Fictional history of Spider-Man

This article is about the history of the fictional Marvel Comics' character Spider-Man. This article uses the comics as a canonical source, and representations of Spider-Man in movies and television shows are not represented here.
Fictional character biography
Early years
Peter Benjamin Parker is the son of Richard and Mary Parker, who worked as C.I.A. agents, and were killed on a mission involving an impersonator of the Red Skull. The infant Peter Parker is left in the care of his Uncle Ben and Aunt May Parker, who live in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, New York. The aging couple love Peter, but he grows to be unpopular among his peers. Between an uncle who is too old to join him in physical activities and an aunt over-protective of the orphaned child, Peter gravitates to more non-physical hobbies such as photography and home chemistry, encouraged in these endeavors by his guardians. He grows to be a lonely, timid but exceptionally bright teenager who shows more interest in his studies (especially science, for which he has a genius talent) than in social life. He is often the target of jokes and bullying by more popular students at Midtown High School like star athlete Flash Thompson.
Peter attends a science exhibition where he is bitten by a radioactive spider. He later discovers the spider bite has given him an array of , including wall-crawling, superhuman strength, speed and agility, and an extrasensory "spider-sense".
Peter initially sets out to find fame and fortune, winning a match while wearing a makeshift disguise against professional wrestler Crusher Hogan. He attempts to interest a television network in the idea of featuring him as a costumed hero (with the advantage that he can actually do the things his character can), and creates the Spider-Man name, costume, and web-shooters. After quickly becoming a minor celebrity, Peter appears on a television special, but afterward allows a thief to escape the TV station, asserting that it is not his responsibility. He comes to regret his inaction when he finds out that the same burglar subsequently killed his Uncle Ben.
Realizing that he could have prevented his uncle's death, the guilt-ridden Peter commits to a life of crimefighting and lifesaving, driven by the words, "With great power there must also come great responsibility". (The phrase is often shortened to: "With great power comes great responsibility".) This disarming mix of selfless obligation and self-recrimination brought about by his uncle's death arguably makes up Spider-Man's moral core.
His first encounter with superhuman heroes is with the Fantastic Four, and he also fights his first costumed foe, the Chameleon. After his uncle's death, he and his aunt become desperate for money, so he gets a job as a photographer at the Daily Bugle selling photos to J. Jonah Jameson, confronting the Vulture for the first time this way. Peter dates co-worker Betty Brant and clashes with his high school rival Flash Thompson (whose girlfriend, Liz Allan, he informally tutors. Liz also later develops a crush on the unpopular 'Petey' which further serves to infuriate Flash). He encounters many of his most famous enemies for the first time during this period, including such foes as Doctor Octopus, the Sandman, the Lizard, Electro, Mysterio, the Green Goblin, Kraven the Hunter, the Scorpion, and, on the day of his graduation, the Molten Man. With the numerous enemies Spider-Man makes he also gains many allies. While Spider-Man usually fights alone, he often teams with X-Men, Daredevil, and the Fantastic Four.
College life
Peter graduates from high school, His aunt introduces him to Mary Jane Watson, whom he dates for a short time, but Peter soon falls in love with Gwen. Meanwhile, Harry becomes Peter's roommate and best friend, but starts using illegal drugs. Peter's relationship with Flash also changes, and they slowly become close friends over time.
Harry's father, Norman Osborn, is revealed to be the Green Goblin and discovers Spider-Man's secret identity. Spider-Man first fought the Rhino, the Shocker, and the Kingpin of Crime, and also cleared his dead parents' names, during this time in his life. After Gwen's father, Police Captain George Stacy is killed in a battle between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus, Gwen's relationship with Peter is put on hold when she travels to England. Harry suffers a drug overdose shortly after she returns.
The Six Arms Saga
Spidey creates a chemical cocktail which is intended to eliminate his spider powers. However the potion increased his spider powers, rather than eliminating them, which gives him six arms. Dr. Curt Connors uses the blood of new villain Morbius to create an antidote that turns Spider-Man back to "normal".
