What happened when Stan Lee first pitched Spider-Man to his publisher?
His boss called it 'the worst idea I have ever heard.'
The answer
When Stan Lee pitched Spider-Man to Marvel publisher Martin Goodman in 1962, Goodman gave three reasons to reject it: people hate spiders, teenagers can only be sidekicks, and superheroes cannot have personal problems. Lee initially considered names like 'Mosquito Man' and 'Insect Man' before settling on Spider-Man. With no other option, Lee slipped the character into Amazing Fantasy #15, the final issue of a cancelled series, reasoning nobody cared what went into a doomed book. That issue sold so well it spawned The Amazing Spider-Man series, launching Marvel's most profitable character ever.
Source: TIME
- Stan Lee
- Spider-Man
- Marvel Comics
- origin story
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