Spider-Oracle Petitions (01-Jan-2003)

 Posted: 2003
 Staff: The Spider-Oracle (E-Mail)

The wise one answers all your Spider-Questions.

From Spider-Guy

I read in your review that these two issues of Webspinners take place after the Sinister Six storyline that went on at the time in the core titles. I am just curious, how did you come to that conclusion? I find no specific clues in the issues and no note of continiuty. And other issues of Webspinners have taken place at all sorts of varied times. In fact I had placed these two issues before the bout with the Sinister Six because of the published dates. I have always been a bit continuity obsessed, I like my colection to be the best timeline it can be. I am also starting a fan site of my own with the same wishes for the listings. Therefore I await your explanation of the time placement of Webspinners 15 and 16.

Well, Spider-Guy, it's like this. As you say, there is really no reference in those two issues at all regarding when in Spidey's history they take place. So it can be assumed that they're supposed to be taking place in current continuity. (WEBSPINNERS #10-14 definitely take place in current continuity.)

But the main reason we have them listed as occurring when they do is Marvel original solicit for the issue. To wit:

"Webspinners: Tales Of Spider-Man #15 Rurick Tyler/Rurick Tyler Winging in from the events of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #12 and PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN #12, the Vulture swoops in for a vertigo-inducing thriller! Adrian Toomes blacks out part of New York City to pull off his most audacious plan ever! And when Spider-Man gets on his tail, you'll see airborne acrobatics the likes of which have never before been experienced! It's a fight to the finish set in the Vulture's domain-and it's the Vulture at his most vicious!"

Now it could of course mean that this is just the Vulture's first appearance (in-or-out of continuity) since the Sinister Six story, but we read it to mean it takes place just after.

From Marina

Hey, I got to ask you three questions about Spider-Girl.

  1. What was May's attitiude was she nice or have a bad attitude?
  2. Out of all the friends May has which does she like the most is it Felicity Hardy?.
  3. What made May change her mind into leting Felicity Hardy to be her sidekick?
  1. May is a very pleasant person to be around. She really takes after her dad with his sense of fun and good humor.
  2. Her best friend? Probably either Davida or Courtney.
  3. As of yet, May hasn't agreed to let Felicity be her sidekick. It remains to be seen if she'll change her mind.
From Soccerball

If i wanted to try and start my own collection of The Amazing Spiderman Comics then how many would i have to buy? And are there still making the comic or has The Amazing Spiderman Comics been ended?

Well, Mr. Ball, it's like this: Spidey got his own series (after his popular first appearance in AMAZING FANTASY #15) called AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. Issue #1 hit the stands in March 1963. It continued one issue a month (with an occasional summer of bi-weekly issue) until November 1998 where it ended with issue #441. That was the end of volume one.

But behold! A mere two months later (January 1999) saw the beginning of volume two. And so we had a new issue # 1 which has continued once a month until the present day with issue #46.

If you visit our Comics section, that should help with pics of covers and dates.

From James
  1. what's rhino and carnage's current status.
  2. what ever happened with spideys parents return.
  3. how does rhino go to the toilet with all that thick bulletproof rhino skin attached to his body with no way of opening it without killing him.

Carnage hasn't been seen for a couple years. Hopefully it'll be a couple years before he's back.

As for the return of Peter's parents. They turned out to be artificial constructs created by the Chameleon. See ASM #388 for the whole story.

As for the Rhino, he was seen in some DEADPOOL/AGENT X books a few months ago. But most recently, he appeared in SPIDER-MAN: TANGLED WEB #19, in a story named "Call of The Wild". By absolute co-incidence, the cover shows him sitting in a cubicle in a bathroom, so obviously those Russian scientists must have shown a little foresight and put a zipper somewhere in that suit. Glad to know he hasn't been holding it in for all these years - although that might have explained why he is so cranky all the time.

From Ben

I have just recently found the enjoyment of being an avid Spiderman fan. Although I know the general information about spiderman (i.e Villians, friends and family), I have still missed out on a lot of vital information. Please if you can, reply to the following questions.

  1. How did Harry Osborne die?
  2. Why did MJ and Peter brake up? I think she became an actress or reporter (see how pithetic I am?).
  3. Why on recent issues of "The Amazing Spiderman", are the numbers of the issues in the 40s? SM came out 39 years ago! shouldn't there be at least over 450 issues?
  4. Why dosen't Stan Lee still make SM comics? Or mabey he dose, and I don't know it.

