Spider-Man is one of the most popular comic book superheroes around. This is due to his stories being relatable, funny, and having some of the best rogues in comics, among other reasons. Something that made him especially popular initially was that he was “The Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.” He was known to take to the streets and defend the little guy in need. However, over the years he’s evolved from a street-level hero to more of a multiversal, cosmic one.

Sure, he’s fought his fair share of bigger threats alongside the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and others, but he always resumed his work of cleaning up the streets of New York City. That being said, the comic world was introduced to the idea of the “Spider-Verse” in the 2010s. The Marvel comic books used this to touch on the Spider heroes from different universes. Obviously, this comic storyline was enough of a hit to impact the direction of the character and the surrounding franchise forever.

In more recent years, the animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse featured a handful of Spider people from various dimensions, and its sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse put hundreds of Spider heroes into the spotlight. This really put into perspective how many different universes there are for Spider-Man to swing between. On top of that, Spider-Man: No Way Home showcased each of the live action Spider-Men in one movie via a universe-hopping spell from Doctor Strange. All this, plus having Spider-Man travel to space in Avengers: Infinity War, has made the idea of Spider-Man traveling to different dimensions and taking on planetary threats the modern norm for the character rather than one who protects his neighborhood.

The amount of unlockable suits in the recent Spider-Man video games really drives home the amount of Spideys out there. It’s evident that this new norm for the character has been bleeding into more and more mediums.

Spider-Man is quickly becoming a multiverse-based hero rather than a street-level one. There are kids currently growing up knowing Spider-Man as a superhero who travels through different dimensions and battles multiversal threats instead of the “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.” Is this a good thing, or is part of what made him so great in the first place being lost?

It’s hard to deny that Spider-Man fighting crime alongside various versions of himself is one of the coolest things to come out of comics. Taking such a beloved, fan-favorite character and putting him into riveting scenarios is far from a terrible thing. It is understandable, though, if there are some out there who feel that this is too much of a change for the character.

Both versions are fun in their own ways, for sure. It’s just a little odd to think about how drastic the differences in Spider-Man’s stories have become.

With all this being said, Spider-Man has been around for quite a long time now, and there’s enough evidence that he can absolutely exist as both. Marvel just needs to be sure to still give attention to the street-level Spider-Man while they’re busy sending him across the multiverse.

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