Spider-Man is a fictional superhero from Marvel who has been adapted and appeared in various media including television shows, films, toys, stage shows, books, and video games.
Television
Spider-Man has been adapted to television many times, as a short-lived live-action television series, a Japanese tokusatsu series, and several animated cartoon series. There were also the "Spidey Super Stories" segments on the PBS educational series The Electric Company,[1] which featured a Spider-Man (played by Danny Seagren) who did not speak out loud but instead used only word balloons.[2]
Spider-Man appears in Marvel Future Avengers, reprised by Shinji Kawada in Japanese and Robbie Daymond in English.[4]
Spider-Man (known as Spidey) appears in Spidey and His Amazing Friends, voiced initially by Benjamin Valic and by Alkaio Thiele from the third season onward.[6][7]
Spider-Man makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the X-Men '97 episode "Tolerance Is Extinction - Part 1".[10]
A stand-in for Spider-Man known as Agent Spider appears in the Season 2 of Amazon's Invincible.
Live-action series
Spider-Man appears in The Amazing Spider-Man (1977), portrayed by Nicholas Hammond. The short-lived series, which had started out as a TV film in 1977, was created before the popular The Incredible Hulk television series of the same decade, and ran for two seasons consisting of 13 episodes during the 1977/1978 and 1978/1979 seasons. The series concluded with a two-hour episode on July 6, 1979.[11]
A live action Spider-Man Noir series is in development.[12]Nicolas Cage will star as Spider-Man in the series.[13]
Film
Live-action
Early films
Nicholas Hammond portrayed the character in the 1970s The Amazing Spider-Man TV series, with three films being theatrically released in Europe from 1977 to 1981.
From 2008 to 2010, Sony and Raimi were developing further sequels to Spider-Man 3. However, many issues surfaced over Spider-Man 4, leading Sony to cancel it in 2010. 4 was originally scheduled to release in 2011.
Following the underwhelming box office performance and critical reception of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Sony cancelled their shared universe and the proposed Sinister Six spinoff, originally scheduled for 2016 and 2018, respectively.[16]
Before his official debut in Captain America: Civil War (2016), Parker previously appears and is referenced.
In Iron Man 2 (2010), Max Favreau, son of director Jon Favreau, portrays a young boy in a child's Iron Man mask standing bravely in front of Justin Hammer's drones.[17] Holland confirmed in 2017 that it was retroactively decided the boy was a young Parker.[18]
The first reference to Spider-Man within the Marvel Cinematic Universe following the deal with Sony is at the end of Ant-Man (2015). According to director Peyton Reed,[19] the reference is made by a reporter who says to Sam Wilson (who is looking for Ant-Man), "Well, we got everything nowadays. We got a guy who jumps, we got a guy who swings, we got a guy who crawls up the walls, you gotta be more specific".
Peter Parker's first on-screen MCU appearance is in Captain America: Civil War (2016), when Tony Stark recruits him to fight alongside his faction of the Avengers during the Avengers Civil War. In the post-credits scene, he fiddles with a device that projects the Spider Signal on the ceiling of his bedroom.
In Endgame, Spider-Man restored to life right before the Battle of Earth, to which he fights in the battle, which results in Stark sacrificing himself to kill Thanos and his army. Peter later mourns his mentor's loss alongside James Rhodes and Pepper Potts, attending his funeral with his aunt May.
The home media release of Far From Home features a short film titled Peter's To-Do List, which were scenes cut from the theatrical release.
Holland reprises his role in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), following Parker after his identity being exposed in Far From Home. The film deals with the concept of the Multiverse, allowing previous Spider-Man actors to reprise their roles such as Maguire and Garfield to their versions of the character, named "Peter-Two" and "Peter-Three" respectively to differentiate from Holland's Parker ("Peter-One"), ultimately appearing with Dafoe, Molina, Church, Ifans, and Foxx also reprising their roles of Osborn, Octavius, Marko, Connors, and Dillon from the Raimi and Amazing Spider-Man films.
