Spider-Man is the face of Marvel Comics, with the character being a major hero since his introduction in the Silver Age of Comics. Of course, popularity leads to imitation, with other companies trying to create their own takes on the webslinger over the years. In fact, even Marvel’s tried to emulate the formula that made one of their most iconic heroes such a popular character.
The result is a plethora of “Spider-People” throughout the Marvel Universe, many of whom are quite like Peter Parker and his alter ego. While some are closely related to him, others have almost nothing to do with the wall-crawler. This has given them all varying degrees of success in chasing the fame of the one true Spider-Man.
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10 Silk
Introduced in 2014’s Amazing Spider-Man #1, Silk was created by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos. Her real name is Cindy Moon, and she was bitten by the same spider that bit Peter Parker. This gave her similar powers, but she initially didn’t use them due to being locked up as protection against Morlun and the Inheritors.
A major different between her and Spider-Man is that she shoots organic webs from her fingers. Silk has since become a firm part of the “Web Warriors,” although she isn’t much of a solo star. While she’s a young adult in New York, her unusual upbringing is likely part of why she’s not seen as being as relatable.
9 Miles Morales
Miles Morales is the second most popular Spider-Man after Peter Parker himself. Hailing from the original Ultimate Universe, he replaced his Peter following the death of his world’s wall-crawling hero. He was also bitten by a radioactive spider, with his powers being bolstered by a unique electric “venom shock.”
Miles has continued to grow in popularity, with his stories featuring a mix of Peter’s villains and his own unique foes. The latter includes his criminal uncle Aaron Davis and corrupt clones of himself. This, along with his more youthful nature, allows him to reach a similar yet different audience than Peter.
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8 Spider-Man 2099
Miguel O’Hara was the Spider-Man of the alternate future of 2099. Caught in a lab experiment that emulated the abilities of the original hero, he defended his dark future against the tyrannical company Alchemax. He also had his own unique powers, namely vampiric fangs.
It’s no shock that Spider-Man 2099 was the premiere hero of the 2099 timeline and imprint, including more recent comics. Ironically, Miguel was the complete opposite of Peter Parker, coming from a more privileged background and having more stable income. In one reality, he also became worthy of wielding Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir.
7 Spider-Gwen/Ghost Spider
An alternate universe version of Spider-Man’s deceased girlfriend, Spider-Gwen (also known as Ghost Spider) lives in a world where Gwen Stacy – not Peter Parker – was bitten by a radioactive spider. Gwen in this universe was different from her mainstream counterpart, being a drummer and taking on a punk rock persona. She’s since starred in several ongoing comics and miniseries.
Unfortunately, some Spider-Gwen stories and concepts simply feel too much like remixes of Peter Parker’s life. In this way, she truly is just the Peter Parker/Spider-Man of her world. The irony is that her version of Peter died after becoming The Lizard.
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6 Spider-Woman
Introduced in the Bronze Age, the mantle of Spider-Woman began with Jessica Drew. She’s the main Spider-Woman, and as her name suggests, some of her powers are similar to those of Spider-Man. The same goes for other ladies who’ve taken the name, such as Julia Carpenter.
Spider-Woman was essentially introduced just for copyright purposes, and the Jessica Drew version in particular has nothing to do with Spider-Man. Instead, she is more of an espionage agent and has been tied to the Avengers in recent years. The Jessica Drew from the Ultimate Universe, however, does essentially replace Peter after his death.
5 Venom
Venom began as one of Spider-Man’s deadliest enemies, but by the mid-1990s, he transitioned into being an antiheroic Lethal Protector. In recent years, he’s even more heroic, fighting alongside the Avengers and other heroes against Knull, the former King in Black. When combined with his appearance, powers and gooey symbiote “webbing,” he’s now a stronger version of Spider-Man.
The similarities to Spider-Man were even more obvious during the “Agent Venom” days. During this era, Flash Thompson bonded to the symbiote, and this allowed the longtime Spider-Fan to directly emulate the hero he idolized and admired.
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4 Spider-Ham
One of the more unique variants of Spider-Man is Spider-Ham, a.k.a. Peter Porker. This hero comes from a universe of funny cartoon animals. In a strange reversal of the norm, he was originally a spider bitten by a radioactive pig.
Spider-Ham’s stories are mostly jokes, with several of them being parodies of key parts of Spider-Man’s mythos. Of course, this humorous nature means that he’s rarely had a consistent ongoing title. In fact, his appearance in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse served as his biggest push into the limelight.
3 Spider-Punk
Spider-Punk is an alternate universe version of Hobie Brown, who on Earth-616 is the original Prowler. On his Earth, however, Spider-Punk was a teen who becomes a rebellious voice for the oppressed after gaining powers. After killing his version of Norman Osborn, he became a renown hero to the youth and promptly took part in the comic book Spider-Verse crossover.
Spider-Punk is a rather extreme permutation of several Spider-Man concepts. Formerly homeless, he embodies the concept of Spider-Man and the perpetually bad “Parker luck.” Likewise, his punk rock mentality evokes Peter Parker’s original plans to work in show biz. Of course, his villains are also versions of Peter’s, which makes him one of several characters who are essentially “Spider-Man with a twist.”
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2 Daredevil
Daredevil is one of Spider-Man’s closest allies, but it might seem odd to directly compare him to the webhead. In reality, his original portrayal was that of a happy-go-lucky swashbuckler who cracked jokes. It was obviously creator Stan Lee trying to emulate his previous success with Spider-Man, and they even shared acrobatic skill and bright costumes.
Conversely, the darker version of Daredevil introduced by Frank Miller is still comparable to Spider-Man. A street-level hero, he constantly has struggles as both a hero and a civilian. In fact, Matt Murdock’s life might be even more dysfunctional than Peter Parker’s.
1 Scarlet Spider
When it comes to clones of Spider-Man, there’s no better example than his actual genetic copies. Ben Reilly was a clone created by The Jackal, and he was completely identical to Peter Parker. Forging a heroic path of his own, he became known as the Scarlet Spider.
Ben Reilly was such a clone of Peter Parker that he romanced a redhead. Another, albeit more “failed” clone was Kaine, whose imperfect genetics actually made him stronger than Peter. Although Kaine was initially a violent vigilante, he later replaced Reilly as the Scarlet Spider.
Marvel Comics has many stand-ins and copies of the popular Spider-Man, some of whom aren’t even related to Peter Parker and his alter ego. Read More