How famous was Spider-Man as a wrestler/entertainer?

I was just watching an episode of "Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends," which you can watch right here or in the window below.

In it, they suggest that Spider-Man was a really, really popular wrestler/entertainer. So popular that he was attracting interest from movie people and had been on multiple talk shows.

I know that the conventional story for Spider-Man is that he made a couple of appearances on the local wrestling circuit before the Uncle Ben Tragedy happened.

Question 1: Just how popular was he as an entertainer in his various incarnations? I'm talking comics, Ultimate U., video games, TV, cartoons and movies.

The more I think of it, the more I like the version presented in "Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends" than any other? Why? Because it gives real fuel for J.Jonah Jameson's hatred for the show-boating wallcrawler. It makes sense that JJJ would be bothered by this guy who gets paid to entertain suddenly "creating" all sorts of havoc around the city.

Question 2: Would this minor tweak make for a better story? Or a more modern story? Kind of putting a celebrity-gone-bad angle on it?

Your thoughts?

I realize that this has been played with in the animated shows, the movies, and in later versions of the comics. As a base line, in Amazing Fantasy #15, after discovering his powers (and before creating his web-shooters) Peter decides to go for the $100 prize for staying in the ring at least three minutes with Crusher Hogan. He fortunately decides to wear a mask in case he is embarrassed. He doesn't call himself Spider-Man or anything else. He wins the cash prize and catches the eye of an entertainment agent. The $100 bout is the ONLY time he wrestles in the original continuity. The agent says he would "be a smash on the Ed Sullivan Show", which would have him beating the Beatles by two years. After taking the agent's card, Peter quickly whips up his web-shooters, his costume, and the name Spider-Man.

The next time we see him he is on a TV show, which may or may not by Sullivan's (it doesn't say). It is implied that it is a nationally-broadcast show. At the end of this performance is when he lets the bad guy escape who ultimately kills Uncle Ben. Nothing is said about how Spidey is paid for these appearances, though obviously no one knows he is Peter Parker. Wonder what the IRS thought about this? Following this, he is shown to be a sensation in multiple newspapers. A caption at this point says "In the days that follow, Spider-Man becomes the sensation of the nation!". Right after this Uncle Ben is killed and all bets are off.

Replies

Randy Jackson August 21, 2013 at 3:52pm

Hmm.

616, I think it's exactly as stated. He was locally popular, but nowhere near a household name. I think very few wrestlers achieved that level of fame before cable TV happened. There were wrestling shows, but they were mostly local things featuring regional AWA stars. Additionally, I don't think he had the time to build up a reputation before he was forced into his new responsibilities. So I don't really think he was that popular as an entertainer, although he may have become moreso had he had time.
Richard Willis August 21, 2013 at 10:05pm

I realize that this has been played with in the animated shows, the movies, and in later versions of the comics. As a base line, in Amazing Fantasy #15, after discovering his powers (and before creating his web-shooters) Peter decides to go for the $100 prize for staying in the ring at least three minutes with Crusher Hogan. He fortunately decides to wear a mask in case he is embarrassed. He doesn't call himself Spider-Man or anything else. He wins the cash prize and catches the eye of an entertainment agent. The $100 bout is the ONLY time he wrestles in the original continuity. The agent says he would "be a smash on the Ed Sullivan Show", which would have him beating the Beatles by two years. After taking the agent's card, Peter quickly whips up his web-shooters, his costume, and the name Spider-Man.

The next time we see him he is on a TV show, which may or may not by Sullivan's (it doesn't say). It is implied that it is a nationally-broadcast show. At the end of this performance is when he lets the bad guy escape who ultimately kills Uncle Ben. Nothing is said about how Spidey is paid for these appearances, though obviously no one knows he is Peter Parker. Wonder what the IRS thought about this? Following this, he is shown to be a sensation in multiple newspapers. A caption at this point says "In the days that follow, Spider-Man becomes the sensation of the nation!". Right after this Uncle Ben is killed and all bets are off.
ClarkKent_DC August 21, 2013 at 10:44pm

Yeah -- I always had the impression that Spider-Man's appearance on TV was on The Ed Sullivan Show, even if that name wasn't given the text. Thanks to Marvel time, it probably changed over the years to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and then The Arsenio Hall Show, and possibly to Late Night with David Letterman, and these days, it would be The Daily Show.
Lumbering Jack (M'odd-R8-Tr) August 22, 2013 at 5:40am

The relevant footage starts around 10:00 until about 14:10 (when the burglar makes his appearance).

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And a quick side note: For those of you who haven't seen "S-M&HAF" for years now, be sure to check out season 2 in particular. Those episodes tend to be much better animated than the first season. In general, I enjoy the series for its playful dialogue between the "Spider-Friends." This Spider-Man, personality wise, is what I consider the perfect Spider-Man. Also, you can watch "S-M&HAF" and its unofficial prequel series "Spider-Man" on Netflix.

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Anyway, that's interesting that he DID, in fact, "go national" in Amazing Fantasy.

I wonder if the general populace in the MU remember that? Would his antics, now and then, be popular on the MU version of YouTube?

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