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Beth Purita

Hello Everyone, Im here to tell you about the Marvel Comic Spider-Man which is my favorite. I am a fan of the movies, but I myself have never read any of the Spider-Man comics. However, out of all the superhero movies I have seen (like X-men or Fantastic Four), Spider-Man is #1 on my list. Here is some background information on Spider-Man and I hope you find it as interesting as I did. Enjoy!

=**Spider-Man**= Created in 1962, by Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko (considered co-creator), Spider-Man was called "the super hero that could be you" because Spider-Man has the same flaws and is still pretty much just like everyone else. Spider-Man, or Peter Parker is just like everyone else. He gets sick, fusterated, and pretty much has the same troubles like paying the rent or keeping his girlfriend happy. Even though his Spidey powers allows him to help everyone else out, it does not improve his own life by much. Peter Parker aka Spider-Man grew up with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. He was defiantly not the coolest kid in school and never got the girl. After being bitten by a radio-active spider, Parker develops spider like powers like being able to climb up walls and swing from his webs. Pretty cool huh!

Spider-Man appearing on the Amazing Fantasy Comic.


=**How Spider-Man came to be...**= In 1962, Stan Lee was trying to think of a new Superhero after the success of the comic Fantastic Four. He said that the idea of Spider-Man came about "when a surge in teenage demand for comic books, and the desire to create a character with whom teens could identify." The non-superhero called "The Spider" in a magazine Pulp Magazine was a great influence on Lee.

Tom DeFalco, the 1990's Editor and Chief said that he thinks if the idea of Spider-Man was new just came out today, that the comic sales would'nt do so good because of test audiences and marketers...

When Spider-Man was given the "OK" to be published, Lee sat down with Co-creator Steve Ditko, and started drawing out ideas. In an interview Ditko said: "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 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...."

=**Originally Spider-Man was suppose to be...**= ...just an experiment! The first comic was close to not being printed at all. According to Stan Lee, Martin Goodman (head of the comics then) didnt want to publish the comic because he thought people would think spiders are "distasteful." The comic Amazing Fantasy was about to be cancelled so Lee decided to throw in Spider-Man! Good thing! "Nobody cares what you put in a book that's going to die," Lee says, "so I threw in Spider-Man. I featured him on the cover and then forgot about him." "Spider-Man was the hero and teenage helper rolled into one; he was his own sidekick. Marvel's first editor, Joe Simon, thought that kid companions like Captain America's Bucky were important because they gave the protagonist someone to talk to; Spider-man talked to himself. In his first appearance he mused out loud but subsequently Lee adopted the device of the thought balloon with its characteristic bubbles. "I used those thought balloons to help the exposition, I could put interesting thoughts there that weren't necessarily about what ws happening in that particular panel - something to hold the reader's interest." says Lee.

In 1982 to 1988, Spider-Man was seen in a black costume (like in the 3rd film)

Here's a fun Fact for you: Spider-Man has the hyphen in his name so it does'nt get confused with the other superhero Superman. =**Was Stan Lee really the creator of Spider-Man? **= Jack Kirby (artist) and Joe Simon claim that Lee did not have a lot of involvment with the creation of Spider-Man. They say that in the 1950's. Kirby and Simon thought up a superhero called "The Silver Spider" although Simon says he wanted the name to be called "Spider-Man" before it got changed. If Jack Kirby really did create Spider-Man then why didnt he publish the idea like Lee did? Here's why: Kirby says he was "too busy" to draw up Spider-Man because he had a lot of other responsibilities he had to do. (I bet he regrets that now with Spideys success!) On the creation issue, Ditko says "I still don't know whose idea was Spider-Man." Kirby says in a 1971 interview that it was Ditko who "got Spider-Man to roll, and the thing caught on because of what he did." Lee, while claiming credit for the first idea of Spider-Man, has acknowledged Ditko's role, saying "If Steve wants to be called co-creator, I think he deserves it." Writer Al Nickerson believes that "Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created Spider-Man that we are familiar with today but that Spider-Man came into existence, and prospered, through the efforts of not just one or two, but many comic book creators." 

Whether Stan Lee or Kirby and Simon where the real creators of Spider-Man is something I'll let you decide on.

[[image:http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRxA1VgDE7e8siqj1kZoTmrNTNcOAErQyGyHQjc6Pjs296pTJb6lQ width="200" height="246"]]
=Spider-Man swings from Comic Book to the Big Screen= In 2002, Spider-Man goes on the big screen and all his fans are able to see Spidey in action. In the films, Toby Maguire plays Spider-Man and everyone gets to see how he gets his powers, how his beloved Uncle dies...and so much more! Spider-Man has three installments out and it is said that there will be a 4th movie, awesome!

The 4th Spider-Man movie will not have the same actors in it however. Originally Spider-Man was played by actor Toby Maguire in the first three films, in Spider-Man 4, Spidey will be played by Andrew Garfield.

Spider-Man 4
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