[b]Player Name: [/b] Dedonus [b]Character You Wish To Play: [/b] Peter Benjamin Parker, otherwise known as the Amazing Spider-Man! [b]Moral Alignment:[/b] Hero. [b]Affiliation:[/b] The Amazing Friends [b]Character Origin & Backstory:[/b] Peter’s life has been a story of repeated tragedies. [hider=Early Life]Peter Benjamin Parker was born to Richard and Mary Parker. All that Peter could remember about his parents was that his father, Richard, was a geneticist and genetic engineer and that his mother, Mary, was a nurse. While Peter was still very young, his parents tragically died in a plane accident. Therefore, the burden fell upon Peter’s aunt and uncle, May and Benjamin Parker, who gave the young Peter all the love that they could. Even when the Parkers struggled to support their nephew financially, they gave the young Peter all the love they had. This was only the first tragedy in Peter’s guilt-ridden life. Through elementary and middle school, Peter was belittled and bullied since Peter was a book-worm, nerd, and an ‘A’ student. Although his academic studies helped him through this time, thinking that someday he would be all the ‘popular’ kids’ boss, there almost did not seem like there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Not until he first met one of his future best friends: Angelica Jones. She and her widowed father, Bartholomew Jones, moved to Queens from Massachusetts after Angelica’s paternal grandmother passed away. Both being lonely and outcasts, Peter and Angelica quickly became friends. Things looked bright for Peter, or at least that how they seemed until Angelica’s microwave powers began to manifest. With the anti-mutant sentiment, Angelica’s father enrolled her at the [i]Xavier Institute of Higher Learning[/i]. After a bitter and sad departure, Peter had lost his best friend almost as soon as they became friends.[/hider] [hider=The Birth of Spider-Man]Then there was the day Peter gained his powers. Peter was attending a demonstration of the latest findings of Doctor Curtis Connors, an expert on cross-species genetics. During the demonstration, one of the genetically altered spiders escaped from its container on that faithful day and bit Peter, infecting him with a virus that caused Peter to develop his abilities. After suffering a miserable night due to his body trying to cope with the virus that had infected Peter, Peter woke up feeling like a new person. Now with super-human powers, Peter knew what he had to do with them: earn money for his loving aunt and uncle, who had struggled to support him. It was the least he could do. While Peter was successful early on, having created his ‘iconic’ red and blue costume to conceal his identity, Peter’s cash supply was destroyed by a man who would be a pain in Spider-Man’s backside for years to come: J. Jonah Jameson. After Jameson’s crusade against Spider-Man in the Daily Bugle, Peter was distraught. How was he going to be able to help his aunt and uncle now? In his misery, Peter ignored a bugler while Peter heading home from the studio for the last time. While it seemed insignificant at the time, Peter would later regret that decision. Later that week, Peter’s Uncle Ben was killed when a robber broke into their house. When Peter caught the murderer, he was shocked to the core when he discovered that the murderer was the same man whom Peter failed to stop earlier that week. Shaken by the experience, Peter finally learned the lesson that his Uncle Ben had been trying to teach him: [i]With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility[/i]. After he got his powers, but prior to his uncle’s death, Peter finally rallied up the courage to ask his dream crush, Gwen Stacy, out on a date. She was his Penelope. The death of Peter’s uncle just brought the two further together. However, as Peter’s career as Spider-Man began, Peter discovered how much damage his alter-ego had started to inflect on their relationship. Therefore, Peter revealed his secret to the love of his life. And this knowledge was the kiss of death for Gwen, although neither of them knew this at the time. There was yet another bright spot in the sea of darkness that was Peter’s tragedy life. Peter and Angelica crossed paths again and they would never go separate ways again. The X-Men (in civilian garb) were visiting a science museum as a field trip (since the institute was