Prior to No Way Home's release, Sony executive Amy Pascal stated in an interview with Fandango that a new trilogy of Spider-Man films was in development at Sony and Marvel Studios,[25] but Pascal and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige later clarified that while they planned to develop more Spider-Man films starring Holland, development was yet to begin.[26]
In Lego Marvel Spider-Man: Vexed by Venom, Spider-Man is voiced by Robbie Daymond.[4]
In Lego Marvel Avengers: Climate Conundrum, Spider-Man is voiced by Cole Howard.[4]
A main and Noir versions of Peter Parker / Spider-Man appear in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), produced by Sony Pictures Animation and directed by Bob Persichetti; respectively voiced by Jake Johnson and Nicolas Cage.[29]Chris Pine also voices a version of Peter Parker in the film that is similar to his Earth-1610 counterpart.[30] Johnson voices the main version in the sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023). Several alternate universe variations of the character appear, including the Spider-Man (1967) version (voiced by Jorma Taccone), Lego Spider-Man (voiced by Nic Noviki), The Spectacular Spider-Man version (voiced again by Josh Keaton), the Insomniac series' version (voiced again by Yuri Lowenthal), and the Earth-65 version (voiced by Jack Quaid), who became his universe's Lizard.[4]
Novels and books
Spider-Man features in three original Marvel novels published in the 1970s by Pocket Books -- Mayhem in Manhattan by Len Wein and Marv Wolfman, and Crime Campaign and Murder Moon, both by Paul Kupperberg.[31] In the 1990s, Byron Preiss published a series of novels based on Marvel Comics, edited by Keith R. A. DeCandido, and written by various authors including Adam-Troy Castro, Tom DeFalco, and Diane Duane; Preiss also published two Spider-Man short-story anthologies. Byron Preiss' license eventually lapsed, and the new licensee, Pocket Star (an imprint of Pocket Books), released Down These Mean Streets, by DeCandido, in 2005. In 2006, they released The Darkest Hours by Jim Butcher, and in 2007, Drowned in Thunder by Christopher L. Bennett. Some of the Preiss novels were team-ups with other Marvel characters (including the X-Men, Iron Man, and the Hulk), while others were solo adventures. The Byron Preiss novels shared a common continuity and occasionally referenced events in earlier novels, while later novels included a time-line.
A number of Spider-Man children's books have also been published, from early readers and picture books to novels. Guide books include DK Publishing's Spider-Man: The Ultimate Guide, by Tom DeFalco[32] and Spider-Man: Inside the World of Your Friendly Neighborhood Hero by Matthew K. Manning.[33]
Spider-Man met the Peanuts characters in two strips published in The Romita Legacy.[35] In one, Spider-Man webs up Lucy so Charlie Brown can kick the football while in the other he webs up Snoopy and spins him around as a prank.[36]
Radio
In 1995, BBC Radio commissioned a Spider-Man radio play which aired on BBC Radio 1 over 50 episodes on week days between January 15, 1996, and March 24, 1996. The performance was co-produced by Brian May, who also contributed to the musical arrangement and wrote and performed the theme tune.[37]
In 1987 Marvel staged a mock wedding at Shea Stadium as publicity stunt to promote the wedding issue of The Amazing Spider-Man.
A Spider-Man balloon appeared in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from 1987 to 1998. A newer version also appeared from 2009 to 2014. Spider-Man also appears as a costume character on the Disney Cruise Line float starting in 2022.
At the Butlins family entertainment resorts in the United Kingdom, a musical titled Spider-Man On Stage played in 1999. The show contained music by Henry Marsh and Phil Pickett and a book and lyrics by David H. Bell. The original cast album by Varios Records runs 44 minutes.
In 2002, the company 2MA produced the first live-action Spider-Man Stunt Show, Spider-Man Stunt Show: A Stunt Spectacular staged in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The same show played at Thorpe Park in Surrey, England in 2003 and 2004. Spider-Man has also made stage appearances in Pantomime at the Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre and the Churchill Theatre, Bromley, United Kingdom. In 2003 a similar stage show called Spider-Man Live! toured North America.
At Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles, a musical stage version (loosely based on the 2002 live-action film and based on the comics) titled Spider-Man Rocks! was produced, combined singing and action stunt sequences similar to a Broadway musical. The attraction ran from May 2002 to August 2004, when it was replaced by Fear Factor Live! Because it is loosely based on the 2002 film, Green Goblin is in a costume reminiscent of his comic book appearances rather than the film costume.
