Spider-Man (Ultimate Marvel character)

Spider-Man
Spider-Man (Ultimate Marvel version) on the promotional art of Ultimate Spider-Man comic book series. Poster art by Joe Quesada.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics (Ultimate Marvel imprint)
First appearance	Ultimate Spider-Man #1
Created by	Brian Michael Bendis Mark Bagley (based on a character created by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko)
In-story information
Alter ego	Peter Parker
Team affiliations	Daily Bugle Ultimates
Abilities	The ability to cling onto walls; super-strength, agility and super-keen reflexes; Prodigious skill in physics and chemistry, possesses a sixth sense warning him of danger, a.k.a "Spider-Sense".

Spider-Man (Peter Parker) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is an alternate version of Spider-Man, a character first created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1962. The Ultimate version of the character originated in Ultimate Marvel, a line of books created in 2000 that are set in a parallel universe with a narrative continuity separate and independent from the main 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 writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mark Bagley, and debuted with Ultimate Spider-Man #1 (October 2000), which featured the first appearance of the Ultimate version of the character.

Fictional character biography[edit]

Peter Parker was orphaned at an early age and raised by his father's brother, Ben Parker, and his wife May. Peter soon grew up to be an extremely bright student but was also an outcast, frequently bullied by Flash Thompson and Kenny "King Kong" McFarlane. On a field trip to Oscorp, he was bitten by a spider that was altered by a drug, which gave him spider-like abilities. Norman Osborn discovered this and used the same drug to alter himself, but this experiment went awry, mutating him into a Goblin-like being. Peter used his powers for personal gain, like his standard counterpart, and then his uncle was murdered by a thief that he let escape. Peter vowed to follow his father's/uncle's motto: "With great power comes great responsibility", and after cracking a formula his father invented for a glue-like compound, added webbing to his arsenal as Spider-Man.^[1]

Spider-Man later had his encounter with the Green Goblin who disappeared into the river following his defeat.^[2] Peter Parker later got a job as a web designer for the Daily Bugle upon being hired by J. Jonah Jameson.^[3] Later on, he confessed his identity to Mary Jane Watson and they formed a loving relationship.^[4] Peter Parker later met Gwen Stacy which started to put pressure on Spider-Man's current relationship with Mary Jane Watson.^[5]

Green Goblin is later apprehended and incarcerated in the Triskelion alongside Doctor Octopus, Electro, Kraven the Hunter, and Sandman. They escape from the Triskelion and begin the formation of the Ultimate Six. Upon Green Goblin threatening to harm Aunt May, Spider-Man reluctantly joins up with the Ultimate Six where they attack the White House. Upon Captain America confirming that Aunt May is safe, Spider-Man assists the Ultimates into fighting the Ultimate Six.^[6]

In a later encounter with Nick Fury, Spider-Man learned that Nick Fury found out about 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 that Peter Parker is Spider-Man.^[7]

During the "Ultimatum" storyline, Peter and those in his life survive the Ultimatum Wave caused by Magneto where Peter becomes Spider-Man to help save the drowning civilians.^[8] While Spider-Man was doing heroic acts, J. Jonah Jameson started publishing his heroic acts. While working with Hulk, they find the body of Daredevil who became one of the casualties of the Ultimatum Wave. When the two of them arrived at the ruins of the Sanctum Sanctorum, Spider-Man and Hulk find a rift open where Dormammu and different demons are emerging at the time when Doctor Strange was possessed by Nightmare. When Hulk caused an explosion during the fight, Spider-Man was caught in the explosion.^[9] Following the death of Magneto, the Ultimates find 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 work at the Burger Frog when the Daily Bugle was temporarily shut down during the Ultimatum Wave incident.^[11]

During "The Death of Spider-Man" storyline, Spider-Man finds that Norman Osborn has reformed the Ultimate Six with Vulture replacing Spider-Man. While searching for them following Doctor Octopus' death, Spider-Man threw himself in front of Captain America when he was targeted by Punisher and got shot. Upon dressing the wound, Spider-Man fought the Ultimate Six where they injure him further. Before Electro can attack Spider-Man, Aunt May shot him enough for him to discharge energy that knocked out Kraven the Hunter, Sandman, and Vulture. Spider-Man and Green Goblin continued their fight which led to a mutual kill. Before dying, he was surrounded by Aunt May, Mary Jane, Human Torch, and Gwen Stacy as Spider-Man quoted that he saved them where he was unable to save Uncle Ben. While Mary Jane cradled Spider-Man's lifeless body, Aunt May, Mary Jane Watson, and Human Torch cried uncontrollably while Norman Osborn's dead body was seen with a smirk where he died knowing that he won.^[12]

