listen_bud

[PLAYER INFO]
NAME: Steve
AGE: 24
JOURNAL: android_13
IM: ChouJuusanGou (AIM)
E-MAIL: Juusangou@gmail.com
RETURNING: Returning; Jamie Madrox

[CHARACTER INFO]
CHARACTER NAME: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man!
FANDOM: Marvel 616
CHRONOLOGY: Post Amazing Spider-man #564, and well into the arc of A Brand New Day.
CLASS: Through and through, Peter is the quintessential hero.
SUPERHERO NAME: The Amazing and oft times Spectacular Spider-man.
ALTER EGO: Peter Parker, freelance photographer for the Front Line.

BACKGROUND:
Spider-man, born Peter Benjamin Parker, was first introduced in Amazing Fantasy #15 in August of 1962. An ordinary teenager, Peter was an orphan who was raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. He was also an outcast, and he was often self-obsessed with his feelings of rejection, inadequacy, and loneliness. Unlike most superhero sidekicks of the time, Peter's protégé wasn't Captain America or Batman, but his Uncle, the surrogate father figure in his life, who originally instilled him with the principle that with great power also comes great responsibility. Almost fifty years of publication later, Peter would continue to carry that with him as his moral grounding.

The reason Peter has always been so identifiable with readers is that Peter, as a young man, has frequently found himself troubled with the complexities of everyday life, which are only compounded by his attempts to reconcile his alter-ego as the Amazing Spider-man. It started in Amazing Fantasy #15, when Peter, a painfully shy high school student, was bitten by a radioactive spider while attending a public science exhibit when he was fifteen years old. By being bitten, Peter was empowered with the irradiated arachnid's proportional strength and agility, and the ability to cling to almost any surface. In addition to this, he was also gifted a near-precognitive “spider-sense,” which alerts Peter to danger in proportion to that danger.

Overwhelmed by his newly acquired sensational abilities, Peter initially set out to find fame and fortune, and disguised in a makeshift costume, a far cry from his distinctive red and blues, he tested them on, and subsequently defeated, professional wrestler Crusher Hogan. Following his first public appearance, and now an overnight sensation, Peter pitched the idea of a television show to network executives wherein he would play the role of a costumed hero, but with the undisclosed ability to actually do the things his character could. Literally overnight, Peter had gone from social pariah to syndicated phenomenon, and unconcerned with the rest of the world, vowed to use his abilities only to take care of himself and his aunt and uncle. It was because of his new selfish convictions that Peter would encounter his first, and arguably most painful, characteristically fundamental loss; that of his Uncle Ben.

After his first television special ended, he allowed a burglar that he could have easily restrained to run past him and escape. A few days later, Peter returned home to find his beloved Uncle Ben had been shot and killed, and when, disguised as Spider-Man, he confronted the killer hiding in an old warehouse, he discovered to his horror that his uncle's murderer was the burglar he apathetically allowed to pass. Realizing that he could have prevented his uncle's death, the guilt-ridden Peter committed himself to a life of crime fighting. This disarming mix of selfless obligation and self-recrimination brought about by his uncle's death arguably makes up Spider-man's moral core.

Peter continued high school as per normal, and interestingly enough, when compared to his entire fifty year span, his senior year and college years were arguably the most tumultuous. During this time, not only did he get his first job as a freelance photographer for the Daily Bugle, but Peter also encountered, and disenchanted himself from, the majority of his rogue gallery, including Doctor Octopus, the Sandman, the Lizard, Electro, Mysterio, the Green Goblin, Kraven the Hunter, the Scorpion, and, on the day of his graduation, the Molten Man. After graduating high school, Peter earned a science scholarship to Empire State University for achieving the highest scholastic average in Midtown High's history, and it was there that he met two of the most important and influential people in his life, Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn.

