Alternative versions of Spider-Man

Alternate versions of Spider-Man
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962)
Created by	Stan Lee Steve Ditko
See also	Spider-Man in other media Spider-Man video games Spider-Man television series

In addition to his mainstream incarnation and series, Spider-Man has been depicted in other fictional universes.

Alternative continuities

Other related characters exist in alternative versions of the Marvel Universe. These include:

Age of Apocalypse

In the "Age of Apocalypse", Peter Parker is executed by Apocalypse's regime simply because he is a potential ally for rebel Gwen Stacy.

Amalgam Comics

In the Amalgam Comics continuity, Spider-Man was combined with DC's Superboy to create Spider-Boy. He was featured in Spider-Boy #1 (April 1996) and Spider-Boy Team-Up #1 (June 1997). In this continuity, Spider-Boy is the clone of researcher Peter Parker, created during an explosion in the Project Cadmus Labs. Adopted by Cadmus director General Thunderbolt Ross, he is give the name "Pete Ross". Spider-Boy's power is the ability to redirect his own personal gravity, giving him the ability to climb walls, and to increase his strength. He is able to shoot webs using a special "Web Gun" developed by Cadmus. Spider-Boy is an honorary member of the Legion of Galactic Guardians 2099 (an amalgamation of DC's Legion of Superheroes and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy plus the Marvel 2099 timeline).

Avataars: Covenant of the Shield

Main article: Avataars: Covenant of the Shield

On the sword and sorcery alternative Earth called Eurth The Webslinger is the alternative version of Spider-Man that helps Captain Avalon rescue his son from the Dreadlord.

Counter-Earth

Peter Parker's counterpart on Counter-Earth is mentioned as having "died from radioactive over-exposure".

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe

In the limited series Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Spider-Man is killed by Deadpool in a fight which ends when Deadpool shoots him in the head.

Earth X

In the series Earth X and its sequels, Peter Parker is no longer a superhero and during the course of the series becomes a police officer. Three other related characters appear:

• The Spiders Man is an enigmatic character who makes illusions using webs that come from his sleeves. He has lumpy red skin that resembles Spider-Man's costume, and wears a tattered cloak.
• Two alternative versions of Spider-Girl appear: one is called Venom and the other was raised by Ben Reilly.

Elseworlds

In the intercompany crossovers called "Elseworlds", Spider-Man has worked alongside Superman twice, once to defeat Dr. Octopus and Lex Luthor and the other to stop Doctor Doom from providing the Parasite with long-term access to the power of the Hulk and Wonder Woman. He also worked alongside Batman to defeat Carnage and the Joker, the two later collaborating to defeat the Kingpin and Ra's al Ghul, with Fisk eventually aiding the heroes in the end. The Ben Reilly Spider-Man participated in Marvel vs. DC, where he faced Superboy and won.

Exiles

In the series Exiles, which involves inter-dimensional travel, several alternative versions appear:

• The Spider is an alternative version of Spider-Man who merged with the Carnage-symbiote and has become a psychopathic killer. Before being displaced in time, he had been on death row in his home reality. He originates from Earth-15 and was a member of Weapon X.
• Mary Jane Watson, a.k.a. Spider-Woman, is part of a resistance against the techno-organic virus and heroes infected with it, including that world's Spider-Man. Mary Jane is also portrayed as a lesbian in issue #34.
• A Spider-Man who is a member of the Fantastic Five dies in a battle against The Spider.
• A version of Spider-Man 2099 joins the Exiles when his identity is made public.
• A Peter Parker is part of a mutant super hero team, Force-X, led by Emma Frost. His codename is "Spider". His outfit is the standard Force-X uniform and he wears goggles instead of a mask. Also, his webbing is organic.
• A version of Peter Parker exists, who is a child abused by his Uncle Ben. While locked in the cellar he is befriended by a large spider-like creature, the Tallus instructs Blink and Nocturne to lead this universes incarnation of Wolverine to the run down shack the Parkers call home, a fight ensues and the creature and Wolverine are both slain, as Blink and Nocturne depart this reality it is shown that the creature bit the young Peter.
• Morph fought a Demon Spider-Man on an alternative world. Later, the Demon Spider-Man was viewed briefly by Mojo and Major Domo as it attacked a young couple in a parking complex, but Spider-Man killed himself.

