10 Little-Known Comics Industry Facts That Shocked Fans

5. A Fan Sold Spider-Man's Black Costume To Marvel For $220

There's no topping Steve Ditko's original Spider-Man design from Amazing Fantasy #15, but Marvel have managed to come close once or twice. Perhaps the closest came in 1984's Secret Wars, where Spidey adopted what would eventually be known as the symbiote, and then as Venom. It's made charting that particular character's origin somewhat problematic, but the most confusing element of all is the story that prompted Spidey's change of threads in the first place.

Because, strangely enough, the idea didn't come from within the halls of Marvel HQ. A fan called Randy Schueller actually wrote a fan-letter to Marvel with a concept for a black costume, with the original idea being that Reed Richards would give Spidey a much needed upgrade. Schueller's original design has since featured this year in the pages of Sensational Spider-Man Self-Improvement, with Schueller collaborating with Peter David and artist Rick Leonardi but the story gets wilder still.

As it goes, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter was so enthused by Schueller's concept that he paid him $220 for the idea and offered to let him write the script for his concept. The latter part never worked out, but Spidey did eventually don a black suit in Secret Wars, which eventually went on to become one of the most profitable aspects of the character.

Schueller's original sketches can be seen below. Swap the red with white, and it's pretty much the exact same thing that dominated Spidey in the eighties.