46 Fun Facts About Hard Spider-Man

Amazing Fantasy #15 was cover-dated August, but on what date that year did it actually go on sale?

Amazing Fantasy #15 went on sale June 5, 1962, though cover-dated August; cover dates ran months ahead so unsold copies looked fresh on the newsstand longer.

Which Marvel publisher approved Spider-Man only because Amazing Fantasy was being cancelled?

Publisher Martin Goodman disliked the pitch, objecting that people hate spiders, but let Lee run it in Amazing Fantasy's final issue; strong sales led him to order an ongoing series.

Which artist drew the cover of Amazing Fantasy #15 after Stan Lee rejected Steve Ditko's version?

Kirby had also drawn a first attempt at the character that Lee rejected as too heroic. Ditko inked the cover Kirby pencilled.

Steve Ditko left The Amazing Spider-Man after which issue?

Ditko's last issue was The Amazing Spider-Man #38 (July 1966); by then he plotted the book himself and was not speaking to Lee. John Romita took over with #39 and unmasked the Green Goblin.

Which 1971 arc, run without the Comics Code seal, forced a revision of the Code's rules on drugs?

Amazing Spider-Man #96–98 (1971) ran Harry Osborn's drug addiction without the Comics Code seal, at the request of the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; the Code was revised soon after.

Who wrote The Amazing Spider-Man #121–122, the two-parter in which Gwen Stacy dies?

Gerry Conway wrote The Night Gwen Stacy Died in Amazing Spider-Man #121–122 (1973), with Gil Kane pencilling; the team first considered killing Aunt May before John Romita suggested Gwen.

Gil Kane's art in The Amazing Spider-Man #121 shows Gwen falling from which bridge, not the George Washington?

Kane drew the Brooklyn Bridge, with its stone Gothic towers, while the captions called it the George Washington Bridge; later reprints and retellings have gone back and forth between the two.

Which Spider-Man storyline crossed over all three Spider-Man titles in October and November 1987?

Kraven's Last Hunt ran across Web of Spider-Man, Amazing and Spectacular in late 1987: Kraven drugs and buries Spider-Man for two weeks and wears his costume; DeMatteis first pitched the idea for Wonder Man.

Which cannibalistic sewer monster does Spider-Man face after digging out of his 1987 grave?

Vermin, the rat-like cannibal DeMatteis and Mike Zeck created in Captain America #272, is loosed on a resurrected Spider-Man; Peter had needed Captain America's help to beat him before.

How much did Marvel pay fan Randy Schueller for the idea of Spider-Man's black costume?

Marvel paid Randy Schueller $220 for his black-costume idea after editor-in-chief Jim Shooter wrote to him in 1982; the suit debuted in Amazing Spider-Man #252 before Secret Wars #8 showed its origin.

Venom's first full appearance came in which issue of The Amazing Spider-Man?

Venom's first full appearance is The Amazing Spider-Man #300 (May 1988), after a last-page cameo in #299; Michelinie wanted a villain the spider-sense could not detect, since the symbiote knew Peter's signature.

In the comics, which newspaper did Eddie Brock report for before the symbiote found him?

Eddie Brock reported for the Daily Globe until his Sin-Eater scoop collapsed: the man he named, Emil Gregg, was a compulsive confessor, and Spider-Man caught the real killer, Stan Carter.

Which two creators are credited with Carnage, who first fully appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #361?

David Michelinie and Mark Bagley created Carnage, the symbiote spawn bonded to serial killer Cletus Kasady, as a darker Venom; Kasady debuted in Amazing Spider-Man #344 and Carnage fully in #361.

Todd McFarlane's Spider-Man #1 (1990) sold roughly how many copies, helped by multiple variant covers?

Two years later McFarlane co-founded Image Comics and launched Spawn #1, which sold 1.7 million, still a record for an independent comic as of 2007.

Under what name had Peter Parker's clone been living before he became the Scarlet Spider?

The clone lived as Ben Reilly, taking Uncle Ben's first name and Aunt May's maiden name, after leaving New York in 1975's Amazing Spider-Man #149; he returned as the Scarlet Spider in 1994.

