Spider-Man, as the famous theme song from the 1960s animated series explains, “does whatever a spider can.” But, as Gawker revealed in newly uncovered documents from last year’s Sony hack, he can also only do whatever Marvel approves — which includes restrictions on torture, killing and alcohol use.
Two sets of mandatory “character traits” have surfaced, featuring Marvel Entertainment’s do’s and the don’t’s for both Spider-Man and Peter Parker.
For Spider-Man, Marvel determined that he must be male and “not a homosexual,” with the interesting addition that the latter would be invalidated if “Marvel has portrayed that character as a homosexual.”
Peter Parker, meanwhile, has a stricter set of rules; his full name, race and sexual orientation are defined, as are details about his origins as a superhero; he “gains his powers while attending either middle school or college.”
