Spider-Man fandom is in Tyler Scott HooverB次元官网网址檚 blood B次元官网网址� but not because he was bitten by an irradiated arachnid. His father had collected Marvel comic books featuring the character since the 1970s.

B次元官网网址淗e passed down a ton of comics to me,B次元官网网址� says Hoover, 32, of Glen Burnie, Maryland. B次元官网网址淚t kind of makes it almost like a religion. It would have been hard for me not to become a fan of Spider-Man.B次元官网网址�

There are legions of fans of Spider-Man, who this month marks 60 years in the vast, imaginative world of comic books, movies and merch. Among those fans are devotees like Hoover, a professional Spider-Man cosplayer and model who doesnB次元官网网址檛 resemble the longtime B次元官网网址渃anonB次元官网网址� presentation of the character. However, in the cinematic and comics universes, is now reality.

Hoover is biracial B次元官网网址� of Black and white ancestry B次元官网网址� and stands at 6 feet 2 inches. And the story of his fandom illustrates an important point about New York CityB次元官网网址檚 favorite super-powered wall-crawler: The appeal of the character long ago transcended its original iteration as a white, unimposing, orphaned teenager.

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The Spider-Man characterB次元官网网址檚 classic costume, complete with wide-eyed and web-patterned mask, is a key ingredient to the characterB次元官网网址檚 appeal across race, gender and nationality. Almost anyone can imagine themselves behind it as this everyman B次元官网网址� an underestimated smartypants who, after a quick change into head-to-toe spandex, becomes a force for good.

B次元官网网址淭he older I got, slowly but surely, I saw how relatable the character was,B次元官网网址� Hoover says. B次元官网网址淗e had to work through his struggles while still maintaining a secret identity and doing good for the people. That kind of moral compass is powerful, especially for an impressionable mind.B次元官网网址�

More importantly, Hoover says, itB次元官网网址檚 Spider-ManB次元官网网址檚 struggle to protect his hometown that makes the character more believable than superheroes whose origin stories include wealth and influence. No coincidence, surely, that he refers to himself as B次元官网网址測our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.B次元官网网址�

Created by the late Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Spider-Man appeared in comics as early as June 1962, although the canon date of his debut is Aug. 10, 1962, in MarvelB次元官网网址檚 Amazing Fantasy #15. Peter Parker, a high schooler bitten by a spider from a science experiment, developed superhuman strength, the ability to cling to solid surfaces and fast reflexes aided by the ability to sense and anticipate danger.

But on his journey to becoming a superhero, Parker fails to stop a burglar who kills his Uncle Ben, leaving his adoptive aunt widowed. The character then strives to honor the words etched at the end of that debut issue, later attributed to his uncle: B次元官网网址淲ith great power, there must also come great responsibility.B次元官网网址�

Racially and culturally diverse superheroes, generally absent from the mainstream comics scene during its first decades, began to emerge in the years after Spider-ManB次元官网网址檚 debut, particularly at Marvel.

In 1966, Black Panther, also known as Prince TB次元官网网址機halla of the fictional and reclusive African nation of Wakanda, became the first Black Marvel comic superhero. Debuting in the 1970s were characters such as Storm, the mutant goddess most known as a member of MarvelB次元官网网址檚 X-Men; Luke Cage, MarvelB次元官网网址檚 formerly imprisoned Black Harlemite with superhuman strength and nearly impenetrable skin; Shang-Chi, the master martial artist who is among the first Asian Marvel superheroes; and Red Wolf, the expert archer and first Native American Marvel superhero.

B次元官网网址淪ometimes when we think of superheroes, we think of billionaires in suits, brilliant scientists or Norse gods,B次元官网网址� says Ang茅lique Roch茅, host of the podcast B次元官网网址淢arvelB次元官网网址檚 VoicesB次元官网网址� and co-author of the upcoming book

Spider-Man turned the idea of mostly privileged humans using their wealth and power to become heroes on its head, she says. Spider-Man iterations, in the comics and in film, have appeared across multiple universes, or the so-called B次元官网网址渟piderverse.B次元官网网址� Miles Morales, a teenage, Afro Latino Spider-Man, has become wildly popular and starred in his own animated feature film. Cindy Moon, a Korean-American known as Silk, was bitten by the same spider as Peter Parker.

B次元官网网址淏ecause Spider Man means so much to us, we should always be open to the possibilities,B次元官网网址� Roch茅 says. B次元官网网址淲e should always hope and believe that thereB次元官网网址檚 never going to be a dearth of people who want to fight for whatB次元官网网址檚 right.B次元官网网址�

In July, Spider-Man was inducted into the Comic-Con Hall of Fame during the annual convention in San Diego. Fans flooded the convention hall in costumes that spanned various iterations of the character.

Because of the mask, Spider-Man has been a safer choice for cosplayers hoping to avoid the staunch purists, or those who criticize others for deviating from canonized representations of superheroes. But cosplay doesnB次元官网网址檛 have to be canon, says Andrew Liptak, a historian and author of the book

B次元官网网址淯ltimately, itB次元官网网址檚 about your relationship to the character,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e literally wearing your fandom on your sleeves.B次元官网网址�

Liptak also says itB次元官网网址檚 unfair to expect fans of color to dress up only as superheroes whose appearance or skin color matches their own.

In the recent film B次元官网网址淪pider-Man: No Way Home,B次元官网网址� Electro, the villain played by Academy Award-winning actor Jamie Foxx, joked to Andrew GarfieldB次元官网网址檚 Spider-Man that he was surprised Spider-Man wasnB次元官网网址檛 Black. Whether or not that opens the door to a live-action Black Spider-Man in future films, Hoover says Spider-Man should never be boxed into just one look.

B次元官网网址淵ou will get those who argue, if you turn Spider-Man Black then you can turn TB次元官网网址機halla white,B次元官网网址� Hoover says. B次元官网网址淪pider-Man was never really defined by his ethnicity, but more so his social status and the struggles he went through. ThatB次元官网网址檚 even more relatable for people of color and different ethnicities, because thereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of struggle involved in life that you have to persevere through.B次元官网网址�

Aaron Morrison, The Associated Press

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