Sometimes student, sometimes scientist and sometimes photographer, Peter Parker is a full-time super hero better known as the web-slinging and wall-crawling Spider-Man. As an orphaned child, Peter was raised by his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. At a science expo, Peter was bitten by an errant radioactive spider which granted him an array of arachnid powers. He initially became Spider-Man to use his powers as an entertainer, growing so conceited he didn't bother stopping a passerby burglar. In a twist of fate, the same burglar wound up killing Peter's Uncle Ben, leading him to realize that he needed to use his powers responsibly.[11] From then on, Spider-Man became a crime-fighting vigilante.[133]
Often a loner, Spider-Man is a stalwart member of the super hero community who has earned numerous allies like the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. He has made of numerous super villains his personal enemies, including Doctor Octopus, Electro, Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio, Venom, and most notoriously, his nemesis the Green Goblin, who killed Peter's girlfriend Gwen Stacy.[134] Peter's support network extends to his civilian life, including Mary Jane Watson, Harry Osborn, Flash Thompson, and J. Jonah Jameson, although the latter used to run a smear campaign against the wall-crawler in his newspaper, the Daily Bugle.
Recently, following the rise and fall of his start-up company, Parker Industries,[135] Peter juggled his Spider-Man activities with his return to college, while also becoming the target of torment of a demonic entity known as Kindred.[136] Following Kindred's defeat,[137] Peter was hospitalized for months due to a super villain fight,[138] paving the way for his clone Ben Reilly to reassert himself as Spider-Man. Peter ultimately recovered from his injuries, but also had to come face-to-face against Ben, who had become morally corrupted due to the machinations of his corporate sponsors, the Beyond Corporation.[139]