House of M

In the "House of M", a Marvel crossover, the Scarlet Witch alters reality to make mutants the ruling class over humans. This world is ruled by mutants and their leader, Magneto. In the mini-series Spider-Man: House of M, Peter Parker is believed to be a mutant, and Spider-Man's identity is widely known. He is rich, famous and married to Gwen Stacy, and they have a young son named Ritchie. Aunt May and Uncle Ben are alive and in good health, and J. Jonah Jameson is Peter's often-abused publicist. Unfortunately, his life unravels when Jameson reveals to the world that Spider-Man is not a born mutant. After the world is restored to normal, Peter suffers terribly with the memory of the life he left behind, expressing a desire to kill Magneto, whom he mistakenly believes was behind the events of House of M, and the Scarlet Witch, whose powers were responsible for the altered reality.

Killraven

In the Earth-691 continuity Spider-Man is a time-traveler who aids Killraven in fighting a second invasion by the Martians from H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, during which he is killed.

The Manga

Main article: Spider-Man: The Manga

Spider-Man: The Manga is a Japanese manga illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami which retold the story of Spider-Man in a Japanese setting. It was originally published in Japan from January 1970 to September 1971 in Monthly Shōnen Magazine. The main character is named Yu Komori (小森ユウ, Komori Yū) to maintain the Japanese adaptation.

Marvel Mangaverse

Main article: Marvel Mangaverse

In the Marvel Mangaverse Spider-Man is a ninja and a member of the Spider Clan. He takes revenge on the evil Ronin Venom for the murder of his sensei, Uncle Ben. He later trains Mary Jane Watson to become a ninja Spider-Woman. He and Mary Jane are among the last surviving heroes at the end of the series.

Marvel Adventures

This version of Spider-Man first appeared in Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #53-#61 before appearing in the re-titled Spider-Man: Marvel Adventures comic book series. A modern-day high school student, this Spider-Man's origin is similar to his mainstream counterpart, but his supporting cast is significantly different. Although Gwen Stacy exists in this universe, she and Peter are not dating—instead Peter is dating a brand-new character named Sophia "Chat" Sanduval, who is a mutant with the ability to talk to animals. Peter's relationship with Gwen's father Captain George Stacy also differs from the original version—here, Captain Stacy discovers Peter's secret identity early on, yet rather than hide this information from Peter (as his mainstream counterpart did), he confides in Peter and becomes Spider-Man's unofficial police contact. While this Spider-Man battles super villains, he is generally more concerned with combating street-level crime and focuses heavily on taking down the Torino Family, a powerful New York City mob.

Marvel Comics 2

An alternative version of Peter Parker also exists in the Marvel Comics 2 (MC2) universe, appearing as a supporting character in Spider-Girl.

The title follows almost the entire original timeline of the character up until the first attempt at a "relaunch" by the company, 1999, where it deviates and provides an alternative ending to the Final Chapter storyline. Peter's wayward daughter May is revealed to be alive and well, and is returned to both Parkers by Peter's first clone, the redeemed Kaine. Despite now being a father, Peter continues to fight crime as Spider-Man, and begins to cope with the new responsibilities brought by his baby daughter.

Two years later, during his final battle against the Green Goblin, rather than survive unscathed, Peter loses a leg to his arch-enemy and Osborn is killed. Peter finally realizes the price he has paid for being Spider-Man, and ends his career to raise a family with Mary Jane and May. Over the years, he overcomes his physical handicap and ultimately joins the NYPD in a scientific capacity. However, after saving him from an insane Normie Osborn, his daughter May "Mayday" Parker begins a career as Spider-Girl behind his back, a decision Peter begrudgingly is forced to accept and deal with, made difficult by his love for May.

Regardless of his handicap, Peter returned to the role of Spider-Man several times. Once was to aid his daughter and Darkdevil, the son of Ben Reilly, against Kaine, another to convince the latest Spider-Man (the son of Jessica Drew), to cease risking his life, and in the 100th issue of the Spider-Girl title to save May from the Hobgoblin. Peter and MJ ultimately have a second child, Benjamin "Benjy" Parker Jr, who is temporarily rendered deaf after possession by the Carnage symbiote and being blasted with high-frequency sonics. Benjy later develops powers of his own at an infant age.

