HOME COMICS CHARACTERS TALK THINGS SITE

Letters : The Spider-Oracle Answers : Spider-Oracle Petitions [10]

Next: Spider-Oracle Petitions [19] (Sep 1, 2002)
Prev: Spider-Oracle Petitions [19] (Jul 1, 2002)
Letters : The Spider-Oracle Answers : Spider-Oracle Petitions [10] (01-Aug)
 
The wise one answers all your Spider-Questions.

From Kewlguy

Is Amazing Spider-Man #329 the only issue where Spider-Man wears the Captain Universe costume?

That and WHAT IF...? vol. 2 # 31. (What if Spider-Man had kept his cosmic powers?)

From Amir

Sorry to ask, but I must inquire about the Clone Saga. I started being a Spider-Man fan when I picked up the Apr' 97 ish of Amazing (Revival of Electro) when I was 8. After a while, my dad got me Astonishing Spider-Man #22, which contained the issues where Kaine's ID is revealed and Peter is shown to be the "clone". I know Ben died, but which clone was he? I thought he was the one that "died" in the smokestack, but then that Spider-Skeleton came along. Which clone was the Spider-Skeleton, which clone was Ben Reilly, and when did Kaine finally die (I saw him get impaled by Spidercide, but I heard he returned)? Believe it or not, I'm a fan of the Clone Saga. The '90's Clone era is possibly my second fave (behind the new, excellent Straczynski era).

Ben was the clone from the original clone saga in the 70's.

The skeleton in the smokestack was a failed clone that the Jackal put there to cause confusion.

And Kaine, despite having died during MAXIMUM CLONAGE, quickly returned to life and is currently in character limbo.

To get a quick handle on the clone saga, try The Quick Guide to the Clone Saga.

And for a very in-depth look, check out the "Life of Reilly" archives at GrayHaven Magazine.

From Justin

Ever since I have been reading Spidey stories including Carnage, I was under the impression that his symbiote bonded with his blood and that whenever he was cut, the symbiote would be released. Is any of this true or has it been misconstrued? Thanks you for your time.

Carnage's symbiote is a tricky thing. At one point, it was bonded with Kasady's blood, but after Venom ate his symbiote, Carnage got a new one in the negative zone, and it's unclear how this new one is attached to him.

From CBeaver81

I have a bet going and I hope you can help me out real quick. Didn't Peter lose his spider-powers on more than one occasion? I know he lost them when he had the flu and fought the Black Cat, but wasn't there other (as in many) occurrences? And what issues did they happen (you need proof to win a bet)?

Spider-Man losing his powers. Off the top of my head, I can recall:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL # 1 (psychosomatic)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN # 87 (flu)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN # 199-200 (Mysterio tranquilizer)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN # 341-343 (Chameleon's machine)
SPIDER-MAN: THE FINAL ADVENTURE # 4 (original radiation machine)

There are almost certainly more examples.

From Markus

i have a problem... i have decided to draw the spider man test plot of the marvel web site. it features a villain called "mr hyde"...the problem is, i don't know that character, so i have no idea how to draw him. i've been looking all over the internet (including your page and marvel.com) for a pic of that guy, but couldn't find one, so i'm starting to getting a little desperate...

i hope you can help me out, you're my last hope...

Go to the Comics Database section where we have the covers for all the Spider-Man comics ever (well, almost ever). Look at the covers of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN # 232 and also 433. That's Mr. Hyde in all his glory.

Mr. Hyde also appears in the recent "Get Kraven" limited series.

From Wael

Please answer these Q's on my head, sorry for troubles:

  1. Spidey did team-up with Captain america and the Incredible hulk, so how come you didn't wrote about them in the friends' page? And what about Spider-Woman and Spider-Girl (Spidey's daughter in the future) ?
  2. How old are Spidey and his wife ?
  3. I thought that Dr.Octopus was Spidey's #1 enemy, so how come they say that the Green Goblin is his most dangerous foe ? Is it because the Doc is a little sain ?
  4. Will Spidey and Superman team-up again ?
  1. Spidey has an extraordinary amount of friends, so we add all the ones we can. We'll get to all those people you mention eventually, I'm sure.
  2. Marvel is careful not to state the exact age of their characters, but a good guess is Peter is 27 and Mary Jane is 26 (unless you're reading a Mackie/Byrne issue, in which case they're "too young" for whatever is happening to them.)
  3. Doc Ock and Spidey have had some pretty down and dirty tussles over the years, but most folks would cite the Goblin for Spidey's deadliest for these reasons:
    • Knows his secret identity.
    • Killed his girlfriend.
    • Killed his "brother" Ben Reilly
    • Kidnapped his Aunt for over a year and made everyone think she was dead.
    • Either killed his daughter or kidnapped her (depending on how Marvel's feeling).
    • Drove his best friend insane, and
    • Responsible for the whole clone saga mess.
  4. No plans at the moment.

