is Spider-Man Jewish?

[choptop]

is Spider-Man Jewish? cuz he's on a list of Fictional Jews on wikipedia but not on the list on Jewish comic book characters
so is he or not?.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Fictional_Jews

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Jewish_comic_book_characters

[StoneGold]

Only insomuch as Stan wrote him. And when you get down to it, Stan's about the Jewiest of writers this side of Woody Allen.

[tjarvis]

He's given a lot of stereotypical Jewish quirks, but the character itself doesn't appear to be. On a few occassions we've seen the character in a church, never in a temple.

So I'm guessing that he's non-denominational Christian, but doesn't really practice his faith all that often.

[Arilou]

Yep. As said, evidence points to him being at least vaguely christian.

[Venom]

I remember Quesada saying in one of his "Joe Fridays" a while back that Peter had a bit of Irish in him.

[Brian "Vash" Ashby]

His faith always seemed to be catholic


But because of how Judaism works, he could be even if he prays to jesus every day of his life. It just depends on if his mother was or not. Sort of an interesting loop hole.

What was his mother's name? Was she ever shown to be jewish? Etc

[twilight]

I just presumed he was a non practicing christian.

[Albert]

It'd be great if he was, if only to hear him mentioned in the next Sandler Chanukah song.

[Karl H]

I just presumed he was a non practicing christian.

ditto...

likewise for Ultimate Spidey (although obviously his relationship with Kitty may draw this conclusion more readily).

[Karl O'Neill]

Great power. he's Irish

[Crimson]

Aunt May is Jewish isn't she?

[Arilou]

Aunt May is Jewish isn't she?

Not sure, I've seen her in church as well, her maiden name is Reilly, for what that's worth.

[Magneto Rocks]

Reilly is Irish.

I always imagined him as a Protestant of some sort, simply because when comics Jews are mentioned, the likes of The Thing spring to mind but Spidey... naa.

....Funny how most of the Catholics we see in comics are quite devout though, or maybe it's just me. Daredevil, Nightcrawler etc...

[SnakeEater]

Reilly is Irish.

I always imagined him as a Protestant of some sort, simply because when comics Jews are mentioned, the likes of The Thing spring to mind but Spidey... naa.

....Funny how most of the Catholics we see in comics are quite devout though, or maybe it's just me. Daredevil, Nightcrawler etc...

Peter may not be very religios at all and that really doesnt matter. But there are a few signs that point him in being a bit on the christian/Catholic side.
After he got his second beat down from Morlun, Aunt May forced him to go to church - temple was never mentioned. Also just to be clear, is 616 aunt May related to Peter's mom like she is in Ultimate. I know Ben Parker is Peters real uncle through daddy, but i dont recall May ever being mentioned as Mary's sister. But even so, if thats the case and she is related, then obviously her going to church rules out the possibilitie that Mary was jewish.
Also was May married (or nearly married) to Doc Ock by a catholic priest?

[choptop]

comics Jews are mentioned, the likes of The Thing spring to mind

the thing and Kitty r Jewish?

[Crimson]

Not sure, I've seen her in church as well, her maiden name is Reilly, for what that's worth.

Didn't they do the whole smashing a bottle thing in her wedding with Doc Ock? I'm sure it was on the cover.

[Mister Mets]

Previous continuity has established that he's probably not Jewish.

Aunt May went to church in the Tenth Chapter of "The Other" written by Peter David. This was after the movie version of the character said the Lords Prayer.
So it seems two Jewish creators (David, Raimi) definitely portrayed her as a Christian.

I agree with Joe Q on his ethnicity being more Irish than anything else.
His mother was Mary Fitzgerald. His father was a Parker. His aunt's last name was Reilly.

If I wrote the books, I'd portray him as vaguely protestant, except he's never really had the time to question his religion/ do anything related to the church. I see him as an enormously busy guy, who probably doesn't vote much either (although he probably is more liberal than conservative.) Unless this ends up violating future Spider-Man continuity (ie- if JMS's final arc shows him campaigning for McCain.)