Death of Gwen Stacy and aftermath
While Harry is ill, the Green Goblin throws Gwen Stacy from a tower of the Brooklyn Bridge; either from shock or physical trauma during Spider-Man's rescue attempt, she dies before hitting the water. The Goblin appears to have killed himself in the ensuing battle with Spider-Man. Grieving Gwen's death, Parker withdraws from his social circle, only to find support from Mary Jane, who eventually starts dating him. Spider-Man first fought the Punisher during this time. Harry later discovers the truth about his father and becomes the second Green Goblin.
Gwen's death has another unforeseen consequence as revealed many years later: one of her professors, Miles Warren, clones Gwen and Peter from tissue samples that he'd taken in class some months back. Both clones disappear, but Peter's clone — presumed dead in an explosion — returns years later as Ben Reilly. Later still, Mary Jane and Peter break up, as she is not ready for a committed relationship.
Some time later Peter and Mary Jane get back together and eventually Peter proposes marriage to her, although she turns him down. Soon after that, Peter graduates from college. Spider-Man next has his first confrontation with the Black Cat. Soon after, he has his final showdown with the burglar who killed his uncle; the burglar ends up dying of a heart attack. Spider-Man later has his first fight with the Hobgoblin. Mary Jane eventually reveals to Peter that she knows he is Spider-Man.
Alien costume and Venom
:See also: Symbiote; Venom
The alien costume, also known as the Black Suit, first made its appearance in sketches found in a Marvel magazine titled Marvel Age #12. These early sketches had Spider-Man in a black costume with a red spider-symbol instead of the version with the white symbol that would later be used. The first comic book appearances of the suit occurred in May 1984 in Marvel Team-Up #141, Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #252, and Spectacular Spider-Man #90.
In these issues, there was an abrupt time shift from the issues a month earlier. Spider-Man was now on Earth shortly after the events of the Secret Wars limited series had taken place even though the 12-issue Secret Wars series had just started that month. It would be months before the change to the new costume would be explained. In the Secret Wars limited series, Spider-Man is taken to an alien planet, where he participates in a battle between Earth's greatest heroes and villains. When his suit is destroyed in the fight, Peter sets out to make himself a new one after seeing the Hulk and Thor leave a room with their clothing repaired, and comes across a machine which conjures him a black suit that responds to his thoughts, greatly enhances his powers, provides him with its own supply of web-fluid, and can change its appearance at his command.
A few weeks after his return to Earth, however, Peter discovers that the costume is actually an alien symbiote bent on permanently bonding with its host. Peter eventually rejects and defeats the symbiote, going on to marry a now-returned Mary Jane Watson after breaking up with long-time girlfriend the Black Cat. He also begins wearing a cloth replica of the symbiote costume, initially alternating between it and his red and blue suit, and then wearing it full-time after the red and blue one is destroyed in battle against a villain called Magma. Meanwhile, the symbiote eventually returns, merging with reporter Eddie Brock to become the villain known as Venom. Peter defeats Venom and goes on to remake his red and blue costume, not wanting to wear the same outfit as his enemy. Venom escapes incarceration several times, but during a battle between him, Spider-Man, and Styx and Stone the symbiote is seemingly killed. Brock is imprisoned, but later escapes when the symbiote returns. His cell-mate, Cletus Kasady (a serial killer), merges with an infant symbiote that Venom left behind, thus becoming another villain, Carnage.
The Death of Jean DeWolff
In Spectacular Spider-Man #107-#110 (October 1985-January 1986), Peter Parker (Spider-Man) hunts down the person who murdered Jean DeWolff, one of his closest friends in the police department. When the murderer kills another person close to Daredevil, the two superheroes pair up to find the murderer. They later find out that the murderer was DeWolff's ex-lover Stan Carter, a.k.a. Sin-Eater. During "The Death of Jean DeWolff" story arc, Spider-Man was still wearing the fabric copy of his black symbiote costume.
Marriage to Mary Jane Watson
. Art by John Romita Sr.]]
In spite of Peter and Mary Jane's mutual worry that they were marrying too early, Peter's concern for MJ's safety, and Mary Jane's unwillingness to give up her "party girl" lifestyle, they married. She attached Peter's surname to her own, making her Mary Jane Watson-Parker. Spider-Man wore a fabric replica of his black costume around this time, but after Mary Jane was frightened by a stalking Venom, she convinced him to change back to his old costume.
Mary Jane continued to model after her marriage, but eventually moved into acting.
