Even MJ Can't Get Over 80% On This Spider-Man Quiz
- by Michael Gordon
- – on
- in The Geek Corner
There are few comic book characters out there that are more iconic than Marvel Comics' Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man. A mainstay of comics from his 1962 creation onwards, Peter Parker and his alter-ego has always appealed to mass audiences. He was a regular guy with the same problems we all have. He struggled to pay the bills, always tried his best to do well in school or at work, and found the world of dating to be a beautiul mystery. Of course, he also had problems we very much don't have, like the fact that he was a web-slinging superhero who tangled with villains on the rooftops of New York City!
Spider-Man is arguably Marvel's most popular hero, and his story has been translated into many different mediums: film, television, animation, video games, books. There has also been an array of toys, clothes and all other manner of merchandise over the years. Spidey is so popular within the comic book community that few creators want to let him go after they start writing or drawing him. For example, writer Dan Slott recently finished a run on The Amazing Spider-Man that lasted an incredible 10 years! There are a seemingly endless number of stories to be told with Spider-Man, and that is a testament to the brilliance of the character.
This quiz will test fans on the length and breadth of Spidey's history. There are questions relating to the comics and movies, nestling alongside questions that delve into his deep roster of supporting characters and villains.
Read on, Webheads!
Who co-created Spider-Man with Stan Lee?
In 1962, fresh off the huge success of the previous year's Fantastic Four, Stan Lee began thinking about his next superheroic creation for the burgeoning Marvel universe. He knew that Marvel's comics were very popular amongst teenagers and he had read enough letters columns to know that teens wanted a character they could relate to. He came up with the name and basic plot for Spider-Man, but needed an artist to realise his vision. This artist would argue he did most of the work in actually creating Spidey, and bad blood between he and Lee would drive them apart.
What area in New York is Peter Parker from?
Like all the characters in the Marvel universe, Peter Parker hails from New York City. The Big Apple is his stomping ground when swinging between rooftops, and over the years Spidey has become arguably the hero most synonymous with New York to fans. Peter initially lived in a very specific area of the city with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben, and attended the local Midtown High School. The street they called home was Forrest Hills, but what was the name of the famous Borough it was a part of?
Which newspaper does Peter Parker usually work for as a photgrapher?
Unlike other superheroes from their Distinguished Competition, Marvel heroes were usually regular people with problems everyone could relate to. Batman's parents were killed, sure, but he was also a billionaire playboy; Spider-Man's Uncle Ben was killed and it meant Peter Parker had to worry about how his Aunt May was going to pay her utility bills! Peter therefore made money by taking pictures of himself as Spider-Man and selling them to the Marvel Universe's most well known newspaper, run by the superhero-hating loudmouth J. Jonah Jameson.
What does Peter's 'spider sense' do for him?
Spider-Man's origin story is one of the most well-known (and frequently told) origins in the history of comics. Everyone knows Peter Parker gained his superpowers when he was bitten by a radioactive spider while on a school science trip. He gained the proportionate strength of a spider, superhuman agility and speed, as well as the ability to climb and stick to walls. He also has what he calls his 'spider sense', which tingles whenever it's activated. But what does 'spider sense' actually do for Peter?
Finish Uncle Ben's famous line. 'With great power there must also come --'
This is one of the most famous pieces of wisdom in fiction history, and in the Spider-Man comics it is always attributed to Peter Parker's late Uncle Ben. Interestingly, in Amazing Fantasy #15 (where it first appears), the line isn't spoken by any particular character. Rather, it is in a narrative caption box! However, in later comics the line was given to Uncle Ben, and depictions in movies and film have meant it is indelibly associated with him. So, 'with great power there must also come'...?
Which one of Spidey's villains did Aunt May nearly marry?
Aunt May has always been a constant in Spider-Man comics ever since day one. Most often depicted as an elderly woman whose health Peter was constantly worried about, she has been de-aged in quite a few recent incarnations and is much more independent. One of her most bizarre periods in the comics was the time she became sweethearts with one of Spidey's mortal enemies! He even tried to marry her, but it turned out he was only interested because she had unwittingly inherited an island with an atomic plant, which he needed for his evil schemes. Oh comics!
