WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham #3, by Zeb Wells, Will Robson, Erick Arciniega and VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
Spider-Ham made his first appearance in 1983 as a parody of the Spider-Verse in the one-shot comic Marvel Tails: Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham. The character was created by comics veterans Tom DeFalco and Mark Armstrong and the original idea was one long ridiculous punchline, featuring endless animal puns, such as Captain Americat, Goose Rider, and Red Gull. Peter Porker has mostly been confined to limited series appearances and comic relief since his creation, but that changed with Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham.
Three issues in, the series is going strong and it has found a genuine "all-ages" audience. The series is light-hearted and funny, which fans might expect. Spider-Ham's ultimate form, however, is very unexpected -- especially since he might be the most powerful of any Spider-Verse character.
Cartoons often operate outside the standard laws of physics, such as how Looney Tunes characters bounce back after being blown up, flattened and sometimes shot out of a cannon. What makes Peter Porker so formidable amongst the rest of the Spider-Verse is the fact that he works using "cartoon physics" as well as "cartoon logic." For example, if a bulldozer or a falling building crushes Peter Porker, the impact will only flatten him into a pancake before he pops back to normal. He can also seemingly manifest cartoonish weapons out of thin air, like an endless supply of oversized mallets.
Spider-Ham has the same powers as the other Spider-Verse characters, but with a side of indestructibility and the ability to create a tornado by windmilling his arm. That makes him a formidable opponent in any battle, especially with villains who don't operate under cartoon physics.
As revealed in Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham #3, his "ultimate form" has even more power. In this form, Spider-Ham has all the same abilities as usual, plus Reed Richards' elasticity -- he's basically a one-pig army. Plus, he has a watch that allows him to travel freely between universes. When fans talk about the most overpowered Marvel superheroes, it's common to think of Silver Surfer, Magus or Captain Universe, leaving Spider-Ham out of the conversation. It's easy to forget about Spider-Ham's powers with his lack of presence in comics. However, Spider-Ham is undoubtedly the most powerful character in the Spider-Verse and possibly the Marvel Universe, because he's seemingly invincible.
Spider-Ham's resurgence in popularity is in large part due to his role in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, wherein he was voiced by comedian John Mulaney. Peter Porker quickly became a fan favorite and finally got his own solo comics title, with writer Zeb Wells and artist Will Robson. The series is off to a hilarious start and has the potential to bring new and old readers together in a spectacularly absurd way. Not all power in the Marvel Universe is created equal, but Spider-Ham may be the most powerful pun ever created.