30 Days of Marvel - Day 1: Your Favorite Character

Spider-Man

I feel like this one is obvious. If you knew me- then you probably stopped reading after that first sentence. Peter Benjamin Parker has meant a lot to me since day one.
He's the most relatable comic book character ever created. He toils day in and day out saving a city that has the most bi-polar, love-hate relationship for his costumed alter-ego, which he very stressfully fights to keep hidden. He's constantly broke, because he can't keep a  full time job. (See previous sentence) The part-time job he can manage to freelance at is owned and managed by a guy who hates him religiously. Oh, and that job?
Take front page news photos of himself being a selfless hero, only for his boss to certainly spin the images into lies and slander of criminal activity.

And money isn't the only thing being Spider-Man negatively affects...
His love life is constantly in jeopardy- when his enemies aren't flat out killing the love of his life, then he simply can't keep a date with women because he's consistently fighting for the sake of the city. In fact, it's that latter reason that screws up most of his social obligations. Hell, despite being a bit of a scientific genius under the mask, it's that latter reason that earned him failing grades in college.

But why does he put up with the mask?
Even the answer to that is miles far superior to many of his fictional brethren.
Additionally, his origin makes a lot of sense. You've heard it before. I'm sure.

His CIA parents, Richard and Mary Parker, leave him with his paternal uncle Ben, and his wife May, before departing on a secret mission only to be mysteriously killed in action. (but not before rescuing a pre-Weapon Plus Program Wolverine from the KGB) The young Peter grew into a skinny glasses wearing academic, a social outcast, a walking bullseye for bullies, jocks and the such. Surprisingly optimistic with sporadic sparks of self-esteem, which was no doubt a reflection of his uncle. Like his brother, Uncle Ben may have been much older than his brother Richard, but both showed signs of being athletically blessed and charming to women, in ways that Peter did not inherit outright. It was Uncle Ben that encouraged him that one day things would be different, that one day he would leave high school, and bullies and he would be the one signing their paychecks one day.

But that day never came.
What came was a radioactive spider bite at an after school science exhibit. A spider bite that granted him the ability to climb walls, the proportionate strength of a spider, and other amazing talents-but it also gave him an escape.

He could finally be the guy he always wanted to be. So what did he do? He invented webs in honor of the arachnid that blessed him with his powers, created a mask to hide behind and took his new self to the entertainment industry, wrestling and performing feats for money.
Because that's what happens when you're selfish, tired of being pushed around, and finally catch a big break.
Content with lining his pockets every night he never once thought to use these talents for the greater good.

Which, in my opinion is exactly what we'd all do in that position.
But when it comes to Peter Parker, things don't stay good for long, and the biggest teacher in his life would come in the form of his uncles' murder... but you already know about that. The most timeless of all superhero origins. All the other big names have been tweaked, adjusted, updated- but not Spidey because his has been perfect since its inception.

Spidey didn't grow up rich, nor was he trained by anyone. He just learned from the roughest teacher in existence. Life.
Although it was first written in the Bible, his mantra- "With great power, comes great responsibility" (Luke 12:48- For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required) It is the single most powerful phrase in comics history.
It's a phrase that will always be understandable to everyone, unlike the idea that just because you were raised in Kansas by farmers you have to do right by humanity.

Spider-Man is just a normal, everyday guy like all of us. His greatest strengths resonate with his many weaknesses, and it's hard not to care about him so- because a lot of what's in him, can be seen in you.


First Appearance: Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962)

Most Memorable Spider-Man Story: 'Kraven's Last Hunt' (Masterpiece!)

This was one of the first Spidey stories I ever read, and by far one of the most cryptic mainstream tales I've ever ingested.
Longtime Spidey foe Kraven the Hunter is fed up with Spidey and decides to put Spider-Man down for good. Before he can do that however, he has to prove that he is indeed better than Spider-Man, and the only way to do that is to beat him physically, mentally, and become him.
Not going to spoil it for you, but the surprise ending must've been on the mind of a certain grunge rock star.


Just some weird, maniacal things going on here.

Marvel's Cinematic Roadmap so far- or... The explanation of Thor's teaser ending.

OK! So you've seen 'Thor: The Dark World' and you're stumped at the teaser trailer at the end of the film. I'm fairly certain that Marvel will eventually make the exact meaning of it all more 'accessible' to the non-comic fans as the films are released but, if you can't wait that long and the mystery is killing you, here's a general idea:

First, let's cover an extremely powerful object called The Infinity Gauntlet.
The Gauntlet itself is exactly what it is- a gauntlet (a glove- if you ain't got a dictionary handy.) The gauntlet can be armed with 6 gems that when combined grants the holder of all six unmeasurable power on a universal scale. The 6 gems represent 6 different aspects of existence- meaning that even holding one gem gave the holder massive control over that respective element. The more gems in control by one user grants the user more power.

Space: Allows user omnipresence, to move any object throughout reality, to warp or rearrange space.
Mind: Allows user to great mental and psionic power and access the thoughts and dreams of other beings. 
Soul: Allows user to steal, control, manipulate and alter souls, living or dead.
Reality: Allows user to fulfill wishes, even if the wish is in direct contradiction with scientific laws.
Time: Allows user total control over past, present & future. Time travel, can age & de-age beings/matter.
Power: Accesses all power and energy that ever has or will exist, and boosts the other gems' effects.

In Thor, the Infinity Gauntlet- without the gems- was shown very briefly in Odin's vault. See here:


Still here? Cool! Little bit to go.
Let's skip ahead to Avengers. If you were one of the smart ones that stayed behind after the credits for the teaser epilogue, then maybe you saw this:

That purple smiling guy with the hard on at the mere mention of death, is Thanos. The Mad Titan has always been a major threat to Marvel Universe pretty much every time he pops up, what he is most known for however, is The Infinity Gauntlet. A major storyline in 1991, where Thanos actually got his hands on all 6 Infinity Gems, and in a futile attempt to impress Death, (a female entity in the Marvel Universe) destroys most of the Universe.

Finally, at the end of Thor: The Dark World what essentially went down was, the Asgardians, Lady Sif and Volstagg visit The Collector, an ancient, immortal, powerful being with a knack for 'collecting' things, people, whatever he wants simply to maintain his sanity. Sif and Volstagg entrust the Aether to his care, commenting that, with the Tesseract (from Captain America: The First Avenger and Avengers) already in Asgard, having two Infinity Stones so close together would be dangerous. (Meaning that the Aether and the Tesseract are the Infinity Gems of Power, and Space, respectively) When Sif and Volstagg leave, the Collector remarks, "One down, five to go." Clearly implying that the Infinity Gems are being gathered. In the Infinity Gauntlet comic, the Collector was essential to Thanos gaining all six gems. Now, I can't call what the movies, have in store- but it's already been revealed the Collector in Marvel's cinematic universe will be one of Thanos' generals.

The trailer as a whole, is a lead in to next summer's Guardians of the Galaxy. The GotG are another Marvel superhero group which is another story, but think of them as the Avengers of space and duh, the galaxy. They have encountered Thanos on numerous occasions.

...and that's it!
So sit tight kids, things are about to get really interesting!