Alternative versions of Spider-Man


"Spider-Man" is the name of multiple comic book superheroes from the Marvel Comics Multiverse. The original and most well known is Peter Parker created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko originating from the Earth-616 universe. Within the mainstream Marvel Universe there have been characters that have taken the mantle such as Ben Reilly, Mac Gargan, Otto Octavius, and Kurt Wagner.
Outside of the mainstream universe, there are different incarnations of Spider-Man in alternate universes. Popular examples include characters such as the Ultimate version of Peter Parker and his successor, Miles Morales, an alternate future version named Miguel O'Hara, a daughter of Peter Parker named Mayday Parker in the MC2 universe, a different take on Peter Parker in the Great Depression era, a universe where Peter's supporting character, Gwen Stacy, becomes Spider-Woman instead of Parker, along with talking animal parodies like Spider-Ham. Originally, these characters were depicted as separate from each other, but they have crossed over together in storylines like "Spider-Verse", "Web Warriors", and Spider-Geddon, in teams such as Spider-Army and Web-Warriors, where the many different versions of Spider-themed characters are the major protagonists of the storyline. Some of these characters appeared in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its sequel. Some of these characters were temporarily merged in the same universe in the 2015 comic book series Secret Wars as a part of the Spider-Man family.
There have been different version characters in other media that have crossed over in comics as well.

Prime Earth (Earth-616)

Peter Parker, the Spider-Man of Earth-616, is the original variation of the character and appears in nearly every single piece of other media surrounding Spider-Man.

Other universes

Other related characters exist in alternative versions of the Marvel Universe called the Multiverse. These characters originally appeared in their own continuity but later on crossed over with the mainstream Spider-Man family. In 2015 all the alternate comic book universes were destroyed and only a few characters joined with Earth-616 characters in its own universe including various Spider-Men.

DC crossovers (Earth-7642)

In some intercompany crossovers with DC Comics, Spider-Man has worked alongside a Superman based on the Earth One version, twice, once to defeat Doctor Octopus and Lex Luthor and the other to stop Doctor Doom from providing Parasite with long-term access to the powers of the Hulk and Wonder Woman. He also worked alongside a Batman based on the post-Crisis version, to defeat Carnage and the Joker, the two later collaborating to defeat the Kingpin and Ra's al Ghul, with Fisk eventually aiding the heroes in the end.

''Deadpool: Samurai'' (Earth-346)

In the alternate universe Deadpool: Samurai manga series, which takes place on Earth-346, Deadpool receives an offer to join Samurai Squad, the Japanese division of the Avengers. Before leaving for Japan, Deadpool announces his departures to Spider-Man, who agrees grant him a request before he leaves. Deadpool requests to go web-slinging with Spider-Man, and so Spider-Man allows Deadpool to hold onto him as he swings through New York City. In Japan, Deadpool meets Sakura Spider, another spider-powered hero native to the country. Later, Sakura Spider is trapped on Earth-616 by the events of End of the Spider-Verse, facing off against Otto Octavius in Spider-Man: Octo-Girl.

''Earth X'' (Earth-9997)

In the series Earth X and its sequels, set on Earth-9997, Peter Parker's identity as Spider-Man is revealed and he is no longer a superhero. In time, he becomes overweight and resembles his late uncle as he ages. After the death of his wife, his daughter bonds to the Venom symbiote and fights crime, much to his dismay. During the course of the series, he becomes a police officer. Three other related characters appear.
In the same universe, an African American homeless man was mutated by Terrigen Mist, gaining red patterned skin resembling Spider-Man's suit and the ability to generate illusions. He went by the alias "Spiders Man".

A.I.M. Pocket Reality ''(Earth-13584)''

On this Earth, Spider-Man underwent a further mutation that turned his skin blue, caused him to develop a spider-like language, and enabled him to make webs that have an effect on Iron Man's armors and Doctor Strange's magic, while emitting a smell that repels the monsters on the Thing's side. Using these webs, Spider-Man surrounded a section of Hell's Kitchen to act as his territory for him and his gang. The Dark Avengers had to make their way through Spider-Man's territory in order to rescue Moonstone and Skaar from Strangetown, which resulted in them running into Spider-Man's gang. After Spider-Man's gang subdues the Dark Avengers while thinking that they are knockoffs of the originals, Ai Apaec speaks with Spider-Man in their spider language, stating that they are good guys. Spider-Man releases them from their webs. The Dark Avengers and Spider-Man's gang arrive in Strangetown, where they fought the All-Seeing Eye and the Soulsnake who are on Doctor Strange's side. After the two creatures are killed, Spider-Man is killed by Tigra as Doctor Strange stated that his two creatures were sacrificed so that Spider-Man can be brought down.