From Digsy

Ok, so the Black Cats powers were latent genetic gifts whcih were brought out by the kingpins scientists. Does this make her a mutant? Just wondering.

No, for the same reason that Spider-Man isn't a mutant, even though it is often stated that there was something special about him, and not everyone would have gained the same powers that he did under the same conditions.

Without powers that manifest by themselves, a person is not a mutant. Even if they have the potential for powers. (It's even possible that in the Marvel Universe, *everyone* has latent powers.)

From Jason

Hi. Jason here, with a doozy of a question. In different tv shows, games and movies about Spider-Man, there are two things which differ from series to series....Spider-Sense and Web-shooting. In Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, for example, Spider-Sense is signified by Spidey's glowing eyes. In the 90's series, it's a kaledoscopic experience which glows, and sort of makes him look solarized. In the movie, it wraps around, and is able to find targets from a distance.

Why do people depict it differently? Also, the sound of Spidey's web-shooters is different, in each of the shows I mentioned. Why is that? This is something a whole lot of people would like to know.

Since there is no real-life Spider-Man, it's impossible to give a definite answer as to what a spider-sense or web-shooters should sound like. It's really up to the people involved in the comic, show, movie, etc., as to what makes sense, and what looks/sounds cool. So don't expect a standardized spider-sense any time soon!

From Greg

I have recently started collecting again. Why were the new volumes started? Why is the comic code not on the current books?

To answer your first question, Greg--because the old volumes ended.

Or to be a bit more helpful, it's because when Marvel wants to bring up the sales on an existing title, they start the numbering over. Why? Starting over means a # 1 issue which means more people will buy it because it will *of course* be worth a ton of cash one day. So, to sum up in a single keystroke: $.

Another aspect is that when comic sales are down, there are two ways to push sales back up. Either recover your former fans... which means hiring decent talent for the comics. That involves editorial and management integrity, which isn't easy to find in modern corporates. The alternative is to renumber the comics to #1 so that young fans have a point to start collecting.

As a young fan, it's a bit discouraging to see #783 on the front of a comic book, and to realise that they are coming in so late in the series - so a re-numbering can help provide a jump-on point. Combine that with the words "#1" and "Collector's Edition", add a couple of variant covers, and you have the Spider-Man Reboot.

In practice, it doesn't really make much lasting difference, except to annoy long-time fans and to make life more difficult for archivists like ourselves. Even Todd McFarlane's #1 of Spider-Man in 1990 isn't worth more than a couple of bucks over the surrounding comics of the era. In the long run, a comic book needs a good character, good corporate backing, and last but not least--good artists and writers.

This is a good question, which is often asked, so we have added it to the site FAQ list!

As for the comic code, Marvel recently decided that the code was outdated and no longer needed in the industry, so they switched to grading their own books.

From Tim

Whilst browsing your back issues i noticed a question from Lisa in Vol.8 Issue 3. concerned with how old pete was when bitten by the spider. your answer stated either 15 or 16. i thought i might just mention pete declares he was actually fifteen to ezekiel during the coming home saga (the exact ish escapes my memory) when he's justifying the use of his powers. not sure if this issue was even released when you answered the q but just in case, thought i'd point it out.

While Peter did tell Ezekiel he was 15, that age might always change depending on who's writing the issue. (The same way Harry and Gwen might've met Pete in either high school or college, depending on who's doing the writing (and that should be college, BTW)).

But for now, the spider-bite age does seem fixed at 15.

 
By The Spider-Oracle (E-Mail)
Next: Spider-Oracle Petitions [19] (Sep 1, 2002)
Prev: Spider-Oracle Petitions [19] (Jul 1, 2002)
Staff may Upload Images for this page, Edit this page, or Create a new Letters : The Spider-Oracle Answers item.

This page is Un-Official. It is not associated with Marvel. It uses content copyright by Marvel, Without Permission. This material is used for the purposes of informed discussion, and is not intended to interfere with Marvel's right to use said material for their own commercial goals.