Let's get some answers for you, Ben.

  1. Harry Osborn (no "e") died after taking a new experimental dose of the goblin formula. Look to SPECTACULAR #200, or the SPIDER-MAN VS. the GREEN GOBLIN TPB to read the story.
  2. MJ needed a break from being a superhero's wife after she was kidnapped for 6 months. She's been spending time in California as seen in recent ASM issues. In a couple of months, ASM #50 is supposed to show if Pete and MJ can fix their relationship.
  3. See our FAQ List.
  4. Stan Lee still writes the Spider-Man newspaper strip, seen in fine newspapers everywhere. The comics, meanwhile, have moved on and survive without him these days.
From David

I was looking through the very, nice giant hardcover called the Ultimate Spider-man guide and noticed a caption saying how Sandman was bitten by Venom and that Sandman was dieing because of the poisoned bite. My 4 questions are are:

  1. Since when is Venom's bite poisonous?
  2. Since when does Venom bite? (I just thought he liked to slobber and show his teeth off)
  3. When did this poison bite occur?
  4. Is Sandman really dead? (if they're going to kill off a major villain it should be the Vulture... what is he a 100 years old!? and inflicted with cancer, how is this guy not dead yet??)
  1. The bite wasn't really poisonous per se. What happened was Venom took a bite-sized chunk out of Sandman, and old Sandy couldn't reform himself completely back into his proper form.
  2. After the third or fourth date.
  3. PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN #16. Issue #22 focuses on the aftermath.
  4. He's not dead yet. He's getting better.

Oh, and David? The Vulture's been dead already. It was someone else's turn!

From David (a different one)

Looking at my old spidey collection I found the great issue of Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #58. The issue featured (besides a great script by roger stern and awsome byrne art) the appearance of a very funny semi-villian called "The Ringer". My Question to you is, did the ringer ever appear again in a spidey comic or elsewhere?

After that SPEC issue, the Ringer next appeared in CAPTAIN AMERICA #319 along with many other lesser-known villains. If you were a lesser-known Marvel villain, the one place you *did not* want to appear was CAPTAIN AMERICA #319.

Suffice it to say, the Ringer was out of action for awhile after that issue, but look in the back-issue bins for the 4-issue limited series LETHAL FOES OF SPIDER-MAN to complete the Ringer's story.

From decrissman

When is Spider-man Black Cat the evil that men do #4 coming out? How is Kevin Smith going to start on ASM if he can't finish that series?

TETMD #4 and #5 are, of course, way behind. Some time in 2003 is as narrow as I can tell you, decrissman. And it looks as though Kevin Smith isn't going to be on ASM after all - for reasons not completely unrelated to the difficulty that our very busy friend Mr. Smith has in keeping to a fixed monthly schedule.

Keep reading SpiderFan.org for the sordid details.

From Craig

Hi, I was hoping you could help clear something up for me...

  1. I was reading ASM#28 last night (which conveniently has the first appearance of Molten Man in it), and there's a scene where Liz walks past Peter, and Pete refers to her as "Liz Hilton". I'm pretty sure it was Liz Allan waaay before that, so... what was all that about?
  2. Same issue, at Peter's graduation "Mrs Watson" (who I assumed was Aunt Anna) refers to MJ as her daughter. Huh? Is it just my copy?

Anyway, hope you can help with that one, hopefully there's a better answer than "Stan forgot" or "that's the John Byrne version).

Stan forgot. Sorry, Craig, but that's all there is to it. That's why Peter Parker was Peter Palmer in ASM #1, Spider-Man was Superman in ASM #3, Flash Thompson was Moose in ASM #2, and Mr. Allan was Mr. Brant in ASM #17. And that's just ASM. Things were just as bad in other Marvel titles.

From Dave (not the same as the previous two)

Am I hallucinating or has Spidey battled a crime duo named "Hammer-Fist" and "Knife-Slice"?

Dave, I'm afraid that you are indeed seeing things. No duo of such monikers has yet challenged our lovable wall-crawler.

From Dean

Since 2003 is the official 40th anniversary of our hero's own book, do you know if Marvel is doing anything special to celebrate?

As of yet, Marvel hasn't solicited any kind of special for the 40th anniversary of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, but you can be sure we'll report on it if an announcement is made.

From D Senecal

Who was with spiderman first, Felecia Hardy or Mary Jane Watson?

