Spider-Man

Spider-Man with Sesame Street's Sam the Robot.

Muppet Babies, "Comic Capers"

The Amazing Spider-Man sold at Hooper's.

Spidey adorns an Electric Company poster in See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Smell No Evil

Grover as "Spider-Monster" in 2011

Spider-Man (in the black suit) on the cover of a Muppet Babies comic book.

Episode 1600

Three Cookie Monsters re-enacting a Spider-Man meme.

Spider-Man is a comic book character created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko for Marvel Comics in 1962. Spider-Man is actually the superhero identity of the seemingly ordinary photographer Peter Parker. He received a bite from a radioactive spider, transforming him into an amazing superhero with web-spinning abilities and "Spider-sense" that warns him when danger is near. The comic book later spawned a live-action television series, multiple animated series, and several feature films.

In December 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment (the parent company of Marvel Comics), placing the Spider-Man character under the same ownership as The Muppets.

Appearances

• Spider-Man's live-action appearances on The Electric Company tied in with Spidey Super Stories which featured a number of crossovers, including a team-up between Spider-Man and Sam the Robot; for complete coverage, see Spidey Super Stories.

• Spider-Man guest starred in the Muppet Babies episode "Comic Capers," produced by Marvel Productions (whose logo, seen at the end of each Muppet Babies episode, also featured a CGI Spider-Man). Baby Rowlf and Baby Skeeter entered the Spider-Man newspaper comic, and attempted to foil bank robbers. They only succeeded in irritating Stan Lee, in a live-action cameo, who pointed out there was only one Spider-Man. The closing gag featured Baby Animal and Baby Gonzo disguised as Spider-Man, with Animal on top wearing the mask, until they collide with a building and Gonzo falls from the bottom of the costume.

• Spider-Man is pictured on the cover of the tenth issue of the Muppet Babies comic book, along with many other Marvel superheroes, as part of the celebration of the company's 25th anniversary.

References

• An issue of The Amazing Spider-Man can be seen on the news stand at Hooper's Store in Sesame Street Episode 0180.

• At the end of Episode 0670 of Sesame Street, Big Bird, caught in a series of string, remarks that he feels like Spider-Man.

• The 1975 book See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Smell No Evil depicts an Electric Company poster featuring "Spidey".

• A kid dancing along to "A Very Simple Dance" wears a Spider-Man shirt in Episode 1600.

• The cover story "Here Come the Flying Heroes," from the January 1987 issue (#11) of the Muppet Babies comic book, depicts the Babies reading several Marvel comics titles, including both Spider-Man and Spider-Ham (the porcine parody version).

• The Big Bad Wolf quotes a motto made famous in Spider-Man comics of the 1960s in Sesame Street Episode 4044: "With great power comes great responsibility."

• In Tales of a Sixth-Grade Muppet, an illustration of a Spider-Man comic book is seen, and Danvers' sister Chloe once posted a video of him wearing Spider-Man underwear.

• A parody sketch from Sesame Street Episode 4273 features a spoof of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, where Grover portrays "Spider-Monster" and keeps falling on Mr. Johnson (a reference to the well-publicized stunt failures of the show's previews). Bono (a spoof of the play's co-composer) appears as a stage hand.

• In Tales of a Sixth-Grade Muppet: The Good, the Bad, and the Fuzzy, when Danvers speculates that becoming a superhero must be the reason for his Muppet transformation, he notes "It's like when Spider-Man got bit by that radioactive spider!"

• A footnote in Muppets Meet the Classics: The Phantom of the Opera notes that Winky Pinkerton's experience working on Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark has prepared him for "theatrical mishaps" of all kinds.

• A December 2021 tweet from the official Sesame Street Twitter account shares a picture of three Cookie Monsters (from When You Wish Upon a Pickle) with the caption "No spoilers. #SpiderManNoWayHome" with a Spider-Man emoticon.

• A 2024 clip produced for Sesame Street's social media features Cookie Monster re-enacting an internet meme based on the 1967 animated Spider-Man series episode "Double Identity," in which the titular hero encounters a crook impersonating him. Three different versions of Cookie (the regular puppet, the Mecha Cookie Monster puppet, and an animated counterpart) all stand in the yard pointing at each other.

