Spider-Man What makes spider man Marvel's most popular character?

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hmmm good question
I've been wondering what makes him the most popular character that Marvel has, because if he's so popular then why is amazing spider man only selling 100,000-125,000K max? Becuase he is so popular shoulden't the spider man books be selling insane numbers and be a best seller time and time again? So what makes him so popular? is it because he is so well known? what is it?
 
I have no idea of what makes Spidey so popular.

I love his movies, but his comics are really meh. IMO anyway.

And then you have Daredevil who had a meh movie and has a good book and he's not as popular.
 
It's because he's an everyman that most people can relate to.

Except for when he's cloned and has robot arms and pincers. Then you're just a freak.
 
I really related to Spider-Man when he died and emerged from his old body with a fresh new one. That happens to me so often I can't even say.
 
I relate to having a hot super model and joining a group of superheroes on the run from the government.
 
I've been wondering what makes him the most popular character that Marvel has, because if he's so popular then why is amazing spider man only selling 100,000-125,000K max? Becuase he is so popular shoulden't the spider man books be selling insane numbers and be a best seller time and time again? So what makes him so popular? is it because he is so well known? what is it?

What makes him so popular isn't the book sale numbers, quality of the story or anything like that. It's the iconic status he has.

He's been around so long. It's the same thing with Batman or Superman. It has nothing to do with the stories...it's the look...the brandname.

Outside of the comic community, no one else knows that he died and came back to life withe stingers and the ability to talk with spiders. They don't know what a "Iron Spidey" is. Black suit symbiote you say? WTF?

It has nothing to do with what's going on currently with the character...it's all in the general idea of the character and merchandising. Kids know what he can do....they've seen the movie....they've seen the cartoon...they've played the video games....so that general knowledge is there. And that's what the CEOs are going off of when they decide to sell a Spider-Man bedset or Spiderman sleeping bag. The general iconic basis of the character and design utilization in the product.

He's popular because they push him. If you were to show 100 people a pic of Wonder Woman....they'd know who it is...but the fact that she's part of DC's Holy Trinity is lost on them because they don't push her as hard as they do Superman or Batman. She's got the iconic look....but its all in how you sell it.
 
What makes him so popular isn't the book sale numbers, quality of the story or anything like that. It's the iconic status he has.

He's been around so long. It's the same thing with Batman or Superman. It has nothing to do with the stories...it's the look...the brandname.

Outside of the comic community, no one else knows that he died and came back to life withe stingers and the ability to talk with spiders. They don't know what a "Iron Spidey" is. Black suit symbiote you say? WTF?

It has nothing to do with what's going on currently with the character...it's all in the general idea of the character and merchandising. Kids know what he can do....they've seen the movie....they've seen the cartoon...they've played the video games....so that general knowledge is there. And that's what the CEOs are going off of when they decide to sell a Spider-Man bedset or Spiderman sleeping bag. The general iconic basis of the character and design utilization in the product.

He's popular because they push him. If you were to show 100 people a pic of Wonder Woman....they'd know who it is...but the fact that she's part of DC's Holy Trinity is lost on them because they don't push her as hard as they do Superman or Batman. She's got the iconic look....but its all in how you sell it.

What he said.

The numbers on one of his books mean nothing. The number of books that he has and is featured in is much more telling.
 
I think the reason everyone likes him isn't because you can relate to him (how can you relate to a geek with amazing super-powers), or that being able to relate to him is even important. It's because he has the drama of an everyday life that is more interesting than a thousand super-powered fights.

He's not like Batman who has everything brought to him on a silver platter (although Batman is just cool, Dude dresses up in a black costume and beats the sh*t out of madmen).

The villians also factor into it. You are only as good as your villains and as far as I'm concerned Spidey has the greatest villians except for Batman and they are both iconic superheroes. I kind of see a trend between Spidey and Bats which I think makes them so popular. Besides them being the figureheads of their respective companies as you said.
 
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It's because he's an everyman that most people can relate to.

Except for when he's cloned and has robot arms and pincers. Then you're just a freak.

I agree, people like Superman cause he is the idea hero kids want to me, Spider-man has that everyman, that's what propelled him to superstar status
 
Yeah, as far as being relatable, it's not the powers, it's the guy who has the powers. He's just a normal, likable, pretty moral, though flawed guy who was in the wrong place in the wrong time. Peter Parker is more like the average guy than say Tony Stark, Bruce Wayne, or Steve Rogers. Add that to the fact that yeah, he's been around as long, but many heroes introduced in the 60's, and even the 30's and 40's didn't have lasting appeal. The appeal has to be there first. And i don't think the push on the merchandise would work if no one gave a damn about him in the first place. And yeah, his villains are pretty cool, too.