''Exiles''

In the series Exiles, which involves inter-dimensional travel, several alternative versions appear:
  • The Spider is an alternative version of Spider-Man who merged with the Carnage symbiote and became a psychopathic killer. Before being displaced in time, he had been on death row in his home reality. He originates from Earth-15 and was a member of Weapon X.
  • A Spider-Man who is a member of the Fantastic Five and dies in a battle against the Spider.
  • A Peter Parker who is part of a mutant superhero team, Force-X, led by Emma Frost. His codename is "Spider". His outfit is the standard Force-X uniform, he wears goggles instead of a mask, and his webbing is organic.
  • A version of Peter Parker who is a child abused by his Uncle Ben. While locked in the cellar, he is befriended by a large spider-like creature, the Tallus, who instructs Blink and Nocturne to lead this universe's incarnation of Wolverine to the rundown shack the Parkers live in. A fight ensues and the creature and Wolverine are both killed. As Blink and Nocturne depart this reality, it is shown that the creature bit the young Peter.
  • Morph fought a Demon Spider-Man on an alternative world. Later, the Demon Spider-Man was viewed briefly by Mojo and Major Domo as it attacked a young couple in a parking complex, but the Demon Spider-Man killed itself.

    ''Heroes Reborn'' (Earth-21798)

In the Heroes Reborn event, a change in the timeline results in a continuity in which the Squadron Supreme are Earth's mightiest heroes while the Avengers never came to be. In this continuity, Peter isn't bitten by the radioactive spider due to Flash Thompson pushing him out of the way right before it happens. He achieves valedictorian in high school and later attends Empire University, but drops out after Aunt May dies in the crossfire of one of Hyperion's battles. He is hired by Robbie Robertson to take pictures of heroes and act as a friend to Hyperion. When Hyperion fails to eliminate Annihilus's hive, Peter successfully manages to evacuate the Bugle and destroy the remaining bug, but is bitten and transforms into a spider-like creature.

''House of M'' (Earth-58163)

In House of M, a Marvel crossover event, the Scarlet Witch alters reality to make mutants the ruling class over humans. This world is ruled by mutants and their leader, Magneto. In the miniseries Spider-Man: House of M, Peter Parker is believed to be a mutant, and Spider-Man's identity is widely known. He is rich, famous and married to Gwen Stacy, and they have a young son named Ritchie. Aunt May and Uncle Ben are alive and in good health, and J. Jonah Jameson is Peter's often-abused publicist. Unfortunately, his life unravels when Jameson reveals to the world that Spider-Man is not a born mutant. After the world is restored to normal, Peter suffers terribly with the memory of the life he left behind, expressing a desire to kill Magneto, whom he mistakenly believes was behind the events of the House of M, and the Scarlet Witch, whose powers were responsible for the altered reality.

''The Manga'' (Earth-70091)

Spider-Man: The Manga is a Japanese manga illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami which retold the story of Spider-Man in a Japanese setting. It was originally published in Japan from January 1970 to September 1971 in Monthly Shōnen Magazine. The main character is named Yu Komori to maintain the Japanese adaptation.

Marvel Mangaverse (Earth-2301)

''Marvel Adventures'' (Earth-20051)

This version of Spider-Man first appeared in Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #53–61 before appearing in the re-titled Spider-Man: Marvel Adventures comic book series. A modern-day high school student, this Spider-Man's origin is similar to his mainstream counterpart, but his supporting cast is significantly different. Although Gwen Stacy exists in this universe, she and Peter are not dating — instead Peter is dating a brand-new character named Sophia "Chat" Sanduval, who is a mutant with the ability to talk to animals. Peter's relationship with Gwen's father, Captain George Stacy, also differs from the original version — here, Captain Stacy discovers Peter's secret identity early on, yet rather than hide this information from Peter, he confides in Peter and becomes Spider-Man's unofficial police contact. While this Spider-Man battles supervillains, he is generally more concerned with combating street-level crime and focuses heavily on taking down the Torinos, a powerful New York City Mafia family.