Muppet Mentions

• Marvel Team-Up #74 (July 1978) featured Spider-Man and The Not Ready for Prime-Time Players. Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson attend a taping of SNL, sitting behind two old men (seen only from the back) named Statler and Waldorf.

• Marvel Team-Up #121 (June 1982), between Spider-Man and the Human Torch, introduced aspiring superhero Frog-Man. He's spotted by a wino who mistakes him for "that Kermit fella from the TV."

• Peter Parker processes some photos in The Amazing Spider-Man #266 (July 1985) and wonders to himself what to do about his Toad problem. After he says, "I still don't know what to say. What can I say, except..." the TV cuts to a frame of Kermit the Frog singing, "Bein' Green."

• The third episode of the animated series Spider-Man Unlimited, titled "Where Evil Nests" (1999), introduces a heroic alternate universe counterpart to the Green Goblin, who Spider-Man assumes is the villain because a witness saw a "green thing." The Goblin responds, "It's not easy being green, but your witness is wrong."

• The Amazing Spider-Man #598 (Aug 2009) features a panel of Spider-Man talking to Sue Storm while holding Venom's mask as he says, "Alice Cooper is locked backstage with Gonzo and his caroling cluckers! Where's Kermit?" In Venom's voice, he replies, "We ate his brains. Wokka Wokka! [sic]."

• The first time Miles Morales discovers he has wall-crawling abilities, as seen in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #2 (Nov 2011), is in his bedroom. The wallpaper moulding in the room is decorated with Kermit the Frog's head as a repeating pattern. In the following issue, the Kermit motif is absent from the wall design.

• During the climactic battle in the 2017 film Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man (Tom Holland) shouts, "Hey, Big Bird!" to get the attention of the avian-inspired Vulture (Michael Keaton).

• Speaking on the January 20, 2019 episode of The Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith podcast, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse writer/director Rodney Rothman compared Spider-Ham/Peter Porker to The Muppet Show’s resident comic: "It's like Fozzie Bear; when you have a character that's joke-joke-joke, it can get annoying real fast."