Peter published a book, called Webs. He returned to graduate school to earn his Ph.D. in biochemistry.
Cosmic Spider-Man
While pursuing his graduate studies in biochemistry at Empire State University, Peter Parker was bathed in unknown energies when an experimental generator exploded. The explosion also caused nearby power lines to overload dangerously. Peter spotted a live wire falling toward a young couple. Changing into Spider-Man, he instinctively caught the wire and was surprised when he wasn't harmed by the massive surge of electricity, soon realizing that his powers and senses had been significantly enhanced. Spider-Man's new powers had actually come from the Uni-Power, which comes from a mysterious extra-dimensional aspect of the Microverse known as the Enigma Force, and associated with the entity known as Captain Universe. The powers it bestowed upon Spider-Man seemed to be enhanced spider-like powers, super senses, vast power blasts, being able to form shapes from his web and manipulate them, and absolute invulnerability. These abilities allowed him to defeat a host of foes including Magneto, Graviton, the , Goliath and a mystically infused super Sentinel called The Tri-Sentinel during the Acts of Vengeance crossover.
Maximum Carnage
Thanks to a temporary alliance between Spider-Man and Venom, Carnage was defeated and apparently destroyed, and Kasady jailed at Ravencroft Asylum for psychiatric evaluation. However, the alien had mutated his blood, and he could generate a copy of the symbiote (this was later retconned so that the alien had survived, and bonded to his blood). Kasady escaped, freeing other superhuman inmates. In the end, Venom pushed Carnage into an electrical generator and fled, leaving Carnage to be imprisoned.
Clone Saga
A controversial 1990s storyline involved the Scarlet Spider, a clone of Peter Parker created in 1970s comics by mad scientist Miles "The Jackal" Warren. The clone had lived incognito as "Ben Reilly", but returns to New York City upon hearing of Aunt May's health taking a critical turn. Becoming the Scarlet Spider, he becomes allies with Parker. To the surprise of both, new tests indicate that "Reilly" is in fact the original and "Parker" the clone. Mary Jane becomes pregnant with "Parker"'s baby, and "Parker" retires as Spider-Man and passes the Spider-Man identity to "Reilly", who remains Spider-Man for several months until a resurrected Green Goblin admits to having switched the tests in an attempt to destroy Peter's life by making him believe himself to be the fake. After "Reilly" is impaled on the Goblin's glider while saving "Parker", his body crumbles into dust, proving definitively that "Reilly" is the clone. While Parker battles Osborn, the pregnant Mary Jane is poisoned by one of Osborn's agents, causing premature labor and what seems to be a stillbirth. However, the closing panels of this issue reveal that her baby has in fact been stolen by the Goblin's agents. Although the baby has yet to be mentioned again in the main continuity, her rescue and return to the Parker family forms the back story for the parallel universe series Spider-Girl.
Identity Crisis
Some time after these events, Spider-Man is framed for murder by Norman Osborn, leaving Spider-Man with a 5 million reward posted for his capture. In response, Parker adopts four other costumes with different crime-fighting personas — the Hornet and Prodigy posing as heroes, Dusk and Ricochet posing to be criminals in order to infiltrate the criminal underworld and gather information. Using his Dusk and Prodigy identities, Parker clears Spider-Man of suspicion of wrongdoing. Spider-Man rescues May, then temporarily retires as a superhero. Shortly afterward, his wife Mary Jane Watson, is apparently murdered. Later, she is revealed alive, but she and Peter become separated.
Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski began writing The Amazing Spider-Man, illustrated by John Romita Jr, beginning with vol. 2, #30 (June 2001, the 471st issue). Peter, now employed as a teacher at his old high school, meets the enigmatic CEO Ezekiel, who possesses similar spider powers and suggests that Peter had not gained his abilities by accident — that Peter has a connection to a totemic spider spirit. May discovers that Peter is Spider-Man, leading to a new openness and supportiveness in their relationship Pete and Mary Jane reconcile, and Parker learns his late girlfriend Gwen Stacy had had two children with Norman Osborn.
The companion series Peter Parker: Spider-Man was re-launched as Spectacular Spider-Man vol. 2. Here, an encounter with the Green Goblin leaves Peter's friend Flash Thompson comatose with severe brain damage.