Peter met and dated MJ long before he ever met Felicia.

From vafreebird

Any idea why the letters page disappeared from Amazing Spider-Man at issue 32 (473)?

Someone recently asked editor Tom Breevoort on his message board why Marvel books haven't had a letters page recently and this is what he said:

"We've been overselling our advertising a lot recently - and when that happens, the letters page gets bumped."

Fair enough. Of course, since SpiderFan.Org is 100% non-commercial, you'll never see the same problem here!

From Eugene

I was wondering if you know who made the cover to Marvel Tales #257? The Cover art for some reason reminds me of Klaus Janson, but I'm not sure if he made it or not.

Allow me to put your mind at rest, Eugene. MARVEL TALES #257 (which reprints ASM #253, BTW) has a cover by none other than Ron Lim. His signature is at the bottom-middle.

From A Spider Fan
  1. Back in late 1992 I saw a picture of an upcoming Spider-Man story-line which had a team of symbiote enemies (I specifically remember a yellow female symbiote was featured in the picture). What ever happened to this? Did it ever occur?
  2. I've always been impressed with Marvel's continuity (given how much they have to cover, they do fairly well). One big thing I can't get my head around, though, is Web of Spider-Man 69-70, in which Spidey fought the Hulk. Those came out in 1990, and wasn't that the time when the Hulk was the intelligent, green Banner-hulk? Not the old "Hulk smash" hulk? (Then again he may have been gray hulk in '90...but I still think he wasn't green dumb hulk). Any ideas, oh great Oracle?

Well, for your first question Spider Fan, the answer is yes. There are two VENOM limited series you'll want to check out. The 6-issue LETHAL PROTECTOR and the 4-issue SEPARATION ANXIETY. Both have been collect in TPB's, but might be hard to find. They will fill you in on all you need to know about those other pesky symbiotes. See our FAQ List, since Separation Anxiety is a commonly asked topic.

As for the WEB OF storyline, that takes place circa issues 370-377 of INCREDIBLE HULK. A time when Banner was changing into both the gray Hulk and the "smash" Hulk.

From Tom

I'm a chemistry major and I was wondering what was Peter Parker's major in college? I know he was some kind of science major but what exactly, hopefully you can figure that out.

Hello, Tom. Pete was indeed a chemistry major, just like you.

However, in the world of comics, science gets conveniently blurred - and Peter has at times been conveniently converted into a radioactivity specialist (both physiological and atomic), an expert in genetic engineering, an electrical engineer, and many other forms of instant science experts.

In fact, he seems to have an ability to fix all sorts of devices, develop antidotes to induced mutations, disarm nuclear weapons, program computers, and operate all manner of specialized laboratory equipment, in spite of the fact that he never seems to spend any time work in any of these areas any more.

I guess he's just "a natural".

From Hummeriah

Sadly, I may have to lock myself in my room for a month to catch up on all the wonderful content I have been missing on your site before I happened upon it last week. I greatly appreciate to educate and inform spidey and comic fans the world over. The wit and depth of knowledge in your oracle and letters pages are increibly impressive. Knowing that your responses can be humorous and informative, I beg you to attempt both for my sake regarding the following inquiry.

Though I am not well-versed in silver-age or current spider-man lore, I have dabbled in issues from a few eras and feel that I am competent enough to make the statement that killing is against Peter's "code" as it were. I think he killed Norman Osborn in response to the death of Gwen, but that recently Norman has appeared very much alive. Could you tell me if there have been any other instances of Spider-man killing an opponent, (not like the negligence that led to uncle ben's murder) either in the core or misc. titles as you refer to them or even in a graphic novel considered to be outside the normal continuity. If I am way off base and the instances are too numerous to list (though I highly doubt it) please let me know.

Spidey killing?

Well, firstly, in the example you cite (the battle between Spidey and the Goblin in ASM # 122) Spidey was certainly angry enough to kill Norman, but stopped himself in time. Then, when Norman attempted to get his glider to impale Spidey, Spidey ducked and it impaled Norman instead, piercing his heart and pinning him to the wall. There was no killing on Spidey's part. That specific aspect is accurately depicted in the movie, although the dialog and circumstances of the preceding battle are greatly changed.

Though Norman appeared quite dead, he of course came back some 20 years later to help the wayward Spidey-writers out of a painted corner called "the Clone Saga". Though, in the issue featuring their climatic rematch (SM # 75), some Spidey fans did take note that it appeared Spidey tried to kill Norman by hitting him with a bag load of pumpkin bombs. Regardless, Norman turned up a few months later in PPSM # 249, so again, no death-by-Spidey there, either.