Marvel Team-Up #74

Marvel Team-Up #121

The Amazing Spider-Man #266

The Amazing Spider-Man #598

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #2

Connections

• Brad Abrell puppeteered Doc Ock's animatronic tentacles in Spider-Man 2 (2004 film)
• Chris Jai Alex provided additional voices for Spider-Man (2018 video game)
• Edward Asner played J. Jonah Jameson in Spider-Man: The Animated Series (TV, 1993-1998), Officer Barr in Spider-Man (TV, 2003), and Uncle Ben in an episode of The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008)
• Luis Avalos played J. Jonah Jameson and others in the Electric Company album Spidey Super Stories (1977)
• Dee Bradley Baker voiced the young version of Destroyer in Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1993-1998), Carnage, Rhino and J. Jonah Jameson in Spider-Man (2000 video game), Electro, The Lizard and Hammerhead in Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro (2001 video game), Mysterio and others in Spider-Man 2 (2004 video game), Mac Gargan/The Scorpion in Spider-Man 3 (2007 video game), Curt Connors/The Lizard on The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008 animated series), Curt Connors/The Lizard and Flint Marko/Sandman on Ultimate Spider-Man (2012 animated series), and Trace-E, Twist-E, and Cal in Spidey And His Amazing Friends (2021 animated series)
• Greg Ballora puppeteered Doc Ock's animatronic tentacles in Spider-Man 2 (2004 film)
• Carl Banas played the Scorpion, Charles Cameo in "Double Identity," and other villains on Spider-Man (TV, 1967-1970)
• Elizabeth Banks played Betty Brant in the films Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007)
• Jayce Bartok played a subway guitarist in Spider-Man (2002 film)
• Eric Bauza voiced Iron Spider on Ultimate Spiderman (2012 animated series) and provided additional voices for Spider-Man (2018 video game)
• Audrey Bennett voices Gwen Stacy/Ghost Spider in Spidey And His Amazing Friends (2021 animated series) starting in season 3.
• Bob Bergen played additional voices on Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (TV, 1983), Ned Leeds on Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1997), and some Hydrabots in Spidey And His Amazing Friends (2021 animated series)
• Gregg Berger voiced Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio, and others on Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1997)
• Sandra Bernhard played Sarah Baker in "Partners in Danger Chapter 5: Partners" in Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1997)
• Jim Boyd played Spidey/Peter Parker in the Electric Company album Spidey Super Stories (1977)
• Roscoe Lee Browne played Wilson Fisk/The Kingpin in Spider-Man (TV, 1993-1998)
• Nell Carter played Glory Grant on Spider-Man: The Animated Series (TV, 1993, 1997)
• Thomas Haden Church played Flint Marko/Sandman in Spider-Man 3 (2007 film)
• Townsend Coleman played Young Silvermane and others on Spider-Man: The Animated Series (TV, 1994-1998)
• Jennifer Connelly voiced Karen/Suit Lady in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017 film)
• Chris Cooper played Norman Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014 film)
• Alyson Court played Jubilee in two episodes of Spider-Man: The Animated Series (TV, 1993)
• Terry Crews played Blade on Ultimate Spider-Man (TV, 2013)
• James Cromwell played Captain Stacy in Spider-Man 3 (2007 film)
• Marton Csokas played Ashley Kafka in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014 film)
• Tyne Daly played Anne Marie Hoag in Spider-Man Homecoming (2017 film)
• Ted Danson played Major Collings in "The Chinese Web" episode of The Amazing Spider-Man (TV, 1979)
• Ben Diskin voiced Eddie Brock/Venom on Spectacular Spiderman (2008 animated series), Spider-Ham, Skaar, Morbius the Living Vampire and Blood Spider in Ultimate Spiderman (2012 animated series), Flash Thompson and Spencer Smythe on Spider Man (2017 animated series), and additional voices in Spider-Man (2018 video game)
• Cal Dodd played Wolverine in two episodes of Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1993)
• Robert Downey, Jr. played Tony Stark in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017 film)
• Sally Field played Aunt May in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
• Jamie Foxx played Electro/Max Dillon in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014 film)
• Morgan Freeman played the narrator and others in the Electric Company album Spidey Super Stories (1977)
• Andrew Garfield played Peter Parker/Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
• Michael Giacchino scored Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
• Paul Giamatti played Aleksei Sytsevich in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014 film)
• Donald Glover played Aaron Davis in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017 film)
• Barbara Goodson played Dr. Ashley Kafka on Spider-Man: The Animated Series (TV, 1996-1998)
• Judy Graubart played Aunt May and Queen Bee in the Electric Company album Spidey Super Stories (1977)
• Clark Gregg played Agent Phil Coulson on Ultimate Spider-Man (2012-2013)
• Jake Gyllenhaal played Quentin Beck/Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019 film)
• Mark Hamill played the Hobgoblin on Spider-Man: The Animated Series (TV, 1994-1998) and Armin Zola in Ultimate Spiderman (2012 animated series) and Spiderman (2017 animated series)
• Nicholas Hammond played Peter Parker/Spider-Man on The Amazing Spider-Man (TV, 1978-1979)
