Originally Posted by
Huntsman Spider
That's a pretty good analysis of Peter's character vs. Eric's, come to think of it. I also like your take on how to revamp Sam Wilson.
As for my own revamp ideas . . . well, I wouldn't outright revamp so much as refine, because a lot of the character I'd "revamp" has already been established so well, I'd just touch up a few things here and there. For example, where did the spider that bit him come from before it got irradiated, and why would ordinary radiation enable a spider to bequeath its abilities to a human in its final moments rather than just give the human cancer? Answer: The exhibit was actually of a newly discovered radioactive isotope that amplified the properties of whatever it was exposed to (ISO-8 from all the Marvel mobile games), and the amplified properties of the spider venom also served to amplify his own bodily functions and capacities once it bonded with his biochemistry and nervous system. As for the spider, it was an experimental subject in enhancing and harnessing the actual medicinal properties of spider venom to induce faster recovery from certain ailments in humans, and given that different experiments can be carried out in the same facility, all it took was a little bit of carelessness for the spider to wander out and get exposed to the new isotope.
Then there's the matter of his particular power-set. Spiders are not given nearly enough credit for their strength and speed, proportional to their size. If a spider can lift up to 170 times its own weight, and Spider-Man's powers are the abilities of a spider scaled up to human size, then he should be able to lift 14 tons. Spiders are also capable of crossing distances up to 70 times their own body length in a second, so if we scale that up to human size as well, a spider-powered human should be capable of running at speeds far north of 200mph --- precisely speaking, 278.41 miles per hour. Spiders stick to surfaces because the hairs on their body generate a form of static cling through Van der Waals forces, and Spider-Man's skin does the same through excessively high bioelectricity, and his strength and speed enable him to carry and maneuver his own weight over the surfaces he climbs. Additionally, those hairs are very sensitive, even hypersensitive, to vibrations and currents in the air, which is how spiders are able to detect and pounce on potential prey or evade potential predators. Similarly, Spider-Man's senses are hyper-attuned to his environment, and work so fast and extensively that the only way to prevent total sensory overload is for his brain to operate these senses at mostly subconscious levels, his conscious mind processing the rush of information as a tingle at the base of his brain stem that spreads throughout his entire nervous system and causes his body to move reflexively to avoid the danger. However, it should be made clear that the enhanced spider venom spreading through his system doesn't give him any new organs that he didn't have already --- meaning no spinnerets --- it simply augments and adapts his body to emulate a spider's abilities as much as possible.
How does he exploit these new abilities? By sneaking into underground MMA (mixed martial arts) clubs and practicing on everyone there, soon dominating the underground circuit and becoming quite cocky and arrogant in the process, which begins to bleed into his civilian persona, much to the dismay of his beloved uncle and aunt. Of course, he learns a lesson about where his arrogance leads when he runs into a thief on his way home from his latest victory and doesn't bother stopping him, because he doesn't see it as his problem, only for said thief to burglarize a house and kill a man in the process when said man tries to fight back. In a tragic coincidence, that man is his uncle, and our protagonist is out for the thief's blood, only to realize upon cornering him that he's the same thief he ignored as himself, not caring at the time what the thief would or could go on to do. Crushed by guilt and self-loathing, he drops the thief-turned-killer into the custody of the police chasing him, and departs the scene to reflect on what he's done and what he could or should have done, coming to the conclusion that he should have done better and been better . . . and that's exactly what he has to be from now on, better. No, not just better . . . Amazing. Here comes the Spider-Man.
Does he work for The Daily Bugle in his civilian identity? Yes, but in a much different capacity than usual. He works in the Bugle's online and social media department, keeping it free of bots and spam and viruses and malware while also spreading its presence through the Internet to new generations of readers, listeners, and viewers. Ironically, the Bugle's founder and owner, J. Jonah Jameson, constantly writes and/or posts articles demonizing Spider-Man, smearing him as a reckless vigilante or even no better than the criminals he "claims" to fight, completely unaware that he is actually employing Spider-Man. Then again, the Spider-Man articles, whether pro or anti, do seem to get lots of clicks and likes and shares, so who cares, right?