"With great power comes great responsibility"

Peter Benjamin Parker was born to two CIA and later SHIELD agents, Richard and Mary Parker. THis happy family was soon struck by tragedy, as the notorious Red Skull arranged a plane crash, killing them both, leaving Peter to be raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben.

He had a troubled childhood. He was unpopular at school for being an academic rather than an athlete, and was the butt of lots of jokes by his fellow students. It was during his school years, when he was 15 years old, that plain old Peter Parker was accidentally bitten by a radioactive spider at a science exhibition. THis altered his DNA and gave him the proportionate abilities of a spider. Thus Spider-Man was born.

During his new found fame, Spider-Man failed to stop a thug who'd robbed the television studio he was working at. The robber got away, only to try and rob the Parker residence, where he was disturbed by Ben, who he promptly shot dead. Peter arrived home to this information, and Spider-Man immediately gave chase. When he caught up, and realised who the killer was, he vowed to protect the innocent and fight injustice.

Although Spider-Man was committed to the good fight, he was viewed with suspicion by most, especially Peter Parker's editor at the Daily Bugle newspaper,J Jonah Jameson, who started a smear campaign against the "costumed menace." Ironically, Peter made a living selling photos of himself as Spider-Man to the Bugle, as no other photographer could get any decent photos for some reason. Plus, there has always been the risk of those Spider-Man loves being caught up in the middle of it all, as shown when the Green Goblin threw Peter's then girlfriend Gwen Stacy off a bridge, killing her (though there is dispute whether the fall killed her or Spider-Man's weblines breaking her neck as they stopped her fall). Peter's next girlfriend, however, is the one that people always remember - Mary Jane Watson, who finally married the Web Slinger and bore him a daughter, although she didn't survive.

Of his many enemies, one shares a special bond with our hero, and to know why, we must look back to the "Secret Wars" series, where he appeared in an all black costume with built in web shooters, which also enhanced his abilities. He then discovered that this suit was a living alien symbiote, wanting to permanently bond with him. After discarding this costume, it bonded with Eddie Brock, creating the super-villain Venom (see Venom page for more details). He did wear a non-living version of the suit for a short while, but then after Venom attacked Mary Jane he reverted back to his classic colours.

Spider-Man can adhere to any surface using any part of his body, no matter how smooth or slippy the surface is, although he has to be consciously aware of what he's doing; he cannot just stick to something whenever he touches it. He also posseses superhuman strength and agility, with reflexes at 40 times that of ordinary people. Also, he has enhanced healing (though not on a par with full healing factor such as Wolverine's) and greater durability, meaning he can take a lot of hits before he's down. This also gives him a resistance to poisons, although the common cold is still a formidable enemy of his. Spider-Man's most potent ability, however, is his "spider sense" a sort of clairvoyance which warns him of danger, recognisable by a tingling at the base of his skull, and is rather vague in the manner of danger. This also warns him if someone is watching him while changing, and has been honed to provide a 360 degree vision o sorts. His spider sense can be beaten however, both by a gas created by the Green Goblin, and also by Venom, who was once part of Spider-Man, so is indistinguishable to his spider sense.

Despite his low income, Spider-Man has managed to make several gadgets, the most famous of which is his web shooters, which are mounted on his wrist and fire when he double taps the palm of his hands. The webbing is strong enough to support heavy loads, allowing Spider-Man to swing between roof tops. He also uses it to ensnare criminals and form protective shields. The web fluid formula can be adjusted for different purposes, and is designed to dissolve after an hour to save leaving webs everywhere. A single strand of webbing can be fired up to 50 yards, each cartridge can hold 1,000 yards of webbing, each shooter holds 10 cartidges and his utility belt can hold 30 spare cartridges. This makes a total of 50,000 yards of webbing. However, after a reent encounter with the Queen, Spider-Man was transformed into a giant spider and later back again, leaving him with web glands in his wrists, making the shooters redundant. Alongside these, Spider-Man has also used electronic "spider-tracers" which allow him to track individuals. Originally using a receiver to follow these, he later found he can tune these transmitters to his spider sense. He also carries a camera and the "spider signal" which is a strong torch creating an image of his mask.