Why Black Superheroes Succeed - and Fail

June 29, 2004 -- Would Spider-Man be the box-office juggernaut he is today if he had been created as an African-American character?

What if Peter Parker — Spidey's angst-ridden alter ego — had had to deal with the problems of being black in America in addition to adjusting to his powers when he was first introduced in 1962?

With the release of Spider-Man 2 — the much-anticipated sequel to the 2002 summer blockbuster — the friendly neighborhood Web Slinger seems to be more popular than ever. Spider-Man's enduring appeal can be attributed to many things: his arachnid abilities, his cool costume, his wisecracking antics during heated battles with villains, or the tragic irony of his character — that despite his superhero status, he cannot protect his loved ones.

But when Spider-Man debuted in Marvel Comics, the United States was divided along color lines. The civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were leading issues of the day.

As explosive and divisive the civil rights movement was — and still is — readers may not have been so receptive to a wisecracking, butt-kicking African-American in a spider suit.

"It's an interesting question, it's tough to say because often characters of a product of their times and good timing. Certainly, he would have had to had dealt with a different set of problems," said Joe Quesada, Marvel editor-in-chief.

"On a consumer level, I don't know have the demographics from that time, but I would venture to say that maybe 99 percent of our readers were white maybe?" he said. "And then you have a question of whether the consumer would have been ready to accept the character. Would they have been as receptive to Spider-Man if he had been drawn black? I don't know. Given what I know about the times, perhaps not. One of the beautifully universal things about Spider-Man is that the character wears a full mask. Anyone could be under that costume."