Recently, whistleblower website WikiLeaks received a huge data transfer in the form of Sony emails and documents. Part of those documents went fairly in depth on how our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (and Peter Parker, duh) needs to be represented on-screen. Keep in mind, this is according to the folks at Sony and probably Disney.
Mandatory Spider-Man traits, these apply whether or not it’s “prime” Spider-Man or an “alternate” Web Head.
- Must be male.
- Does not torture*
- Does not kill unless in defense of self or others*
- Does not use foul language beyond PG-13
- Does not use tobacco*
- Does not sell/distribute illegal drugs*
- Does not abuse alcohol*
- Does not have sex before the age of 16, and does not have sex with anyone below the age of 16
- Not a homosexual (unless Marvel has portrayed that alter ego as a homosexual)
Peter Parker’s character traits are along the same strict guidelines, if not a bit more strict.
- Full name is Peter Benjamin Parker
- He is Caucasian and heterosexual
- Parents became absent from his life during childhood
- Raised by Aunt May and Uncle Ben in NYC
- Gains his powers while attending middle school or college
- Powers are gained from being bitten by a spider
- He designs his first red and blue costume
- The black costume is a symbiote that is not designed by him
- He is raised in a middle class household in Queens, NY
- He attends or attended high school in Queens and he attends or attended college in NYC
So, there we have it. According to Sony, and probably Marvel and Disney, unless he hails from another world or is a random Spider-Fan, this is our Peter Parker. An interesting tidbit, aside from the whole thing, is that the starred (*) portions of Spider-Man’s traits are “exceptions” for when he’s wearing the symbiote. The symbiote is notorious for enhancing the aggressive nature of its host. Sony is also notorious for the hilarious, but not so enjoyable use of this particular piece of Spider-Man lore in Spider-Man 3.
But what does that mean for what they’re planning? Hopefully it won’t be another train wreck like the gif above. If recent casting rumors are to be believed, they want a Peter Parker within the middle to high school range of age.
As for the other Spider-Men and -Women, they’re leaving all the other possibilities to be had as “alternative” versions. Does that mean we could maybe, eventually see a Spider-Verse movie? Something along those lines would be amazing, at least. Personally, Spider-Gwen fighting alongside a live-action Spider-Ham would make my life.
For more on the latest incarnation of your favorite Web Slinger, and all the hyphenated terms you can ‘thwip’ a web-line at, stay tuned to The Nerd Stash!