[Mister Mets]

His faith always seemed to be catholic


But because of how Judaism works, he could be even if he prays to jesus every day of his life. It just depends on if his mother was or not. Sort of an interesting loop hole.

What was his mother's name? Was she ever shown to be jewish? Etc

According to Untold Tales of Spider-Man #-1, his mother was Mary Fitzpatrick.

[Brian "Vash" Ashby]

Since he is irish, seems most likely he is catholic. Dont know many irish jews.

But i suppose there is still a possibility if his grandmother on his mother side was jewish.

[Doom Hammer]

I hold that yes, Spider-Man is Jewish. Of course, he's Jewisher when Bendis has the pens, but it works.

[mattx110]

He's too poor to be Jewish.

he grew up in forest hills. nice neighborhood. given the cost of rent, and the fact that the primary provider in the family died, money troubles isn't really an uncommon thing. i know you were joking, but seriously, he's never been the poorest kid in the world, and nobody is immune to money troubles.

anyway, i do believe it may have been stan's intention, being a nice jewish boy from NY himself, and knowing the ethnic makeup of where spidey grew up, plus the whole "science geek loser" thing that was a common origin for many of stan's colleagues in the comic world at the time, who many of which were happily jewish, pete might've been intended to be a jew.
but, in order to make pete more relatable, and not get into issues of race or ethnicity if it wasn't the point of the story, he made it more vague.

since then, pete has had christmas specials and things like that, so he's probably part irish catholic, and part whatever uncle ben is. plus, ben is a veeeeery common name, but especially common for jews. sam, max, ben, we like those 3 letter nicknames for some reason.
oh, and mary was a jewish name dating back to well, the one that gave birth to jesus and earlier.


and WASP characters, the fact their protestant doesn't affect them. they're not gonna go aroung saying "omg, my people killed indians" but for catholics, especially with characters with immigrant roots (or a working class boxer father involved in organized crime) being catholic is a bigger deal. historically (in the last 120 years, maybe more, i'm not a historian) religion is more of a community than anything once you reach american shores.

[Chupacabra]

This whole thing is hilarious, lol

[Mister Mets]

I don't think Peter's catholic. I just believe there would have been more references to that. Hell, we'd probably have seen Peter go to confession. It's easier for a protestant to miss church for a few years than it is for a Catholic (I say this as a Lutheran who only goes to church on the occassional Easter Sunday, Christmas Eve, or wedding/ funeral/ baptism/ confirmation.

If Peter were Jewish, we'd probably have met people he knows from the Jewish-American community (ie- the rabbi, anyone who knows him from synagogue.)

[BeastieRunner]

I think Norman Osborn is a follower of Scientology.

[niall mc cann]

I always assumed he was raised in as a protestant of one denomination or another. If he has irish roots, that's concievable, and those times i've seen him in a church (his wedding, for example) the decor looked more protestant than catholic, to me.

Maybe i just missed all the creepy statues and huddled old ladies.:D

[Sparda]

Spidey is not jewish that I'm aware of. Never knew the thing was Jewish or moonknight for that matter.

[BeastieRunner]

Spidey is not jewish that I'm aware of. Never knew the thing was Jewish or moonknight for that matter.

Moon Knight is a follower of Khonshu. Or do you mean his ancestral heritage? His dad was a Rabi.

[Loestal]

No your all wrong, he worships the spider totem remember?..........

[Spider-Man]

I'm surprised no one took the easy hit on us Catholics by suggesting that since Pete's so wracked with guilt, he must be Catholic.

Seriously, I don't think this issue's ever been addressed. And very likely, that's the way it should stay, for various reasons.

Spider-Man, like the other comic book icons, can't be tied to one religious entity. He's the Everyman, he's an Archetype, he has to be relatable to anyone who wants to put themself in his place.

Spidey

[PunisherFan]

First off Parker isn't a jewish name. Maybe it he was Ira Parkerman then there would be a case that he's Jewish... but he's not. He's just like most Catholics I know... non-practicing

[Maestro]

He seems like a WASP to me

[bulbasteve]

http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/SpiderMan.html

[mattx110]

First off Parker isn't a jewish name. Maybe it he was Ira Parkerman then there would be a case that he's Jewish... but he's not. He's just like most Catholics I know... non-practicing

it was changed at ellis island. his granpda changed the name during the war to avoid persecution. his dad was a fricken spy and had more aliases than umm spiderman during identity crisis.

there are always reasons for aname change, especially in fiction.