The Jackal debuted in Amazing Spider-Man #129, but in which issue was he unmasked as Miles Warren?

The Jackal is unmasked as Professor Miles Warren in Amazing Spider-Man #148 (September 1975); Warren had appeared as Peter's Empire State University biology professor since #31.

Which Marvel villain murdered Richard and Mary Parker, according to The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5?

Peter's parents were spies who posed as traitors to infiltrate Albert Malik's organization in Algeria. Richard had been recruited by Nick Fury.

Which Babylon 5 creator became the main writer of The Amazing Spider-Man in the 2000s?

J. Michael Straczynski, creator of Babylon 5, wrote Amazing Spider-Man from 2001 to 2007, introducing Ezekiel and the spider-totem idea; he publicly disowned how One More Day was resolved.

How many issues did The Superior Spider-Man run before Amazing returned in 2014?

The Superior Spider-Man ran 31 issues from January 2013 to April 2014 after Amazing ended with #700; Otto gave the body back to Peter in its final issues to save Anna Maria Marconi.

Spider-Gwen's home reality, where Gwen Stacy was bitten instead of Peter, is designated what?

Spider-Gwen comes from Earth-65, introduced in Edge of Spider-Verse #2 (2014) by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez, where Gwen Stacy got the spider bite and Peter Parker died as the Lizard.

Miguel O'Hara, the Spider-Man of 2099, was created by Rick Leonardi and which writer?

Peter David co-created Miguel O'Hara with Rick Leonardi for Spider-Man 2099 #1 (1992); Miguel is an Irish-Mexican geneticist at Alchemax in Nueva York whose DNA is rewritten with spider code.

Why does Spider-Man 2099 wear that particular costume rather than a design of his own?

The costume, a Día de los Muertos outfit, was the only clothing Miguel owned made of unstable-molecule fabric, which his non-retractable finger and toe talons could not shred.

Miles Morales made his first appearance in which 2011 comic?

Miles Morales debuted in Ultimate Fallout #4 (August 2011), after the Ultimate Peter Parker's death; Bendis said Donald Glover in Spider-Man pyjamas on Community was part of the inspiration.

Which two abilities does Miles Morales have that Peter Parker lacks?

Miles can turn invisible through camouflage and deliver a paralysing 'venom strike' by touch, powers Peter never had; Bendis introduced both in his first Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man arc.

Bendis and Mark Bagley's run on Ultimate Spider-Man broke a Marvel record previously held by whom?

Bendis and Bagley's 111 consecutive issues beat the 102 that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby produced together on Fantastic Four, the longest unbroken run by one creative team on a Marvel title.

In the Ultimate universe, the spider that bit Peter had been exposed to what substance?

The spider carried the OZ compound, Norman Osborn's super-soldier formula; the same drug made Osborn the Ultimate Green Goblin and later explained how Peter survived his apparent death.

Spider-Man Noir, created by David Hine and Fabrice Sapolsky, operates in New York during which era?

Spider-Man Noir is set in 1933, in the depths of the Great Depression; the 2009 miniseries by Hine and Sapolsky touched on lynching, fascism and New Deal-era agitation.

Spider-Punk, the Spider-Man of Earth-138, is an alternate version of which existing Marvel character?

Spider-Punk is Hobie Brown, who on Earth-616 is the Prowler; Dan Slott and Olivier Coipel introduced him in Amazing Spider-Man vol. 3 #10 (January 2015).

Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham, first appeared in a 1983 one-shot titled what?

Spider-Ham debuted in Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham (November 1983), alongside Captain Americat and Hulk-Bunny; his 1985 ongoing ran under the Star Comics imprint.

In Spider-Man: Blue, Peter recounts his romance with Gwen Stacy into a tape recorder on which day?

In Spider-Man: Blue (2002), Peter speaks his memories of Gwen into a tape recorder on Valentine's Day; Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale also made Daredevil: Yellow, Hulk: Gray and Captain America: White.

Marv Wolfman originally conceived the Black Cat as a foil for which heroine?

Wolfman dreamed up the Black Cat while writing Spider-Woman, as a foil for Jessica Drew, before debuting her in Amazing Spider-Man #194 (1979); he modelled her on Tex Avery's 'Bad Luck Blackie'.