a school, after all) when suddenly the Juggernaut attacked. After Peter helped the X-Men subdue the Juggernaut, both Peter and Angelica discovered the other’s secret identities. From that day forward, Peter, Angelica, and Angelica’s fellow X-Man, Bobby Drake (a.k.a. Iceman) formed the Amazing Friends. After his first year of fighting petty crocks, Peter thought this super-hero gig would be a piece of cake. Or at least until he began to meet his first super-powered villains. His first ‘super’ was the Chameleon, a super-villain who could change his appearance at will. After his encounters will the Chameleon and some other villains, like the Lizard and Doctor Octopus, Peter realized that he could no longer rely solely on his powers, as he did in his first year of super heroics. He needed to use his intelligence in order to overcome the obstacles in his way.[/hider] [hider=The War of the Roses]However, Peter’s happiness could not last forever. Over the last decade, the Kingpin of Crime held an iron grip over the criminal underworld on the East Coast. However, when his wife, Vanessa, grew deathly ill, which prompted the Kingpin to focus on curing his dying wife, the Kingpin of Crime began to loosen his grip over the city as his attention was directed elsewhere. Then, out of nowhere, a crime lord called ‘the Rose’ started to encroach onto the Kingpin’s turf. As a result of the Rose’s challenge to the Kingpin’s hegemony, a power struggle spiraled out of control, all the gangs of New York vied for power, and the NYPD were caught in the middle of it. One night, when Peter was going to the Stacy residence so that he could take Gwen swinging around the city, Peter heard an explosion from within. After changing in his Spider-Man threads, Peter entered into the Stacy residence and found the mercenary, called Jack O’ Lantern, had kidnapped Gwen Stacy. Believing that someone had discovered his secret identity, which would made Gwen, his girlfriend, vulnerable, Peter chased after Gwen’s captor, following the Halloween-themed villain to the Rose’s base. However, once at the Rose’s hideout, Peter, undetected by the Rose’s men, discovered that the Rose was going to use Gwen as leverage against Captain Stacy in order to get the NYPD off the Rose’s back. Knowing that his dual-life as Spider-Man was not the cause of Gwen’s kidnapping, Peter rushed to Captain Stacy and updated him on the situation. Once everyone was on the same page, Peter and Captain Stacy drafted a plan to save Gwen. While the NYPD established a perimeter around the Rose’s headquarters and prepared for a raid on that base of operations, Peter snuck in to free Gwen. Synchronizing with Peter and Gwen’s escape, the police burst into the base, taking the Rose’s men by surprise. However, on their way out, Peter and Gwen ran into the Rose and Jack O’ Lantern. The Rose aimed to strike down Peter, but, utilizing his Spider Agility, Peter pushed Gwen out of the way and ducked away from the bullet. Nevertheless, that bullet still struck someone: Captain Stacy. When Peter and Gwen had not exited from the building, Captain Stacy charged into the epicenter of the base in order to find them. Unfortunately, Captain Stacy was in the wrong place in the wrong time. While Peter and Gwen mourning the loss of Captain Stacy, the Rose made his escape. But the Jack O’ Lantern remained to cover the Rose’s flight. During the chaos of the police raid and Jack O’ Lantern’s distraction attempt, Gwen was knocked off some scaffolding while Peter attempted to protect her from the Jack O’ Lantern. Peter tried to catch her with a webline, but the Jack O’ Lantern ignored the deadly situation that Gwen found herself in and sucker punched Peter in the back. Hoping to get out of the reach of his assailant, Peter leapt off the scaffolding and dove toward his girlfriend, catching her with a webline. However, when he dropped to the floor, Peter discovered that Gwen had not survived whiplash of his rescue attempt. After grieving the deaths of his girlfriend and her father, who had been a surrogate father to Peter since both his real father and his uncle Ben had been killed, Peter turned his anger towards Jack O’ Lantern. In a fury of rage, Peter would have beaten Jack to a pulp, if he had not realized that he would have become just like the Rose and Jack O’ Lantern: a killer. Instead, Peter left Jack O’ Lantern