Spider-Man's Sidekick and a Twist of Deja Vu

Damn, Spider-Man has existed for fifty years. Since his creation, he has been to hell and back. His uncle and girlfriend died, he was a clone and then wasn't, his wife was pregnant and then the baby was erased, he was married and then it was annulled (Long story. Just wiki One More Day) by the Devil.  In recent years, he has joined the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. Anyways, I am here to tell you about Marvel’s big Spider-Man announcement.

People enjoy reading Batman because of his kung fu moves and his awesome gadgets. Thor is popular because he is a god and he sounds funny with his accent. Everyone wants to be buddies with Wolverine. He drinks beer, doesn’t take anyone’s shit and when his claws pop, it sounds like ‘skit’. Spider-Man is popular because he is just like us. His parents were never around, he lived in Queens, he is always worried about paying bills on time, and he usually strikes out with the ladies. All in all, Spider-Man is the people’s hero. Even if you refuse to accept it, we all see a little part of ourselves in Spider-Man.

For the past few weeks, Marvel has been advertising a new character in Spidey’s life. His name is Alpha. Today, Marvel announced that Alpha is 15 years old, Andy Maguire. (BTW, two actors that played Peter Parker are Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield. Do you see what I see? If you don’t, go see your eye doctor). Sometime in August, the world will meet Andy Maguire in Amazing Spider-Man #692. The cool concept about Andy Maguire is that his superpower origin is sort of a retelling of Spider-Man’s origin but with a wild and crazy, and I mean crazy, twist. Andy Maguire walks into a lab and is zapped by an experiment gone wrong. Guess whose experiment it was???? You boys and girls are smart, so I have a feeling you already know. The answer is PETER PARKER. O-M-G.

According to Marvel, Andy Maguire will be Spidey’s first sidekick. Unlike Peter at the age of fifteen, it is being said that this new kid is a punk with an ego. According to Marvel Editor-in-Chief, Axel Alonso, "He's (Spidey) older, more seasoned, but young at heart. He's still a young man, but he's been around. It's interesting because it flips the paradigm. Teen hero Spider-Man is now responsible for this teen hero sidekick.” Since Peter feels guilty about pretty much everything, he is determined not to let this kid get lost in the superhero shuffle.

Why Fanboys might be angry: Alonso states that the reason for Maguire’s creation is because "Part of it is that Spider-Man is grown up.” I just wanted to make sure that Marvel is well aware that he used the term “grown up”. Do fanboys remember why Marvel annulled Spidey’s marriage to Mary Jane Watson? It was because Marvel believed Spidey was getting too old too fast and they wanted to slow down the age of the character.

Why Fanboys (like me) might be happy: Before Spidey’s wedding was annulled, he lacked a supporting cast and the stories were no longer new and exciting. That certainly has changed. JJJ is now the mayor of NYC, Peter was dating a cop (who discovered his secret), joined the F.F. and slapped Al Gore (actually Chameleon) in the face. Personally, I am excited to see Spidey teach someone who is very much the opposite of him, the skills it takes to be a true hero.

I know some of you might be rolling your eyes over the creation of Maguire, but you should be really excited about it for a few reasons:

1. Spidey always wanted a brother and a son, and now Marvel can use him in that role.

2. I hope they make Maguire a little dark, which makes this task very difficult for Spidey to accomplish.

3. In the end, I believe Maguire will die and this will push Spidey over the edge. My guess is that this will be the beginning of Spidey’s greatest tragedy. He was unable to save the one person he created.