“All right, let’s do this one last time. My name is Peter Parker. I was bitten by a radioactive spider, and for 10 years I’ve been the one and only Spider-Man.” The opening line, of one of the newest installments to the Spider-Man mythos, comes from the movie “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.”
Spider-Man, who was created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee, made his debut appearance in “Amazing Fantasy” 15#. Spider-Man, or Peter Parker, was Midtown High’s only professional wallflower. Ditko drew Parker in the early years as a young man about 15 years old. He is lean and wiry, not particularly muscular, has brown hair, wears glasses and looks geeky. Over the next few comic panels, we meet his beloved Uncle Ben and Aunt May, the only family that young Parker has. Spider-Man is created when Parker decides to attend a science exhibit on radioactivity, during which a radioactive spider appears and bites him. The mixture of the radiation and venom from the spider mutates his DNA granting him superpowers. Parker would find that he can now stick to walls, has super strength, heightened agility and a sixth sense called “spidey sense,” which acts as an early warning system when he is in danger. After learning of his new powers, Peter stumbles into a caged wrestling match offering a cash prize. Getting into the ring against a man twice his size, Peter easily defeats his opponent thanks to his newfound spidey powers. Following the fight, a T.V. producer approaches Peter and tells him what a big star he could be. With fortune and fame staring him in the face, Peter Parker went home and made himself a red and blue spider costume. He also engineered a pair of devices that could be worn on his wrists called web shooters. Finally dawning on his new costume, Parker realized he needed a name for this new persona: thus, Spider-Man was born.
Through the next panels, Spider-Man is seen filming his first T.V. special, where he shows off his web shooters and his ability to swing from the webs. As Parker leaves the set, a thief runs past with a security guard in pursuit, but Parker lets the crook escape. When questioned why Spider-Man didn’t stop the criminal he retorted with, “Sorry Pal! That’s your job! I’m thru being pushed around by anyone! From now on I just look out for number one that means me!” And with that, he heads home to Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Over a couple of days, Spider-Man’s fame and popularity grew immensely. One night, as Parker was returning from an appearance as Spider-Man, he saw a police car parked out in front of his home.
Upon entering the home, Parker is greeted by a sobbing Aunt May. The officer informs him that a burglar has broken into the home and killed his Uncle Ben. Hearing the news, Parker rushes off and changes into the Spider-Man costume, then heads to the warehouse where Ben’s killer had escaped to. As the fight between the killer and Spider-Man plays out, Spider-Man stops. He realizes that the crook that killed Uncle Ben is the same man that he let escape from the TV studio. Upon this realization, Spider-Man wraps the crook in his webbing and leaves him for the police to find. Now blaming himself for the death of his uncle, poor Peter Parker is left with guilt and a promise: “With great power comes great responsibility.”
This origin has been adapted to several different forms of media but remains mostly unchanged. Some versions may be darker and edgier but at the core, they all serve the same purpose, to explain why Peter Parker is Spider-Man and why he continues to be a hero, not because he wants to but because he has the responsibility to be one.