Peter joins the Avengers. After Peter's apartment and Aunt May's house are destroyed by a deranged and super-powered former high-school classmate, Peter moves Aunt May, Mary Jane, and himself into Stark Tower. Peter begins working as Tony Stark's assistant (a story put out after a tabloid photographer saw Watson leaving the building and assumed she was having an affair with Stark) while again freelancing for The Daily Bugle and continuing his work as a high-school teacher. During the events of the company-crossover House of M story arc, Parker sees an alternate reality where his life as he dreamed it would be, with his Uncle Ben alive, Spider-Man having public approval, and Parker being married to Gwen Stacy and having a child with her.
The Other
In the 12-part, 2005 story arc "The Other", spanning the Spider-Man titles The Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel Knights: Spider-Man and Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Spider-Man undergoes a transformation that , further connecting him to the spider totem.
Civil War
In the 2006 crossover Civil War, the Marvel heroes find themselves divided on the issue of whether to register with the U.S. government under the Superhuman Registration Act and reveal their secret identities and superhuman abilities. Tony Stark (Iron Man) drafts a conflicted Spider-Man into a task-force to compel the rebel superheroes to register. Following Stark's lead, he unmasks himself at a televised news conference at the U.S. Capitol. In the aftermath, J. Jonah Jameson files a lawsuit against Parker, demanding repayment of money for "fraudulent" Spider-Man photos Parker shot for the Daily Bugle. After developing a growing unease about the Registration Act, Stark's motives, and witnessing the death of Dr. Bill Foster, the Black Goliath, Spider-Man learns that the unregistered captives are being held indefinitely in a high-tech prison built in the Negative Zone by Fantastic Four Incorporated and Stark Enterprises. These circumstances prompt Parker to escape with Aunt May and Mary Jane and join the Anti-Registration forces.
Back in Black
Following the end of the war, with Registration successfully established, Parker, May, and Mary Jane remain fugitives, and May is critically wounded by a sniper's bullet and goes into a coma. A devastated Parker briefly returns to his black Spider-Man costume in a frenzied hunt for the shooter, leading to a confrontation with the planner, Wilson Fisk a.k.a. the Kingpin, in which Spider-Man beats him and, uncharacteristically, threatens to kill anyone else who would hurt his family.
At some undetermined point within this chronology, Spider-Man gathers with other anti-registration heroes as the informal "New Avengers". They discover that the ninja assassin Elektra had been replaced with a shapeshifting alien from the race known as Skrulls, and that other prominent figures may have been similarly replaced. Meantime, the Scarlet Spiders, a covert-operations team with powers and appearances similar to Spider-Man's, help Parker by casting doubt on him being the real Spider-Man, telling the public that Parker was merely a member acting on his own and has been fired from the group.
One More Day / Brand New Day
Parker, in desperation to save his critically injured Aunt May, exhausts all possibilities with the superhero and supervillain communities, who can offer no medical assistance for her grave condition. He makes a pact with the demon Mephisto, who saves May's life in exchange for Parker and Watson agreeing to have their marriage and all memory of it disappear. In this new reality, his identity is secret once again, and Watson, who had moved away, is cold toward him. Parker returns to work at the Daily Bugle now renamed The DB under its new publisher, Dexter Bennett, but, disagreeing with the paper's new, even more sensationalistic direction, leaves and finds work instead at The Front Line. Peter later unmasks for his teammates in the Avengers and his allies, the Fantastic Four.
Secret Invasion and aftermath
In a company-wide crossover story arc in 2008, the secret infiltration and invasion of Earth by the shape-shifting alien Skrull race, Spider-Man fights with the New Avengers through a final confrontation in New York City, where Norman Osborn, Spider-Man's presumably reformed nemesis the Green Goblin, becomes a national hero by killing the Skrull Queen. The U.S. government names Osborn head of the international peacekeeping force S.H.I.E.L.D., which Osborn rebuilds as the malevolent H.A.M.M.E.R., whose extensive resources he devotes to pursuing unregistered superhumans, particularly Spider-Man.
Spider-Man accompanies the Fantastic Four on a trip to the macroverse, where he discovers that time passes differently, leading to Parker being incommunicado for several weeks on Earth. He returns to find that J. Jonah Jameson has become Mayor of New York City Parker's Aunt May and J. Jonah Jameson, Sr., father of the former Daily Bugle publisher who had long employed Parker as a freelance photographer, have fallen in love and are engaged to be married.
