The Amazing Spider-Man

Play the "spider-pig" song from The Simpson's movie to someone and there is a high chance that they will sing along. Play them the original version of that song from the old Spider-Man cartoons and you might get a couple of blank looks. But believe it or not, Spider-Man has been around for a very long time. In fact, even longer than Doctor Who. 

Stan Lee first bought the character to life in the comic extravaganza, Amazing Fantasy. A comic in which the whimsical hero, Spider-Man, was only supposed to make an appearance. He was added in later because Stan Lee was doubtful that the comic would sell. "Nobody cares about what you put in a book that's going to die," said Stan Lee, the creator of Spider-Man and the beloved Marvel Universe, "so I threw in Spider-Man. Featured him on the cover and then forgot about him." Martin Goodman, the publisher of the Marvel comics, didn't want to publish it as he was convinced that the audience would find the spider aspect of the boy-hero to be "distateful". But Spider-Man and his legacy went on to spawn hundreds of comics, several television series' and two movie franchises. Not bad for a hero who was supposed to be a "one-shot experiment". 

Spider-Man in the Marvel Universe.

The tale of the hero, Spider-Man is not only a classic, but easily relate able to almost anyone. Unlike the other heroes in the Marvel universe, young Peter Parker doesn't get caught up in the hysteria of having powers. In fact, at first he doesn't even know what to do with them. Later on he uses them for revenge. 

Although there are several different Spider-Man verses (including Ultimate Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man), they all contain the same event which pushes Peter to become Spider-man. *SPOILER ALERT* His beloved Uncle Ben is shot by a robber which Peter let slip by him earlier. Although the details are changed minutely throughout the different universes, the results are the same. The birth of the superhero known as Spider-Man. 

The latest franchise of Spider-Man movies is based on The Amazing Spider-Man comics, with Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker and Emma Stone

Andrew Garfield (LEFT) and Emma Stone (RIGHT)
in the 2012 film, The Amazing Spider-Man.

playing Peter's love interest, Gwen Stacy. Although it was originally rumored that a fourth installment of the Sam Raimi franchise starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst was going to be the newest Spider-Man film, it was later announced that the films would be receiving a reboot. Garfield and Stone were chosen out of the hundreds that auditioned. They are currently filming the second installment: The Amazing Spider-Man 2.