Any other people? Some people say that Spidey is responsible for killing a friend of Wolverine's named Charlie. That's a long story (told in SPIDER-MAN VS. WOLVERINE #1), but basically, Charlie tricked Spidey into punching her and she died (again, it's also argued that she would have died within moments anyway as Wolverine had already clawed her pretty badly [like I said, a long story]).

But you can rest assured that Spidey has a strict code against killing, and hopefully will always maintain that code.

From Electro

I wish to ask you a most humbling question! Oh, how I say to thee... where in the world is Ca.. uh excuse me *ahem*... Kaine!? That blue suited clone has flown too far under the RADAR! Where did he go? What was his last appearance? So I ask you to bless me with your wisdom, oh mighty Spider-Oracle. Please help me in this time of need.

Howdy Electro! (Can I call you Max?) Kaine was last seen (in the regular MU) in ASM vol. 1 #435, where he took possession of the oh-so-mysterious "package". An alternate future version of him has been appearing recently in SPIDER-GIRL.

From David (yet another one)

Dear Spider Oracle. I was a serious spider-fan from 1986-1994. I stopped reading

spider-man comic books a bit after the shameful "lifetheft" storyline with peter's parents, and only returned to reading the mags after the reboot. I updated myself on much of the things i missed using various reviews of the mags, but one thing still bothers me...what ever happened to Peter & MJ's baby?

You see, David. The original plan was for Ben Reilly to take over as Spidey forever and let Pete, MJ, and their baby move away to a happy life elsewhere.

As fans made it clear that they only wanted Peter as Spidey, the writers decided that the books wouldn't work with Spidey as a father, so they had to abandon the baby idea.

In terms of story, either A. the baby was stillborn, or B. was secretly kidnapped by Norman Osborn, only to be later taken by Kaine.

And of course, you can read about the adventures of that baby, as a teenager, in her own "possible future" book SPIDER-GIRL.

From Dany

I've been reading Spidey's books since the early 90's and I've got a few questions about him. That's why I'm mailing this letter to the Great Oracle.

  1. First of all, I wanna know if Marvel's Ralph Macchio is the same guy that "waxed on" and "waxed off" on Mr. Myagi's car in the "Karate Kid" movies. I can't find any pics of the guy on the net, so I can never be sure if they're different guys or one and the same. Please shed light on the subject.
  2. Do you know if there are plans for a Spidey/X-Men crossover? It's been a long time since we saw one of those, and the X-Men, now Spandex-less, differ from other heroes in the Marvel Universe so much that I can't picture them next to a hero wearing pijamas for a costume...
  3. What ever happened to Alex Saviuk from "Web of Spider-Man" fame? Last time I saw any of his work, he had been drawing the Spidey Comic Strip. After he had been replaced by Stan Lee's brother, Alex just disapeared.

Hey there, Dany.

  1. A much-asked question. The answer is no. Different guys. Although editor-Ralph has had some fun at the expense of people who don't know better.
  2. There's no crossover currently on the way. Cross-overs, limited series, and other different comic-book gimmicks seem to come in waves. Marvel currently seems to be in a fad where all their books pretty much keep to themselves. Thus, even UNCANNY, NEW, and X-TREME hardly refence each other. I suspect that given enough time, things will revert back. There is an Ultimate X-Men cross-over in progress (Ultimate War), although as far as we know, Spidey doesn't feature.
  3. Alex hasn't done much Marvel work lately, though I know he's still a guest at conventions. I'll keep an eye out for his work for you.
From Lee

In regards to the DVD release here in Canada...

In the section about "The Loves of Peter Parker" Betty Brant is spelled Betty Brandt. This is a typing error, yes? I've been a fan for many years and I'm pretty sure her name hasn't been spelled that way. I even checked your database to confirm this. Are any of the other releases, say, in the USA or Japan the same?

Yes, the official spelling is certainly Brant. However, names are always prone to mis-spelling, so there's no need to fear a conspiracy. As you'll see from one of our responses above, even Stan himself often made errors with names.

These things happen.

From Spider-Rahul

You say Spidey was never any part of any superhero team in your profile section. I dont think so. I know that he was a member of the Defenders and the Outlaws (I don't know the Outlaws are) once and is a reserve member of the Avengers. Don't you know that?