Red-Headed Stranger
In flashbacks Mary Jane recalls a fight with Peter while he was dressed as Spider-Man, stating that she didn't care where he was, and that he had a responsibility to their relationship. Peter begins to explain about his Uncle Ben, but Mary Jane interrupts him to say that he can't let a single moment define his life. Whether she recalls their marriage and deal with Mephisto or not, remains unknown.
Who Was Ben Reilly?
Years after Ben Reilly's death, a super-powered Damon Ryder (going by the name "Raptor") appears during Aunt May's engagement party in Boston. Having stalked the Reillys for some time to find Ben, he sees Peter and attacks him. Peter is able to sneak off and change into his costume. The two battle and Raptor claims to be after Ben Reilly, who murdered his family. The news shocks Peter and Raptor escapes. Later investigations by Peter reveal that Ryder's entire family was killed in a fire started by an arsonist, and that he gave a police sketch of the arsonist that looks exactly like Peter/Ben.
Ryder then appears in New York City and confronts Peter, still believing him to be Ben Reilly and repeatedly calling him "Ben". The two fight in the middle of the office of Frontline after Raptor threatens to target Peter's family. Ryder gains the upperhand before Peter's coworkers get in the way, then leaves after handing over the article on the arsonist, with Ben Urich noting that it appears to be Peter in the sketch. Ryder ditches his jacket not knowing a spider-tracer was on it, and heads to Peter's apartment to seemingly attack his roommate. After a scuffle with Kaine, Peter returns to his apartment and finds his roommate unharmed, though she gave him the address of Aunt May's home. Peter heads there, only to find Raptor holding Harry Osborn and his cousins hostage at gunpoint.
As Raptor announces his plans to burn his friends and family to death right in front of him after he admits his "true identity" as Ben Reilly, Kaine arrives, revealing that he has been working with Raptor. Kaine exposes both Peter's identity and his status as a "clone" of Reilly to Raptor, encouraging him to kill him, since if Reilly is a murderer, then Peter could be driven to kill as well. Refusing to accept this, Peter beats Raptor unconscious, while affirming his and Reilly's innocence and the fact that they would never murder anyone. He is forced to flee when the police arrive, so Kaine and Raptor escape.
The List
Peter Parker teams-up with members of The Front Line staff, to expose Norman Osborn as the maniac he truly is. As Spider-Man, he breaks into Norman's lab and downloads a video showing Norman using a live human being as a test subject. Spider-Man escapes, but Norman (as the Iron Patriot) is chasing him. After a long battle Spider-Man loses the Iron Patriot long enough to change back into Peter Parker. As Peter, he uploads the video to all of his friends online, including his co-workers from The Front Line. He then stands up to the Iron Patriot, claiming that Norman is not a real hero. The Patriot soon leaves, citing that he added Peter Parker to his list.
Heroic Age
After the events of Siege, the status quo of superhumans and government has changed. With Steve Rogers returned to life and now in charge of America's security, the is revoked. Spider-Man is now serving simultaneously in the Avengers main team, and in the New Avengers, similar to teammate Wolverine, although he has expressed some discomfort at working with Victoria Hand given her previous time working for Osborn - as well as being frustrated that his decision to keep his identity secret means that he is the only New Avenger who won't get paid for being on the team.
The Gauntlet
Spider-Man is pitted against many of his classic foes, such as Rhino, Mysterio, and the Juggernaut, physically and mentally wearing him down, culminating in the Grim Hunt, where he and other spider-themed heroes are pitted against Kraven the Hunter's family. Spider-Man is eventually forced to embark on a suicide mission to sacrifice himself in an attempt to stop the murders of his allies, only for his clone Kaine to return and give his life in Peter's place. While tempted to kill the resurrected Kraven, Spider-Man is counselled by his allies- Julie Carpenter having been granted the powers of the now-deceased Madame Web- to remember to show mercy as he will otherwise destroy the moral web that he has created for other heroes.
One Moment in Time
"One Moment in Time" will explain what changes Mephisto made to dissolve Peter and Mary Jane's at the end of One More Day.