During the "Ultimate Fallout" storyline, the public became aware of Peter Parker being Spider-Man as the Daily Bugle was the first to print the news about Spider-Man's death. When it came to his funeral, Tony Stark paid for the funeral while Captain America approached Aunt May with remorse over the fact that he blamed himself for Spider-Man's death. Thor claimed that he saw Peter Parker's spirit in Valhalla. At the same time, an African-American/Latino boy named Miles Morales is shown to have developed spider powers and uses a copy of the Spider-Man costume to defeat Kangaroo. Nick Fury even blamed himself for Spider-Man's death when he visits Mary Jane.^[13]

Sometime later, Peter Parker awoke in an abandoned laboratory and made his way back to New York City where he reunited with Mary Jane Watson. To investigate if Peter Parker is still dead, they went to his grave to find that somebody dug his body out of his grave. Not wanting to surprise Aunt May, Peter Parker went to retrieve his web-shooters from Miles Morales' apartment only for Miles to come in to his room. Both of them fought over the part of telling Aunt May which leads to Peter Parker knocking out Miles Morales and making off with his web-shooters. He then returned when he saw Miles Morales fight a revived Green Goblin. Peter's intervention on Green Goblin attempting to kill Miles Morales surprised those who witnessed his return. It was discovered that the Oz Formula that affected Peter Parker and Norman Osborn gave them immortality. After Green Goblin was defeated with Norman Osborn's body being immolated by Detective Maria Hill, Peter Parker retired as Spider-Man and gave his web-shooters to Miles while planning to find out how he came back to life.^[14]

Following the Secret Wars storyline, Earth-1610 was restored and Peter Parker resumed the mantle of Spider-Man. After helping the Ultimates fight Green Goblin, Peter Parker attended a party that welcomed Kenny McFarland home from the army.^[15]

Powers, abilities and equipment[edit]

Powers and abilities[edit]

Peter Parker became Spider-Man when a genetically altered spider bit him, causing him to almost die and then develop superpowers. So far, Spider-Man has been established as having:

• The ability to cling to walls.
• A sixth sense (dubbed "Spider-Sense") that alerts Spider-Man to coming danger.
• Incredible balance, agility and leaping abilities.
• Superhuman strength and durability. Although there are rumors that he is not as strong as his counterpart in the official continuity (although, he has previously shown enough strength to throw a New York Taxi cab at the Hulk).

After being bitten by the spider, Peter Parker created mechanical web-shooting devices by using his father's notes, since the bite did not give him the ability to spin webs.

Wall-crawling[edit]

Spider-Man gained the ability to adhere to a surface using his hands and feet. His ability to stick to objects is seemingly conscious - i.e., he accidentally pulled off pieces of plaster when having a heated argument with his aunt and uncle. He does not seem to have the ability to stick any part of him to walls other than his hands and feet, but it has not been officially revealed. Many characters find this ability of his disgusting, most namely Wolverine of the X-Men.

Spider-sense[edit]

Spider-Man's most subtle power is his spider-sense. A form of clairvoyance or sixth sense, it unconsciously activates and alerts him to any threat to himself, manifesting as a prickling at the back of his neck. While it cannot tell him of the exact nature of the threat, it is vaguely directional and Spider-Man can judge the severity of the threat by the intensity of the tingling.

The spider-sense not only alerts Spider-Man to threats to his physical safety, but also warns him to threats to his privacy such as being observed while changing identities. Spider-Man also uses the spider-sense as a means to time his evasive maneuvers to the point where he can avoid gunfire. When combined with his superhuman reflexes and agility, this makes him an extremely difficult target to shoot in combat and formidable in close quarters.

Unlike in the official continuity, Peter can be snuck up on as long as whoever is sneaking up on him means no harm. This is revealed when the Black Cat sneaks up on him from behind and covers his eyes. He rarely refers to it as a "Spider-Sense", although he has referred to it as such on occasion.

Wavy lines emanating from Peter’s head often show the activation of the spider-sense; sometimes the whole panel is completely red-tinted (as it is in the first time he uses it). Also, Venom has shown the ability to overload Spidey's Spider-Sense, or avoid it completely, like in normal Marvel Continuity.

Scientific knowledge[edit]

Apart from his physical abilities, Peter has prodigious aptitude in the physical sciences. He has a facility for chemistry and physics, but is not a genius like the mainstream version, just exceptionally bright. He designed his own web-shooters, but the adhesive formula was one his father had been working on, but which he cracked. He has claimed to be a better teacher than his own teachers (although it was a social studies teacher he was talking to, not a science teacher).

Equipment[edit]

Although he is of limited financial means, Spider-Man has developed personal equipment that plays an important role in his superhero career.

Web-shooters[edit]

Spider-Man's web-shooters are the character's most distinguishing trait. They are wrist-mounted devices that fire a fibrous adhesive very similar to the material spiders use to construct webs. The trigger rests high in the palm but does not require a double tapping from the middle and ring fingers to activate, unlike in the official continuity. It requires only one tap, but somehow he has found a way not to hit it when making a fist.

