After his uncle's death, Peter and his Aunt May were forced to live on Social Security, so he earned a living selling photographs of Spider-Man in action to the Bugle, a local newspaper. Peter also began to use his powers to fight crime, though he remains a controversial figure. Spider-Man has defeated a vast number of costumed criminals, including the Kingpin, the Vulture, Electro, the Sandman, Mysterio, Dr. Octopus, the Green Goblin, Kraven the Hunter, the Scorpion, the Rhino, Venom and Carnage. To thwart his enemies, Spider-Man uses his superhuman strength, reflexes and equilibrium, the ability to cling to most surfaces, and a sixth sense that warns him of impending danger. Spider-Man's wrist-mounted web-shooters discharge thin strands of web-fluid at high pressure, which forms a very tough, flexible fiber with extraordinary adhesive qualities upon contact with air. The life of a superhero is not an easy one. His first love, Gwen Stacy, died during a fight against the Green Goblin. Other friends have also died, including Harry Osborn, son of the original Green Goblin; and Gwen's father, police Captain George Stacy. Peter's marriage to Mary Jane Watson ended in separation due to the stress caused by his superhero activities.

While the plot is still being developed for Spider-Man 3, Tobey Maguire is expected to return as the neighborhood wall-crawler, even though Maguire's participation in Spider-Man 2 seemed in doubtful due to a back injury sustained while shooting Seabiscuit. There were also reports he wasn't happy with his paycheck and that Jake Gyllenhaal might fill in, but he seems set for the third installment. Producer Laura Ziskin has revealed that Sony execs have held discussions about doing as many as six Spider-Man movies. Ziskin gushed that "It's hard to explain how much everyone believes in the project. I'm trying to get my mind around the third film, and the studio is already looking ahead to the sixth, and the second one isn't out yet. But I believe Spider-Man can do something that hasn't been done in the movies." Such thoughts brought a smile to the face of star Tobey Maguire, who joshed "Are they really thinking that far out? I'm just trying to figure what I'll be doing tomorrow."

As is known to any avid comic book reader, Stan Lee created or co-created many of the greatest comic book heroes of all time, including the Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Daredevil, X-Men, Iron Man, and many others. Lee began his career at age sixteen when he joined what became Marvel comics. Except for a brief stint serving in the Army during World War II, Lee dedicated himself to the comic book industry, creating an enormous body of work, often producing two to five comic books per week. In recent years, Lee has focused on bringing his characters to other mediums, first TV and now to the big screen. Expect to see many more of Lee's characters make their feature film debut in the upcoming years.