Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Does Halloween Better Than A Spider Can!

One thing that is constant in comic books is change.  Popular characters have their appearances altered throughout their creative lives.  Sometimes they can be subtle differences, like the changes introduced throughout the years of Superman and Batman's existences.  Other times they can just strike you out of the blue, like the switch from Wolverine's original yellow-and-blue costume to the orange-red-and-black outfit... and then BACK to the yellow-and-blue!  But in all of my time as a comic book fan, there's one character that I feel epitomizes the spirit of Halloween, by making sure he chooses MANY different costumes for different occasions.  ... Which is ironic, since he usually is grousing about how to make ends meet, yet is STILL able to afford the examples I'm about to present to you in today's blog!  I present you with some of the MANY costumes of Spider-Man!  But a brief note: this list is just a showcase of the more outrageous examples, and are STRICTLY from the comics.  If I extended my reach to action figure variants...  How about I have you readers contact my current employer to have an excused day off to detail as MANY of the different fantastic-plastic costumes Peter Parker sported?  ... Yeah, I didn't think that would work!  So, let's talk about Peter Parker's sense of costume fashion!

The Amazing Bag-Man: If'n you folks remember a blog entry I wrote about the symbiote costume Spidey sported in the wake of the "Secret Wars" storyline, maybe I made mention of the living costume being briefly kept under observation by Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four.  Being separated from a creature that was essentially using his body as a puppet was by FAR not a terrible development for Peter.  But... Spider-Man can't become your "friendly neighborhood streaker" until the research on his costume was complete!  So, let's welcome in the spirit of innovation in "Amazing Spider-Man #258", where Johnny Storm... Spidey's "biggest fan"... suggests he take a spare Fantastic Four body suit.  But since the FF has no use for masks... that's where the quicker sandwich transporter, with eye holes, comes in handy!  Also, you may be wondering, "Then why the bare feet?".  Remember that Spidey's costume boots are little more than basically more-tough "socks", because he NEEDS some level of base contact with objects to crawl on walls.  Genuine boots hinder that ability, so Peter Parker takes the John McClaine approach... without walking on broken glass.

Spider-Armor... Because The 90's: This particular costume may have a personal comics record; the bag-man appearance didn't occur OFTEN, but it did appear at least more than once.  "Web of Spider-Man #100" was the first and LAST appearance of the cumbersome Spider-Armor.  Here's the deal; a group calling themselves the New Enforcers started laying siege to the New York turf of Spider-Man... with PARTICULARLY heavy caliber firearms.  That Spidey-sense can only carry you so far when you're dealing with weaponry that's more than just your average barrage of bullets.  So Peter develops the silver-and-black Spider-Armor.  What this costume achieved was it WAS more resilient to the firearms being used against him.  But like any extra padding suits of armor, Peter had to sacrifice his mobility and his leaping abilities.  And I GUESS like any suit of armor, bullet-blocking is all well and good, but surviving an attack with an acidic projectile is NOT going to be feasible.  However, Spider-Man survived that particular attack... the Armor, not so much.  And that particular version of the Spider-Armor concept was one and done.  But did I mention "particular version"...?

Iron Spider: Tony Stark... makes you feel... like he's your buddy and creates new armor for you, then later turns on your during the "Civil War" event.  (Not quite as catchy as the original theme song for "Iron Man", but I tried.)  I COULD attempt trying to describe to you the events of the "Spider-Man: The Other" storyline, but that would also take a sizeable chunk of my day... and also force me to re-read that particular event, which I was not a huge fan of.  But from what I remember, Peter's powers are thrown a bit out of whack for a stretch of time, and Peter Parker has been bonding with Tony Stark during his employ with Stark Industries.  Tony wants to HELP Peter out of a rough spot, so he takes the principles of the Iron Man armor... basically turning a man into a walking arsenal... and transforms those abilities to become more spider-centric.  Peter was a HUGE fan of the Iron Spider concept, and became a supporter of Tony's Initiative movement while still sporting the multi-legged suit.  But when Spider-Man starts to side with Captain America's rebellion, Tony uses his links to S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Thunderbolts initiative to POUND THE TAR out of Spider-Man, and thus making Peter turn his back on the costume of Tony's invention.  But three other Iron Spider suits were made for other users for added muscle for Tony's Initiative movement.  (And I would list the abilities of this given suit... but there are just SO BLOODY MANY.  It's like the Iron Spider suit was just an enormous video game cheat code!)

Future Foundation Tighty-Whities: What do you do when a long-running member of Marvel's "first family" is considered "deceased"?  (When, in actuality, Johnny Storm/The Human Torch was ONLY stuck in the Negative Zone, and was basically brought back to our reality not too far off from that unfortunate incident.)  You take under you wing a long-time friend of the family to lend some support.  Hence, the group that Spider-Man first wanted SO BADLY to be part of... just to receive added income... accepted membership into the Future Foundation to honor the memory of his "frenemy", Johnny Storm.  Outside of the fact that wearing this costume makes eating ANY kind of food while wearing it a mean feat of personal care, the only special ability it granted Spider-Man was the benefits of the patented Reed Richards unstable molecules.  So basically Peter could binge on fried chicken, and any additional weight gain he receives from such feasting would not affect his costume.  He just has to make sure he has PLENTY of Wet-Naps on hand...

Stealth-Armor, or Jeff Bridges Made this While in the Grid: All black costume... Sure, that's pretty stealthy.  A costume that has a visual, and sonar, disguise setting?  Okay, I'm still on board.  But what the BLEEDING HECK does bright neon-highlights serve in a "stealth" mentality?  If that's the case, no one would "Eat at Joe's".  Anyways, with the threat of a new Hobgoblin that has the ability to produce a "sonic scream"... of which Dinah Queen should ROYALLY sue over... in "Amazing Spider-Man #650", Peter used the technology he had access to while under the employ of Horizon Labs to develop a suit that could allow him to operate with a measure of secrecy against an enemy who could now locate him through sound as well as sight.  While the costume didn't remain in Peter's possession for long, his clone... or is it the OTHER WAY AROUND... Kane, received the costume in the wake of the "Spider-Island" event.

Blue Spider, or... Say, Ted Kord Looks a Little Bit like Someone Else...: During the odd time that Spidey sported his one-off "Spider-Armor", for a limited engagement in a short-lived Justice League incarnation for the "Extreme Justice" series, Ted Kord/Blue Beetle started looking AWFULLY familiar to a "Friendly Neighborhood Wall Crawler".  It's not like the Blue Beetle costume was all THAT different, and it's not like the founder of Kord Industries developed web shooters, or started showcasing a "Beetle Sense" of danger, but a reader of the comic could NOT HELP but notice that when Blue Beetle was in action, his poses were PRETTY similar to seeing Peter Parker in action.  Right down from swinging into the scene via his Scarab ropes, or delivering standard physically impossible high-kicks, it was like Ted Kord left the building for issues of this book, and Peter Parker took on a part-time job for the "Distinguished Competition"!