[Billy Parker]

Well he IS really, really funny.

And Jews are funny!!

[Brian "Vash" Ashby]

First off Parker isn't a jewish name. Maybe it he was Ira Parkerman then there would be a case that he's Jewish... but he's not. He's just like most Catholics I know... non-practicing

Again, you have to look at the mother side. Judaism is passed that way. thats why when a nice jewish boy marries someone who isnt jewish the fan gets so pissed off in all the movies and such.


Also, for some reason Superman being a christian seems weird considering he's an alien. Shouldnt he have some sort of Kryto-faith?

[Sean Whitmore]

Also, for some reason Superman being a christian seems weird considering he's an alien. Shouldnt he have some sort of Kryto-faith?

Well, he believes in Rao, if that helps.


SEAN

[Arilou]

since then, pete has had christmas specials and things like that, so he's probably part irish catholic, and part whatever uncle ben is. plus, ben is a veeeeery common name, but especially common for jews. sam, max, ben, we like those 3 letter nicknames for some reason.
oh, and mary was a jewish name dating back to well, the one that gave birth to jesus and earlier.

Mary is (with variants, like Maria, Maryam, Marianne, etc. etc.) One of the most common names in the world (It's no "Cheng" or "Muhammed", but it's up there)

[Brian "Vash" Ashby]

Mary is (with variants, like Maria, Maryam, Marianne, etc. etc.) One of the most common names in the world (It's no "Cheng" or "Muhammed", but it's up there)

that reminds me of that bit on the daily show. "The most common last name in the world is Wong. And the most common first name in the world is Mohammed. But there are no Mohammed Wong's."

[Papa Moai]

Also, for some reason Superman being a christian seems weird considering he's an alien. Shouldnt he have some sort of Kryto-faith?He was raised on Earth by adopted Christian parents. He might be interested in the religion of his ancestors, but I doubt he would convert to that religion without a significant religious experience.

[Brian "Vash" Ashby]

Well his parents methodist (that seems to be the popular consensus) faith doesnt really explain anything about Krytpons. When he learned he was an alien and such i would expect him to leave behind human religion.

But it doesnt matter.


We are talking spidey.

The webpages say protestant but Catholic seems far more likely to me, although very very laspe.


Definately not jewish, not that there is anything wrong with that. Its very interesting that jewish writers create heroes of other faiths more than their own.

[Mister Mets]

Again, you have to look at the mother side. Judaism is passed that way. thats why when a nice jewish boy marries someone who isnt jewish the fan gets so pissed off in all the movies and such.


Also, for some reason Superman being a christian seems weird considering he's an alien. Shouldnt he have some sort of Kryto-faith?
Even if Peter's mother's mother were Jewish, that wouldn't make him Jewish by faith. There's been nothing in the comics to indicate he's a practicing Jew, or active in the Jewish community (he had a Jewish friend in "Soul of the Hunter" but I don't believe that scene contained deeper religous meaning.

[Mister Mets]

Definately not jewish, not that there is anything wrong with that. Its very interesting that jewish writers create heroes of other faiths more than their own.

Since Jews form less than 5% of Americans, I think that's only sensible.

[Chupacabra]

Maybe hes meant to be no religion.....

[Magneto Rocks]

I'd guess that the truth really is that Marvel don't give him a religion because as they always say, Peter's an "everyman." So it helps us Catholics empathise with him by imagining him as Catholic, and likewise other denominations I'm sure.

But it's certainly VERY strongly indicated that he's Christian of one denomination or another...