However, like most things in his life, his friendship with the two did not come easy. At first, Peter was consumed with his aunt's hospitalization due to an irradiated blood transfusion to May that was slowly killing her, and because of that, Peter was misunderstood as an unfriendly snob by Harry and Gwen. Regardless, as Spider-man, Peter enlisted the help of Dr. Curt Connors for a cure, and tirelessly battled his way through Doctor Octopus to administer the elixir to Aunt May. Finally able to relax while May convalesced, Peter avoided meeting “friend of the family,” Mary Jane Watson, reconciled his friendship with Gwen, became Harry's roommate and best friend, and over time also befriended his former tormentor, Flash Thompson. However, he would find this temperate period in his life short-lived after a confrontation with the villain that keeps on giving, the Green Goblin.

Unbeknown to Spider-man, the Goblin had found a way to negate Peter's Spider-Sense, effectively making him completely vulnerable to a surprise attack. Caught by surprise, Peter was knocked unconscious and kidnapped by the villain, where both of them discovered each other's secrets; Spider-man was Peter Parker, best friend to Harry Osborn, and the Goblin was his father, industrialist Norman Osborn! In the ensuing battle, Peter barely manages to assure victory by knocking Norman into live wires and chemicals, leaving Osborn with partial amnesia, and ensuring Peter's identity was once again safe.

Meanwhile, Peter could no longer evade meeting Mary Jane Watson, the niece of neighbor Anna Watson, whom his Aunt had been unrelentingly trying to introduce him to. Assuming the worst, Peter was stunned to discover she was both gorgeous and vivacious. Peter not only began dating MJ on occasion, but he also moved into Harry's apartment, rent free. However, despite his new found independence, happiness eluded him; he was worn out by Jameson's editorials, the public's fear of him, Aunt May's fragile health, slipping grades, and his floundering love life. In an effort to salvage what was left of his personal life, and desperately seeking to hold on to what good spirits he had left, Peter dumped his costume in an alleyway's trashcan and became Spider-man no more. In the short time Peter enjoyed time studying, and being with friends and family, crime escalated as the Kingpin's initiated his master plan to oversee the criminal underworld, and after rescuing a watchman resembling Uncle Ben from two robbers, he renewed his vow to never let an innocent come to harm because he failed to act.

Though Peter continued an on and off relationship with Mary Jane for a while, he soon fell in love with the more serious-minded Gwen, which caused tension between Harry and himself due to Harry's mutual attraction to the blonde bombshell. Gwen reciprocated Peter's feelings though, and he later met with Gwen's father, retired police captain, George Stacy. Though Peter's frequent and unexplained disappearances as Spider-man had caused friction with Gwen, their affection for each other gave Peter hope for a happy future together. Their bond together grew stronger, and Gwen's father approvingly observed of their relationship, in addition to his support of the efforts of Spider-man. Peter's luck wouldn't last though, when Captain Stacy was tragically killed while saving a child during a battle between Spider-man and Doctor Octopus. As Peter, in the guise of Spider-man, cradled the dying Captain Stacy, he asked him to take care of Gwen, and acknowledged him as Peter. Spider-man had lost a great ally, and Peter a friend.

Gwen blamed Spider-man for her father's death, and Peter's conscience, already tormented by having to lie to Gwen about his identity as Spider-man, became even more troubled. Though for a time their relationship was put on hold as Gwen traveled to England to escape her grief, their love prevailed, even through the drug addiction and overdose of their friend Harry. In the end, the only thing that could seperate the two was death, which tragically came to Gwen too early when she was kidnapped by the Green Goblin and thrown from the Brooklyn Bridge. Courageously, Peter had tried to save her, but failed, as the velocity of her descent and the webbing which had caught her ankle had snapped her neck. Peter, driven by unbearable grief and rage, viciously battled Norman who was accidentally impaled by his own Goblin Glider.

In secret, Norman's son Harry observed his death and swore revenge on Spider-man, and in his own grief, succumbed to the Goblin Legacy and became the next Green Goblin. In addition, to Harry's shock, he found a Spider-Man costume in Peter's apartment one day, and realized that his best friend was the man he blamed for his father's death. Using his father's old equipment, Harry confronted Peter as the new Green Goblin In already one of the most painful periods of Peter's life, having lost Gwen and her father, and breaking off his relationship with Mary Jane, he also lost Harry, only barely stopped from finishing the work that his father, Norman, had started. In their final fight, the two best friends clashed until Harry, brought back from the edge of insanity, rescued his friend and then collapsed, as his body gave in to the formula poisoning his bloodstream. With his final words, he apologized to Peter, and confirmed that despite everything, they were still, and would always be, best friends.