Finish Mary Jane's famous quote: 'Face it, Tiger...'
Mary Jane Watson is arguably second only to Lois Lane in terms of mainstream recognisability of superheroes' lovers. MJ was beloved by fans right from the start. She was feisty, beautiful and had a mind of her own, unlike many comic book love interests at the time. Her introduction was initially played for laughs. Aunt May kept trying to set Peter up with her friend's neice and he avoided it. Her face was even obscured a few times, so readers didn't know what she looked like! When they finally met she spoke an immortal line...
Name Peter Parker's girlfriend who was thrown off a bridge by the Green Goblin
In the early Spider-Man comics, Peter Parker did date Mary Jane Watson but broke up with her as he felt she was self-absorbed. He then began dating a blonde college student who appreciated him for his intellect, and had previously dated two of his friends to make him jealous! Even though MJ obviously came back into the picture, Peter would always have a soft spot for this other love, who lost her life when she was thrown off the George Washington Bridge by the Green Goblin. What was her name?
Peter Parker's clone Ben Reilly took on which spider-themed superhero identity?
The 1990's was a very strange time for comic books. In terms of sales, comics experienced a boom period unlike any other in the early 90's and yet, by 1996, Marvel was going under! Comics from this period haven't stood the test of time very well, and one of the most reviled stories was 'The Clone Saga', which ran from 1994 to 1996. Ben Reilly was a clone of Peter Parker in this story, and he would go on to forge his own superheroic identity...
Harry Osborn took on which supervillain identity, after the death of his father Norman?
Harry Osborn has had a long, tortured history in Spider-Man comics and other media. Peter Parker's best friend, he was also the son of Norman Osborn, a scientific genius and wealthy businessman...who was also one of Spider-Man's costumed villains! Harry appeared in both the Sam Raimi trilogy of movies and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, played by James Franco and Dane DeHaan respectively. Here he followed his path from the comics by going insane and taking on a supervillain identity to honour his dead father...
On which alien planet did Spider-Man find his black costume?
Spider-Man's black costume period was a trying time for comics fans. Most considered his traditional red and blue costume iconic, and were furious that Marvel dared change it in 1984. In the miniseries Secret Wars, Spidey ventured off-world with a host of other Marvel heroes to battle a cosmic entity known as the Beyonder. When he returned to Earth in The Amazing Spider-Man #252, he was wearing a new black costume with a big white spider on the chest. Fun fact: Deadpool actually wore the costume on the alien planet before Spider-Man!
The black costume, an alien symbiote, then bonded with Eddie Brock to become which villain?
When Spider-Man attempted to take his black costume off, it became apparent that it was made out of no normal clothing material! In fact, it was an alien symbiote that had bonded to his body and refused to let him go. Peter eventually went to Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four for help, and when they had successfully detached the symbiote from him, it bonded to Eddie Brock. A shamed reporter from a rival newspaper, Brock's career had been ruined and he blamed Spider-Man.
Which evil man did the symbiote bond with to become Carnage?
When Eddie Brock bonded with the symbiote, he was undoubtedly a villain and was sinister in his intent toward Spider-Man. But he still had his own version of a moral code, albeit a twisted one, and would later go on to become an anti-hero; a 'Lethal Protector', if you will. But when the symbiote then bonded with someone who had no morals, and was evil personified, it became the creature known as Carnage. Far more violent, powerful and deadly than Brock, Carnage would become a nemesis to both Brock and Spider-Man.
Which villain body-swapped with Peter Parker for a time and became the Superior Spider-Man?
Between January 2013 and June 2014, The Amazing Spider-Man title was replaced with The Superior Spider-Man. In this title, written by Dan Slott and drawn by Ryan Stegman, one of Spidey's villains had body-swapped with Peter Parker. He had allowed Peter's essence to pass away in his original body, and now could do whatever he wanted with Peter's body. However, he was influenced by Peter's memories and therefore vowed to be a better Spider-Man than Peter ever was, and to be a better man than he had been as a villain.
Who played Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's trilogy of films?
