Ah, the Secret Wars symbiote. What can I say? I had just got back into comic book collecting when Amazing Spider-Man #252 dropped, and it was the most exciting thing to happen since I accidentally copped a feel in a crowded high-school hallway.
A new look for Spider-Man? It just wasn’t done, I tell you! The web-head had sported the same threads since Amazing Fantasy #15, and the idea of him changing to a sleek new suit had purists screaming in the pre-Internet vacuum of their local comic shops and letter-pages, but it was all for naught. “The rumors are true!” blared the covers and house ads, but there was more to it than any of us could possibly know.
The symbiote suit sprang to life in the mind of Spider-fan Randy Schueller. Inspired by a contest running in Marvel Comics at the time, Schueller envisioned a new kind of spider-suit made from Reed Richard’s patented “unstable molecules.” The suit would allow Spider-Man to better blend into the shadows while enhancing his connectivity to scaleable surfaces by 25 percent. For all that, it was the look of the suit that really caught Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter’s attention.
All black, with a highly stylized red spider logo splashed across the chest, Schuller’s design was perfectly evocative of 1980s’ reductionism, reducing the Spider-Man property into an instantly recognizable brand icon. To Schueller’s surprise, he was contacted by Shooter, who wanted to buy his concept. Shooter requested Schueller develop the idea further, but the process faltered and eventually Marvel simply purchased the basic costume concept for $220. The story might have ended there, but history is a funny thing.
It turns out Jim Shooter had made a deal with Mattel Toys to produce a 12-issue comic series to tie-in with the company’s upcoming action figure line. To sweeten the deal, Shooter offered Mattel two Spider-Man figures — one in the hero’s classic red and blues, and another in a sleek new design. Mattel eagerly snapped at the concept, having just missed the chance to produce the DC properties that would go on to be the vastly popular and variant-heavy Batman lines. The figures would be produced as a secondary line designed specifically not to draw sales away from the company’s primary money-maker, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Much like the Masters line, the figures would share a consistent body mold to keep costs down.
The classic red and blue suit was released in Mattel’s Secret Wars series one, with the “black suit” Spider-Man following in series two. It’s hard to explain the excitement that existed for this figure. Unlike the classic look of Kenner’s DC Super Powers figures, this Mattel offering had a tenaciously temporal quality, the design and aesthetic very much “of the moment.” Mattel’s choice to give the figure a pre-posed stance imparted a sense of kinetic energy, the web-spinner poised to bound forward in a spidery manner. The glossy black plastic sold the idea of the alien symbiote, giving the figure an additional mystique. But the black costume proved to be jackpot for all involved, giving the Spidey titles a boost and making the character marketable in a whole new way.
Spidey didn’t retain the black costume for long — it turned out the “suit” he found during Secret Wars was actually a living symbiotic being that wanted nothing less than to mentally and physically enslave him. Talk about your unhealthy relationships! Plastic pal Reed Richards helped Peter Parker purge the pernicious peril that plagued him and the parasitic pest was put to rest … or was it?
It turns out that the symbiote has attachment issues and begins to haunt Spidey via a new human host. A prolonged period of conflict ensues, with the ultimate outcome an uneasy stalemate. Now known as Venom, the symbiote departs, Spider-Man unable to contain the alien influence. When it’s original host falls victim to cancer, the suit jumps to new host Mac Gargan, aka the Scorpion. Gargan allows the suit’s savage nature to dominate their new persona; as a member of the Thunderbolts, he acts as as a savage substitute for the real Spider-Man. This lasts until the symbiote makes a failed power-grab for the current Ms. Marvel and is separated from Gargan. The suit is eventually bonded to “Puny” Parker previous nemesis Flash Thompson, who becomes a government agent and, later, a space knight. Oy.
In spite of all that foofarah, the symbiote suit remains a favorite of mine. Its clean, sharp lines and sleek aesthetic provides a form and functionality beyond mere flamboyance — this is what you’d expect a Spider-Man to wear in the latter-days of the 20th century. As much as I love the classic costume, it’s hard to argue with the shock and stealth value of this suit. Who says Spidey can’t have two distinct looks? Not Hasbro, who are releasing a new version of Symbiote Spider-Man in their upcoming Spider-Man wave.
While we don’t have pictures yet, it’s safe to assume the figure will be released on the “Pizza Spidey” body. A solid choice, but it would be brilliant is Hasbro surprised us with a new, slightly bulkier sculpt it could re-use for characters like Union Jack, Guardian, and (gasp!) Reed Richards. Whatever the outcome, it will be great to to get an updated Secret Wars Spidey. Now’s a good time to dig out some back issues and catch up!
