Even the most casual of comic readers know how Peter Parker sought to exploit his powers as Spider-Man before becoming a superhero. That changed because of the traumatic death of his Uncle Ben — a death Peter could have prevented had he not been thinking only of himself. However, a new retro story reveals that the Wall-Crawler did seek other methods of making money off his powers before fully ignoring wealth and fame.
Written by J.M. DeMatteis with art by Michael Sta. Maria, Spider-Man: Shadow of the Green Goblin #1 is set one month after Uncle Ben’s death. The story finds Peter Parker and Aunt May dealing with financial problems. This leaves Peter turning to Spidey’s agent, Maxie Shiffman, looking for work.
While Shiffman is sympathetic, Peter’s early efforts at heroism had already gotten the attention of J. Jonah Jameson. Thanks to The Daily Bugle’s Spider-Man stories, Maxie had no way of getting Peter any work as a wrestler or a showman. However, he promised to get Peter some kind of paying work, no matter how small.
Spider-Man Briefly Did Childrens’ Parties
Maxie was true to his word, getting Peter a gig appearing as Spider-Man at a children’s birthday party. This would seemingly be an ideal venue for Peter to make money using his powers. His antics would amuse the kids and he could be assured of not risking hurting someone by accident with his powers, like when he was wrestling.
However, Peter brought his new career to a swift end. An encounter with a cynical young boy named Darryl, who had recently lost his father, left Peter feeling guilty about taking money for working with kids. Part of this was due to his losing his temper over Darryl’s attitude before he learned he was an orphan. However, it was also because making children happy as Spider-Man did more for him than money ever could.
Spider-Man: Shadow of the Green Goblin #1 is now available on-line and in comic shops everywhere.