Spider-Man finally hit the big screen in 2002, 40 years after his creation in 1962. Directed by Sam Raimi (Evil Dead), the movie starred Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane and Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn and was a massive hit worldwide. In fact, many people say this movie was ground zero for the renaissance of comic book movies that led to the market dominance seen today. Peter Parker/Spider-Man was played by a young actor who had previously starred in dramas like Wonder Boys and The Cider House Rules...
In which film did Tom Holland's Spider-Man enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
For the longest time Marvel fans had to make do with the Spider-Man movies existing separately from the all-conquering Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sony owned the rights, and they'd never sell them back to Marvel, right? Wrong! Well, sort of. Marvel and Sony eventually made some sort of deal to allow Spider-Man to appear in the MCU, but Sony would still be the studio releasing subsuquent solo movies. Anyway, all this is to say that fans were ecstatic when Spidey, played by the youthful and exuberant Tom Holland, swung right into everyone's hearts in a 2016 MCU film...
In Spider-Man: Homecoming, what was Adrian Toomes' relationship to Liz, Peter's prom date?
Spider-Man: Homecoming was released in 2017 and was Tom Holland's first solo outing as the wall-crawler in the MCU. A delightfully fun and breezy movie, it featured a lot of Peter Parker and his high school friends being teenagers, going to school and parties and awkwardly flirting. Of course, it also gave Spidey his best screen villain since Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus in 2004's Spider-Man 2. Michael Keaton played Adrian Toomes/The Vulture, an arms-trafficker who wore a battlesuit with mechanical wings and, in a brilliant twist, was revealed to be related to Peter's prom date...
Who officiated at Shea Stadium for Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson's 'wedding' in 1987?
The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21 (1987) featured a story entitled 'The Wedding!'. Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson were to be married in the story, but both exhibited signs of second thoughts. However, at the last minute, both turned up at the altar and tied the knot, before jetting off to France for their honeymoon. Marvel staged a big publicity stunt too, with a real-life 'wedding' being enacted at Shea Stadium in New York! Actors played Spidey and several other Marvel heroes, and MJ's wedding dress was created by fashion designer Willi Smith! But who officiated the ceremony?
Who played Electro/Max Dillon in The Amazing Spider-Man 2?
These days it's easy to look back on The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel as the red-headed stepchild of Spidey's big screen adventures. Both the Raimi movies and Tom Holland's MCU version have proven much more popular with fans than Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone's teen angst, and Sony's feelings on the underperforming movies were revealed in the infamous e-mail hack in 2014. However, Electro had been one of the villains in the second film and was played by an Academy Award winning actor, so the studio clearly had high hopes for the franchise...
Which demon did Spider-Man strike a bargain with in the storyline 'One More Day'?
The 2007 storyline 'One More Day' was one of the most controversial Spider-Man stories in history. Spinning out of the events of 2006's crossover 'Civil War', in which Spider-Man's secret identity of Peter Parker was known to the world, Aunt May is attacked and may not survive. Spidey then encounters a demon (in fact, the Marvel universe version of Satan), who offers him a Faustian pact. If Peter and Mary Jane agree to their marriage being removed from history, the demon will save Aunt May and erase the world's knowledge of his secret identity. They make the deal.
Name Peter Parker's bully, who would go on to become his friend
In every incarnation of Spider-Man, from comics to movies to cartoons to video games, Peter Parker always starts his story as a bullied high-school student. And his main tormentor (whose cruelness varies from version to version) is always the same guy. He's one of the star football players at their High School and simultaneously admires Spider-Man, while giving Peter a hard time. The character would go on to become a military man and a friend to Peter in the comics, showing that people can actually change for the better.
Which version of Spider-Man plays the lead role in the upoming animated movie Into The Spider-Verse?
December 14th 2018 will see the release of a much-anticipated animated movie in theatres. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is written by Phil Lord (21 Jump Street) and has a very unique visual style, with computer animation being combined with traditional hand-drawn comic book techniques inspired by artist Sara Pichelli, who co-created the lead character. The half-Puerto Rican/half-African American teenage Spider-Man of a different universe is introduced to the idea of a 'Spider Verse', where there are multiple versions of Spider-Man! He even meets an older, more grown-up version of Peter Parker.
