Spider-Man was created for Marvel Comics by comic book writer, Stan Lee, and first appeared in a comic book series, “Amazing Fantasy #15”, in 1962. It was such a hit that Amazing Fantasy was renamed Amazing Spider-Man and Stan Lee was promoted. Lee, who had joined Marvel Comics at the age of 16, became the youngest editor in the industry one year later. By the early 1970s, Marvel Comics was the dominant comic-book publisher, largely due to the overwhelming popularity of Spider-Man.

The animated Spider-Man returned to television in 1981. A syndicated Spider-Man solo series aired from 1981-1982, and was followed by “Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends” (Iceman, Firestar and the Incredible Hulk) on NBC from 1982-1985. The highly successful 1990's “Spider-Man” consisted of 65 episodes and aired from 1994-1998.

In summary, Spider-Man was one of the first and most popular comic strip/comic book crossover stories. Not only has Spider-Man gained worldwide fame, but he is still one of the most popular superheroes of all times. Now, it's hard to imagine a world without Spider-man. In addition to the several comic book titles, three different animated series, two live action television series and a hit movie, Spider-man served as an inspiration, a template, or a launching point for literally dozens of other heroes.