8 Strangest Alternate Versions Of Spider-Man
With infinite realities' worth of power, comes an infinite amount of responsibilities...
Spider-Man is easily still Marvel's most popular superhero. Even after characters like Iron Man and Captain America have seen somewhat of a glow up in the past ten years, and yet none of them hold a candle to the old Webhead in terms of sheer popularity.
There's something about his dorky personality and genuinely relatable backstory that is eternally appealing to comic book readers. I mean, what self-respecting comic book nerd can't relate to a four-eyed kid who loves science and gets bullied in high school?
This is precisely the reason why Spider-Man is so popular, even today. He's not some alien god from outer space, he's us. This is precisely why someone like Spider-Man has possibly the most alternate reality versions of him floating around in the Marvel universe.
His origin and personality are so perfectly and loveably dorky that they can easily be transferred into any new setting. Whilst some of these new Spideys basically just re-skinned versions of the Spider-Man we all know and love, some are a little more out there in terms of backstory... and some are just plain weird.
If you're interested in more alternate versions of Spider-Man, you absolutely owe it to yourself to pick up the Spider-Verse series that came out in 2014.
Not only is it a great read, but it features loads of crazy Spider-Man incarnations - including the original strange alternate version of Spider-Man, Hostess Cakes Spider-Man!
8. Norman Osborn Spider-Man
During the Spider-Geddon event, a new Spider-Man from Earth-44145 was introduced - a six-armed Norman Osborne. Exactly how Norman inherited Spider-Man's powers is never explicitly stated, but he is obsessed with finding the answer to interdimensional travel and, in turn, the power inside the Cosmic Cube.
Earth-44145's version of Peter Parker actually reaches out to his childhood friend Harry Osborne to inform of his father's nefarious plans, only for Norman to kill Peter in revenge.
Harry, not too pleased about his father trying to manipulate time and space (and also killing his best friend) dons the experimental "Kobold Suit" (Oscorp's version of the Green Goblin Suit) and attempts to beat up his old man. During the fight, Osborn's Cosmic Cube is destroyed, briefly granting him the interdimensional powers he craved before he's yoinked out of time and space by Spider-Punk.
Osborne is then roped into helping the other Spider-Men fight the Inheritors, but eventually quits the team due to him not getting his own way. Classic Norman.
In a later story, he is eventually defeated by none other than Doctor Octopus during the Superior Spider-Man storyline, and stripped of his interdimensional powers.