Web-heads

    Peter Parker has one of the most well known secret identities across super hero universes. A nerd turned superhero is a pop culture icon, other well known as Spider-Man. He has been portrayed by several different actors on the big screen, had multiple animated tv shows, has his own video game, and has been apart of so many stories across comic books that make the character always relevant in todays culture. His fanbase is ever growing, and includes people of all ages. Fans have loved the idea of the character because of so many different versions portrayed, that almost everyone can relate. The creator Stan Lee himself has said, "Once the mask and suit are put on, nobody knows who is underneath. He can be white, black, red, yellow, green or even a woman. Anybody can be Spider-Man; that is what is so special about the character".

Figure 1:
Captain America: Civil War (2016) 
    Superhero movies have been all the craze these past 10-12 years with the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Even before this film series created their own version of the character, there have been two other adaptations of the character that already had a huge following. The MCU accurately depicts these fictional characters from their respected comics to the big screens. Among the countless countries that display these movies, millions of fans have followed the movie series since 2008. Since the start of the MCU, every fan had a dream of watching Spider-Man fight alongside the other big name superheroes. In 2016 their dreams finally came true as Tom Holland became a household name and took on the mantle of the new Spider-Man (Figure 1). Fans instantly fell in love with his rendition of the character. So much so that he has gained massive fan support and followings on social media. A current movie is about to release soon as he is the current and only Spider-Man... so far. 
    
    There are so many ways that fans partake in celebrating the character of Spider-Man. One of the most popular would include the act of cosplaying. Cosplaying is when individuals dress up as their favorite fictional characters and attend events or post pictures on several forms of social media. One of the most well known events for cosplaying is Comic-Con, where thousands of people gather at an area to hear news on their favorite characters or superhero universes (Figure 2). Spider-Man seems to be one of the safest options to choose from, unless you are afraid of tights. Fans always try to add a little bit of their own creativity to the character as well as just wearing a simple spandex suit. Among the different versions, the classic red and blue suit is most common because there is nothing wrong with the classics. However, fans have dressed up as alternate universe versions such as animated versions, prehistoric, medieval, zombie, etc. If you think of a possible version of Spider-Man, someone has probably already made an outfit of it.

Figure 2: Comic-Con

    The fanbase of Spider-Man is so vast and creative. Online videos of people dressed as characters from Spider-Man are all over platforms such as YouTube, as they create fan-made movies and trailers for films that aren't going to be produced. Many creators make "tease trailers" for upcoming movies. Some fans are gifted in animation effects and computer editing, as they add elements from outside movies into these trailers to make them look official. Although they might upset many fans by giving them fake glimpses or setting higher expectations for upcoming films, they truly are harmless works of art that fans have fun. None of the creators are making the content to make a profit, as they are not apart of any big franchise or production. These creators do it for the enjoyment they experience creating, and for the enjoyment of fans on YouTube.

Here are some of the videos that fans have created for the fanbase to see:




Figure 3: Official Account of Spider-Man
    Social Media is a perfect way to get peoples attention for productions or events. Fans and organizations take notice of this and create content to put on applications such as Instagram, Twitter, DeviantArt, etc.. The character has such a massive following, that there is even an official Spider-Man account on Instagram (Figure 3) that has one million followers. They post upcoming comic books, video games, and even fan created content all over it. It is even recognized by Marvel as they every so often make posts or use it to sponsor upcoming content. It also verified by Instagram as the official account for Spider-Man.

    Fans of all kinds decide to create stories of their own and post them online for the world to see. Reading these articles are interesting to say the least. Its's cool to read and interpret different ideas that people have for the character. Many versions of fan made stories are alternate endings to movies or comic books. Some fans didn't take some of the original content quite well, and instead made endings of their own. The twists and turns that average people can put onto a story is somewhat incredible. Fans can show that they have real talent when they write their own versions. Most of the content posted is taken seriously; however there is a dark side to these types of publishing's and websites. Some people post inappropriate content that readers should try and avoid. It is very easy to be lured into an absurd pornographic site by accident; so interested readers beware.

Here are some of the safe fanfictions that are enjoyable to read:

https://www.wattpad.com/778765759-here-to-help-i%27m-so-sorry-i-didn%27t-notice

https://www.wattpad.com/840425896-wrong-number-kid-i%27m-no-aunt

https://www.wattpad.com/694298419-of-numbers-and-strange-friendships-chapter-1

    Overall, I have found out that there are not only so many fans of Spider-Man like myself, but that some fans go above and beyond to show their love for the character. It was really interesting to see how much of an impact the movies had on people. Seeing so many people dressed as Spider-Man was a little freaky at first, but it was also amazing to see the effort people put into dressing as the wall-crawling web slinger. The amount of alternate "Spider-Men" is honestly astounding, and it is incredible to see people be invested in each version of the character. I was surprised to see how many videos fans have made on YouTube and the amount of attention they've drawn in. The amount of stories created online is mind boggling, and the creativity is honestly amazing. Spider-Man is truly an icon for people, and I support all of the people who put in effort to show their love to the fictional character.


Resources

Amazing Spiderman #100: http://www.atlantaclassiccomics.com/news/2016/3/top-10

Figure 1 Spider-Man in Civil War: https://www.theverge.com/2016/5/7/11612616/spider-man-captain-america-civil-war-marvel-cinematic-universe

Figure 2 New York Comic-con: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-10/04/c_138447128_5.htm

Spider Man: Lotus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X38TXyDPJ4&t=1s

Top 7 Spider-Man Fan Films: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZfRvuIvcAA

Spider-Man Fan-Made Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxvCuxkVDdI

Spiderman Instagram: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxvCuxkVDdI

Here to Help: https://www.wattpad.com/778765759-here-to-help-i%27m-so-sorry-i-didn%27t-notice

Wrong Number Kid: https://www.wattpad.com/840425896-wrong-number-kid-i%27m-no-aunt

Of Numbers and Strange Friends: https://www.wattpad.com/694298419-of-numbers-and-strange-friendships-chapter-1




 




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