[mattx110]

Even if Peter's mother's mother were Jewish, that wouldn't make him Jewish by faith. There's been nothing in the comics to indicate he's a practicing Jew, or active in the Jewish community (he had a Jewish friend in "Soul of the Hunter" but I don't believe that scene contained deeper religous meaning.

yea, practicing=40something percent of jews. most jews aren't jews by that standard. his faith is christian and if not, defintely judeo-christian, but he's probably got some of a few things in his background.
and given the number (and percentage) of jewish creators, especially at the real start of comics, and into the creation of a lot of these characters, if every creator made their character the same ethnicity as themselves, the marvel universe would have to accept that being jewish is linked to being a mutant.
instead, we get lots of diversity, with the traditional hero being a Wasp with some ehtnically scattered friends.

[Brian "Vash" Ashby]

Even if Peter's mother's mother were Jewish, that wouldn't make him Jewish by faith. There's been nothing in the comics to indicate he's a practicing Jew, or active in the Jewish community (he had a Jewish friend in "Soul of the Hunter" but I don't believe that scene contained deeper religous meaning.

Not saying he would be practicing. But if his mother's mother is jewish than so is he. Judaism is inherited, an interesting facet of the whole thing. It's like those hunters in Logan's run, you cant escape them.

Run, runner!

Shazbot!

[mattx110]

i think stan in attempting to create a character that was easily relatable to, he may have envisioned a character he could relate to. a son of working class jews growing up in new york winding up prematurely working in a manhattan press office for daily publications seems the kind of connection stan would make. the same feeling he had walking into timely or atlas or whatever it was at the time, is felt by peter parker taking his first steps toward becoming a vital addition to the daily bugle staff.

from that point of reference though, the character has gone 40 years, so changes in ethnicity, religion, job, and marital status are not only understandable, but necessary for the growth of the character.
umm, do i get a prize now?

[StoneGold]

i think stan in attempting to create a character that was easily relatable to, he may have envisioned a character he could relate to. a son of working class jews growing up in new york winding up prematurely working in a manhattan press office for daily publications seems the kind of connection stan would make. the same feeling he had walking into timely or atlas or whatever it was at the time, is felt by peter parker taking his first steps toward becoming a vital addition to the daily bugle staff.

from that point of reference though, the character has gone 40 years, so changes in ethnicity, religion, job, and marital status are not only understandable, but necessary for the growth of the character.
umm, do i get a prize now?

You're close, but you're slightly off. Because the whole thing about the son og working class jews growing up in new york winding up prematurely working in a manhattan press office pretty much describes Stan himself to a tee. Sub in magazine publisher for press office, and that's Stan's life in a nutshell.

Now on the other hand, Stan was never very religious. And he generally created characters to appeal to as wide a mainstream as possible. So you have Peter, whose creation is heavily influenced by Stan's own life, but whose religious affiliation doesn't have that much importance... just like Stan's. In the end, it just doesn't really matter.

[Captain Murphy]

If Spider-man was Jewish then his name would be Spiderman instead

[Green Lantern wannabe]

Just because Stan Lee is Jewish doesn't mean his characters are Jewish. But, google "Spiderman religion" and you can get some well-reasoned articles, like this one. (http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/SpiderMan.html)

[mattx110]

You're close, but you're slightly off. Because the whole thing about the son og working class jews growing up in new york winding up prematurely working in a manhattan press office pretty much describes Stan himself to a tee. Sub in magazine publisher for press office, and that's Stan's life in a nutshell.

Now on the other hand, Stan was never very religious. And he generally created characters to appeal to as wide a mainstream as possible. So you have Peter, whose creation is heavily influenced by Stan's own life, but whose religious affiliation doesn't have that much importance... just like Stan's. In the end, it just doesn't really matter.

i had a nice long post where i explained the early twentieth century sense of community amongst jews that has developed into a secular non-faith based judaism where i talked about the fact that irish immigrant and son of immigrant communitys developed along with pretty much segregated jewish, and russian, and heck, russian jew communities that almost socialized within eachother, but i pushed the stupid red button and it went away.