Spider-Girl

Main article: Spider-Girl

The Spider-Girl comic book series, originally published under the MC2 imprint, features May "Mayday" Parker, Peter's daughter in an alternative continuity. This timeline diverged from regular continuity when Peter and Mary Jane's daughter is returned to them by Kaine. In Spider-Girl, Peter has been retired from crime fighting since his final battle with the Green Goblin, which cost him a leg. Peter has settled down to family life and works for the New York City Police Department as a forensic scientist. His teen daughter May follows in his footsteps against his wishes, but Peter eventually helps her train for her calling. Peter appears in costume several times in Spider-Girl, either to restrain and protect May, or to assist her. Peter is among the superheroes kidnapped by Loki in the spin-off Last Hero Standing.

In the recent Spider-Girl storyline "Brand New May", Peter has uncovered a lab, within it is a stasis tank containing an exact physical duplicate of Mayday Parker, with notes left behind by Norman Osborn suggesting she is the real Mayday, and not a clone. When protecting his nephew Normie from an exploding test tube, Peter is affected by the serum within much like Osborn was...and begins to develop erratic behavior.

Spider-Man (Gerry Drew)

Further reading Spider-Man at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)

In the same MC2 continuity as Spider-Girl, Gerald "Gerry" Drew, the son of Jessica Drew, inherits spider-powers and poses as Spider-Man. Created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, he first appeared in Spider-Girl #32 (May 2001), and is a supporting character of Spider-Girl.

Within the context of the stories, Jessica Drew, the original Spider-Woman, had retired from super heroics, and gotten married. She gives birth to a baby boy, Gerry, who was diagnosed with a strange blood-borne disorder due to radiation exposure in the womb. With doctors and medicines unable to help her son, Jessica recreates the experiment that cured her of her radiation poisoning, the experiment that made her Spider-Woman. The experiment imbues Gerry with spider-like powers, but didn't cure him. Gerry's illness strains his parents' marriage and leads to their divorce. Feeling responsible for the break-up, Gerry becomes withdrawn. Jessica tries to alleviate his pain by telling him stories from her past, his favorites involving Spider-Man.

Determined to make his short time on Earth count, Gerry designs his own Spider-Man costume and convinces his mother to train him in how to use his powers. Calling himself Spider-Man, he meets Spider-Girl, and the two initially clash. During a fight between several villains, a bullet intended for Spider-Man kills one of the villains when Spider-Girl shoves him out of its way. Upset that he was responsible for a death, Gerry runs into Darkdevil, who trains him to be a more effective crime fighter. At the request of Peter Parker, the original Spider-Man, Gerry decides to retire from super heroic adventuring while Reed Richards searches for a cure for his blood disease.

Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects

In the Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects series, set in Earth-50701, Spider-Man was abducted by an alien scientist name Doctor Niles Van Roekel. The Thing, Wolverine, Elektra, Human Torch, and Storm are also abducted and injected with a drug in an attempt to corrupt them. Once infected Spider-Man's costume is brown-and-bronze with a blue spider mark in his chest. Spider-Man and the other heroes are eventually able to fight off the corrupting infection and defeat Van Roekel. In the aftermath of the invasion, Paragon and the Imperfects join together to share the Earth with the heroes.

Marvel Universe vs. The Punisher

A pathogen named Survivor 118 is accidentally released by The Punisher in an ambush on the Russian Mafia. The chemical was meant to be a fail-safe if the Earth underwent some sort of apocalypse by transforming humans into adaptable people that can eat anything. After the virus is released, Spider-Man is the first to show symptoms when he fights and eats The Rhino on live television, claiming the Rhino as his "meat". Spider-Man is detained and renamed Patient Zero. Soon, more and more heroes and villains became cannibalistic and homicidal as the world becomes a dystopia. Patient Zero is one of the many infected that starts their own tribe. He calls upon the help of The Punisher to rescue his mate, Mary Jane Watson, in exchange for uninfected survivors. The Punisher succeeds, but kills Patient Zero.

Marvel Zombies

Often within the Marvel Zombies universe, it features a zombified Spider-Man who has been turned, along with all other heroes in the Marvel Universe, into a flesh-eating zombie. He is actually infected by Zombie Captain America (actually known as "Colonel America") rather namely in the first issue of Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness, when the infected ex-president bites him on the shoulder, leaving a wound. Although Spider-Man is just as ravenous, cannabalistic and disgusting as the other zombies when hungry, when he has eaten, Spider-Man is constantly racked with guilt at what he has done, agonizing over having eaten Mary Jane and Aunt May, but unable to change his nature. At the conclusion of the storyline, Spider-Man is one of the few heroes who become The Galactus, having consumed the original Galactus and subsequently acquiring his cosmic powers. Later, the Marvel Zombies attack a Skrull planet, only to encounter the new Fantastic Four of the core "616" reality — then consisting of Black Panther, Storm, the Thing and the Human Torch- leaving the Zombies eager to capture the FF and transport back to their reality, although the FF manage to escape.