Shadowland
Spider-Man is featured in the Shadowland storyline. The "street-level" heroes (Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Moon Knight, etc.) begin to question Daredevil (who utilizes the Hand as a force for justice) after the death of Bullseye. Spider-Man goes with the other characters to talk to Daredevil who claims that the Hand is under strict orders not to kill. Citing the death of Bullseye, he defends that he was doing what was necessary for the greater good. Spider-Man offers his personal opinion that wearing a black costume never ends well. Down in the dungeons, the Ghost Rider comes riding through the stockade. Learning of this disturbance, Daredevil presumes that his so-called "friends" were plotting against him. He orders his Hand subordinates to take them: dead or alive. Spider-Man is featured prominently in a long fight scene before escaping and using his webs to seal up the exit.
Mister Negative takes the advantage of the conflict against the Hand in a plot to set up a criminal establishment there, only for he and his Inner Demons to run afoul of Spider-Man and Shang-Chi.
Origin of the Species
In this story arc, Spider-Man must protect Lilly Hollister's newborn child from Doctor Octopus, who believes the baby's blood will have recuperative properties and hires several of Spider-Man's old antagonists to kidnap the child. Spider-Man ultimately unites the child with Harry Osborn, Hollister's former fiancee, who takes responsibility for raising the boy. Parker also begins a romantic relationship with Carlie Cooper
Big Time
Peter gets a job as a scientist in Horizon Labs. In his first day, Horizon Labs is attacked by the new Hobgoblin. Spider-Man goes to fight him, but the Hobgoblin immobilizes him with his goblin laugh. Spider-Man escapes with the help of the Horizon Labs staff, but the Hobgoblin steals a cargo of reverbium. To recover the reverbium, Spider-Man creates a new suit with light-warping capabilities and asks the Black Cat for help.
Other versions
Relationships with other heroes
Although ostensibly a loner with a sense of humor that many find hard to understand or appreciate, Spider-Man has formed several diverse relationships with various other heroes in the Marvel Universe. Some of these bonds can actually be traced back to his parents, Richard and Mary Parker, who worked as agents in the C.I.A. after being recruited by Nick Fury himself, and were eventually killed by the third Red Skull after he discovered their status as double agents. During their careers, they were sometimes partnered with Logan (Wolverine); indeed, Logan was apparently the first person to congratulate the Parkers upon learning that Mary was pregnant. He has also partnered or been part of teams which displayed his value as a formidable teammate.
Although several heroes, such as Wolverine, find his sense of humor in the face of some of their usual adversaries and threats frustrating, Spider-Man has nevertheless won the respect of many due to his commitment to doing the right thing and his refusal to give up. The Black Panther even once allowed Spider-Man to eat the heart-shaped fruit of the Wakandan royal family, describing him as a warrior with the heart of a king, and even Captain America has admitted to being amazed by his skills whenever the two fight side-by-side, with Spider-Man, like other heroes, being deeply affected by Cap's death. During Dormammu's attempt to escape from the other dimension where he had been banished by channeling the energies of a group of heroes who sought to banish the invading Mindless Ones, Doctor Strange managed to avert Dormammu's release by sending Spider-Man back in time to a few moments before he escaped, the web-slinger subsequently convincing the gathered heroes to wait a few moments to give Doctor Strange time to deal with the problem; although Spider-Man had no evidence to support his story, the gathered heroes, consisting of Mister Fantastic, the Human Torch, Iron Man, Thor and Cyclops all gave him the time he asked for. When Spider-Man was pushed to breaking-point by the Kravinoff family as part of their efforts to resurrect Kraven the Hunter, he was told not to kill Kraven because doing so would destroy the 'moral web' he has created, revealing that he serves as a source of moral inspiration and an example for other heroes with his dedication to his role as a hero.
His closest friends in the hero business include Daredevil and the Human Torch, although his relationship with Daredevil is more serious while his friendship with the Torch primarily consists of the two playing practical jokes on each other. Spidey also enjoys a close friendship with various small-time heroes from the New York area, including the Prowler, Black Cat (who he dated for a time), Cloak and Dagger and Toxin. His uneasy relationship with the public has also created a certain bond between himself and the equally mistrusted X-Men, with particularly close bonds formed with members such as Iceman and Beast due to their shared sense of humor and mutual interest in science respectively. He even once went on a date with Marrow when Mary Jane was believed dead and Marrow had been brainwashed by S.H.I.E.L.D.; although nothing came of it, he subsequently freed her from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s control, and they parted on good terms.
