Comics Question about Spider-Man's origins in comics

[SpandexFan]

I just read Ultimate Spider-Man Volume #1 (I'm behind ) and not being as familiar with Spidey's Stan Lee origins as I am with the X-Men and a few other characters, I was wondering how close to the real thing his encounter with Uncle Ben's killer was in the remade Ultimate version?

In the movies, he dodges the thief in the wrestling arena, which is the way I believe I remember it from the comics, but it's been a while since I read Spidey comics. I was wondering if the Ultimate background was totally changed, and if you agree with it?

The problem I have with the Ultimate story is it doesn't make as much sense as the storyline where Spidey purposefully lets a thief go who just stole the wrestling money. At least that feels real. You rip me off? Well... Not my money, not my problem. But in the Ultimate storyline where he is on a random street and encounters an obvious thief who looks pretty drugged out of his mind in the Ultimate captions and doesn't do anything to stop it, well, that doesn't feel like the Peter Parker I envision.

Obviously, we have to go through the "great power and great responsibility" lines and then Uncle Ben's death which scars him for life and drives him, but the storyline establishes that from the start, he is a good kid. Sure, he gets caught up in his new abilities and fame, but I still can't picture Peter Parker just letting a random thief with a gun and a "i smoke lots of crack" crazy eyed look just run away like he did in the Ultimate Spider-Man. Letting a wrestling thief run away because he had just been ripped by the promoter makes perfect sense to me, but not the new comic origin.

 

[Parker]

Well, in the original story, Peter happened to be leaving a television broadcasting studio and he let the fleeing criminal pass by simply because he'd grown so arrogant and egotistical in light of his overnight fame as Spider-Man. If you ask me, the film origin made the most sense and seemed to be the most well thought out. Stands to reason, as it had both the original and Ultimate stories to learn from.

 

[Spoon Tang]

He isn't even ripped off by anyone in the original comic origin.

 

[Spidercat]

In the original Spider-Man origin (Amazing Fantasy #15) Spidey is a costumed TV entertainer who lets a thief get by him in a studio (he had previously been a wrestler, but that was only a one-time gig before a TV producer recruited him.)

In many of the versions that follow (including the Sam Raimi movie) Spidey continues being a wrestler when the thief runs by him. Only in the movie does the promoter try to rip Peter Parker off before he sees the thief -- in most versions, Spidey is actually a well-paid performer until he decides to become a superhero and Jameson starts a negative campaign against him.

Now that you mention it, it is a little disturbing to see Peter willingly let the thief get away in USM -- it even looks like Peter is about to stop the thief for about a panel before he decides not to. However, to me the real tragedy of Ultimate Spidey -- and the true reason why he becomes Spider-Man -- isn't just that one selfish act. It actually comes later when Uncle Ben tries to tell Peter that people with the ability to help others should feel it is their responsibility to help others, only to have Peter angrily run away. After Ben is killed, Peter's guilt over the way he acted toward his uncle during their final moments together makes him adopt the creed "with great power comes great responsibility" and become a superhero.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

Another origin is in the TV version Peter's seen on a wall and reports make it to the Bugle, so he decides to get money outta JJJ by makin' the costume an' photographin' himself. Fer no reason whatsoever, he decides to become a crime fighter to stop a cult that hypnotizes people to rob an' then kill themselves.

Then let's not forget Chapter One where the explosion that created Doc Ock irradiated the spider that bit Peter. An' Norman Osborn became Sandman's cousin.

In truth, I agree that the movie origin is the best.

 

[Prison Mike]

Wolverine, is that the live action 70s TV show that you're talking about? I've never seen it but heard it was very cheesy.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

Yes it is, an' yes it was. Although I admit I used to watch it all the time when it was on Sci-Fi an' bought the 4 video collection. The Spidey moments are pure crud, but the Peter Parker parts are pretty decent. And hey, it was the 70s...what else can ya expect?

 

[Eddie Brock]

True, it doesn't make much sense that he just ignored it in USM. But that's the thing, he was acting so selfishly, that he was bound to be brought down to earth.

 

[The Lizard]

The thing that I didn't like about the Ultimate Spider-Man comic version was that Peter was just walking down the street when an armed adult criminal runs past him. No normal 15-year-old nerd would ever have been expected to actually stop the thug. Moreover, if Pete had used his spider-powers on a public street while out of costume, that wouldn't have been very smart. I can understand why Bendis wanted to make the crime more random and take place closer to Pete's house, but it really didn't work well in making it seem like Pete really had the responsibility to stop the crime but didn't.

The movie version handles the whole situation best of course. (As long as Spider-Man 3 doesn't really have Sandman end up being the guy who actually shot Uncle Ben because that's just dumb. )

 

[The Joker]

I'd put spoiler tags around that last part, Lizzy. Some folk here might not want to know any spoilers regarding Spider-Man 3.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

Except that bit of info was in the trailers.

 

[The Joker]

Except that bit of info was in the trailers.

Exactly. Trailers contain spoilers. And some people don't like spoilers. So, they don't watch the trailers and they don't visit the movie forums.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

But if ya watch TV, an' it comes up in a commercial, knda got no choice.

 

[The Joker]

I heard you can change the channel on a TV

 

[Prison Mike]

wow, people go that far in not knowing about a movie that they change the channels when a commercial comes on? That's a bit extreme.

 

[SpandexFan]

I'd put spoiler tags around that last part, Lizzy. Some folk here might not want to know any spoilers regarding Spider-Man 3.

Too late, I already saw it.

 

[storyteller]

Well i believe the point is that if you have the power, should you use it do stop evil. In an old continuity(not sure if its current now), the thief showing up at the parker home wasnt an accident.