Real name: Peter Parker
Occupation: Freelance photographer, superhero
Identity: Spider-Man's identity is a secret.
Legal status: Citizen of the United States with no official criminal record
Other aliases: Ben Reilly
Place of birth: New York
Marital status: Single
Known relatives: Richard and Mary Parker (parents, deceased), Ben
Parker (uncle, deceased), May Parker (aunt)
Group affiliation: Ultimates
Base of operations: Ultimates HQ
First appearance: August, 2000
History:
Born in 1982, Peter Parker's early life was marked by tragedy. When he was only three, his parents died in a plane crash. Peter was sent to live with an elderly aunt and uncle, who raised him like their own son. He grew up a shy but very intelligent young lad, and developed an early interest in photography.
When he was 18 and observing an experiment at Columbia University, he suddenly felt queasy... his mutant powers were manifesting suddenly. Dazed and confused from the sudden information his spider-sense was giving him, he walked into oncoming traffic and almost got hit by a car... luckily an instinct saved him and he jumped out of the way... but he realized he jumped farther than he should of, and more importantly, he was clinging to a wall. He quickly learned about his other powers, and wasn't quite sure how to deal with them.
He made himself an outfit and decided to try wrestling, counting on his super strength to let him win any match. His family could use the money, after all, as they had a very small income. He won a match, but was stiffed on the money... as luck would have it, the place was robbed that very night. Instead of helping, Peter simply stepped aside, and let the robber go, feeling the manager deserved it.
Unfortunately, that robber went on to kill Peter's uncle in a home invasion. Peter was devestated. He went after the robber, eventually capturing him in webbing and turning him over to the cops... he wanted to kill the man, but the words of his uncle rung in his ears... With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility.
Peter gave up on the idea of fame, but made an attempt to become a costumed hero in New York, while attending Columbia University. He had some success, but was never terribly famous... at best, he was considered an amusing curiosity.
At Columbia, Peter made the acquaintence of a few mutants who were connected to the Xavier institute. He even began dating one of them, a woman named Daphnea who saw ghosts. He became very attached to her very quickly, and when she was kidnapped, he went all out to save her, until he crossed the line he expected never to cross... he killed a man. This started his breakdown. At one point he was injured and found himself in custody... when he acted out, he was put into an asylum, and he really began to face the things he'd done in recent months... he suddenly became suicidal. He survived, but was put into intensive therapy, and his identity was known to the government.
Surprisingly, though, they didn't threaten or enslave him... they thought by offering to help him they'd get more insight into mutant physiology and perhaps gain a willing ally. His mind as it was, Peter agreed. He underwent various tests, and continued in therapy. When the OMA started hiring mutant agents, he was approached with the offer of serving his country as an OMA agent, under a new name. He went into training under the name Ben Reilly.
It wasn't the same as being Spidey, because he had no costume, and was ordered not to use his powers except in an emergency. He also had to deal with bureaucracy and there were times he knew that if he had followed his instincts, lives would have been saved. He eventually resigned and tried to go back to his own life, reviving his old dream of being a freelance photographer.
When the Ultimates formed, Peter was one of many names of potential operatives they went through. Somebody thought it might be a good idea to include Peter as he was known, even if only very briefly, as a colorful 'hero' in New York. They also learned that his aunt was in need of regular medical treatment, but neither really had the insurance. So, Peter was offered the opportunity to make enough to pay for his aunt's medical care, by serving in the Ultimates. His official source of income was from being a photographer for the Ultimates publicity shots. He agreed. He is currently the only member of the Ultimates who does not have a public identity - in the press conference that introduced them, it was said that revealing it would jeopardize some ongoing investigations into mutant terrorism. In truth, one of Peter's conditions for joining was that he not have to reveal his face.
As part of the story that goes along with his Ultimates identity, Spider-Man is a mutant who has heightened strength and agility, who invented a costume that allowed him to scale walls. He also invented web-shooters, using a formula of his own creation. The suits behind the Ultimates thought that the idea that he produces his own webbing might make him less acceptable to the public.
Height: 5'10" Weight: 165 lbs.
Eyes: Hazel Hair: Dark brown
Unusual physical characteristics: Peter's wrists have retractable
spinnerettes for web production, but these are normally not noticeable.
Strength level: Spider-Man possesses superhuman strength,
enabling him to lift approximately 5 tons under optimum conditions.
Known superhuman powers: Spider-Man, in addition to his heightened
strength and endurance, possesses many of the abilities attributed to that of
common spiders. He can crawl along walls or even upside-down, using only
his hands or hands and feet, he is extremely agile and flexibile, and can
jump great distances. He also has the ability to shoot webs out of his
wrist. Most unusually, he has a 'spider-sense', which alerts him to
danger in the immediate future, and allows him a chance to dodge.
Other abilities: Peter is a skilled photographer and is very
intelligent, with a science degree. As Spider-Man, he's become adept at
'web-slinging'... anchoring one end of his web to a solid object and
holding onto another to swing along, changing direction rapidly.
Weapons and paraphernalia: Spider-Man's costume is designed to
offer him maximum range of movement, to not inhibit his wall-crawler
abilities, and also to provide him with unobstructed vision while protecting
his identity. He also carries some special protein pills that help him
regenerate his webbing more quickly.
Other notes: None