Peter Benjamin Parker was born in Queens to researchers Richard and Mary Parker who went missing under mysterious circumstances. Orphaned since birth, Peter was initially brought to an orphanage before being taken under the care of his uncle and aunt, Ben and May Parker, who raised him as if he was their biological son. As he grew to be a teenager, Peter became a science prodigy who excelled in each and every subject taught to him at Midtown High School, eventually earning him a science scholarship to the Empire State University (ESU) following his graduation. However, his sheepish nature and lack of social skills made him a primary target for bullying, especially by a college jock Eugene “Flash” Thompson whom Peter had a rather unpleasant rivalry with dating back to their high school days.

One day, Peter attended the annual science fair held by the ESU where he showed his first invention: a cutting-edge drone that could serve as both a surveillance device and a personal assistant capable of helping its user far beyond trivial tasks. The project eventually won him the first prize, though by the time he was called to receive his trophy, something unexpected happened. One of the Reach’s genetically enhanced spiders that’d been roaming around New York City since its creator’s downfall made its way to the campus, landing on his hand and biting him. It didn’t take long until the impact of the bite surfaced, giving Peter a strong, agonizing headache before he was overwhelmed and passed out.

It took Peter a whole day to regain his consciousness, and by the time he woke up, his life was never the same. He could stick to virtually any surface and recognize and evade danger through a precognitive, tingling sense—doing basically anything that a spider can do. It took him about a week to get used to his newfound powers, and when he felt ready, he decided to put them to a test. When news spread that the UCWF—the number one wrestling promotion in the city—was hiring new younger talents, Peter secretly applied for the gig, assuming the wise-cracking masked persona named “Spider-Man.” As the mysterious Spider-Man, he overcame every wrestler in the locker room in an astonishing display of strength and speed, becoming the wrestling community’s hottest sensation overnight. As days turned into months, so had Peter’s popularity skyrocketed among the fans that he was vouched for a title match against the erstwhile champion Crusher Hogan, where the promoter had promised to pay him $3000 if he managed to win under three minutes. Initially nervous, he eventually defeated the champion with ease, managing to strip Hogan off his title. However, after the match, the promoter broke his promise and only paid Peter $100, much to the latter’s chagrin. Furious and betrayed, he stormed out of the office, but not before telling his employer that he was no longer working for him.

Peter hadn’t quite managed to compose himself, even as he walked his way back to his apartment. At the same time, he witnessed a robbery taking place in a nearby convenience store where the staff yelled at him to help him stop the burglar in a rather unpleasant manner. Peter, slightly offended, turned down the staff’s harsh plea, telling him that he should’ve called the cops, instead. Little did he know, the burglar had managed to reach his apartment building, coming across Uncle Ben who’d been out to look after his nephew after failing to contact him for months. By the time Peter arrived, it was too late.

Cops and paramedics had gathered around the entrance of his apartment building. Curious, Peter rushed towards the scene, combing through a sea of people, only to discover that his beloved Uncle Ben had been laying weakly on the paved ground, having swallowed a lethal stabbing wound to the chest. In his final moments, Uncle Ben revealed that he’d always known about Peter’s newfound powers and his attempt to help him and Aunt May with their financial issues through the earnings he received from all of his wrestling matches, subsequently surprising Peter since he’d been hiding them away from both his uncle and aunt. He then told Peter that he had to use his gifts for the goodness of others, and that “with great power, there must also come great responsibility.”

After discovering that the same burglar he let go was the culprit behind the death of Uncle Ben, Peter finally learned the hard way that he needed to use his powers responsibly. Driven by remorse and renewed resolve, he devoted himself to combating criminals and helping those in needs under the same “Spider-Man” moniker. Even when maintaining balance between college demands and crime-fighting duty was proven to be difficult at times, Peter had always found enjoyment in what he strived for, believing that it was his destiny to bring hope and joy to the fellow residents of New York City.

I love Spider-Man. Always have been and always will be. He’s one of those fictional characters I hold the closest to my heart. One way or another, he’s always present for me through thick and thin, inspiring me with his stories and making sure that, no matter the obstacles, you can always bet on yourself to overcome them. And it so happens that he’s one of my main Marvel muses outside of this site, so I have a bit of history with writing various versions of the same character, especially the main Peter and Earth-1610 Peter.

So, what can you expect from my Spider-Man? Well, for starters, I’m making a couple of modifications to his origin story. Considering we’ve already had numerous iterations where Peter earned his powers either as a high schooler or a full-grown man, I thought “why not have Peter earned his powers as a college freshman?” There’s barely any adaptations or official AUs I can think of that delves deeper into his college life, let alone using college as his starting point. And since I quite enjoy most of the Spider-Man storylines that took place during the college arc, I thought I wanted to try something slightly different for Peter by aging him up a bit, paying more attention to his college life and the dramas that might come from him having to live two different lives. Inspired by both the Superior Spider-Man comic run and the PS4 game, I also give him a small army of Spider-Bots (AKA Spider-Drones in this storyline) since I figured he might want to keep track of what goes on in the streets all the time when his everyday stuff keeps him away from patrolling around New York City.

As I’m writing my future posts, I’m planning on adapting some of the best Spider-Man storylines from the comics—most particularly from the 70s to 90s—while also approaching new unusual stories never before seen in the comics involving other Marvel and DC characters alike. There are, of course, some of the guys in the roster I hope Peter can interact with along the way, and that includes the names he’s frequently or occasionally encountered in the comics, such as the Future Foundation, Silk, Wolverine, Captain America, Punisher, and even Superman. That said, I hope I can bring the joy of reading Spider-Man comics (not including you, One More Day, Sins Past, and Zeb Wells’ Amazing Spider-Man) through my writings.

Excelsior!