then i concluded that stan, being the son, or grandson of jewish immigrants in new york probably had less of the "only trust your own kind" mentality, and was more secular as each generation of jews in the united states has become increasingly secular, so basing peter parker on himself as a kid, not mentioning judaism, and putting him in a neighborhood with a substantial jewish community, but not exclusively jewish community, he may have thought of peter parker as a jew (in background, maybe not in faith) but he left religion AND ethnicity vague, so instead of some random kid going "spidermans a jew, my (racist) grandpa said not to talk to jews" the kid goes "oh man, if i had those powers, i'm just like this peter kid!"

i'm not saying stan being a jew meant spidey is a jew. but that stan really went out of his way to create a character that he himself related to on multiple levels, and thus would be able to write as relatable to kids reading comics.

edit: i just read that thing GLW posted. "why do bad things happen to good people?" is the crux to will eisner's "contract with god". and many of those christian "god is watching over, life is a relationship with god" type things, originated in judaism and were brought over to christianity.

anyway, someone should write an essay on the unsecularization of spiderman. he started out somewhere between vague and faithless, and has, as the world has become more secular, become more religious. odd.

[Mississippienne]

The name 'Peter' was always a tipoff to me that he (or rather, his family) is Catholic. You don't meet a lot of Protestant Peters, they tend to come from Catholic families. And as someone pointed out, he's likely as Irish as he can get on his mom's side (Fitzgerald) although Parker could be from anywhere in the UK, but most likely England.

[EC1231]

Ultimate Spidey might be since he uses a bunch of jewish words

[Nate C.]

I think Cyberman is spot on in his assessment. I've always felt that Spidey was vaugely Protestant. And for all the reasons Cyberman mentions. And vaguely Irish.

As to why not Catholic? Marvel already has two strong Catholic heroes (Nightcrawler, and the quintessential Catholic-Daredevil, most strongly influenced by Miller, a Catholic). Also, you just don't see the religious trappings with Peter that you do with Kurt and Matt.

As to why Catholicism gets used so often- it's the visuals baby! Same as the movies. Who wants to see a guy in a cardigan fighting demons in a church with a cross and no other iconography? That's so WASP.

[firestarfan]

If Spider-man was Jewish then his name would be Spiderman instead

Murray Spiderman used to run the deli on 47th and Park. With great pastrami comes great latke.

[mattx110]

I think Cyberman is spot on in his assessment. I've always felt that Spidey was vaugely Protestant. And for all the reasons Cyberman mentions. And vaguely Irish.

As to why not Catholic? Marvel already has two strong Catholic heroes (Nightcrawler, and the quintessential Catholic-Daredevil, most strongly influenced by Miller, a Catholic). Also, you just don't see the religious trappings with Peter that you do with Kurt and Matt.

As to why Catholicism gets used so often- it's the visuals baby! Same as the movies. Who wants to see a guy in a cardigan fighting demons in a church with a cross and no other iconography? That's so WASP.

that's why protestantism isn't as cool in film and comics. you get all the boring sermons, and none of the cool jewelry, paintings and sculptures of the virgin mary and other flamboyant uses of the cross because of this "idolatry" thing. as frank miller has shown, characters acting like complete nutcases or immoral bastards while wearing crosses and going (or being a member of )the catholic church is instant irony.

but spiderman is never going to stress over religion and the catholic church the way DD does unless it turns out his mom became a nun and he takes up a costume based on new testament symbology.

[Papa Moai]

that's why protestantism isn't as cool in film and comics. you get all the boring sermons, and none of the cool jewelry, paintings and sculptures of the virgin mary and other flamboyant uses of the cross because of this "idolatry" thing. True. Catholic church really has a much better sense of drama than most of the protestant churches. They have nuns, monks, confessional, sign of the cross etc. You don't get to use that sort of stuff if you make your character Babtist or Lutheran. Confessional in particular makes for an excellent story-telling device.

[BadAssMofo]

When he married MJ they were in a regular church with a regular priest. He wasn't wearing a yamulkah and he didn't smash a glass with his feet at the end.

[sherlockbones]

over in ultimate i noticed two pieces of dialog:

1. usm 105 "cool, organic web-shooters", nerdy :D
(peter commenting his female clone)
2. touches a more sensitive subject in usm 106 "i am not even jewish"
(peter commenting his relationship with kitty pryde)

what do you think?