Peter had passed one of the most chaotic and emotionally draining periods in his life at this point, and even at a point after had to deal with professor Miles Warren, the Jackal, who blamed Spider-man for Gwen's death. The climax included a clone of Peter, whom were both killed in the conclusion. With their departure, Peter's life had returned to normality, and he found solace in his a certain redhead, whose relationship, Peter had realized, surpassed far more than friendship. Their relationship was so strong, he felt, that shortly before his college graduation, Peter proposed to Mary Jane. However, MJ had seen too much pain in her own family, and after turning him down, left New York to pursue her modeling career in Florida, while Peter moved on to his post-graduate studies.

It was a time for new challenges, and new friends, but one thing would never change; the ever-present responsibility he faced as Spider-man.

Entering his post-graduate studies, Peter's life entered a period of much required normality, not only for him, but for his friends as well-- well, with the exception of crossing paths with Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat. Spider-Man persuaded Felicia to turn away from crime, and the two became lovers - and crime-fighting partners. Felicia urged Peter to spend more and more time in costume, as, in her opinion, the glamorous Black Cat could never bear to see her super-hero living the squalid life of post-grad student. Becoming Spider-Man was made easier since Aunt May had recovered enough to return home and open the Parker residence as a boarding home for retired people. This period of emotional stability for Peter wouldn't last, however, where a battle with Doctor Octopus and the Owl had nearly cost Felicia her life. Peter realized that without super-powers, Felicia was just like the others from his past, who had so often paid the price for his identity as Spider-Man.

When Mary Jane returned from Florida she found Peter and the Black Cat in a shaky and tempestuous relationship. Felicia could not bear the thought of Peter not allowing her to accompany him into battle, and she embarked on a secret search for super-powers at any price. Tricked by the Kingpin, and twisted in her own deceit, the Black Cat and Spider-Man finally parted ways. In contrast, Mary Jane was determined not to let lies come between her and Peter Parker. She finally told Peter that she had known for some time about his secret identity. With Spider-Man's secret finally out in the open, Peter and Mary Jane's relationship found new depth.

Certainly there was always plenty of action for Spider-man in New York, and even beyond, with the appearance of the Hobgoblin, a certain symbiote Peter had recieved after being whisked away by the enigmatic Beyonder to fight in the Secret Wars, Kraven the Hunter, a brief stint as Captain Universe, which not only made him super awesome, but also virtually indestructable, and even as a member of an unofficial ad-hoc Fantastic Four team. The most prominent and important moment in this time, however, was Peter's engagement to Mary Jane Watson. Mary Jane loved Peter, and had deep respect for his sense of responsibility, but she was unprepared for the loneliness, the fear for his life, and the nagging doubt that perhaps Peter needed Spider-Man far more than he needed her. In spite of Peter and Mary Jane's mutual worry that they were marrying too early, Peter's concern for MJ's safety, and Mary Jane's unwillingness to give up her "party girl" lifestyle, they married. She attached Peter's surname to her own, making her Mary Jane Watson-Parker.

Again, their happiness was put on the back burner when demons from Peter's past came back into both of their lives. Having just passed a dark period in his life, Peter's clone, created by the Jackal, had survived and wandered the U.S. using the adopted name "Ben Reilly." Eventually, the clone returned to New York and adopted his own costumed identity as the Scarlet Spider, and portrayed himself as Peter's long-lost cousin. Peter and Ben became friends, even almost brothers, as Peter now had someone with whom he could truly share his burden. The Jackal himself had also survived, however, and was deceived by the resurrected Norman Osborn into declaring that Ben Reilly was actually the original, and Peter was, in fact, the clone. Though Peter took the revelation badly, Ben gave Peter and Mary Jane a chance at a normal life while he adopted the role of Spider-man. Peter and Mary Jane moved to Portland, he had returned to his scientific career, and hampered by never having completed his doctorate, returned to earn his Ph.D. in biochemistry. They both realized, however, that New York was where they truly belong. The happiness of their return was shattered, however, with the return of Norman Osborn, who revealed himself as the mastermind behind the Jackal's schemes. In another tragic battle in Spider-man's history, Norman killed Ben, impaling him on his glider, revealing to Peter that Ben Reilly was the clone after all.

