Stan Lee, the legendary Marvel comic book writer, is credited with creating the webcrawler Spider-Man. Despite the hero’s universal praise, Marvel did not like the name “Spider-Man” because of everyone’s collective hatred of spiders.
According to a 2009 interview with Kevin Smith, Stan Lee came up with another moniker for Spider-Man, and that was – “Mosquito Man” (via The Week). Mosquito Man is so much worse, conjuring up images of a sewer villain more than a superhero.
Stan Lee’s Creative Process Behind Landing on the Name Spider-Man
Much like the funny moniker “The Human Spider” used in Sam Raimi’s Spiderman flick by Peter Parker, Stan Lee admits that the brainstorming session to come up with a good name fared no better until inspiration struck, in a 1992 interview with ET:
I thought, ‘What do I call him?’ It seemed to me that ‘Fly-Man’ wasn’t good. ‘Insect-Man’ didn’t sound good. And ‘Mosquito-Man’ was awful. And then it hit me: ‘Spider-Man.’ And it was an epiphany.
Stan Lee recalled the inception of Spider-Man’s powers when tasked with coming up with the next big Marvel hero following Hulk and flying heroes, and the interview with ET revealed:
…I was sitting wondering what to do when I saw a fly flying, [or rather] walking on the wall. And I thought to myself, ‘Gee. What if a person had the power of just being able to walk on the wall or cling to a ceiling. And I guess that was the start of it.
Stan Lee went on to explain that the importance of creating a good character from the ground-up is sticking to your initial spark, and that Spider-Man/Peter Parker was just another average guy, “a little bit like me,” who stumbled into his powers as a teenager.
Ranking Stan Lee’s Most Beloved Superhero Creations: Where Does Spider-Man Rank?
Stan Lee is credited with creating some of the most iconic Marvel superheroes who are still relevant today. Ranking his most beloved characters reveals:
Was it really a surprise that Spider-Man ranked so high? Peter Parker’s alter-ego Spider-Man remains the fan-favourite Marvel superhero, with multiple films, comics, games, and shows attesting to the hero’s nerve-rending popularity.
Everybody relates to Peter Parker’s teenage struggles, his angst, and his quest for romance. Peter is constantly faced with moral dilemmas on a human and extraterrestrial plane in ways that we can always empathise with. Spider-Man is constantly spat at by the universe, losing loved ones, friends, and family but never giving up on his quest to help the little guy.
Here are some important details about the webslinging hero.
Spider-Man is the symbol of hope, web-slinging his way into hearts, whether on paper or on screen. Stan Lee wrote numerous iconic stories for Spider-Man, including Enter: The Green Goblin (Amazing Spider-Man #14, 1964), Spider-Man No More! (Amazing Spider-Man #50, 1967) and The Return of Doctor Octopus (Amazing Spider-Man #3, 1963)
Stan Lee’s Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962) introduced us to Peter Parker and gave us the life motto “with great power comes great responsibility,” a quote that hits hard no matter how old you are. Lee will forever be remembered as someone who shaped our lives for the better.
What’s your favorite aspect of Spider-Man? Let us know in the comments.
