Marvel Improved Spider-Man’s Webs By Making Them Someone Else’s Invention

Though there are several aspects of Ultimate Marvel’s Spidey that are quite faithful to the original story, Ultimate Spider-Manoffered a modernized retelling of Peter Parker’s origin, changing the young superhero’s history in a number of ways. One update changes the genesis of Spider-Man’s web fluid – originally Peter’s most famous invention – by making it someone else’s idea in the first place.

Ultimate Spider-Man (2000) #6 – by Brian Michael Bendis, Bill Jemas, Mark Bagley, and Art Thibert – shows 15-year-old Peter Parker soon after he became Spider-Man. Uncle Ben just recently died, and Peter has officially donned his costume as a hero, but many of Spider-Man’s iconic elements are not yet in place.

The issue, titled “Big Time Super Hero,” shows the young Spidey in his lab in Aunt May’s basement, having just finished developing his famous web fluid for the first time. In the Ultimate universe (Earth-1610), however, Spidey’s web fluid was actually first devised by Peter’s father, Richard Parker.

Ultimate Spider-Man’s Father Helped Him Invent His Webs

Like on Earth-616, the Peter Parker of Earth-1610 was left an orphan at a young age when his parents, Richard and Mary Parker, died in a plane crash. In the Ultimate universe, Richard Parker was a scientist, working alongside his partner, Eddie Brock Sr., in a quest to make the world a better place. Richard and Eddie’s most notable creation was the Venom Symbiote (called “the Suit“), which they had originally intended to be a cure for cancer, among other illnesses. Their employer, Bolivar Trask, seemingly caused the plane crash that killed the Parkers and Brocks.

Before Richard’s death, he worked on a molecular adhesive that would eventually be left incomplete – at least, by him. Peter Parker says that he stared at the unfinished formula “since before [he] could read,” hoping to complete the creation his father could not. It wasn’t until becoming Spider-Man that the solution clicked in Peter’s head, leading him to the creation of his iconic web fluid. Peter then engineered his own web-shooters. It’s a touching moment, as Peter’s father (who got him interested in science) posthumously guides his son’s superhero persona. In this universe, Spider-Man’s father spiritually web-slings with him.

Ultimate Peter Parker Needs His Mentors As Much As The Classic Version

Richard’s guiding hand in the creation of the web-shooters also drives home just how young Ultimate Peter Parker is. Though Earth-616 Spider-Man eventually aged out of high school, Ultimate Spider-Man spends most of his career as a 15-year-old, dropped into a world much larger than he understands. He’s definitely a genius, but Richard’s help in creating the web fluid highlights how Peter can’t do everything on his own; it’s part of the reason he reveals his secret to Mary Jane so early on in their romance. Just like Uncle Ben, there is likely no Ultimate Marvel Spider-Man without Richard Parker’s guidance.