• Neil Patrick Harris played Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Spiderman: The New Animated Series (2003 series) and the video game Spider-Man: Scattered Dimensions (2010)
• Tom Harvey played Electro, the Sandman, Dr. Stillwell, and other voices on Spider-Man (TV, 1967-1970)
• Gary Hecker was the foley supervisor on all three Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies
• Skip Hinnant played The Moleman, Mr. Measles, the Jester, and Fargo North, Decoder in the Electric Company album Spidey Super Stories (1977)
• Tom Holland played Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (beginning 2016)
• Oscar Isaac voiced Miguel O'Hara/Spider-Man 2099 in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023 film)
• Skai Jackson voiced Zuri Ross in the Ultimate Spider-Man episode "Halloween Night at the Museum"
• Michael Keaton played the Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017 film)
• Donna Kimball puppeteered Doc Ock's animatronic tentacles in Spider-Man 2 (2004 film)
• Phil LaMarr played a train passenger (uncredited) in Spider-Man 2 (2004 film), voiced Randy Robertson in Spectacular Spiderman (2008 animated series), JARVIS, Walter Cage, and Cloak in Ultimate Spiderman (2012 animated series), and Mr. Salerno and Slyde in Spiderman (2017 animated series).
• John Landis played an emergency room doctor in Spider-Man 2 (2004 film)
• Frank Langley puppeteered Doc Ock's animatronic tentacles in Spider-Man 2 (2004 film)
• Denis Leary played Captain Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012 film)
• Lisa Loeb voiced Mary Jane on Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (TV, 2003)
• Virginia Madsen played Silver Sable on Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (TV, 2003)
• Tobey Maguire played Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004), Spider-Man 3 (2007), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
• Mona Marshall played Betty Brant on Spider-Man (TV, 1983-1984)
• Joel McHale played Mr. Jacks in Spider-Man 2 (2004 film)
• Natalie Mendoza played Arachne in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (2010, musical)
• Richard Moll played the Scorpion on Spider-Man: The Animated Series (TV, 1996-1998)
• John Mulaney voiced Peter Porker/Spider-Ham in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018 film)
• B. J. Novak played Alistair Smythe in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014 film)
• Laurie O'Brien played Genevieve in an episode of Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994)
• Rob Paulsen played Morrie Bench/Hydroman on Spider-Man: The Animated Series (TV, 1994, 1998) and Batroc The Leaper in Ultimate Spiderman (2012 show)
• Claude Rae played Charles Cameo in the Spider-Man episode "The Sinister Prime Minister" (1967)
• Issa Rae voiced Jess Drew/Spider-Woman in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023 film)
• Sara Ramirez played a cop at the carjacking in Spider-Man (2002 film)
• Kevin Michael Richardson played L. Thompson Lincoln and others on The Spectacular Spider-Man (TV, 2008), and Juggernaut, Bulldozer, and Groot in Ultimate Spiderman (2012 show)
• Rino Romano played Peter Parker/Spider-Man on Spider-Man Unlimited (TV, 1999) and two video games
• Liev Schreiber played Wilson Fisk in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018 film)
• Jason Schwartzman voiced Jonathan Ohnn/The Spot in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023 film)
• Danny Seagren played a silent Spider-Man in sketches on The Electric Company.
• Andy Serkis directed Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021 film)
• Martin Sheen played Uncle Ben in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012 film)
• J. K. Simmons played J. Jonah Jameson in the films and on Ultimate Spider-Man (TV, 2012-2015)
• Jenny Slate played Dr. Dora Skirth in Venom (2018 film)
• Octavia Spencer played the check-in girl at the wrestling match in Spider-Man (2002 film)
• Hailee Steinfeld voiced Gwen Stacy / Spider-Gwen in the films Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
• John Stephenson played Uncle Ben, Colossus, and Thunderbird on Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (TV, 1983)
• Emma Stone played Gwen Stacy in the films The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
• Tara Strong played Mary Jane Watson on Ultimate Spider-Man (TV, 2012-2017)
• Cree Summer played Professor Williams on Spider-Man (TV, 2003) and Glory Grant on The Spectacular Spider-Man (TV, 2008-2009)
• George Takei played Wong on Spider-Man: The Animated Series (TV, 1995)
• Kirk Thatcher played a punk on the street in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017 film)
• Marisa Tomei played May Parker in the films Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
• Lily Tomlin played May Parker in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018 film)
• Danny Trejo played Ox on The Spectacular Spider-Man (TV, 2009)
• John Vernon played Dr. Strange on Spider-Man: The Animated Series (TV, 1995)
• David Warner played Professor Herbert Landon on Spider-Man: The Animated Series (TV, 1994, 1996-1998)
• Frank Welker played Bobby Drake/Iceman, Flash Thompson, and Ms. Lion on Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (TV, 1983-1985)
• William Woodson played J. Jonah Jameson on Spider-Man and Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (TV, 1983-1985)
• Zendaya played Michelle Jones in the films Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Spider-Man: far From Home (2019)