Spider-Man (Peter Parker)

Peter Benjamin Parker

• Able to scale most surfaces thanks to microscopic hairs on his hands and feet
• Superhuman strength, speed, agility, and reflexes
• Precognitive Spider-Sense warns of immediate, impending danger
• Genius-level intellect: able to construct amateur devices such as his wrist-mounted web-shooters and the eye-lenses of his mask which operate similar to camera lenses

• Vulnerable to pesticides, which can hamper his breathing and sense of smell, if not outright poison him, depending on dosage
• Spider-Sense can be overloaded either through sudden, intense danger or deliberate manipulation of microwave frequencies that allow it to function

Peter is a quiet, awkward kid who tends to keep to himself most of the time. That being said, he can become abrasive and snarky very quickly and isn't afraid of being confrontational. His bravery as Spider-Man is lauded and noted by police, firefighters, and civilians alike. He puts on a motormouthed, humorous persona when in battle to keep himself calm, but drops it as soon as innocents are in danger.

The son of Richard and Mary Parker, Peter Parker was left an orphan when he was five years old after his parents were killed in a plane crash over the Indian Ocean. Growing up, he lived with his father's older brother, Ben, and his wife May, who doted on their nephew, whose brilliance they encouraged. In high school, Peter became the target of bullying from his peers, chiefly football champion Flash Thompson. He never fought back until he saw Flash harassing another student physically, to which Peter got involved and ended up socking Flash in the jaw. Despite being suspended, Ben and May lauded their nephew's bravery, always cautioning him to never go out of his way to harm others, but to also never stand by and allow another to be harmed if he could at all help it.

When Peter was fifteen, he and his class went on a field trip to the up-and-coming scientific firm Horizon Labs, which was, at the time, competing with other companies to develop a super-soldier serum, similar to the one that turned Steve Rogers into Captain America during World War II, for the government. During the trip, Peter was bitten by a genetically-modified spider that contained Horizon's serum, granting him fantastical, arachnid-like abilities.

Initially unsure of how to make of his abilities, Peter used these powers for attention, filmming elaborate stunt videos in a makeshift costume and posting them online, which he made a modicum amount of money from in the process.

These videos caught the attention of a television producer, who invited Peter to participate in an obstacle course television show known as "Tryouts!" in exchange for pay. Peter excelled in his television debut, but was soon swindled out of the promised monetary reward when he refused to sign an exclusive contract agreement.

As he left the studio, an angry and bitter Peter had a chance encounter with a thief who had just robbed the promoter's office. Peter allowed the thief to escape out of spite and revenge. When he got home later that evening, however, Peter learned that Ben had been murdered in a burglary gone awry. Enraged, Peter hunted the thief down, only to learn that it was the same man he allowed to escape earlier. He considered killing him, but decided to leave him for the police.

Wracked with guilt and craving atonement, Peter began designing a more elaborate, permanent costume than the one he created for his Internet videos and "Tryouts!" appearance, as well as a pair of wrist-mounted web-shooters which utilized a special adhesive formula Peter developed that resembled a spider's web. Taking to the streets, Peter began fighting crime as the vigilante Spider-Man.