopus serve as the new Spider-Man by taking over Peter Parker's body. Superior was an enormous commercial success for Marvel, and ran for 31 issues before the real Peter Parker returned in a newly relaunched The Amazing Spider-Man #1 in April 2014. Following the 2015 Secret Wars crossover event , a number of Spider-Man-related titles were either relaunched or created as part of

25122-549: Was the only reason Goodman allowed him to use Spider-Man. While this was the final issue, its editorial page anticipated the comic continuing and that "The Spider-Man ... will appear every month in Amazing ." Regardless, Lee received Goodman's approval for the name Spider-Man and the "ordinary teen" concept and approached artist Jack Kirby . As comics historian Greg Theakston recounts, Kirby told Lee about an unpublished character on which he had collaborated with Joe Simon in

25281-451: Was the real one. He is attacked by the "reborn" Doctor Octopus before he can question the issue further. After the Jackal breaks up the fight and shows Spider-Man around the New U, George Stacy recognizes something off about Gwen's face and points his gun at her. It is revealed that this Gwen was actually her Earth-65 counterpart Spider-Woman who assists Spider-Man in escaping. The real Gwen

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