Along with Batman and Superman, Spider-Man is one of the three most popular superheroes in the world. Spider-Man is known to fans of all ages across the globe for his ability to fight crime with the help of his web-shooters and spider-sense.

One reason Spider-Man has become such a popular superhero is because he is human after all. Because Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker, an average teenager, we can all relate to the struggles he has to go through to try and fit in, as well as attempt to win the affection of the girl he loves, Mary Jane.

While many younger fans know Spider-Man because of the recent blockbuster movies, Spider-Man actually made his first print appearance all the way back in 1962. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko for Marvel, Spider-Man debuted in Amazing Fantasy #15. Due to the popularity of his appearance in this issue, Spider-Man was given his own comic, which launched as “The Amazing Spider-Man” in March of 1963.

As the popularity of “The Amazing Spider-Man” continued to grow, Spider-Man began appearing in other comics as well. In 1972, Marvel Team-Up launched, which featured Spider-Man working with other superheroes to defeat the bad guys.

In addition to his sustained popularity in print, Spider-Man has also enjoyed long-running success on the screen. In 1967, he made his television debut in Spider-Man, which was an animated series that ran for three years on ABC. Since then, he has appeared in numerous other shows, as well as video games. In 2002, Spider-Man took over the box office in the movie starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. The popularity of the movie led to Spider-Man 2 and 3, as well as the creation of 4, which is scheduled to be released in 2012.