In Marvel Zombies 2, he is seen with a new cyborg lower leg as well as having his mask repaired as he is seen with it covering his face once again. He has noticed that his hunger is starting to fade, and, as a result, is the first of the Galactus to turn against his fellow zombies, plus Luke Cage joining him as the two confront Wolverine, Hulk, Iron Man, and the other infected. Eventually with the aid of Forge, Malcom, and the Acolytes, the zombies retaining their hunger are defeated, and many of them are violently killed by an infected Hulk, in the process. Spider-Man is one of the zombies that remain after having killed the Hulk with his cosmic powers, and continue to rebuild New Wakanda, and bury the dead.

Having mastered his hunger, Spider-Man is teleported to a new world, where he consumes and infects the Sinister Six except for Sandman who ran away, however, as his cosmic abilities did not come with him, and his webshooters have somehow dried up, the zombified superhero is forced to make do with his own veins and arteries, a process which he finds to be quite painful, though it is commonly known that these Zombies do not feel pain at all. Following the death of the Spider-Man of this universe- killed by Sandman in revenge for the deaths of the Sinister Six after zombie Spider-Man reverted to type and tore the rest of the Six apart after they killed his other self's family- the zombie Spider-Man works on developing a cure for the plague with the aid of the Kitty Pryde of this universe- on the grounds that her powers mean that she would be at no risk from him if he loses control- using nanites and the blood of this world's Wolverine. With the zombie Giant-Man having followed Spider-Man to this new reality — having already infected the Inhumans (comics), the Hulk, and the Sentry, Spider-Man resolves to stop Giant-Man.

Spider-Man managed to get the Earth-Z infected Wolverine, the Hulk, & the half cybernectic Rhodey- the last now living Iron Man with cybernetic limbs, having cut off his infected body parts to escape being turned into a zombie- and dubbed themselves as the New Avengers as they confront Giant-Man with the infected Quicksilver, Thundra, Sentry, Moon Knight, Super Skrull, Quasar and others to which they are responsible for killing Loki, Hawkeye, Captain America, Thor, and other deceased characters listed and shown. Determined to end the zombie plague forever, Spider-Man ordered the team to destroy the canister he was carrying, which released the Sandman, now infused with nanobites, and wiped out every zombie hero and villain. (Giant-Man was destroyed by Sandman) And afterwards, the Zombie Spider-Man thanked Sandman and commented that his Aunt May and Mary Jane were avenged. He died from being exposed to his own weapon, which happened to be Sandman.

Mutant X

The Mutant X version of Spider-Man diverges from his mainstream counterpart in Amazing Spider-Man #102, in that he was unable or unwilling to cure himself of having six arms. For unexplained reasons, he reverses his name to Man-Spider. A third divergence occurs when he and his clone continue to coexist after the end of the original Clone Saga. The two keep this a secret by taking care to never appear in public at the same time, but "Man-Spider" is forced to admit the truth after his clone is killed by Madelyne Pryor. He himself is later killed.

Newspaper strip

The Peter Parker of the daily Spider-Man newspaper strip continues his career as a struggling photographer constantly facing down the abuse of his less-than-satisfied boss J. Jonah Jameson, whilst battling crime in his disguise as Spider-Man. In addition to opposing classic enemies, much of the strip sees Peter battle new enemies. He has also teamed up with various heroes through the strip's run, such as Daredevil and Wolverine. He is married to Mary Jane in this continuity, and has often been aided by her in his battles with his enemies. This universe was visited by Morlun during the Spider-Verse event, but due to time distortions constantly resetting things so that the simplest actions take weeks to progress, Morlun finds his efforts to consume this version of Peter fruitless. The Master Weaver of the Inheritors elects to rebel against his masters for once and seals this universe away in a pocket dimension where it will remain safe from any further attacks.

Pestilence

Deadpool encounters a version of Spider-Man in a universe which he refers to as "an Age of Apocalypse" (not the Age of Apocalypse). This alternative version of Spider-Man is Pestilence, a Horseman of Apocalypse. He has six arms, poisonous fangs, and engages in cannibalism.

