Spider-Man - The Black Costume (PART 1)

⋆ Ultimate Spider-Man #1 (2024) variant cover by Marco Checchetto

Today we will be talking about a very particular trait of our favorite superhero, straight out of the 80s: the black costume. The 80's have brought back to the comic book world a breath of fresh air and unusual social awareness: this era brought up themes like mental health, noir aesthetics, various critics to society and darker stuff.
Our heroes had to face some of their worst battles during this period and, to match the overall vibe, our favorite Neighbor rebranded himself with a new stylish outfit!

We also must mention that the original idea for a new costum was pitched by a fan who showed a concept art to the editors - who bought it for just a few hundred dollars. The costume originally had a red logo instead of a white one and it was made out of unstable molecules - just like Miguel O'hara's one!

⋆ Original Black Costume concept by Randy Schueller

The Amazing Spider-Man #252 and Secret Wars special

To understand what was happening in those years, we have to go back to '84. Many say that the first appearance takes place in Secret Wars, but that is not exactly accurate.
Secret Wars is in fact the event in which all the superheroes and supervillains are placed on a planet to fight each other ... er, like in Marvel Rivals, so to speak. Yes, exactly, a simple marketing move aimed solely and exclusively at launching a new toy line. And no, I'm not kidding.

Well, in Secret Wars, it is explained how Peter GETS the costume, but it is not his first appearance: it in fact takes place in The Amazing Spider-Man #252, released in January '84, while Secret Wars was published in August of the same year. Yes, it's a crossover, calm down MCU fans.
Well, in this chapter, we see the original costume torn to shreds during the fight. Peter, seeing Thor and Hulk coming out of a building beautiful pompous, shiny and smelling good, asks them how they managed to fix themselves in such a short period of time. They tell him there is a machine over there that repairs the costumes not very far from the battlefield, but he goes the wrong way and finds himself in front of a machine that contained a black sphere. He touches it and, very surprisingly, this black fluid-like substance covers his entire costume.
Absurdly, this new “costume” also makes him stronger, more agile, more active, more-…ah, poor ignorant…

⋆  Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars (1984) #8

Problems start manifesting as Peter gets back on Earth: he starts feeling more and more tired, he doesn’t want to get up, he doesn’t want to go to work, he doesn’t want to pay taxes…he is basically one of us, in short. Okay, jokes aside.
“Why is this happening?” you say? Well, the alien symbiote uses his body at night to better explore the new world he finds himself in, wandering around New York, fighting crime and ripping off robberies. All of this goes against the false myth of Peter becoming a bit of a dark boy who's pissed off with everyone once he enters into symbiosis with *unpronounceable frequency* – aka the symbiote we know as Venom (THANKS SAM RAIMI AND JOHN SEMPER JR.): as you can see, or rather, hear, in reality the symbiote tries above all to do good. He's just a curious puppy, in short.
Oh, yeah, right. His name also isn't Venom because that's the name Eddie Brock chooses for himself while bonded with our lovely alien, but that's a conversation for another day.
Oh, yeah, right. His name also isn't Venom because that's the name Eddie Brock chooses for himself while bonded with our lovely alien, but that's a conversation for another day.

Why does Peter feel so drained and what will he do with his new costume?
Find out in my next blog: The black costume (PART 2) - Venom!
See you in the next issue!