Spider-Man is the superhero that is colloquially called the Friendly Neighbourhood vigilante. Part of his never-ending charm is that he is always a relatable guy. Peter Parker is broke, does not have a rich and happening life nor is he a national icon or celebrity. Unlike other superheroes, Peter Parker aka Spider-Man’s life is different in the sense that it is way more coincidental with a normal person’s life than the other vigilantes. Spider-Man is uni8que that way. But all that charm holds no weight when you dig a little deeper into Spider-Man’s history. As longstanding a character as he is, Spider-Man is not without chinks in his armor. Presenting – 10 weird facts about Spider-Man Marvel tried extremely hard to hide from you!!
10. The Radioactive Spider is not the reason for his powers!!
Peter Parker became Spider-Man after an irradiated spider caught in an earlier experiment gone wrong bit him before dying. The resulting bite introduced a radioactive poison into Spider-Man’s body that has him spider-like physiology and superpowers. But recently, it was revealed that Spider-Man was destined to become a superhero because it was fate, not due to the radioactive spider. Ezekiel, who also possessed powers similar to Spider-Man and was effectively immortal, claims that Peter Parker was bitten by a spider that was already a mystical Spider Totem, and he is destined to fight other villains with similar animal themed powers – Doctor Octopus, Scorpion, Rhino, etc. Ezekiel reveals that Spider Totems exist everywhere, even in other universes and that there is an extremely powerful super villain called Morlun, who is a natural predator of these totems.
9. He has done a deal with the Devil
Marvel’s equivalent of the King of Hell is the Demon Mephisto. This is the same guy that is responsible for Johnny Blaze becoming the Ghost Rider. Mephisto likes to see other people suffer. That is how he gets his kick out of his sad little life. After Peter Parker reveals his secret identity to the whole world in Civil War, King Pin hires a hit-man to assassinate him. The one who ends up dying is Aunt May. After her death, Peter summons Mephisto and agrees to do a deal with him. In exchange for Peter Parker getting back Aunt May and erasing the secret identity of Spider-Man from everyone’s minds, Peter’s marriage with Mary Jane will also go down the drain. Peter accepts. This storyline titled – “One More Day”, is one of the most highly controversial arcs in Marvel Comics.
8. He is a damn good womanizer
For a guy who never gets the girl, Spider-Man sure does end up getting some. Spider-Man’s most well-known romantic flames are Mary Jane, Gwen Stacy, and Liz Allen. But there were several other lesser known flames that keep escaping the fans’ attention. There was Betty Brant, Peter Parker’s Boss’ secretary. Then there was also Felicia Hardy aka Black Cat. That did not end well for either of the two. Carlie Cooper was another one of his longstanding relationships. They are not together anymore but still remain, good friends, even though Carlie knows Peter is actually Spider-Man. We are not even including the co-eds from Empire State University and his roommate’s sister in this list.
7. Peter Parker was a clone all along
The 1990s were a strange time to be in if you were a comic book fan. Peter Parker reveals himself to be a clone that was created by one of Peter’s mad professor colleagues. That Clone later ended up dying and appeared later as the Scarlet Spider. Peter Parker is again revealed to be a clone in yet another storyline and after the revelation, the first thing he decides to do is sleep with Mary Jane and impregnates her with his child. That is later revealed to be Green Goblin’s doing. The entire Peter Parker being a Clone story is so fishy that Marvel does not even mention it nowadays.
6. He cannot have sex
We mean it is not like he is not capable of it. This is to warn the women who are in love with this guy and would do anything for him. Peter Parker, after being mutated due to injection of poison from a radioactive spider, became a superhero. But everything comes at a price. Peter’s price to become Spider-Man was that his entire body is now radioactive. Any part of his body, or any fluid coming out of him, if is exposed for too long to another person, will end up killing the latter. That is what happened to Mary Jane in the future timeline. She died after sleeping with Peter Parker whose radioactive Sperm gave her uterine cancer.
5. He is not as much as of a lone wolf as people believe him to be
It is a well-established fact that Spider-Man likes working alone. It has been the norm for the wall-crawler ever since his debut back several decades ago. But Peter Parker has been in more superhero teams than the average superhero has been. He was part of the Fantastic Four. He even joined a New Fantastic Four team with the Incredible Hulk, Wolverine, and Ghost Rider. He was also a part of the X-Men, where he taught mutants how to develop a superhero moral compass. He was also a part of The Outlaws and even the New Warriors. Spider-Man says it out loud that he is a loner. He likes to be anything but.
4. The ballad of Superior Spider-Man
Doctor Octopus is one of Spider-Man’s greatest arch-nemesis. He once grew so jealous of the neighborhood vigilante that he decided that he would replace his mind onto Spider-Man’s body and show the world that he could do a better job. He managed to do just that. After taking over Spider-Man’s body and calling himself the Superior Spider-Man, Doc Oc completed Peter Parker’s Ph.D., graduated with honors and even started his own company, which soon became a success and turned Peter Parker into a millionaire. Superior Spider-Man also used overly violent tactics to deal with criminals, which was why he ended up on the wrong side of the Avengers and the X-Men. After Green Goblin threatened to destroy all of Doctor Octopus’ original creations, Doc Oc left Peter Parker’s body and Spider-Man was himself again. The ballad of Superior Spider-Man lasted for over a year.
3. His death shook the entire world
In the Ultimates Universe, Spider-Man is a teenager trying to make a difference. In this universe, Spider-Man is mentored by several popular superheroes from the Avengers like Iron Man and Captain America, just like in the MCU (which heavily borrows from the concepts of the Ultimates Universe). After one final battle with the Green Goblin, Spider-Man manages to defeat the villain but finally succumbs to his wounds. His identity is revealed to the whole world. While Iron Man is driving a grieving Aunt May to the funeral, she expects a small gathering to mourn his loss. When she gets out of the car, she sees the entire city of New York gathered to mourn besides her for her loss.
2. He is not always a journalist
Peter Parker is always seen as the underpaid Photographer that provides J. Jonah Jameson with Spider-Man pictures and is paid pennies for it. But Spider-Man is not always a journalist. He has had other, even more, prestigious professions. He was once a research scientist at Horizon Labs. He was also a science teacher at a high school once. After Doctor Octopus took over his body, Superior Spider-Man even became a millionaire by starting his own company. While not always mentioned, Peter’s resume boasts of a lot of experience in the most diverse of domains and areas.
1. He is definitely Jewish
For their part, Marvel has never revealed the religious orientation of Peter Parker, strictly keeping him a blank character in this regard. The idea was to ensure he is relatable to every child reading it, no matter his or her religion. But several facts point to the contrary. Spider-Man just might be Jewish. Spider-Man’s storylines are always written by Jewish writers. Avi Arad, the creator of The Avengers, claims that Stan Lee voluntarily inserted Jewish concepts into Peter Parker’s character development arc after the writer drew upon his own real-life experiences. Andrew Garfield, who played Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2, claims that Peter Parker’s greatest fear of being the Prodigal Son, who is never good enough, is one of the Jewish Culture’s central tenets!