Powerless

Marvel published a limited series called Powerless in 2004, which tells how the Marvel Universe would be without super-powers. In this series, Peter Parker appears as a young man nicknamed Spider-Man on the internet. This version had also been bitten by a radioactive spider, but instead of getting super-powers his hand became atrophic. In this continuity Peter is in love with Gwen Stacy; Mary Jane is not featured.

Ruins

Warren Ellis's parody of Kurt Busiek's Marvels, Ruins, was a two-part miniseries set in an alternative universe where the situations that led to the heroes of the Marvel Universe gaining superpowers instead led to the more realistic side effects of horrific deformities and deaths. In this world, when Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider, instead of gaining powers, he broke out into an infectious rash that covered his body before his painful death. He had visited the offices of the Daily Bugle beforehand and infected fellow photographer Phil Sheldon, who set off to figure out how his world took a wrong turn, but succumbed to the disease before he could write his book.

Spectacular Spider-Man Adventures

Main article: Spectacular Spider-Man Adventures

The United Kingdom based Panini Comics publication Spectacular Spider-Man Adventures was loosely based on the continuity of the 1990s animated series. In the series Peter Parker deals with the day-to-day headaches of balancing a social life with his super-heroics. He has a close circle of friends such as Liz Allen, Harry Osborn, and Flash Thompson, and he is involved in a relationship with Mary Jane. However, in this continuity, Mary Jane does not possess an existing knowledge of his dual identity, and thus Peter finds juggling his life with her and his crime-fighting career difficult. Despite this, Mary Jane loyally supports Peter, believing it is his dangerous job as a photographer that keeps him away from dates and other activities. A look into the future reveals Peter and MJ ultimately get married in this continuity, and have a daughter, May, who is active as Spider-Girl. At some point in this future, Peter loses his leg, which forces him to retire as Spider-Man.

Spider-Man 1602

Peter Parquagh is a counterpart to Peter in the miniseries Marvel 1602, albeit without powers. In the series he acts as an apprentice to the royal spymaster Sir Nicholas Fury. A running gag involves Peter repeatedly almost getting bitten by unusual spiders, something that finally occurs at the very end. In the sequel, 1602: New World, he takes the identity of the Spider. Later, Peter's dual identity is revealed, and with the death of his beloved Virginia Dare at the hands of Norman Osborne, he returns to Europe. While in the Globe theatre, he is attacked and killed by the super villain Morlun. Spider-Man 1602 appears in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions as an alternative costume for Spider-Man Noir, and in Edge of Time as a costume for Miguel O'Hara.

Spider-Man 2099

Main article: Spider-Man 2099

A geneticist named Miguel O'Hara gained his spider-like powers from a gene-splicing incident, when the company he was about to quit injected him with a dangerous drug called Rapture. He tried to rid himself of the drug by using the Gene Slicer he helped to invent, but unbeknownst to him a jealous co-worker had set it to repeat the previous experiment of a spider. The last time they had tried this experiment it killed the test subject (the main reason Miguel O'Hara quit), but this time it worked. Instead of becoming a company owned version of Spider-Man he became the opposite, a Spider-Man to fight Alchemax and the other large corporations ruling the world in 2099. He now fights crime as the Spider-Man of 2099.

He is a playable character in the video games Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions and Spider-Man: Edge of Time, with Edge of Time seeing him pitted against a psychotic version of Peter Parker in 2099, this Peter having become the CEO of Alchemax and attempting to rewrite the universe to fit his vision. CEO Peter uses an elaborate spider-based robot in his fight against Miguel, but Miguel is able to defeat him by using the tentacles of Atrocity- a twisted hybrid of Anti-Venom, Doctor Octopus, and Alchemax employee Walker Sloan- to weaken CEO Peter's powers.

Spider-Man 2211

Further reading Spider-Man at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original) Spider-Man at the Grand Comics Database

Spider-Man (Max Borne), also known as Spider-Man 2211, is a superhero who appears in comics published by Marvel Comics. Created by Peter David and Rick Leonardi, he first appeared in Spider-Man 2099 Meets Spider-Man (November 1995).

Within the context of the stories, Dr. Max Borne is from the year 2211, the Spider-Man of that year. In his first appearance he aids two other Spider-Men, Peter Parker and Miguel O'Hara, in defeating the Hobgoblin of 2211, his main enemy. This Hobgoblin is Robin Borne, his daughter, driven insane when she was infected by a nanovirus. Spider-Man 2211 is later shot and killed by the Chameleon of the year 2211, posing as Uncle Ben.

