Whether or not Stan Lee actually said this is largely irrelevant. We have heard of second-hand accounts of Stan Lee once saying he regarded Peter Parker as Jewish. Stan Lee himself wrote Spider-Man stories in which religious events (such as weddings, funerals) for Peter Parker and his immediate family were clearly held according to Christian (not Jewish) custom and in Christian settings. The "Spider-Man is Jewish because Stan Lee was Jewish" argument has been repeated by many (usually more casual) readers, but doesn't hold up. There is no rational basis for suggesting that all of Stan Lee's creations were Jewish simply because he was. Many of the characters Stan Lee created during this time - such as the Norse/Teutonic pagan deity Thor and the African religious leader Black Panther - are clearly non-Jewish. Nick Fury "Easy Company" are among Lee's better-known Jewish characters. Grimm ("the Thing" of the Fantastic Four) and Izzy Cohen of Sgt. Stan Lee did regard some of his characters as Jewish, and he wrote them differently than non-Jewish characters: Benjamin J. But Stan Lee was too talented a writer, especially gifted in the area of character creation, character portrayal, and dialogue, to make all of his characters direct analogs of himself, whether in religious affiliation or in any other arena. It is reasonable to assume that Stan Lee regarded Peter Parker in many ways as an alter ego for himself and instilled the character with many of his own character traits and beliefs. Peter Parker's rather humble, working-class background differentiated him from the de facto Episcopalian character template prevalent among super-heroes from the 1940s through the 1960s.īecause Spider-Man's co-creator Stan Lee was Jewish, some commentators have wondered if Spider-Man himself was Jewish. It was only later that Peter Parker's upbringing would become identifiable as Christian, and eventually be classifiable as a sort of generic Protestantism.Īt the time of Spider-Man's creation, most comic book super-heroes were created based on a generic White Anglo-Saxon Protestant character type. Beyond this, little was revealed in early Spider-Man stories. He was clearly raised with a strong value system by a very loving, attentive, highly ethical aunt and uncle.
Readers could decide for themselves what Peter Parker's specific religious affiliation and beliefs might be based on how he acted, but there was nothing in the character to suggest non-normative religious beliefs or affiliation. Rather than overtly identifying the specific church or faith or belief system to which Peter Parker and his family belonged, Spider-Man's early stories only portrayed the character's values and ethics. Yet, far from making the character "boring," it made his stories even more interesting.ĭespite being relatively more grounded in reality than contemporary comic book characters, one bit of "unreality" in Spider-Man's early stories was the taboo - still very much in effect at the time of his creation - against overt portrayal of overtly religious themes and characters in popular media. Peter Parker had very real, even mundane problems. Instead of having access to fabulous wealth and technological or mythological resources (as did characters such as the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Ant-Man and Thor), Peter Parker was an everyman whose humble economic circumstances and social standing was less removed from the average American comic book reader. One of the innovations of the Spider-Man character was how grounded he was in contemporary reality. The character of Spider-Man broke the mold among super-hero characters in many ways, and subsequently became very popular as well as much-imitated.
As such, this is one of the most influential comic books ever published.
Occupation: laboratory assistant, performer, photographer, scientist, student, teacherīirth Place: Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, New York, USAĪmazing Fantasy #15 (published in 1962) features the first-appearance of Spider-Man. Teams/Affiliations: Secret Defenders Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends The Avengers Weapon X (Exiles)Įnemy of: Norman Osborn, Sandman, Venom, Doctor Octopus
Video Game, Computer Game Appearances: 16 Super? (Has Super Powers/Special Abilities/Technology): Yes Other Names: Spiderman Peter Benjamin Parker Dusk Prodigy Hornet Ricochet Ben Reilly Ben Parker Peter Morgan Spider-Venom Man-Spider Spider Peter Parquagh The Amazing Spider-Man The Spectacular Spider-Manįirst Appearance: Amazing Fantasy (vol.