A Broadway musical titled Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark opened at the Foxwoods Theatre in New York on June 14, 2011. The show is directed by Julie Taymor and features music by Bono and The Edge. The production stars Reeve Carney, Jennifer Damiano, T.V. Carpio and Patrick Page.[38] The musical is the most expensive piece of live theatre to date,[39] and features high-flying action sequences and stunts. It holds the record for the most preview performances, with 182 before its opening.[39] In March of 2011, an Off-Broadway parody production entitled "Spidermusical" was performed for a week; it garnered favorable attention for being written and staged, all during Turn Off the Dark's troubled and highly publicized preview process.[40]
In 1990, The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin, developed and published by Sega, premiered on the Master System and was later ported to the Mega Drive/Genesis in 1991, the Game Gear in 1992, and the Mega-CD in 1993. Fundamentally, the game is the same on each platform with each iteration including new levels, enhanced graphics and a few incremental improvements to the game play. The story involves Spider-Man trying to collect six keys from six villains to defuse a bomb in New York planted by the Kingpin. Spider-Man has a finite supply of webfluid and the only way to replenish is to take photos, most profitably of the supervillains, to sell to the Daily Bugle.
As well as various games based on the Spider-Man license, Spider-Man has also appeared in a few cross-over titles. He appears as a guest character in X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2.
Spider-Man appears as a non-playable character in the 2003 game, X2: Wolverine's Revenge voiced again by an uncredited Rino Romano. In a deleted scene, Wolverine encounters Spider-Man off of his home turf. Spider-Man states that he heard about the big breakout at the Void and rode out to the town on the charter bus with the other superheroes who can't fly or teleport. When Spider-Man asks if Wolverine needs help fighting Magneto, Wolverine has him deal with the chaos in town until Damage Control arrives.
^Goodgion, Laurel F.; Varlejs, Jana, ed. (1978). Young Adult Literature in the Seventies: A Selection of Readings. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press. p. 348. ISBN 0-8108-1134-0. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ a bFickett, Travis; Goldman, Eric; Iverson, Dan; Zoromski, Brian (May 3, 2007). "Spider-Man on TV - We look back at the history of the web slinger on the small screen". IGN. Archived from the original on June 6, 2013. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
^ a bDavid, Peter; Greenberger, Robert (2010). The Spider-Man Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles Spun from Marvel's Web. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Running Press. pp. 168 and 170. ISBN 978-0762437726. In 1981, Spider-Man saw something of a banner year: he actually had competing animated series.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r"Spider-Man Voices". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved February 12, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
^Truitt, Brian (October 8, 2016). "Exclusive: New Spider-Man animated series coming in 2017". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022.
^""Jump Into Wow" This Summer on Disney Junior with "Marvel's Spidey and His Amazing Friends" and "Mickey Mouse Funhouse"" (Press release). Disney Channel. June 16, 2021 – via The Futon Critic.
^"'Spidey and his Amazing Friends' Swings Back for Season 3". www.marvel.com. December 5, 2023. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
^Lussier, Germain (July 8, 2021). "Marvel's Multiverse Expands in the First Trailer for What If?". io9. Archived from the original on July 8, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
^Moreau, Jordan (July 22, 2022). "'Marvel Zombies,' 'Spider-Man: Freshman Year,' 'What If?' Season 2 Get First Looks". Variety. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
^Jennings, Collier (May 2, 2024). "Each of Those Cameo Appearances in 'X-Men '97's Latest Episode, Explained". Collider. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
^Otterson, Joe (February 9, 2023). "Spider-Man Noir Live-Action Series in the Works at Amazon (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^Petski, Denise (May 14, 2024). "Spider-Man Noir Live-Action Series Gets Amazon Greenlight With Nicolas Cage To Star". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 14, 2024. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
^Sciretta, Peter (January 19, 2010). "Marc Webb To Direct New Spider-Man Trilogy!?". /Film. Archived from the original on May 18, 2011. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^"It's Official! Andrew Garfield to Play Spider-Man!". ComingSoon. July 1, 2010. Archived from the original on July 5, 2010. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^Lang, Brent (February 10, 2015). "Spider-Man: How Sony, Marvel Will Benefit from Unique Deal (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015.
^Ryan, Mark (June 27, 2017). "'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Director Jon Watts Explains Real Story Behind Peter Parker's 'Iron Man 2' Cameo". Uproxx. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^Bradley, Bill (June 26, 2017). "Tom Holland Confirms Popular Fan Theory: Spider-Man Was In Iron Man 2". HuffPost. Archived from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^Wilding, Josh (July 20, 2015). "Peyton Reed talks about that Spider-Man reference in Ant-Man". Spidermannews.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016.