Spider-Man: Chapter One

The miniseries Spider-Man: Chapter One, was John Byrne's attempt to reimagine Spider-Man's early years, (similar to the revamp given to Superman), giving him a new but similar origin. The series is no longer considered canon.

Spider-Man: India

Main article: Spider-Man: India

The Indian version of Spider-Man.

Spider-Man: India is a comic book originally published in India by Gotham Entertainment Group in 2004, retelling the story of Spider-Man in an Indian setting. The main character is named Pavitr Prabhakar to maintain the Indian adaptation.

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane

Main article: Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane

Spider-Man: Noir

This version of Spider-Man appeared in a 4 issue miniseries (Feb-May 2009). He exists in the Great Depression Era of New York in the 1930s. Aunt May is a speaker of equality and spends time standing on a soap box shouting her beliefs. Uncle Ben was killed by a crime syndicate run by Norman Osborn, aka The Goblin. Shortly afterward, Peter is bitten by a strange spider and endowed with mystical spider-powers. Though he has no wall-crawling ability, he has increased agility, strength, a form of spider-sense, and can spray nets of webbing from his hand. He then dons a black mask, gloves, and a trenchcoat and sets out to stop Norman and his gang. This version of Spider-Man appears in the game, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions.

Spider-Man: Reign

Spider-Man: Reign depicts an older Spider-Man in the future who, having given up on crime-fighting, is driven back into action by the return of some of his old enemies, exposing a conspiracy by Venom to take control of the city with a mass of symbiotes.

Spider-Man Unlimited

This version of Spider-Man, after being blamed by J. Jonah Jameson for his son's disappearance exploring another planet, Counter-Earth, designs a new costume with sonic weaponry and stealth capabilities using nanotechnology borrowed from Reed Richards. Traveling to Counter-Earth himself, he joins a group of human revolutionaries led by John Jameson himself in resisting the High Evolutionary and his tyrannical rule, in which humans are brutally oppressed and the half-human, half-animal Beastials form the social elite. He also battles Venom and Carnage, who traveled with Jameson to Counter-Earth and are plotting to infect the entire planet with symbiotes. He is killed by Daemos of the Inheritors, along with the Knights of Wundagore and many other Beastials.

Spider-Verse

In the Spider-Verse event, a multitude of new Spider-Men (and women) from throughout the multiverse are revealed. These include:

• Billy Braddock alias Spider-UK, a British-based Spider-Man and a member of the Captain Britain Corps.
• Aaron Aikman, a young scientist who fights crime using a gadget-laden suit of high tech body armor.
• Patton Parnell, a disturbed, bullied teenager who upon being bitten by a radioactive spider, becomes a twisted, bloodthirsty variant of Spider-Man.
• Peni Parker, a Japanese middle school student who was adopted by Aunt May and Uncle Ben following the death of her parents. She pilots a psychically-powered machine known as the SP//dr, which is partially controlled by a radioactive spider.
• Spider-Woman, an alternative teenage version of Gwen Stacy who was bitten by the radioactive spider instead of Peter.
  • In the reality where Gwen became Spider-Woman, Peter Parker's resentment of being bullied resulted in him transforming himself into the Lizard, with his death due to the chemicals he used in the transformation inspiring Gwen to use her powers to help others.

Ultimate Spider-Man

Ultimate Spider-Man. Cover to Ultimatum: Spider-Man Requiem #1. Art by Stuart Immonen.

Main article: Ultimate Spider-Man

Ultimate Spider-Man is a modernized reboot of the Spider-Man story, starting from the very beginning, with a plot that is inspired by, but very different from, the original continuity. The main purpose of the series is to be accessible to new and young readers, as it is free from the decades of history of the original, but it has been embraced by many longtime fans as well.

In Ultimate Spider-Man, Peter is a high-school student who is bitten by a spider during a school field trip—but instead of a radioactive spider (which reflected the Atomic Age in which Spider-Man's origin was written), it is a lab subject that has been genetically modified by Osborn Industries. The themes, characterization, and setting are updated to reflect modern life. It is set in the Ultimate Marvel universe.

In the on-going series Ultimate Comics: Avengers, a second Spider-Man was shown to be one of its members, and is simply referred to as the Spider, and his costume bears an orange-and-purple color, as oppose to red-and-blue. In "Death of Spider-Man" story arc, "Avengers vs. New Ultimates", he is revealed to be North Asian, and under the orders of Gregory Stark, led a superhuman uprising in North Korea. During the events of said uprising he was killed by Hawkeye after the Avengers and the New Ultimates intervened.

