Spider-Man -- The Super Hero Who Could Be -- You!
While Stan Lee was most likely referring to Peter Parker’s relatable problems with money, girls, and school in this line from Amazing Spider-Man #9 (1964), this phrase undoubtedly also held special meaning for Spider-Man fans of non-Caucasian ethnic backgrounds.
After all, of all the truly popular superheroes, Spider-Man is one of the very few whose features are completely covered in a head-to-toe costume, making it very easy for people of any race to imagine themselves behind the mask. And while fans know Peter Parker is Caucasian, TV and comic book creators have been recasting the wall crawling hero in a variety of different ethnicity for years.
Here, in no particular order, are just some of the various "Spider-Men" who have appeared in TV shows and comic books, showing that legends aren’t limited by their original interpretations.
Spider-Man: The Manga / Yu Komori
As far back as 1970, an Asian Spider-Man was making appearances in Japan’s Monthly Shonen Magazine. Re-imagined by artist Ryoichi Ikegami and writers Kosei Ono and Kazumasa Hirai, this new Spider-Man is Yu Komori, a Japanese junior high student who also acquires his spider powers from a radioactive spider bite.
Like Peter Parker, Yu becomes Spider-Man to make money, but where Peter initially wanted to become a TV star, Yu’s motives are more altruistic – he seeks to stop a criminal (a cyborg version of Electro), collect the reward, and help his girlfriend pay for her mother’s hospital bills.
Perhaps because the Japanese emphasize selflessness, this Spider-Man did not need to learn that "with great power comes great responsibility" and Uncle Ben never appears in this story (although Aunt May – renamed "Mei" – does).
Spider-Man / Takuya Yamashiro
Spider-Man’s career in Japan wasn’t limited to manga comics. In 1978, a live action Spider-Man TV series produced by Toei Company launched in Japan. This time, Spider-Man is Takuya Yamashiro, a motorcycle racer who acquires spider powers from an encounter with an alien warrior from Planet Spider. The same alien grants Takuya a special bracelet that, much like Peter Parker’s web shooter, can fire web lines.
Since Japan was enjoying great popularity from its Super Sentai TV series, which featured super humans that fought menaces with giant robots, Spider-Man was given a giant robot of his own (actually a transformed version of the alien’s UFO) that he could summon with his bracelet.
While this made Takuya’s Spider-Man very different from penniless Peter Parker, it did aid in the show’s popularity and the show was notable for being considerably more action-packed than the lackluster The Amazing Spider-Man TV series that ran in the U.S. during the same time.
Spider-Man 2099 / Miguel O’Hara
When Marvel Comics launched its Marvel 2099 imprint in 1992, writer Peter David was tasked with creating a new Spider-Man for an alternate future timeline in the Marvel Universe. Noting that America was producing more interracial marriages, David’s new Spider-Man was Miguel O’Hara, a young scientist of Mexican and Irish descent (although later storylines would call his parentage into question).
After an attempt to genetically purge his body of a drug his employer slipped into his system goes horribly wrong, Miguel acquires spider-like abilities (including enhanced vision, venom sacs, and razor-sharp talons on his fingers and toes that let him crawl on walls) and secretly becomes a new Spider-Man to battle his corrupt company.
In a further nod to his Latino heritage, Miguel’s costume is a Death’s Head bodysuit that he once wore to a Mexican Day of the Dead celebration.
Spider-Man: India / Pavitr Prabhakar
In 2004, comic creators Sharad Devarajan, Suresh Seetharaman, and Jeevan J. Kang retold the story of Spider-Man in an Indian setting. This tale, which lasted four issues, recast Peter Parker as "Pavitr Prabhakar" and included many re-imagined versions of Spider-Man’s cast, including Meera Jain (Mary Jane), Auntie Maya (Aunt May), Uncle Bhim (Uncle Ben), and Nalin Oberoi (Norman Osborn).
This time, Pavitr Prabhakar is an Indian boy who moves from his village to attend school in Mumbai where his fellow students ridicule him not only because of his studious nature but also his poor background. The story takes a mystic turn when Pavitr acquires spider-powers not from a spider bite but from a yogi. Sadly, while testing out his powers, Pavitr ignores some thugs attacking a woman who later kill his Uncle Bhim.
Realizing that "with great power comes great responsibility" Pavitr becomes Spider-Man and soon finds himself up against demon versions of the Green Goblin and Dr. Octopus, as well as a Venom-demon that seeks to seduce Spider-Man’s dark side.
Ultimate Spider-Man / Miles Morales
In 2000, comic book writer Brian Michael Bendis helped create Ultimate Spider-Man, a popular ongoing Marvel comic book that re-imagined a teenage Peter Parker’s adventures if he had become Spider-Man in the early twenty-first century.
Over time, however, this "Ultimate Peter Parker’s" life became considerably different from his mainstream counterpart’s and he was eventually killed off in 2009.
To replace Peter Parker, Bendis created an entirely new Spider-Man – Miles Morales, a teenager of African American and Latino descent. Bitten by a genetically altered spider different from the one that gave Peter Parker his powers, Miles soon develops enhanced strength, speed, agility, and wall-crawling powers – as well as some new abilities, including the power to become virtually invisible and an electrical "venom strike".
Since mutant and superhuman hysteria is at an all-time high, Miles initially seeks to hide his abilities – but when he hears of Peter Parker’s death, he resolves to use his own abilities to pick up where Spider-Man left off. Eventually found by the spy organization S.H.I.E.L.D, Miles is given a high-tech costume and the blessing to be the "official" new Spider-Man.
Eventually he makes contact with Peter Parker’s family and friends, who pass on Spider-Man’s web shooters to him as well.
The Imaginary Spider-Man
One final Spider-Man story deserves special mention.
In Peter Parker: Spider-Man #35 (1999), writer Paul Jenkins and artists Mark Buckingham and Wayne Faucher delivered a one-shot story about a lonely African American boy named Lafronce who regularly imagines conversations between himself and Spider-Man.
While the "real" Spider-Man never appears in this story, Lafronce’s imaginary Spider-Man still gives him the encouragement he needs – often repeating words about the value of education from Lafronce’s real-life aunt’s boyfriend – to help Lafronce cope with the bullies and stresses in his life.
At the end of this story, Lafronce and Spider-Man decide they must go their separate ways when Lafronce’s mother dies and Lafronce goes to live with his aunt.
To say goodbye, Spider-Man unmasks for Lafronce, revealing the face this boy always envisioned behind the mask – a handsome, friendly African American man.