^Perry, Spencer (June 23, 2015). "Tom Holland is the New Spider-Man and Will be Directed by Jon Watts!". SuperHeroHype. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021.
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^Couch, Aaron (February 10, 2017). "'Avengers: Infinity War' Featurette Shows Off First Footage From Set". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 9, 2016). "'Spider-Man: Homecoming 2' Shoots Web Around Independence Day 2019 Frame; 'Bad Boys 4' Moves To Memorial Day". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 15, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^"'Spider-Man: No Way Home' Producer Amy Pascal Reveals More About the Historic Film and Confirms Tom Holland's Future as Spider-Man". Fandango. November 29, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
^Barnes, Brooks (December 17, 2021). "Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal on the Future of 'Spider-Man' and the M.C.U." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
^Vary, Adam B. (October 2, 2021). "Does 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage' Reshape Sony's Marvel Universe? And More Burning Questions". Variety. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
^Grebey, James (February 14, 2024). "How Madame Web Connects to the Spider-Man Cinematic Multiverse". TIME. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
^Kit, Borys (June 22, 2016). "Sony Unveils Plans for Animated Spider-Man and Emoji Movie: Express Yourself". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^Schmidt, J.K. (November 29, 2018). "'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' Features Chris Pine in a Surprising Cameo". ComicBook. Archived from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^Saffel, Steve (2007). "A Novel Approach". Spider-Man the Icon: The Life and Times of a Pop Culture Phenomenon. London, United Kingdom: Titan Books. p. 98. ISBN 978-1-84576-324-4. Spider-Man led the way when Simon and Schuster published Mayhem in Manhattan by Len Wein and Marv Wolfman, under the Pocket Books imprint.
^Manning, Matthew K. (2012). Spider-Man: Inside the World of Your Friendly Neighborhood Hero. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. pp. 200. ISBN 978-0756690892.
^Saffel, "An Adventure Each Day", p. 116: "On Monday January 3, 1977, The Amazing Spider-Man comic strip made its debut in newspapers nationwide, reuniting writer Stan Lee and artist John Romita."
^Spurgeon, Tom; Cunningham, Brian (2011). The Romita Legacy. Mount Laurel, New Jersey: Dynamite Entertainment. ISBN 978-1933305271.
^Davis, Lauren (January 15, 2012). "Charlie Brown finally kicks the football, with a little help from Spider-Man". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on September 22, 2019. This epic crossover appears in the book The Romita Legacy, but no one seems to know anything more about the story behind it.
^Maggs, Dirk (2009). "The Amazing Spiderman". DirkMaggs. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
^Gans, Andrew (August 10, 2010). "Reeve Carney, Jennifer Damiano, Patrick Page to Star in Spider-Man; Performances Begin in November". Playbill. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^"Cheapo 'Spidermusical' Flies Higher Than Bono's Broadway Epic". Bloomberg.com. March 17, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
^"Character Reveals for Marvel Universe LIVE!". Marvel Comics. November 25, 2013. Archived from the original on June 23, 2016.
^"The Amazing Spider-Man". Moby Games. December 30, 2008. Archived from the original on December 21, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
^Dinh, Christine (March 28, 2018). "Marvel Strike Force Now Recruiting Heroes with Worldwide Launch". Marvel. Archived from the original on September 22, 2019.
^Glover, Erin (July 15, 2017). "Immersive Super Hero Experience Coming to Disney California Adventure Park". Disney Parks Blog.
^Glover, Erin (March 20, 2018). "Avengers and Other Super Heroes to Assemble in New Themed Areas at Disneyland Resort, Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland". Disney Parks Blog.
^Sims, Chris (June 22, 2012). "The Surprisingly Coherent Spider-Man Fan Film From 1969". ComicsAlliance. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. It's an 11-minute fan-film produced by Donald Glut in 1969, in which Spider-Man (played, of course, by Glut) battles against a supervillain called 'Dr. Lightning'.
^"Viva Spider-Man 1989". Fan Film Follies. May 17, 2013. Archived from the original on September 22, 2019.
External links
King Features: The Amazing Spider-Man (comic strip official site)