10 Insane Alternate Versions Of Spider-Man You Won't Believe Exist
7. Cosmic Spider-Man
Marvel Comics
Although Spider-Man is a character that tends to be associated with Marvel's street-level contingent, he has starred in multiple storylines with a cosmic focus. 1984's Secret Wars, which featured the wall-crawler and other Marvel heroes being transported to deep space per the request of the Beyonder, had a key focus on the character - even outfitting him with the infamous black suit that would later birth Venom.
Throw in all the Spider-Verse stuff too, which is fairly cosmic in and of itself, and it makes sense that at least one Spider-Man would wield an even greater power than what fans have gotten used to.
Taking place in What If? #32 during the series' second volume, 'What If... Spider-Man Had Not Lost His Cosmic Powers?' features the wall-crawler having retained the Enigma Force - a powerful cosmic energy more commonly associated with the stories of Mar-Vel - as he takes on the identity of Captain Universe. Peter eventually rises to a Superman-level of power, so much so that he winds up in direct competition with Thor, over the God of Thunder's unwillingness to end a draught in Africa.
The design itself lifts elements from the classic Captain Universe garb, with only a brief remnant of Peter's old costume, but still, what a look it was.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