[Sean Whitmore]

what do you think?

That Ultimate Spider-Man is nerdy and not Jewish.


SEAN

[Kaos]

That Ultimate Spider-Man is nerdy and not Jewish.


SEAN

BINGO

give the man a prize.

[Lanowar]

is'nt there a whole "I know some yiddish but I'm not jewish" thing in New Avengers? I vaugely remember him talking to Spider-Woman about it. Or is it Luke Cage my memory fails me today!

[Venom]

This could make a good future "What If" one-shot. "What If Spider-Man Was Jewish!?"

[sherlockbones]

That Ultimate Spider-Man is nerdy and not Jewish.


SEAN

harrr, somehow i expected more. aren´t you the one that lectured people about symbolism, genre jumping and metalevels in all these "doom crying at groundzero" discussions?
anyway, i am much more interested in marvel and its employees take on a matter than the matter itself.
so my question was more "what does bendis think/tell" and less "is pp jewish".
be (more) creative!

[tedward1984]

Sorry if this has been mentioned already, but Joe Q has said in JoeFridays that Spidey is an Irish Protestant, which struck me as a bit unusual in the US but whatever.

Has anyone ever met an Irish-American Protestant? Don't mean to get off topic, but I was under the impression most of the Irish that immigrated here were Catholic.

[a-spidey]

Sorry if this has been mentioned already, but Joe Q has said in JoeFridays that Spidey is an Irish Protestant, which struck me as a bit unusual in the US but whatever.

Has anyone ever met an Irish-American Protestant? Don't mean to get off topic, but I was under the impression most of the Irish that immigrated here were Catholic.

afaik most people in ireland are catholic so it would be unusual but not impossible i guess.

[Alpow]

afaik most people in ireland are catholic so it would be unusual but not impossible i guess.

It depends when Parker's family moved, before Irish independence about 10% of the 26 counties population was Protestant, this has since fallen to below 3% (due to protestants leaving because they didn't want to live in an independent Ireland/because their Catholic neighbours bullied them into leaving/because they faced some prejudice against them in getting jobs etc and being bred out by the policy of children in inter marriages being raised Catholic).

So if Parker's family lived in (26 county) Ireland before 1916 there is a 10% chance they were Protestant.

If one includes all 32 counties then there was around 25% chance of an Irish person being protestant.

There are also a good number of Scotch Irish (what would be considered Ulster men today) who existed in the colonies before their formation, although these people's descendants probably don't consider themselves to be Irish.

With this said the Protestants tended to be better off than Catholics so those moving to the US were more liely to be Catholic (a protestant leaving Ireland would probably move to the other parts of the UK, although a fair amount of Catholics did that as well and still do) and I suspect Irish protestant probably weren't as a interested in the fact that they were Irish.

[Mister Mets]

is'nt there a whole "I know some yiddish but I'm not jewish" thing in New Avengers? I vaugely remember him talking to Spider-Woman about it. Or is it Luke Cage my memory fails me today!
They had a scene like that in the latest issue of Ultimate Spider-Man.

Peter says "oy" and admits he's not even Jewish.

[Mister Mets]

Sorry if this has been mentioned already, but Joe Q has said in JoeFridays that Spidey is an Irish Protestant, which struck me as a bit unusual in the US but whatever.

Has anyone ever met an Irish-American Protestant? Don't mean to get off topic, but I was under the impression most of the Irish that immigrated here were Catholic.
I had a high school teacher who came from Ireland as a child, and was from a protestant family.

He had to get his ass kicked a lot when he was young.

[ubergeekette]

As a jew myself, I never thought of Peter as jewish. Usually I look at last names and how they are drawn and then come to my assumption.

[ZacharyLovesYou]

Yeah, I think it's safe to say he's a non-practicing protestant.

Or... Maybe he does practice, just off-pannel. hahaha

How do you have a religion in the Marvel U with guys like Thor/Loki and The Beyonder, or any other God or omnipotent cosmic being?

[ubergeekette]

I think the question is how can you be an atheist, w/ guys like Thor, Mephisto, etc.