Multiversal Storytelling Has Turned Spider-Man Into Culture’s Most Indelible Character
You don’t have to care about comic books or superhero movies to know that Spider-Man is a popular character.
Since he debuted in 1962, Spidey has been one of Marvel’s most beloved heroes. Early on, part of that was attributable to the bright and bold costume, and the every-man nature of Peter Parker from day one. In his debut in Amazing Fantasy #15, Parker is as mild-mannered as they come. Far from amazing, spectacular, astonishing or any other adjective that would eventually go on to describe his alter ego.
But that debut also contained universal themes that resonate just as much today as they did over 60 years ago: A desire to deal with adolescent issues, overcome adversity, to do right by others, and wield any power one may have for the greater good.
Peter’s common appearance early on made readers feel like “anyone could be Spider-Man,” and that’s a big part of the appeal. But you could also argue that anyone was limited to straight white men that resembled Peter Parker until multiversal story-telling allowed comic book readers to see themselves depicted in those possibilities of the Spider-Man mythos.
[Sidenote: I’m not erasing Spider-Woman here, as much as just delineating that her origin differed in a way that removed the random circumstances of Spider-Man’s, and thus, was less related to that character.]
Miguel O’Hara was the first non-white Spider-Man when he debuted as Spider-Man 2099 in 1992. Korean-American character Cindy Moon (Silk) was introduced in 2014 as a spider-person bit by the same spider as Peter. There are a ton of other Spider characters that don’t fit the profile of Peter Parker, but at this point, the ones that have probably done the most to further the anyone-can-wear-the-mask idea on a larger scale are Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy.
Comics readers need no introduction to either but some brief background: Miles first appeared in Ultimate Fallout #4 and was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli partly as a response to the question “why can’t Spider-Man be Black?” posed by Donald Glover. The character’s popularity has soared since as he’s starred in numerous comic runs, two Spider-Verse movies and the current Disney pre-school show Spidey and His Amazing Friends. Importantly, he’s never positioned as the Black Spider-Man. But an equal Spider-Man among the multiverse of possibilities for the mantle, whose Black and Latino backgrounds help shape his unique iteration of the identity.
Gwen, meanwhile, is reintroduced not just as a female reworking of the original Spider-Man origin, but a “what if” come to life that rewrites a formative but ultimately unnecessary chapter of Peter Parker’s legacy as Spidey. Stacy’s death (in The Amazing Spider-Man #121) fridged a main character and removed all of her agency. Gwen’s Spider-Gwen/Ghost-Spider/Spider-Woman character re-imagines the character in a way that not only gives her that agency back, but puts her in the forefront with identical powers to Peter’s.
Again, comic book readers have understood this since these characters debuted. But Spider-Man’s ability to connect with everyone regardless of age, sex, race, religion, or experience with comics is a more recent phenomenon they’ve helped push via the Spider-Verse movies, where both play starring roles.
As a result of those films’ popularity, these characters have helped deliver the larger ideas of Spider-Man to non-comics audiences in a new way. And even more than the live-action movies, they’ve made Spider-Man a universal and tangible idea that belongs to everyone.
Admittedly, part of that comes from the fact that Disney’s marketing machine also churns out toys, games, books and other collateral around Spidey so that he’s inescapable. I’ll admit my own kids possess a ton of Spider-related items and that list grows by the month, of my own accord.
But even if it’s padding the bottom line of a mega corp., it’s interesting how much Spider-Man — more than any other superhero in today’s culture — is able to transcend the medium, the original character and more to relate to people in a way that permeates the larger culture today.
Not to drag DC into this, but you can’t say the same about Batman or Superman, who despite extended “families,” exist as monoliths onto themselves, birthed by circumstances that can’t really be replicated. Same with Marvel’s other notable heroes like Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Captain Marvel, etc. They’re good characters and unique stories. But they’re also not ones that feel as tangible, even if the realism of being bit by a radioactive spider (and living to tell about it) is dubious at best.
As multiversal story-telling appears everywhere today — including Best Picture winner Everything Everywhere All At Once — the Spider-Man character has continued to lean into those tropes and succeed on a larger scale than others due to how it’s embraced those elements. Now, Spider-Man has become more indelible than just about any character in fiction today. That’s pretty amazing to me, frankly, considering Spidey’s humble origins.