Also, has Venom or Spidey fought Onslaught?

Spidey never joined the Defenders, although he did fight alongside them and many other groups. The Defenders proudly called themselves a "non-team", as they always intended only to come together in times of trouble.

Spidey did fight with the "Secret Defenders" - another group of convenience, as were "The Outlaws" who features Sandman, Rocket Racer, The Prowler, and others. In both cases, he really was "with them, not of them".

And yes, Peter has at times been a reserve member of the Avengers. However, there are quite a number of super-heroes in the same position, and it really doesn't seem to qualify him as being part of their team.

Venom fighting Onslaught - no, I don't believe so. As for Spidey and Scarlet Spider vs. Onslaught, see our FAQ section for more info on that question.

From Arnold

My question, the green goblin glider has a resemblance with a piece of domestic household equipement, when Osborn used it the first time.

Can you tell me what that household equipment is?

Well, if you check our Comics Database for ASM #14, you'll see on the cover that the goblin's glider is more of a broomstick - or possibly an upright vacuum cleaner, we'll leave the final decision up to you!

From Karl

Around 1975 or 1976, I remember reading a Spider-Man comic that guess-starred Wolfman Jack. It was the first comic I ever read. Can you tell me what issue that was?

You may well be thinking of Marvel Team-Up #12. This features The Wolfman. It's certainly a good place to start looking. If that isn't it, then try the chronology index for 75/76.

From Kinos

It's me again, I got some other questions on my mind, please help:

  1. Did Spidey Teamed up whit another Non-Marvel Character beside Superman and the rest of the DC characters ?
  2. Will Spider-Girl (Spidey's Future daughter) have her own video game ? An did

    she teamed up whit other marvel Characters ?

  3. I didn't hear about Spider-Woman lately except for old news on the Internet,

    even at www.marvel.com site I didn't see her name. So what's the matter, is she

    been cancelled or what ? Please Explane.

  4. Will Spidey Fight Dracula again ? Or maybe meet his Good son Alucard God Willing ?

In order:

  1. Spidey has teamed up with many Non-Marvel characters. Check our Non-Marvel appearances, under Misc, on our Comics section.
  2. The Oracle knows the past, but much of the future is still clouded. Spider-Girl has teamed up with many Marvel characters. You can learn more about that by reading our reviews of Spider-Girl's monthly magazine, or even better by purchasing your own back issues to enjoy!
  3. Spider-Woman (the most recent incarnation) lost her own title some while back, when common-sense finally prevailed at Marvel. There are no plans that we know of to bring her back.
  4. Again, the future is not clear. We know of no such plans.
From Fernando

In my country, the Argentine Republic, i'm a comic-book journalist.

Right now, i'm working on an article about the mexican comic books & comic strip of Spider-Man, made by mexican artists in the '70 and edited by the Editora de Periodicos La Prensa. They made almost 50 adventures in comic book format and almost two years of dailys and sundays comic strips. I've had in my hands some of this comics, but i'm in need of more information to finish my job. I know the comics were authorized by Marvel, and the most important plots including the death of Spider-Man (two times!!!) and the marriage between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, but all were resolved in dream-like scenes. If you know something (anything) to tell me, it will be of great value to me.

Also, I have a question to ask you. In the book "The art of John Romita" I discover an unpublished sketch of a splash page from an adventure call "Spider-Man and the Mexican princess". Do you know in wich magazine this comic was published, if ever?

Well, it certainly seems as if there is yet another "World of Spider-Man" out there. It sounds as if there are some similarities, but it seems to me that they are quite separate from the U.S. version of Spider-Man, and sadly there is no further information that we can offer you.

Also, regarding "Spider-Man and the Mexican princess", the Oracle cannot recall any U.S. story by this name, so it may again be that this was a Mexican-only story.

Sorry that we can't help you in either case, but it really seems that there is a clear separation between the two universes!

From Rogan

I am looking for something very specific. The comic Exploits of Spiderman had a finishing edition, featuring Nova, Darkhawk and Speedball, in which a team was formed by people given powers from crystals that Darkhawk lost. What I was hoping you could tell me was the name of the team.

The name of the team is the Meta-Humes, and the limited series which featured them (Spider-Man: Friends & Enemies) featured a couple of months back in our regular Worst of The Worst review slot.

 Posted: 2003
 Staff: The Spider-Oracle (E-Mail)