Radio Production Class | Spider-Man Feature

Spider-Man, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1962, became a pop culture icon. Lee wanted to create a relatable character for young readers, and was inspired by a fly climbing on a wall. He came up with the name Spider-Man and introduced him in a comic called Amazing Fantasy. Despite initial doubts, Spider-Man became a huge success and is now Marvel Comics' most popular character. The amazing, the spectacular, the sensational, and sometimes ultimate Spider-Man. From comics to movies and even video games, Spider-Man has been a pop culture icon for the past 60 years. Unless you have lived under a rock for those 60 years, there is no way you haven't heard of the web head. Spider-Man was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1962. And the creation of such a monumental character came when Stan Lee noticed a surge in teenagers reading comic books. Lee wanted to develop a character that younger readers could identify with. Stan was then inspired when he saw a fly climbing on a wall. He then thought, gee, wouldn't it be something if we had a hero who could crawl on walls like a fly? So I said, yeah, that's great. Now, then I need a name. And I thought, fly man? That didn't sound dramatic enough. Insect man? No. And I went down a list, and then I got to Spider-Man. And somehow, Spider-Man. It sounded a little scary. It sounded impressive. Although Lee has gone on record to state that he has told that story so often that he became unsure of whether or not it was true in the first place. After his publisher told him the idea would never sell, Lee seemed defeated. He just couldn't get the idea out of his mind. If Lee had found out, a title they were making under Marvel Comics had been slated for cancellation. It was known as Amazing Fantasy. And so, with nothing to lose, he introduced Spider-Man and called it a day. About a month later, his publisher, Martin Goodman, came storming in, claiming the book had sold loads of copies and that they should give Spider-Man his own book. When March 1963 came along, the first issue of The Amazing Spider-Man released to the world took critical acclaim. Fast forward to today, and Spider-Man is arguably Marvel Comics' most popular character across the board. In other words, Excelsior!