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Marvel, Sony Announce Dramatic Costume Changes for Spider-Man

Posted on: Monday, 27 February 2006, 15:00 CST

By Kevin Garcia, The Brownsville Herald, Texas

Feb. 26--February 26, 2006 - The Alamo, Fort Sumter, the battleship Maine -- Spider-Man's costume? The first salvo of war can take any form. For the superheroes of the Marvel Comics universe it begins when Spider-Man ditches his classic duds for a new, high-tech costume in Amazing Spider-Man No. 529, on sale this week. Sony Pictures also announced this week that the movie version of Spider-Man will wear a new, darker costume in the upcoming Spider-Man 3. The comic book version of the iconic wall-crawler is getting a drastic new look, said Friendly Neigh-borhood Spider-Man writer Peter David. Spidey's wardrobe change will help ignite the flames of a mas-sive battle between superheroes to be played out in Civil War, a seven-issue series premiering May 3 that will spill over to several other Marvel Comics titles, David said IRON SPIDER "Peter Parker (Spider-Man) has developed a student-teacher relationship with Tony Stark (Iron Man)," said David, who recently signed an exclusive contract with Marvel. "Peter Parker, at his core, has always been looking for a father figure. His own father was taken from him when he was very young and his Uncle Ben died very violently." Iron Man, likewise, takes an interest in the younger scientist super-hero and builds Spidey a new suit. "It's natural for a father to make sure that his son is as protected as possible from the vicissitudes of war as can be," David said. "That's why I love this concept. I think that the best comic book stories are the ones that have some degree of rooting in reality." The red and gold costume, designed in part by Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada, allows Spider-Man to glide on wind currents and access high tech equipment like night vision, global positioning systems and three mechanical arms. "Some ask, 'Why not four?," David said. "The answer is that, in silhouette, he would look like Dr. Octo-pus. That's one of the things about having an editor-in-chief that is an artist. As a writer that might not occur to you." David was less able to explain other the costumes other features. "I'm not entirely sure why he's wearing spats," David said. "I guess they wanted to do something other than boots." Although David would have preferred a red and black color scheme, he said he likes the new costume and what it represents. CIVIL WAR Political tension building within the Marvel Universe for years will come to physical blows, pitting hero against hero, in the new Civil War series. "It hits a crisis point when a team of young, unsupervised heroes go after a group of villains and things go horribly, horribly wrong," said Civil War editor Tom Brevoort. In the story, legislators demand the registration of masked vigilantes after two major explosions take place. Some heroes agree that super-powered individuals should be regulated; others feel they have a right to privacy. "The fans are already very vocal on this issue, but people may change sides as this unfolds," Brevoort said, citing the story's tagline: "Whose side are you on?" Spider-Man's new costume is a hot button issue in the up-coming struggle. "This becomes sort of an issue in Civil War because Iron Man is sort of the representative of one side of this conflict," Brevoort said. "Spider-Man wants to support his mentor, and the (Iron Man-created) costume is a physical reflection of that." Ideology, as much as super-strength, will decide the outcome of the war. "There will definitely be casualties along the way ... but nobody is painted as right or wrong," Brevoort said. "You've got heroes pitted against each other, but it's not about something cliche, like Dr. Doom taking over their minds," David explained. "They are divided over questions of civil liberties. How much per-sonal freedom are you willing to give up in the name of security?" BLACK SUIT Also this week, Sony Pictures revealed a possible new look for the titular hero of the upcoming Spider-Man 3 movie -- a costume in stark black and white. Despite potential excitement, David cautions that the clothes don't always make the man. "Nobody seems to notice that no matter what you put him in, he's still Spider-Man," David said. "It doesn't matter if he's wearing a red and blue costume, a red and black costume, a red and gold costume, or a paper bag on his head -- which by the way, he has done." Unlike other super-heroes, David said, Spider-Man is about the man inside the costume. "Bruce Wayne, even without the costume, is still Batman, but Spider-Man is Peter Parker," David said. "Inside he is still the same guy that we have come to know and love and respect." In the comics, the black costume first appeared in the middle of Marvel's Secret Wars, a 1984 mini-series. Originally seen as a piece of technology, Spider-Man came to realize the costume was a living being with unhealthy obsessions, eventually becoming the villainous Venom. As with any change, fans were skeptical about the costume in 1984. That changed at a convention at-tended by fans and creators. "Fans said here's (an actor dressed as) Spider-Man in the blue and red costume and you are making a big deal about this," David recalled. "We said, 'funny you should mention that.'" The actor removed the red and white costume to reveal the black and white costume underneath. After striking a few spidery poses, the audience was blown away. "Even we on the panel thought, 'oh my God, the costume looks fantastic,'" David said. David could not guarantee how long the "Iron Spider" look will last in the comics.

"The black and white costume, even though it is not being worn by Spider-Man, still exists," he said. "Who knows what could happen to the Iron Spider costume." Amazing Spider-Man No. 529 is on sale now; Civil War No. 1 can be ordered at comic book stores start-ing this week and will be available in May. Spider-Man 3 is expected to open nationwide May 4, 2007.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Brownsville Herald, Texas

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Source: The Brownsville Herald

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