Who do you think should the most popular character, if spidey is such a mystery to you? Wouldn't you have a similar question about whomever it would be if it wasn't him?
 
I agree, people like Superman cause he is the idea hero kids want to me, Spider-man has that everyman, that's what propelled him to superstar status

What does it matter if you can relate to a superhero. I can't relate to any of them because I don't have super-powers. It's the fact that spidey is the most interesting in terms of his story and has some pretty cool powers. Although you don't want him to be too powerful then you end up like superman with no weakness. It's the fact that he's mortal and can be defeated and has been defeated.
 
I definitely don't believe that. In the 60's when spiderman came out there was no merch. It was all the stories and art which drew the readers. Now spiderman is just another staple of american culture.

It was still about the character though. That was back when sales did gage popularity.
 
I think it's a combination. The stuff people are saying about him being the everyman and such made him popular way back when he was the only hero like that, and that popularity made him the icon he is today.
 
What does it matter if you can relate to a superhero. I can't relate to any of them because I don't have super-powers.

Because it adds a new level to the character. Superman and Batman always had pretty ideal lives, Superman has almost infinite power and is an alien, and Batman is a millionare. Having an everyman character allows one to relate more to the character. And just because he has powers doesnt make him any less relatible, its that fact he is a normal guy who just fell backwards into some super powers. Then people can look at it and say "Hey I could be this guy". Also seeing someone experience the same problems is comforting, gives a person the feeling they are not alone
 
I think it's a combination. The stuff people are saying about him being the everyman and such made him popular way back when he was the only hero like that, and that popularity made him the icon he is today.

I have to agree with you. But him being an everyman never factored into his popularity in my eyes. It was always his stories and characters. Plus his villains are awesome.
 
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Are you even reading the posts, Mar Vehl Strange (It's Mahr Vehl, BTW)? We're mentioning how people can relate to the everyman aspect of Spider-Man, not the superpowers or the supervillains or whatever. Peter Parker acts like any of us would in that situation, which makes him realistic, which is how people can relate to him.

Doom is also right.
 
Having an everyman character allows one to relate more to the character. And just because he has powers doesnt make him any less relatible, its that fact he is a normal guy who just fell backwards into some super powers. Then people can look at it and say "Hey I could be this guy". Also seeing someone experience the same problems is comforting, gives a person the feeling they are not alone

My argument has always been that Peter Parker wasn't that normal a guy when he became Spider-Man. He was skinny and small and he wasn't attractive. Not to mention, he was a complete and utter genius. I'm failing chemistry and while I'm not Tom Cruise, I've been on plenty of dates. I can't relate to a character like Peter's.

Peter didn't become the 'normal guy' that everyone goes on about, until he became Spider-Man. Spider-Man gave him the confidence he needed to become more of a wise-cracking self-assured guy. This, I can relate to.

On the other hand, depending on what incarnation you read, Clark Kent is universally relatable. In post-crisis, Lois & Clark and even today's comics (most of the time), he's a regular guy. Not the talk of the town, but not an ugly troll either. He's got a regular job, he has regular problems with bills, etc.

I can also relate to the more 'geeky' versions of Clark from over the years, because they're like caricatures of my own life. In the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, Clark stumbles over everything and stutters in his speech and stands out like a sore thumb, in a bad way. Anyone can relate to this, because who hasn't felt like an goofball at times?

Then there's the Brandon Routh-Clark, who doesn't stand out at all and nobody pays any attention to him. Don't tell me you never feel invisible.

Don't get me wrong, I can relate to Spider-Man, but not as much as everyone else seems to be able to. Usually, I relate to Spider-Man when I'm having a really, really bad day. Spider-Man has always been able to laugh really bad days off, and that positive attitude rubs off on me and makes me feel better when I think about it.
 
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Here's a shot in the dark... but all men have latent homosexual urges and subconsciously enjoy seeing sticky fluid spray from a young Verile man's body? ...Or because people find tragic characters appealing, and Spidey was probably the most tragic comic character of the time (also, spiders are cool!) and he just grew on us like a cancer... so it's only evolutionarily conceivable that Deadpool should be the next big thing.

I haven't read the rest of the topic, so I'm sorry if I accidentally stole someone else's theories.
 
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