Spider-Boy

Did You Know?

• Spider-Boy can transform into a spider hybrid at will, gaining paralyzing venom, enhanced vision, and the ability to communicate with spiders.
• His Spider-Sense manifests as psychometry.

Development

Dan Slott stated that the idea for Spider-Boy came from a conversation with his editor, where he proposed a character that everyone had forgotten. Slott pushed for the character to be Spider-Boy, envisioning the youngest spider character yet, as both Miles Morales and Peter Parker were teenagers when bitten. He thought it would be fun to see a preteen Spider-Man character, one that Spider-Man would not want running around due to child endangerment. Slott later said Spider-Boy was created as an entertaining supporting character for Spider-Man but became popular enough to earn his own comic series. Spider-Boy debuted in Spider-Man vol. 4 #7 (April 2023), created by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos. He subsequently appeared in the 2023 Edge of Spider-Verse series and the 2023 Spider-Boy series, his first solo comic book series, whose first monthly issue was released in November 2023. He also appeared in the 2023 Superior Spider-Man series and a 2023 Marvel Unlimited exclusive Infinity Comic series. Slott left Marvel in 2025 to work for DC Comics on Superman Unlimited, ending the Spider-Boy comic after 20 issues.

Fictional character biography

Bailey Briggs was a normal boy until Madame Monstrosity kidnapped him and fellow prisoner Eli Hartman. She spliced Bailey with spider DNA and Eli with elephant and rhinoceros DNA, dubbing Eli as Hellifino. Bailey escaped and, after training with Daredevil to control his powers, became Spider-Boy, Spider-Man's sidekick. During the defeat of Shathra and Morlun in the End of the Spider-Verse, Bailey was among the resurrected victims. Realizing nobody remembered him, he left and began living at a F.E.A.S.T. building after saving a girl named Christina Xu from Mister Negative's Inner Demons. He later fought Hellifino and Madame Monstrosity's creation Boy-Spider. He reunited with his mother Tabitha Briggs, who had no memory of him and had been turned into a tabby cat Humanimal. Madame Monstrosity captured Spider-Boy and transformed herself into a chimera, but he escaped with help from Spider-Man, Miles Morales, Squirrel Girl, Captain America, Thor, and Toy Soldier. After Madame Monstrosity's defeat, her husband Jeremy and former henchmen worked with Spider-Man and Toy Soldier to modify her transformation chamber, returning most Humanimals to normal. Boy-Spider, Jeremy, and Hellifino remained in animal form and chose to live on Madame Monstrosity's farm with Tabitha. Bailey returned to school and learned what he had missed. Tabitha regained her memories, joined the F.E.A.S.T. staff, and allowed Bailey to continue as a superhero. Spider-Boy and Daredevil traveled to Madripoor for the Challenge of the Jade Dragon tournament, facing opponents including Bullseye and Spider-Girl. Afterward, Bailey found Boy-Spider living with Tabitha in a humanoid form; they briefly fought until Tabitha intervened.

Literary reception

Diamond Comic Distributors reported that Spider-Boy #1 was the third top advance-reordered comic book by retailers between November 20 and November 6, 2023. ComicHub reported that Spider-Boy #1 was the best-selling comic in November 2023, based on data from over 125 stores using the ComicHub system. Sayantan Gayen of Comic Book Resources called Spider-Boy #1 a positive debut issue, offering a fresh take on an old formula and praising the character's potential. Matthew Aguilar of ComicBook.com gave Spider-Boy #1 a score of 4 out of 5 stars, praising the emotional depth of Bailey's origin story and the poignant reunion. He noted the villains' appealing absurdity and the effective artwork by Paco Medina and colorist Erick Arciniega. Aguilar also highlighted the entertaining second story 'Balloonacy' by Ty Templeton and Dee Cunniffe, and remarked that the series evokes a unique quality when Spider-Boy takes center stage.