After the turmoil experienced by the return and subsequent defeat of Norman Osborn, and the with the final close to the clone saga, Peter, Mary Jane, and Aunt may moved into a luxurious apartment. With the Green Goblin gone again, Peter promised MJ that he would give up being Spider-man and concentrate on their family. He took a job at Tri Corp Research while Mary Jane returned to modeling. Still, Peter's selfless nature and sense of responsibility brought him back to crime-fighting after various emergencies. Peter could not keep his word. While Mary Jane dealt with her own issues with her career, being anonymously threatened by a stalker, Peter was secretly breaking his promise and returned to web-slinging. Mary Jane, also preoccupied, soon became distraught feeling a space beginning to grow between her husband and her. After catching Peter still active as Spider-man, MJ vanished when a plane she had boarded exploded. Peter was devastated by her supposed death, Aunt May returned to her home in Forest Hills, and he moved in with friend, Randy Robertson. He socialized with Randy and friends, but was still emotionally adrift, leaving him vulnerable for Norman Osborn to carry out his plan to brainwash peter and incite him to becoming his heir. Even with Peter in one of his most vulnerable moments, having believed his wife deceased, he proved that his will was still strong enough to resist Osborn's attempt.

Meanwhile, Mary Jane was not dead, but had been kidnapped by her stalker. Peter managed to rescue her as Spider-man, but she had decided that after her harrowing ordeal, she needed time away from Peter and Spider-man. She left for the West Coast not soon after, leaving Peter to struggle with a loss almost as traumatic as her apparent death. To compound his problems, Aunt May had discovered Peter's secret after visiting him unannounced, finding him beaten, battered, and recuperating after a grueling battle with one of his enemies. After coming to terms with the truth, May quickly became Spider-man's strongest supporter, and the two became closer than ever. At May's suggestion, Pete returned to Midtown High to become a part-time science teacher. After their time apart, Peter earnestly assured Mary Jane that he truly needed her in his life, and with renewed hopes, both agreed to try once more to make things work between them.

A considerable amount of time later, Peter finally joined the Avengers, an honor he had declined in the past, and Tony Stark, looking at Peter as his protégé, gave him a new technologically advanced costume as a gift. Shortly after this, in the aftermath of the tragedy in Stamford, Connecticut, Peter stood by Tony's side, and hoped to gain respect from the public for his compliance with the Superhuman Registration Act by making the difficult decision to reveal his identity to the world during a press conference, with the support of both Aunt May and Mary Jane.

Unfortunately, Peter would come to regret his decision. Not only did he now face the backlash of public exposure to his loved ones, and the prospect of having to fight and capture his renegade friends in what had become an all-out Civil War, but he soon discovered a prison built by Tony Stark for superheroes who opposed the registration, housed in the Negative Zone. With the veil pulled from around his eyes, Peter fled Avengers Tower with his family, clashing with his former mentor during his exit. After barely escaping, he aided Captain America and the forces opposing the registration, culminating in a massive battle during the jailbreak of the heroes imprisoned in the Negative Zone. When Captain America surrendered, however, Peter was left reeling from the backlash of his identity becoming public knowledge.

The Kingpin, an old foe of Spider-man's, arranged a sniper to kill the Parker family, and though Mary Jane was spared through Peter's quick thinking, he was unable to prevent his Aunt from being shot. With May left in a coma on the verge of death, and unable to save her even with assistance from the world's most capable minds, Peter, in anguish over the thought of yet another love one injured because of his secret identity, became embittered and once again donned the black costume. Reflective of the dark times, and with his aunt close to death, Spider-man confronted the Kingpin deep within Ryker's Island prison, and, while unmasked as Peter Parker, beat him within an inch of his life, vowing to come back and kill him if Aunt May died.

