Originally Posted by
Kaitou D. Kid
About which of the two authors was more like Peter Parker, so far I'm two chapters into Riesman's book and I'm surprised by how similar Stan was to Peter Parker growing up. I used to think Peter was more similar to Ditko in personality (at least in the Lee/Ditko comics), but I see just as many similarities with Stan, if not more. This isn't to say this proves that they were equal co-creators - it could be a total coincidence and it's still possible that Stan was more of an editor - but I do disagree with the idea of Harry or Gwen having more in common with him than Peter.
Some similarities off the top of my head that I noticed in the book:
-Growing up in a working-class family where the dad's income went out of commission (due to unemployment rather than death like Uncle Ben), where Stan had to get a job while still in school to help out his mom.
-Being a total nerd/bookworm and loving to read literally everything and as much as possible. Stan for all his faults always struck me as a free thinker and well-read person (Ditko too for that matter), and it looks like I was right.
-Being bullied while in school and being smaller/scrawnier than his peers.
-Being an overachiever and feeling like he is never accomplishing enough - Spider-Man in his teen depictions usually has this in common with him.
-Having had a sense of responsibility to at least his immediate family (wife and daughter). I can't comment on the Larry Lieber stuff yet.
-Having a mischievous side to him while in his late teens according to Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. He apparently liked bugging them during work hours. There is also a back-and-forth banter between Simon and Stan that Riesman wrote down. I don't want to give it away but Stan's snarky comeback response to something Simon said to him sounds very Peter Parker-esque.
-There is a quote where Stan describes what it was like to ride a bike as a kid all over the city, and how it gave him a sense of freedom from everything in his life. The way he described him sounds close to how Peter swinging through the city as Spider-Man is often described.