Name this on-again off-again love interest/antagonist for Spider-Man
Felicia Hardy has long been one of Spider-Man's love interests in the comics. A cat burglar, she has the subconscious ability to project probability fields which produce bad luck for her enemies. She has always loved Spidey, but yet feels very little for Peter Parker in his civilian life. Originally a supervillain, she was eventually persuaded to team up with Spidey and become his partner, but these days she'd be considered an antihero. And yes, she is pretty similar to a certain DC Comics antihero/supervillain who tends to romance Batman...
In his human form, The Lizard is...?
Spider-Man's rogues gallery of villains are probably second only to Batman's in terms of quality and mainstream recognition. One of the most enduring bad guys is The Lizard, who appeared as the main villain of 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man. A genetic biologist who researched the ability of reptiles to re-grow missing limbs, he created a formula that he wound up testing on himelf in order to re-grow his missing right arm. Naturally, as this is comics, it all went horribly wrong and turned him into a rampaging lizard monster!
Who is set to play Morbius The Living Vampire in an upcoming Sony Spider-Man universe movie?
In the 1970's horror became a very popular genre in movies and fiction, and Marvel Comics was quick to pick up on this. Characters like Blade, Ghost Rider, Werewolf By Night and Hellstorm debuted in this decade, as did Morbius The Living Vampire, who was introduced as a Spider-Man villain. A vampiric character who sometimes operates as an antihero, Morbius was announced as the star of his own upcoming film in November 2017, which will be directed by Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) and will star an Academy Award winning actor (who previously played a DC villain on-screen)...
What position did Spider-Man take at the Jean Grey School For Higher Learning after Wolverine passed away?
From 2011 to 2014, Marvel published 'Wolverine And The X-Men', a title which featured Logan educating the young mutants of the Jean Grey School For Higher Learning. The comic was both funny and dramatic, and it was very interesting seeing Logan in this role. But when, in 2014, Wolverine was no more, this left a position open at the school...which was filled by Spider-Man! Spidey was honouring a request in Logan's will, while simultaneously investigating the students because Logan suspected there was a traitor in their midst.
A new video game, Marvel's Spider-Man, is an exclusive for which console?
On September 7th 2018 a highly-anticipated new Spider-Man videogame will hit store shelves. The aptly-titled 'Marvel's Spider-Man' will tell a brand new story that isn't tied to any existing comic, film or cartoon and will feature villains such as Kingpin, Electro, Rhino and Scorpion. It will also allow gamers to team Spidey with Daredevil and the Avengers! Whilst the re-design of Spider-Man's costume has taken some flak online, fans are mostly very excited about the game and it will surely be a huge success when it is released on its exclusive console platform.
Which villain is Jake Gyllenhaal playing in the upcoming Spider-Man: Far From Home?
With the huge success of Spider-Man: Homecoming, another Tom Holland-starring Spidey film was a certainty. And sure enough, it was announced soon after that movie hit big. In June 2017 the title of the sequel was revealed to be Spider-Man: Far From Home. The plot will reportedly feature Peter Parker and his friends going on a vacation to Europe. Michael Keaton will be reprising his role as Toomes/The Vulture, and another villain has been announced, to be played by Jake Gyllenhaal. Fun fact: at one point Gyllenhaal almost starred as Spidey himself way back in 2004!
What was the name of the Spider-Man Broadway Musical which opened in 2011?
June 14th 2011 saw the official opening night of the Spider-Man Broadway Musical, which featured a large cast, many technical stunts and music from U2's Bono and The Edge. The show, which had the highest budget in Broadway history, ran for three years but was plagued with difficulties from its inception. By the time the production finally closed its doors in January 2014, it had lost investors a reported $60 million. Overall, it was generally seen as a failure, but an admirable one in its ambition.
J. Jonah Jameson's son became which supervillain?
John Jameson, son of everyone's favourite Spider-Man hating newspaper editor J. Jonah Jameson, was introduced in the very first issue of The Amazing Spider-Man in 1963. He was an astronaut who was hero-worshipped by his father, who felt that his son was a 'real hero' unlike Spider-Man. While John was on a mission to the moon he found the mystical Godstone, a ruby that grafted itself to his throat and turned him into a lycanthropic beast. He fought Spider-Man until the hero was able to remove the ruby and revert him back to his human form.