With no where left to turn for help, the despairing Peter couldn't have had any idea that forces beyond his understanding were listening to his cries, and one in particular decided to answer his plight. On his way to the hospital, Peter was confronted by a little girl who told him she held the answer to his problem. After talking to her she ran and Peter pursued her only to encounter a group of men; a woman in red informed him they are alternate versions of himself, from alternate time lines where he never became Spider-man. Only a moment later, the woman in red transformed into Mephisto, who told Peter he could save his Aunt, but as payment, he wanted his marriage to Mary Jane. Peter and MJ were given until midnight the following night to decide their answer and, several hours agonizing over the choice, they agreed to the deal, as long as knowledge of Peter's secret identity was erased from the world. Before granting their wish, and separating the two, Mary Jane whispered to Mephisto another, unspecified offer in return for Mephisto putting Peter's life back exactly how it was and "giving him a chance at happiness." Finally, Mephisto also revealed to them that his disguise as the little girl was in fact their soon-to-be-daughter, but that she would never be conceived because of their decision.

Mephisto changed history so that they never married, and no one remembered whose face was underneath Spider-man's mask. Peter woke up alone in bed, living again with his Aunt May. That evening, he attended a party being held by the resurrected Harry Osborn who introduced Lilly Hollister and Carlie Cooper, and from the corner of his eye, Peter glimpsed Mary Jane sadly leaving the party. As he watched her leave, the guests all made a toast to a "Brand New Day."

PERSONALITY:
Peter Parker is a man defined by his losses, and times more often than not it's the people around him competing with the dead for importance. You see, that's not to say that he doesn't care about them, but ever since Ben's death, Peter has been haunted by those lost due to, what he perceives as, his own shortcomings. In carrying those losses with him, Peter strives to be a better person; a better friend, a better lover, and a better hero. For him, being a superhero is a Catch 22-- he can't ignore people in need, knowing that he has the power to make a difference, but at the same time, many times, he finds the people around him suffer the most for his altruism.

And you see, that's just it; Peter learned the hard way what it means to stand by and do nothing, at an incredibly young age, and he has been governed by a strong moral barometer ever since. He's not the strongest, in fact, in most situations he's extremely underpowered, but he has never and will never give anything short of one-hundred and ten percent, because by offering any less it means that the people he's trying to protect are worth less for it. Spider-man draws his strengths from Peter Parker, not the other way around.

Sure, as Spidey he jokes, but maybe not for the reasons that you think. He jokes because he's scared, because he's insecure; it's a defense mechanism. It's also a way to protect the people he's defending; by unnerving his enemies, he can frustrate them into a mistake, but he also keeps the attention on him, and not the victims around him.

POWER:
Pete has the proportionate speed and strength of a spider. While not in the same weight class as many other heroes, Spider-man's agility allows him the use of a unique fighting style that is nearly impossible for most other heroes to emulate or most villains to defeat. Spider-man is a cunning fighter, so much so that, at times, he has managed to defeat villains much more powerful than himself, such as Titania during the Secret Wars, or even Galactus' cosmic-imbued herald, Firelord. His tendons and connective tissues are at least twice as elastic as the average human being's, which affords him the ability to flex his body like a contortionist, and maintain his equilibrium on any surface he can stick to.

Speaking of sticking to walls, Spidey also has the unique ability to wall-crawl, that is to say he is capable of crawling and sticking to walls, ceilings, etc., and has a conscious, instinctive control over this ability. In the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, this ability is explained as Peter being able to enhance the flux of inter-atomic attractive forces on surfaces he touches, increasing the coefficient of friction between that surface and himself.

Awesome! So, we've covered everything except for the one ability that is not only the most identifiable to Spider-man, but the most unique, and that is the Spider-Sense. This sense manifests itself as a tingling feeling at the base of Peter's skull, and in partnership with his enhanced agility, allows him reflexes so fast it borders on precognition. It is so fast that at times of danger he will instinctively react without thinking, and must consciously ignore this instinct if need be. When Spider-Man swings across a city on his weblines, his spider-sense guides his aim, allowing him to travel at high speeds hundreds of feet above street level with minimal concentration, confident his weblines will find secure anchor points.