Of all the pillars in the comic book community, one that is undoubtedly the most relatable with audiences is ‘The Friendly Neighborhood’ Spider-Man. Where characters like Batman and Iron Man would stress about a trust fund banquet they have to slip out of in order to fight crime, Spider-Man is more likely to worry about making enough money to pay his rent or navigating a healthy work-life balance. Because at the heart of Spider-Man’s creation was creator Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s desire to make a character that was truly relatable to the average young person at the time, not just another sidekick like Robin or Speedy like over at DC Comics.
But is there a point when trying to make a character relatable to the common man–that writers wind up losing that heroic allure to begin with?
Unfortunately, Spider-Man’s been losing this relatability with fans for a good few years , but now there might be some measure of hope for the long-suffering Spidey fans. Because now, maybe Marvel editorial will stick to their guns and allow Spider-Man to actually progress for a change.
Fans were rightfully skeptical when Marvel announced a new Spider-Man title was coming out. What’s next? another two-year stint of the web-slinger getting put through the wringer and the readers getting teased about new and interesting changes that would just be snapped away within a year or two? Because let’s face it true believers, between the nonsense with him selling his wife to The Devil as a way to revert him back to being a down-on-his-luck guy when it comes to girls, the fanbase has been getting that treatment a lot these past few decades.
It wasn’t until everyone learned that Jonathan Hickman (Fantastic Four,X-Men) was attached to the new project and that it was going to be a reboot of Ultimate Spider-Man, an alternate universe line of comics released in the early 2000s that are still beloved to this day. Oh, and Spider-Man is now married again with kids, that might have helped win change-hungry fans over just a smidgeon.
So what? Why is this something that makes audiences fiend for the next issue of Ultimate Spider-Man that is practically devoured by hungry fans the second new issues of it hit the shelves?
Spider-Man’s story in recent years has been pretty rough, to say the least. If there ever were an avatar for the phrase “going through the motions,” then it’s this guy. Within the past few years, he’s been essentially ostracized from family and friends, had his relationships torn apart, and had his character development walked back on.
So, what does this new Ultimate Spider-Man run offer fans? Simple. It gives Peter a much-needed break and shows us what happens when Marvel allows their hero to grow again.
The idea of Spider-Man taking on the role of family man isn’t a new one. In fact, it’s been a pretty popular idea if the general reaction to the new Spider-Verse movie is any indication. One of the earliest alternate-universe stories to come out this century was based around the very concept of him settling down and having a family, featuring Spider-Man’s teenage daughter in the MC2 line of comics as the aptly named “Spider-Girl” to help carry on the torch for him.
The issue is that Marvel Comics keeps trying to walk back on it, though they are still not above teasing fans who are interested in the idea of Peter Parker settling down.. A prime example of Marvel constantly rebounding on Peter Parker having a healthy social life can be found in the stints of the last two writers, Nick Spencer and Zeb Wells, that took e a crack at writing mainline “The Amazing Spider-Man” series.
Nick Spencer’s run held a lot of promise. After the end of Dan Slott’s decade-spanning period of writing this character, Spencer’s run was essentially a clean slate after a series of changes that fans were somewhat mixed about. Peter Parker was getting back with iconic love interest Mary Jane Watson for the first time since the infamous “One More Day” storyline back in 2008. Not only was one of the more damaging events of the character’s history being done away with, but Spencer also tried to do the fanbase a solid by bringing the character back to his roots–supposedly playing patchwork for the myriad of changes made in the years since “One More Day” left a sour taste in fans’ mouths.
There was a lot of good with this, but it also showed a more cyclical nature to Spider-Man’s story. One that was outright cemented came Zeb Wells’ stint on the character immediately afterward. He showed the opposite side of the coin when it came to resetting the status quo by immediately undoing the growth that Spencer wrote.
His friendships? Gone. His relationship with Mary Jane? Set ablaze in spectacular fashion. That home-brewed hero gimmick that fans adored? Well guess who wound up getting a brand-new financial backer from his obscenely rich arch-enemy?
This left fans jaded, and rightfully so. If the status quo is going to be reverted with every step forward that Peter makes, then why should fans even bother getting invested at all? So what if he gets back together with Mary Jane, Marvel’s just going to yank the rug out from under that relationship in a year or two anyways.
Then there’s Jonathon Hickman, who instead of offering the same old concepts that fans have grown used to over the years, brings along a reprieve from the usual tropes.
Peter Parker as a father. Let that sink in for a moment. That’s a big change, a huge change, and one that is all too real for readers. It’s not something that can be brushed under the rug as easily. It’s transformative in a way that is more profound than just getting a new job, and that makes it all the more relatable. Because those fans are going to grow up, they’ll grow older, and they’ll have little comic fans of their own after a time.