He also has a close relationship with rest of the Fantastic Four, although their initial meeting was difficult to say the least; he fought them in an attempt to 'audition' for a role on the team, needing money to help his family, but left on bad terms after learning they didn't pay and they voiced their suspicions of him due to Jameson's articles. As time went on, however, he and the team became closer; Spider-Man even once went on a date with the Invisible Girl (although both only went on it to annoy the Human Torch and Mister Fantastic respectively), and has a good relationship with their son Franklin Richards, due in no small part to the advice he's given Franklin regarding listening to the advice of 'Uncle Bens', as well as an occasion when he helped Sue Storm save Franklin's life.
During a period when the Fantastic Four were believed dead, Spider-Man was a member of the replacement team created to 'avenge' the deaths of the Fantastic Four, consisting of himself, Wolverine, the Hulk and Ghost Rider, Spider-Man serving as the unofficial team leader during their mission to track the Fantastic Four's supposed killers, coordinating the group's efforts to save a damaged aircraft and battle the Mole Man's minions; although this team parted company when the original Fantastic Four were revealed to be alive, in an alternate reality where the team stayed together after the original Fantastic Four were killed, Spider-Man successfully lead his team against such threats as the Super-Skrull, Mephisto and the new Frightful Four, even remaining in charge when Iron Man joined the team in their fight against Thanos, his teammates trusting him over the rest of them to wield the power of the Infinity Gauntlet and undo Thanos's destruction (Another version of Spider-Man making the same choice in another confrontation with Thanos with the aid of the Avengers). During a confrontation with Kristoff Vernard, Kristoff attempted to recruit the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man as part of his plot to defeat Doctor Doom because, based on his studies of both their history in this universe and his analysis of other realities, he had come to the conclusion that Spider-Man was as much a part of the team as the core Fantastic Four themselves, Spider-Man often replacing fallen members of the team in other realities and the two constantly turning to each other as a first option when they require assistance with some problem or another.
Early on in his career, Spider-Man was invited to join the Avengers, but failed to complete his first assignment when he allowed the Hulk to escape after learning his story. Although his independent spirit came close to compromising the team's effectiveness as a unit when he fought alongside them, he eventually became a reserve member, helping them tackle such foes as the Exemplars. During his initial service in the New Avengers, Peter developed a mentor/student relationship with Tony Stark, who even allowed Peter to borrow his first two suits of armor on one occasion, and designed a for him in the aftermath of his recent 'evolution'. However, this bond broke down due to their differing opinions regarding the Civil War, culminating in the two exchanging blows before Spider-Man fled. May Parker was shot by an assassin, prompting Peter to return to Tony in hopes that he would be able to help out in May's recovery as her condition turned grim. At first Tony refused Peter's request, but, later on, Tony had Jarvis (who had been in a relationship with May prior to the Civil War) donate two million dollars to the hospital that May was staying in in order to cover all of the hospital fees. Since the War, Peter has maintained a good relationship with the rest of his teammates.
Due to the effects of One More Day, Spider-Man's secret identity as Peter Parker, once again remains a secret, with previous heroes such as Daredevil and Wolverine no longer knowing the truth behind Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Nevertheless, Spider-Man still remains an active member of the New Avengers, late re-unmasking to the team- which includes Wolverine, Hawkeye, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Captain America, Spider-Woman and Ms. Marvel- and also unmasked to the Fantastic Four during a trip to the 'Macroverse'- a sub-dimension they had previously visited before the wipe-, making them the only heroes to know of his secret identity. Though he offered to reveal his identity to Daredevil in Amazing Spider-Man #600, Daredevil refused, as the was enough to even fool his heightened senses, and thus he did not want to compromise that protection. Following the Siege of Asgard, his New Avengers teammate Ms. Marvel has even revealed that she has some feelings for him; Spider-Man previously asked her for a date after he helped her fend off attacking HAMMER agents (Although he himself admitted at the time that he didn't know why he said that), the two subsequently going out for dinner in a restaurant.

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