After Peter Parker's apparent death in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #160 a new character by the name of Miles Morales takes up the mantle of Spider-Man as a thirteen-year-old superhero.

In Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man #1 Peter Parker is revealed to be alive and meets his successor for the first time.

This Spider-Man also appears along Amazing, Noir, 2099 Spider-Men in the game Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions wearing the black symbiote suit.

What If?

Further information: List of What If? issues

• Alternative versions of Spider-Man appear in several issues of What If..?. In one major alternative universe Spider-Man joins the Fantastic Four; this universe is revisited in several different issues of What If..?
• What if someone else besides Spider-Man had been bitten by the radioactive spider explores what would have happened if Flash Thomson, Betty Brant or John Jameson were bitten by the spider, but all three prove to be failures as the 'new' Spider-Man. Each story ends with Peter extracting the residual radioactive venom from the dead spider and using it to create a serum to give himself powers, thus becoming Spider-Man.
• What if Spider-Man had never become a crimefighter explores a world where Spider-Man stopped the burglar and continued his television career, becoming a public relations 'specialist' for superheroes until Jameson's angry attack on him for slacking off with his powers results in Daredevil's death, inspiring Spider-Man to become a real hero.
• What if the alien costume had possessed Spider-Man? sees Spider-Man being killed when he fails to go to Reed Richards for help in time to remove the symbiote, which goes on to drain the Hulk's powers and possess Thor until it is driven away by Black Bolt.
• "What if?: The Other", set during "The Other" storyline, features an alternative version of Peter who abandons the Spider when given the choice. Some time afterward, the Venom symbiote leaves its current host Mac Gargan and merges with Peter to become Poison.
• Another "What if?" universe has a version of Spider-Man who works side by side with his Uncle Ben to fight crime after Aunt May is killed.
• Another issue portrays a Parker whom the radioactive spider bite mutated him into a spider creature, as well as making his son a mutant.
• In a "What if?" Age of Apocalypse reality, in which both Charles Xavier and Eric Lensherr were killed, Apocalypse is served by clones of a symbiote Spider-Man, although the clones seem to be more symbiote than man.
• In "What If? Spider-Man vs. Wolverine" Spider-Man goes to Russia with Wolverine on a rescue mission and eventually becomes a Black-ops version. Through training alongside Wolverine he enhances his spider-sense and becomes more confident. He eventually decides to join up with Wolverine permanently and leave behind his old ways. He also develops a change to his web shooter which enables him to shoot bullets out of it, which he does, killing a man. He is shown in a sleeker black and red suit more fit for his new lifestyle.
• What If? Grim Hunt shows what would happen if Spider-Man were to have proceeded in killing Kraven by Julia Carpenter, now possessing Madam Web's powers. Peter appears with long hair and was kicked out of the Avengers for his killing of the Kravinoffs. He then develops a much colder and harsher personality and proceeds with attacking Harry Osborn. He then appears in a new red leather costume and starts killing all of the supervillains, with Doctor Octopus, and reveals his identity to his Aunt May, who is shocked and in tears.

Wolverine: Old Man Logan

Main article: Old Man Logan

In this alternative timeline, Spider-Man was killed (possibly by Venom) during or sometime after the big battle between heroes and villains, where the villains won. In this timeline, he married an unknown African American woman and had a daughter, who eventually married Hawkeye and had a child of their own. Hawkeye won in a poker game and customized the Spider-Mobile after his death.

X-Men Forever

In the X-Men Forever universe, after the X-Men have faked their deaths, Spider-Man runs into Rogue during a patrol, Rogue having recently unintentionally absorbed Nightcrawler's powers and appearance. Testing her new powers, Rogue spends the night fighting crime alongside Spider-Man, later suggesting that the two kiss to see how her recent transformation has affected her original abilities. After Spider-Man assists the X-Men in destroying a group of Sentinels, the X-Men return to the manor, Cyclops concluding that Spider-Man can be trusted to keep the secret of their continued survival.