for the police to deal with. In the direct aftermath of the two Stacys’ deaths, Peter could not bring himself to dawn his Spider-Man costume, feeling that his alter-ego had been the cause of his girlfriend’s death. Combined with the rising uneasiness caused by the public reaction towards mutants and Jameson’s ever-continuing mudslinging, Peter retired his Spider-Man threads, believing that throwing in the towel would protect all his loved ones who were still alive. [/hider] [b]Family & Friends: [/b] -Richard and Mary Parker (deceased): Peter’s biological parents -Benjamin Parker (deceased): Peter’s Uncle (Richard Parker’s Brother) -May Reilly Parker: Peter’s Aunt (Benjamin Parker’s wife and Richard Parker’s sister-in-law) -Gwen Stacy (deceased): Peter’s most recent girlfriend. She was Peter’s Penelope, rivaling Peter’s own natural intelligence. What she lacked in powers, he made up the difference with her intelligence, aiding Peter in many occasions. Her death at the hands of the Rose has traumatized Peter. -Angelica Jones (aka Firestar): Close Childhood Friend of Peter’s. Went to Xavier Institute of Higher Learning when her powers manifested. She developed a crush on Peter while still in middle school, but she has never been able to act upon those desires. Is the time right or would she prefer them to remain as ‘friends’? -Bobby Drake (aka Iceman): Close Friend of Peter’s. Went to Xavier Institute of Higher Learning when his powers manifested. -Mary Jane Watson: Even before Peter and Gwen started dating, Aunt May had been trying to get Peter hooked up with their neighbor’s (Anna Watson) niece. Now that Gwen is “out of the way”, is it time for this pair to come together? Or is it too early? [b]Powers and Abilities: [/b] -High-level Intelligence: Peter Parker is an extremely gifted student, allowing him to excel in his academic career while he is not busy with his super-heroics. If he is given the correct guidance, tools, and education, Peter Parker’s intelligence could possibly rival those of Tony Stark, Reed Richards, Hank McCoy, and Hank Pym. -Wall-Crawling: Spider-Man has the ability to create atomic attraction between himself and other objects, allowing him to adhere to numerous surfaces. -Spider-Sense: Spider-Man possesses an uncanny 6th sense that alerts him to danger within his local proximity. Although his Spider-Sense can alert him if there is danger, it does not provide him with the location or direction from which the danger comes. Combined with Spider-Man’s reflexes, Spidey becomes a difficult target to hit. -Mechanical Web-Shooters: -Superhuman Strength: Spider-Man can easily lift approximately 5 tons. He can lift more weight if he exerts himself. Spider-Man must also pull his punches against opponents without similar levels of durability and strength. -Superhuman Speed: Spider-Man’s natural speed exceeds that of modern Olympic athletes. In other words, Spidey could give Usain Bolt a run for his money. -Superhuman Stamina: Spider-Man does not produce as many fatigue toxins while he physically exerts himself. He has to spend several hours under strenuous circumstances to feel impaired by these toxins. -Superhuman Agility: Spider-Man is twice as flexible as a normal human, allowing him to perform acrobatic maneuvers that high-level gymnast would envy. -Superhuman Durability: Spider-Man can take punishment that would severely injure or otherwise kill an average person. Spider-Man must roll with punches against him in order to prevent the assailant from breaking their limbs. -Superhuman Reflexes: Spider-Man’s reflexes 20 times greater than an average human’s would be. -Superhuman Recuperative Healing Factor: While not anywhere near as efficient as mainstream Wolverine’s healing factor, Spider-Man can recuperate from injuries more quickly than they would otherwise normally take. -Superhuman Sense of Equilibrium: Spider-Man can retain a perfect state of equilibrium, allowing him to remain oriented while crawling upside down and performing acrobatic moves. -Resistance to Foreign Chemicals: Spider-Man’s metabolism allows him to be less effected by drugs and diseases. -Immunity to Vampirism: Due to the unique nature of Spider-Man’s Red Blood Cells, Spider-Man has no need to fear any Vampire, in respect to being transformed into one. [b]Weaknesses: [/b] -Guilt complex: Blames himself for things outside his control (Uncle Ben’s Death). -Pesticides: While Spider-Man has increased resistance to foreign pathogens, pesticides still are effective against him. -Not Invincible: Spider-Man can be killed and injured by conventional means. Spider-Man just can take more punishment before he reaches this point. -Double Life: It is a difficult job trying to juggle school, family, a social life, and his super-heroics without wrecking any one of the other aspects of his life. [b]Sample Story Arcs: [/b] - Ultimate Spider-Man made an interesting proposition by giving MJ powers. Nevertheless, they never really did anything with it after the Clone Saga story arc. I plan on not making that same mistake… - A ‘Kraven the Hunter’ story arc based on [i]The Most Dangerous Game[/i] is too good to pass up. - What Spider-Man would be complete without a Marvel Knights story arc? [b]Sample Post:[/b] [hider=Sample Post]Using his spider-powers to cling to his bedroom wall, Peter was staring at a photograph of his deceased girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, reminiscing all the good and the bad times they had together. For the last couple months, even since the day that Gwen died, Peter could not get himself to pull out his Spider-Man costume from his closet. In his head, Peter kept replaying images from that night and he contemplated how he could have changed those events so that Gwen, and even her father, might be alive today. But unfortunately, thinking about how he could have changed the various outcomes of that night could never bring either of them back from the grave. “Peter! You have a guest!” Aunt May hollered to her nephew from the bottom of the stairs. “Tell him I’m no here!” Peter shouted back. But instead of the silence that Peter wanted, he heard a knock on his door. Landing softly on his bed, just like a cat leaping down onto the floor, Peter flipped a switch on his desk that unlocked his door. “It’s unlocked!” Peter said to whoever was on the other side of the door. “You do realize that shouting down to your aunt kind of defeats the purpose of trying to get me to think that you are not here. And assuming that I am a ‘him’ is sexist.” Angelica Jones walked into Peter’s room. Angelica and Peter were best friends in middle school, but her father enrolled her at the Xavier Institute of Higher Learning once her mutant powers manifested (although at the time neither of them knew what mutants were). But once the two became acquainted with the other’s secret double life, as Spider-Man and Firestar, the two old friends were able to rekindle their friendship. “Whatever.” Peter said as he gazed at the floor, not looking his friend in the eyes. “’Whatever’? That’s not what the Peter I know would say. He would have thrown a pun my way, no matter how bad it is! Are you sure you aren’t an imposter?” Angelica joked, trying to liven Peter up. “No. I just have had a few rough months, that’s all.” Just mentioning the last couple months brought back painful memories of Gwen to Peter, causing him to sigh. Angelica plopped beside Peter on his bed, wrapping her arms around him, trying to give him the comfort and support that he needed. “Maybe we should go out on patrol. Just to get your mind off of things.” Peter shrugged off Angelica’s grasp on him, jumping up from his bed. “I don’t know. I just have not been in the mood since Gwen died.” But when he turned back around to face his friend, Angelica was trying to make the saddest facial expression that she could make. “But do you even have your costume with you?” Peter asked. But almost as soon as Peter had uttered these words, Angelica lifted up the bottom of her shirt, revealing the yellow fabric that composed her ‘Firestar’ costume. “Never leave home unprepared.” Angelica smiled at Peter. Peter paused for a moment, contemplating whether he should even dawn his Spider-Man costume again. After much internal debating over this subject, Peter finally crumbled to Angelica’s peer-pressure. He opened up his closet door and scrambled to find his costume. The first costume he pulled out was the one he had worn on that fateful night when the girl of his dreams died. However, Peter had neglected to wash to since then. Therefore he made a mental note about washing it and continued to search for his spare costume. “Okay, let’s do this.” Peter told Angelica, holding his spare costume in his hand.[/hider]