When Spider-Man first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15, the issue was supposed to be a one-shot story – meaning Stan Lee and Steve Ditko didn’t bother creating a full supporting cast for Peter Parker. Instead, they put a bunch of stock characters in the background, many who only showed up for a couple of panels or less.
Once Spider-Man took off, however, comic book creators began revisiting Amazing Fantasy #15 and developed backstories and additional tales for these one-dimensional figures, turning them into fully realized characters. Here are ten background characters you didn’t know got their own stories.
10 Sally Avril
Peter Parker asks a dark-haired girl he calls “Sally” out on a date in the first page of Amazing Fantasy #15 – only for her to turn him down for Flash Thompson. Surprisingly, Sally didn’t become a part of Peter’s supporting cast in The Amazing Spider-Man comic, but Kurt Busiek revived the character in his comic book Untold Tales of Spider-Man, which revisits Peter’s teenage years.
In the comic, Sally (now given the name “Sally Avril”) actually tries to become the superhero “Bluebird” by donning a blue costume and a blond wig. Since she’s inexperienced and doesn’t have any powers, Spider-Man convinces her to retire – but Sally continues trying to be a crime photographer like Peter and later gets killed in a car accident.
9 Liz Allan
One girl who did become a major figure in Peter’s life didn’t even get a name in her first appearance. Appearing originally as one of Flash Thompson’s female admirers, the blond-haired girl tells Peter to “give our regards to the atom smashers!” as the cool kids drive away. When Stan Lee and Steve Ditko decided to start The Amazing Spider-Man, they chose to revisit the blond girl and give her a name – Liz Allan.
Despite the fact that she was “Flash Thompson’s girlfriend,” Liz ends up genuinely attracted to Peter, who ironically ignores her because he’s hung up on another girl, Betty Brant. Their relationship was re-explored in Spider-Man: Homecoming when actress Laura Harrier plays a new version of Liz. In the comics, Liz would go on to marry Harry Osborn, the son of the Green Goblin, and inherit his company when Harry went insane and (temporarily) died.
8 Brian “Tiny” McKeever
Flash had several cronies back in high school. One of these boys is Brian “Tiny” McKeever, a boy who would become a supporting character in Untold Tales of Spider-Man.
Although Tiny is a bully, he comes to respect Peter Parker when Peter helps him with his homework. Later, he becomes a security officer at Empire State University.
7 The Scientist Who Irradiated The Spider
Seconds before being bitten by the irradiated spider who would change his life, Peter listened to a scientist speak about the radioactive experiment. Although this scientist was never given a name, in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, the scientist was retconned into becoming Dr. Farley Stillwell.
Who? Farley Stillwell is the scientist who creates the supervillain the Scorpion for J. Jonah Jameson in The Amazing Spider-Man #20. Apparently, the animated series decided it would be poetic if Stillwell had also accidentally created an arachnid hero in his early experiments.
6 The Little Boy Who Saw Peter Climb A Wall
Shortly after getting his powers, Peter crawls up a wall, still wearing his street clothes. Although most people don’t bother looking up at the strange sight, one little boy does – and is immediately shushed by his mother who accuses him of seeing too many horror movies.
Decades later, in the backup story “Along Came A Child,” published in Marvel Comics Presents #120, readers learn the boy grew up to be a sleezy teenager who flashes back to his childhood memory when he sees Spider-Man swing by. Turns out, the boy got a very good look at Peter’s face and decides to cash in on his secret by selling his description of Spider-Man to the Daily Bugle. However, since Peter now looks nothing like the skinny bespectacled teenager he used to be, the description proves worthless!
5 Crusher Hogan
Spider-Man’s first foe wasn’t a super-villain or even a criminal – but a wrestler named Crusher Hogan who offered $100 to anyone who could last three minutes with him in the ring. Peter tests his new powers on Crusher, easily defeats him and learns he could make money with his spider-powers.
In the Spider-Man’s Tangled Web #14 story, “The Last Shoot,” however, readers learn Crusher is a decent man who only played the part of an arrogant wrestler to get the publicity needed to save his employer’s wrestling business. Crusher later returns as an ex-fighter who can only get work as a janitor. Surprisingly, he’s a huge Spider-Man fan and later helps Spidey fight off some thugs, earning him respect from his peers.
4 Spider-Man’s Agent
Shortly after defeating Crusher Hogan, Spider-Man was approached by a man who identified himself as a producer. The man got Spider-Man on TV and even returned briefly in the first issue of The Amazing Spider-Man when Spidey briefly tried to restart his TV career, only to fail when he couldn’t cash his checks at the bank.
In Web of Spider-Man #90, fans got a closer look at this man, now called “Maxie Shiffman.” Turns out that Max had a successful career after losing Spider-Man as a client – becoming a producer in California. However, when his wife Trudy dies, Max agrees to help Spider-Man villain Mysterio maneuver Spider-Man into one of the villain’s schemes in exchange for a holographic copy of Trudy. Spidey defeats Mysterio and Trudy disappears.
3 The Cop
“The Cop” (later referred to as “Captain”) makes three appearances in Amazing Fantasy #15 – first while chasing down the burglar Spider-Man doesn’t stop, then in front of the Parker house to tell Peter his Uncle Ben was murdered, and finally in front of the warehouse to see Spider-Man deliver the burglar to the police.
He later reappeared in a tongue-in-cheek comic strip written by Fred Hembeck, which shows him dating Aunt May after letting enough time pass after Uncle Ben’s death.
2 The Burglar
Arguably the most important figure in Spider-Man’s origin, the man who shot and killed Uncle Ben was never officially given a name in the comics. He shows up years later and helps Mysterio create the illusion that Aunt May had died, hoping to find a fortune buried in the Parker house. Spider-Man tracks him down and the burglar dies from a heart attack after Peter unmasks and reveals the burglar killed his uncle.
Years later, Spider-Man’s clone Ben Reilly dates a woman named Jessica Carradine who turns out to be the burglar’s daughter. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 movie references this by naming Ben Parker’s killer “Dennis Carradine.”
1 The SPIDER Who Bit Peter
Now here’s an unexpected entry! Although the spider basically just shows up to bite Peter, give him his powers, and die, decades later, readers learn the spider also bit another person – Cindy Moon – who developed spider-powers and became the hero Silk.
Because Cindy and Peter were bitten by the same spider, they produce pheromones that make them incredibly attracted to each other, giving the spider an… unusual legacy.