Mainstream continuity

In the comic books, other characters use the Spider-Man identity. Some of these exist in the mainstream Marvel Universe (Earth-616):

• Ben Reilly, a clone of Peter, who also fought crime as the Scarlet Spider. He also took over as Spider-Man (with a new costume) when Peter retired to settle down with his new family. This lasted until the original Green Goblin returned and murdered Reilly.
• Mac Gargan, while possessing the Venom symbiote he posed as Spider-Man as a member of the Dark Avengers until his capture at the end of the "Siege" storyline.
• Spider-X: Brian Kornfield became a demonic Spider-Man after making a deal with the demon Chthon.
• Mattie Franklin: The niece of J. Jonah Jameson. After being granted spider powers by "The Gathering of Five", she filled in for Peter Parker during one of his temporary retirements and later became Spider-Woman when he retook the role. She was killed by the Kravinoff family during "The Gauntlet" and "Grim Hunt" storylines.
• Doctor Octopus swapped bodies with Peter Parker during the "Dying Wish" storyline, with Peter dying in Octopus's body. Possessing Parker's body and memories, Doc Ock determined to both prove himself a better Spider-Man than Peter and a better man than Otto Octavius as The Superior Spider-Man, but was eventually forced to sacrifice himself to restore Peter Parker when his focus on the larger picture and his own ego resulted in the Green Goblin taking control of the city in a massive attack at the head of his 'Goblin army'.
• Ai Apaec, South American spider god, is transformed by Norman Osborn into a six armed version of Spider-Man for his second incarnation of the Dark Avengers.
• A Spider-Man robot called the Timespinner is created by Kang the Conqueror to defeat the Avengers. It is deactivated, but later returns with the ability to drain temporal energy from people. It is destroyed by Ben Reilly and the Avengers.
• The villains Chameleon, Mysterio, and Kraven the Hunter have all masqueraded as Spider-Man.
• Deadpool briefly masqueraded as Spider-Man.

Other characters have used similar themes:

• Other clones of Peter Parker such as Kaine, the degenerated first clone, and Spidercide, the shape-shifting third clone.
• Blood Spider is an evil version of Spider-Man hired by the Red Skull and trained by the Taskmaster. His costume is a combination of the original and black costumes, and he has tanks for his web fluid on his back with hoses leading to the webshooters on his wrists. His partners Jagged Bow (an evil version of Hawkeye) and Death Shield (an evil version of Captain America) were also trained by the Taskmaster. The trio was next seen trying to kill Venom as hired by Lord Ogre.
• The Spider Doppelganger is an evil version of Spider-Man created by the Magus during the Infinity War.
• Ezekiel Sims has powers similar to those of Spider-Man, but mystical in origin. He is a member of the Spider Society and its front organization, WebCorps.
• Tarantula: Several characters have used this identity. See the main article for details.
• Steel Spider is Ollie Osnick, originally a young teenager who idolized Doctor Octopus and designed his own mechanical tentacles. Later he was so impressed by Spider-Man that he modified his tentacles into spider-legs.
• Web-Man, a clone of Spider-Man made by Doctor Doom in an Electric Company comic. He wears the inverse of Spider-Man's colors (red where blue should be, and vice versa), and has criminal tendencies. He, along with his other clones, are destroyed when Spider-Man destroys the cloning machine Doctor Doom used.
• Several characters have used the Spider-Woman identity: Jessica Drew, Julia Carpenter (also called Arachne), Mattie Franklin, and Charlotte Witter. There is a version of Spider-Woman in the Ultimate Universe, a female clone of Peter Parker.
• Madame Web, a precognitive ally of Spider-Man and the Spider-Women.
• Anya Corazon, a young heroine with spider powers, formerly an employee of WebCorps.

Derivatives

Spider-Man has also inspired a number of derivatives:

• In the unauthorized 1973 Turkish film 3 Dev Adam (known in English as Three Giant Men or Captain America and Santo vs. Spider-Man) Spider-Man has no spider powers in the film and is portrayed as the villain of the film, confronted by Captain America and Santo.
• A Smosh parody of Spider-Man featured Anthony Padilla as Man-Spider. Instead of being bitten by a spider, Anthony instead bites the spider to receive its powers, though he only sprouts 4 more arms and can only lightly hit people with them. Soon, his crime-fighting revert to punching people who mistake his name for Spider-Man (accidentally punching an old man who actually got it right).
• A softcore parody of the 2002 film titled SpiderBabe, feature a girl named Patricia Porker who after becoming bitten by a radioactive spider gets the spider's powers and its increased libido.
• The Shattered Glass continuity of Transformers featured a villainous version of Spider-Man known as the Arachnolord, who is defeated by the noble Decepticon Starscream.