Who funded the experiment that turned Mac Gargan into the Scorpion?

Jameson had hired Gargan as a private investigator to find out how Peter Parker got his photos. The Scorpion then went after Jameson too.

Adrian Toomes, the Vulture, first appeared in which issue of The Amazing Spider-Man?

Adrian Toomes debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #2 (May 1963), following the Chameleon in #1; he was a founding member of the Sinister Six, and Michael Keaton played him in Homecoming.

Besides the Sinister Six, which villain team did the Sandman co-found to fight Reed Richards' family?

Sandman co-founded the Frightful Four with the Wizard, Paste-Pot Pete and Medusa in Fantastic Four #36 (1965), crashing Reed and Sue's engagement party; he was later briefly an Avengers reservist.

Marvel Team-Up ran from 1972 to 1985 and was replaced by which title?

Marvel Team-Up ended with #150 in February 1985 and was replaced by Web of Spider-Man, launched that April; the Human Torch co-starred in the first three issues before the slot rotated.

In the 1978 Toei live-action Spider-Man series, what was the name of the giant robot Spider-Man summoned?

It transformed from the Marveller spaceship. Toei reused the giant-robot idea in Super Sentai, which became Power Rangers in the West.

Which animator produced the cheaper later seasons of the 1967 Spider-Man cartoon, reusing Rocket Robin Hood footage?

Ralph Bakshi, for Krantz Films, produced the cheaper second and third seasons after Grantray-Lawrence went bankrupt, recycling Rocket Robin Hood footage and swapping comic villains for generic monsters.

Which actor played Spider-Man in the 1977 CBS TV movie and the live-action series that followed?

Nicholas Hammond played Peter Parker in the 1977 CBS TV movie and the series The Amazing Spider-Man that ran from 1978 to 1979; Danny Seagren had played the character on The Electric Company.

Before Sony, which production company bought the Spider-Man film rights for $225,000 in 1985?

The Cannon Group of Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus bought the rights for $225,000 in 1985; Golan imagined a monster like the Wolf Man, Tobe Hooper was attached, and Tom Cruise was considered.

Sam Raimi's 2002 Spider-Man was the earliest film ever to do what at the box office?

Spider-Man opened to $114.8 million in May 2002, the first film to gross $100 million in a single weekend; a teaser with a helicopter webbed between the Twin Towers was pulled after 9/11.

Which Pulitzer-winning novelist was hired to rewrite Spider-Man 2, only for Sony to reject his take?

Raimi and Alvin Sargent cherry-picked from the Gough, Millar, Koepp and Chabon drafts. The film went on to win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.

How many preview performances did Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark give before its June 2011 opening?

Turn Off the Dark played a record 182 previews before opening on June 14, 2011; its $75 million budget made it the most expensive Broadway production at the time, and it closed in January 2014.

Who voices Peter Parker in Insomniac's Marvel's Spider-Man games?

Yuri Lowenthal voices Peter Parker in Insomniac's Marvel's Spider-Man (2018) and its sequels; Nadji Jeter voices Miles Morales, while Josh Keaton and Christopher Daniel Barnes voiced Peter in earlier cartoons.

In Into the Spider-Verse, Kingpin builds a collider hoping to retrieve alternate versions of whom?

Kingpin builds the collider to pull a living Vanessa and Richard, his late wife and son, from another dimension; they died fleeing after seeing him fight Spider-Man, for which he blames Peter.

In Insomniac's 2018 Marvel's Spider-Man, what is the lethal Oscorp bioweapon that Mister Negative steals?

Devil's Breath, Oscorp's lethal GR-27 bioweapon, is stolen by Mister Negative, and the Sinister Six later release it over the city, infecting Aunt May among many others.

What subtitle did the extended cut of Spider-Man: No Way Home carry when it hit cinemas in September 2022?

The re-release was billed as Spider-Man: No Way Home — The More Fun Stuff Version, adding about 11 minutes; the original run, at over $1.9 billion, was 2021's top grosser and earned a VFX Oscar nomination.