Spider-Man was the first teenage superhero to not be a sidekick, he was also the first teenage superhero to deal with real life problems, a subject I covered early in Panel Biter's history. However, it seems that Spider-Man's most notorious characteristics are often his downfalls, as the character has constantly been prevented from maturing.
Peter Parker/Spider-Man's early signs of adulthood came in 1987 where Peter proposed to his girlfriend Mary Jane Watson. This step towards marriage came as a surprise to readers, but also became a progressive move for the character. Then in 1994, it was revealed that MJ was pregnant. At the time of this discovery, the "Clone Saga" event would prompt Peter to move to Portland, Oregon with MJ. While Peter's clone-Ben Reilly-would fill in as Spider-Man, Peter would attempt to live a normal life. Living in Portland, Peter would temporarily lose his powers in a lab accident. The status quo was changed only for a short time as Peter and MJ would return to New York, Peter's powers would resurface and Ben Reilly would give Peter the Spider-Man mantle back. If that isn't enough of a back step, Mary Jane's unborn child was killed by one of Spider-Man's enemies. Peter and MJ's marriage would roughly remain stable until 2007. However, Marvel still found a way to give readers the Spider-Man they missed. In 2000, Marvel released a new series called "Ultimate Spider-Man" a book that told an alternate origin for the Web-Slinger and reintroduced readers to the teenaged Peter Parker. In this alternate universe, Peter never even reached adulthood as he gave his life protecting his loved ones. His role as Spider-Man was taken by another spider-bit teen named Miles Morales. The first "Ultimate Spider-Man" series ran from 2000 to 2009, but what was happening to the main Spider-Man? In 2007, the infamous "One More Day" storyline had Peter Parker make a deal with the demon, Mephisto. In order to save the life of his dying Aunt May, Peter allowed Mephisto to remove Peter and MJ's marriage from history. MJ's pregnancy was also erased, along with the public knowledge of Spider-Man's secret identity which Peter revealed in the "Civil War" event. Essentially, Spider-Man's history was reset, rendering his previous experiences with Mary Jane irrelevant. Currently, Peter/Spidey does seem to be on the road to maturity. However, he is only in this position because his body was recently under control by one of his villains. When Peter got his body back, his life and superhero career were greatly changed. For better or worse.
In every movie or television show, Spider-Man is always portrayed as a teenager because that is what the character has been best remembered for. I believe the reason people often resist the idea of an adult Spider-Man is because they know what kind of mistakes Marvel has made in response to Spidey maturing. The stories I've told in this post were all conceived because writer's were afraid to change things up for Spider-Man. Now that the character is showing signs of progression, I can only hope they steer the course and allow Peter to become an adult. After all, part of being a teenager is not always being a teenager. Thanks for reading.
Peter Parker/Spider-Man's early signs of adulthood came in 1987 where Peter proposed to his girlfriend Mary Jane Watson. This step towards marriage came as a surprise to readers, but also became a progressive move for the character. Then in 1994, it was revealed that MJ was pregnant. At the time of this discovery, the "Clone Saga" event would prompt Peter to move to Portland, Oregon with MJ. While Peter's clone-Ben Reilly-would fill in as Spider-Man, Peter would attempt to live a normal life. Living in Portland, Peter would temporarily lose his powers in a lab accident. The status quo was changed only for a short time as Peter and MJ would return to New York, Peter's powers would resurface and Ben Reilly would give Peter the Spider-Man mantle back. If that isn't enough of a back step, Mary Jane's unborn child was killed by one of Spider-Man's enemies. Peter and MJ's marriage would roughly remain stable until 2007. However, Marvel still found a way to give readers the Spider-Man they missed. In 2000, Marvel released a new series called "Ultimate Spider-Man" a book that told an alternate origin for the Web-Slinger and reintroduced readers to the teenaged Peter Parker. In this alternate universe, Peter never even reached adulthood as he gave his life protecting his loved ones. His role as Spider-Man was taken by another spider-bit teen named Miles Morales. The first "Ultimate Spider-Man" series ran from 2000 to 2009, but what was happening to the main Spider-Man? In 2007, the infamous "One More Day" storyline had Peter Parker make a deal with the demon, Mephisto. In order to save the life of his dying Aunt May, Peter allowed Mephisto to remove Peter and MJ's marriage from history. MJ's pregnancy was also erased, along with the public knowledge of Spider-Man's secret identity which Peter revealed in the "Civil War" event. Essentially, Spider-Man's history was reset, rendering his previous experiences with Mary Jane irrelevant. Currently, Peter/Spidey does seem to be on the road to maturity. However, he is only in this position because his body was recently under control by one of his villains. When Peter got his body back, his life and superhero career were greatly changed. For better or worse.
In every movie or television show, Spider-Man is always portrayed as a teenager because that is what the character has been best remembered for. I believe the reason people often resist the idea of an adult Spider-Man is because they know what kind of mistakes Marvel has made in response to Spidey maturing. The stories I've told in this post were all conceived because writer's were afraid to change things up for Spider-Man. Now that the character is showing signs of progression, I can only hope they steer the course and allow Peter to become an adult. After all, part of being a teenager is not always being a teenager. Thanks for reading.
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