Spider-Man (Ultimate Marvel character)

Fictional character biography

Peter Parker was orphaned at around age six after his parents died in a plane crash and was raised by his uncle Ben Parker and aunt May. Nine years later, he became a high school genius skilled in physics and chemistry, but was an introverted outcast bullied by Fred "Flash" Thompson and Kenny "King Kong" McFarlane. On a school field trip to Oscorp, he was bitten by a genetically-mutated spider, granting him superhuman spider-like abilities. Norman Osborn, head of Oscorp, experimented with the same mutagen on himself, which mutated him into a monstrous goblin-like creature called the Green Goblin.

Peter initially used his powers for personal gain, becoming a professional wrestler and a top basketball player, but his selfish behavior worried his aunt and uncle. After being fired from his wrestling job under suspicion of robbery, he encountered an armed robber escaping a convenience store but refused to stop him out of spite. Following a heated argument with his aunt and uncle over his failing grades, he ran away from home. Upon returning to apologize and reveal his powers, he discovered that Uncle Ben had been murdered by an armed thief.

Fueled by rage, a masked Peter hunted down the killer, cornering him in an abandoned warehouse. He subdued the criminal and realized, to his shock, that the killer was the same robber he had refused to stop earlier. He then handed the killer over to the police.

Other versions

In November 2023, writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Marco Chechetto announced a relaunch of the Ultimate Universe under the designation Earth-6160. Following the events of Ultimate Invasion, the Maker created a new universe devoid of superheroes by preventing their origins, including Peter Parker's spider bite at Oscorp. Years later, after a terrorist attack killed hundreds, including Aunt May and Norman Osborn, an older Peter, now married to Mary Jane Watson with two children named Richard and May, is visited by a hologram of Tony Stark. Stark presents Peter with the same spider the Maker had captured, encouraging him to let it bite him and become the hero he could have been.

In other media

Before Spider-Man: The New Animated Series became a loose continuation of Sam Raimi's 2002 Spider-Man film, it was originally planned as a direct adaptation of the Ultimate Spider-Man comics with Brian Michael Bendis as a producer. Elements of Ultimate Peter Parker appear in The Spectacular Spider-Man, including the high school setting, his relationship with Eddie Brock, and the Venom symbiote bonding in a secured lab; Kenny Kong is based on the Ultimate series' Kong.

The unrelated animated series Ultimate Spider-Man incorporates design aspects of the comic counterparts, with Harry Osborn as the Venom symbiote's primary host and Spider-Man as the first host of Carnage; its four-part episode "The Spider-Verse" features a variation of the Ultimate universe where Peter Parker died fighting the Green Goblin and Miles Morales took his mantle, while Gwen Stacy became Spider-Gwen. Elements are also used in Spider-Man (2002), such as Peter and Harry Osborn being high school friends, the genetically-altered spider bite on a field trip, and Peter letting a burglar escape after a wrestling exhibit.

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) uses elements like Peter's angst-ridden personality, the bite at Oscorp, storming off after a conversation with Uncle Ben about responsibility, letting a thief steal from a convenience store, and Gwen Stacy dating Peter in high school.

Reception

Brian Michael Bendis' modernized re-imagining of Peter Parker as Spider-Man received a widely positive response from fans and critics, with many considering the Ultimate Marvel version one of the best modern interpretations of Spider-Man, influencing other non-comic adaptations in television, video games, and cinema. Critics and fans praised the character as a fresh, unique, and contemporary yet faithful twist on the classic mythos, describing him as a well-rounded, likable, vulnerable, and humanly flawed everyman teen hero. His character arc from a selfish, angry teen who irresponsibly uses his powers to a more heroic and altruistic figure was commended, along with his relatable struggles, internal conflicts, and realistic depiction of how being a superhero negatively affects his life and relationships.