Spiderman was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15, 1962.
The idea for Spiderman and Peter Parker (as a teenage superhero) was conceived, due to the uprising readership of comic books among teens at that time. After the huge success of the Fantastic Four, Lee was cited to be brainstorming for one character to ride on the wave and capture more readership.
He was further inspired by a non-superpowered popular crime fighter on prints at that point of time, The Spider. And with that, when he spotted a spider climbing up the wall...
As the origin was further elaborated, extended, improvised, Peter Parker was an orphan living with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May in Forrest Hills, Queens, New York.
He was casted as a teenage science whiz and was bitten by a radioactive spider during one of the science exhibits he took part in, and where he gained his amazing super powers.
In the beginning, Parker intended to capitalise on his newfound powers, by attending TV shows and wrestling matches. And this is when, during one of the off-show events, "he blithely ignores the chance to stop a fleeing thief, [and] his indifference ironically catches up with him when the same criminal later robs and kills his Uncle Ben." Spider-Man tracks and subdues the killer and learns, in the story's next-to-last caption, "With great power there must also come—great responsibility!"
His next major life event came, in issue 121 and 122, when his lifelong arch enemy The Green Goblin kidnapped his girlfriend (then) Gwen Stacy, and later indirectly led to her death in the arms of Spiderman.
And through his grief over several issues afterwards, it led to his new romance with Mary Jane Watson.
Spidey (as he's been affectionately known to many on and off the comic books) has also gone through several (many) changes in his costume design, as well, through the decades.
Mostly through an exciting entwining incident, like the black alien symbiote costume when he acquired during the first Secret Wars, the half-white red-lipped leotards when he was possessing Captain Universe's powers, the gold-plated doc-ock lookalike one after receiving an upgrade from Tony Stark during Civil Wars.
And there are also some seemingly like him, but is actuallly not him, but the writers would love us to think it's him, from storylines spinned off from the best selling main title, like the Scarlet Spider's torn jacket, Spiderman 2009's vampirish look, and the inverse color version from Miles Morales' costume.
In all, fans complain and bitch about how they hated or loved the changes through the decades, but none has actually abandon him, for he will always be the friendly neighbourhood hero to them.
