Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book Amazing Fantasy #15 in the Silver Age of Comic Books. He has been featured in comic books, television shows, films, video games, novels, and plays.
Spider-Man's secret identity is Peter Benjamin Parker. Initially, Peter was depicted as a teenage high-school student and an orphan raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben in New York City after his parents, Richard and May Parker, died in a plane crash. Lee, Ditko, and later creators, had the character deal with the struggles of adolescence and young adulthood and gave him many supporting characters, such as Flash Thompson, J. Jonah Jameson, and Harry Osborn; romantic interests Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, and the Black Cat; and enemies such as Doctor Octopus, the Green Goblin, and Venom.