What Happened To Everyone Who Became Spider-Man?

8. Peter Parker

First Appearance As Spider-Man: Amazing Fantasy #15

Peter Parker is the original, definitive and arguably greatest incarnation of Spider-Man going, so it kind of goes without saying that he's been doing it the longest. Nephew to Ben and May Parker, and friendly neighbourhood vigilante to Queens, this version of Spider-Man has been through the wringer enough times that it would make Daredevil blush. But let's try going over them anyway.

As Spider-Man, Peter Parker fought against Marvel's greatest enemies, saw his true love murdered at the hands of Green Goblin, got transported to a far-flung planet for the amusement of a celestial; got a symbiotic alien costume from that same storyline, got married to childhood sweetheart Mary Jane Watson, found out he was a clone, and then that he wasn't a clone, had some weird things happen with his powers; revealed his identity to the public in the superhero Civil War, had that same event wiped from public memory along with his marriage, and then all sorts of other stuff we'll get to later.

Point being, Peter's been through a lot. Currently, though, he's back to being the Spider-Man we all know and love. That sense of the familiar may have managed to stunt the character's development though, with each successive series seeming to take one step forward, only to then take several backward by retreading familiar ground.

Whatever your thoughts, Peter is currently the web-slinger. Just maybe not the one he should be after almost 60 years' worth of material.