His late father worked on the formula for the webbing itself. After fighting crime for a whole night, Peter finally solved the formula and used it to create his own webs. At this stage, Peter does not seem to be able to shoot different types of webbing, only one, though it should be noted that neither did the main Marvel continuity Parker for the first few years of his career. He has, on the other hand, shown the ability to not stick to his own webbing and have approximately enough webbing to fill up a living room.

In other media[edit]

Television[edit]

An Ultimate Spider-Man animated series aired in the United States on Disney XD on April 1, 2012. Despite the same name, the story-lines are different. The "Spider-Verse" episodes had a variation of the Ultimate Marvel universe where it's Peter Parker died fighting an unrevealed threat with Miles Morales wracked with guilt upon not being strong enough to save him. His grave was visited by the main reality's Spider-Man and Miles Morales before both Green Goblins attacked.^[16][17]

Film[edit]

• While based primarily on the mainstream universe, the 2002 film Spider-Man uses a few elements from the Ultimate universe, describing the spider as a "genetically-altered super spider".

• The 2012 film The Amazing Spider-Man adopts several elements from the Ultimate universe, with Richard Parker being a scientist who worked for Oscorp, and created several genetically-engineered spiders (where in the Ultimate comics, he created the Venom symbiote as a cure for cancer), which would used to develop serums that could cure genetic diseases, commissioned by Norman Osborn in particular, who was suffering from retroviral hyperplasia. One spider ends up biting Peter in modern day, his son, granting him his superpowers. Uncle Ben's conversation about responsibility to Peter is similar, with Peter lashing out over his father having left him before running off. As well, Uncle Ben's death is caused by Peter letting a robber steal from a convenience store. In the 2014 sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Electro, Rhino, and Harry Osborn/Green Goblin are all modeled off of their Ultimate Marvel incarnations.

• The Marvel Studios film Spider-Man: Homecoming adopts several elements from the comic book series, like a 15-year old Peter Parker, a younger Aunt May, Liz Allan's appearance, the introduction of Aaron Davis and confirming Miles Morales' existence within the MCU, Tony Stark / Iron Man playing the role of Parker's mentor as in the comics where he was one of Parker's mentors, and Ned, who despite his name, is almost entirely modeled after Miles' best friend Ganke Lee. However, in the movie, he is Peter's best friend instead, learning his identity fairly early and acting as his confidant and even as mission support. He also has an affinity for Legos, the same as Ganke.

• The Ultimate universe version of Peter Parker will appear in the 2018 Sony animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.^[18]

Video games[edit]

• An Ultimate Spider-Man video game heavily based off the comics of the same name was released in 2005, with Ultimate Spider-Man voiced by Sean Marquette.
• Spider-Man: Battle for New York uses the look of the Ultimate universe, but the back story more closely resembles the mainstream universe. James Arnold Taylor voiced Spider-Man.
• The mobile phone game Spider-Man: Toxic City is based on the style and characters of the Ultimate comics.
• Ultimate Marvel is a featured universe in the game Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, with Josh Keaton reprising his role as Spider-Man. In the game, you play as the Ultimate version as Spider-Man while wearing the symbiote costume, while Madame Web uses her powers to keep the symbiote suit from taking over Spider-Man's mind and body. His alternate costumes are the original red and blue Ultimate Spider-Man, Earth-2301's Manga Spider-Man and Earth-616's Insulated costume. Ultimate versions of Carnage, Deadpool and Electro are featured as bosses.
• Ultimate Spider-Man: Total Mayhem is a game for mobile products.

Attractions[edit]

• An interactive attraction based off of both the Ultimate universe and the mainstream Marvel universe was built in Niagara falls as part of Marvel superhero adventure city. The ride has riders help Spider-Man stop different villains by shooting them with lasers. Spider-Man's look is based off of his Ultimate version, but he is more older and experienced like his mainstream Marvel version. The villains Dr. Octopus, Electro, and Lizard are based off of their Ultimate looks, While Scorpion is based off of his mainstream universe version. Green Goblin is also based off of his Ultimate version but he uses pumpkin bombs and his glider like his mainstream Marvel version. Different villains also make cameos as cardboard cutouts that riders can shoot. The ride seems to also be inspired by the 2002 Spider-Man film in which most of the Spider-Man: Original Motion Picture Score composed by Danny Elfman was used in sections of the ride. And Spider-Man stops Green Goblin by ripping out wires from his glider like how Spider-Man did it in the parade scene in the 2002 film. Marvel's contract with Adventure city did expire and the ride was retooled into a new attraction. ^[19][20][21]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Spider-Man of Earth-1610 at Marvel Wiki