June 22, 2015
Spider-Man Will Never Be Gay or Black, Says Sony & Marvel in Leaked Documents
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Don't expect diversity in any new "Spider-Man" films.
That's because Peter Parker and his superhero alter ego Spider-Man will never be gay or black.
A legal licensing agreement between Sony Pictures Entertainment and Marvel Entertainment states that the character of Peter Parker / Spider-Man must be straight and Caucasian, according to Gawker, which first reported the story. The information was revealed in a huge document posted by WikiLeaks, which released more than 276,000 emails this week.
The contract went into effect in September 2011 and lists "mandatory" character traits Peter Parker and Spider-Man must have, noting that Spider-Man is "not a homosexual (unless Marvel has ported that alter ego as a homosexual)." So, maybe there is still some gay hope after all.
Despite the caveat, the Peter Parker / Spider-Man mandatory traits include: his full name is Peter Benjamin Parker; he is Caucasian and heterosexual; his parents become absent from his life during his childhood; from the time his parents become absent he is raised by Aunt May and Uncle Ben in New York City; he gains his powers while attending either middle school or college; he gains his powers from being bitten by a spider; he designs his first red and blue costume; the black costume is a symbiote and not designed by him; he is raised in a middle class household in Queens, New York; he attends or attended high school in Queens, New York; and he attends or attended college in New York City.
Other requirements include that the character does not torture anyone, does not kill unless in self-defense or in defense of others, does not use obscene language beyond PG-13, does not smoke cigarettes, does not sell or distribute drugs, does not abuse alcohol and does not have sex before he's 16, or does not have sex with anyone below the age of 16.
As Gawker points out, Peter Parker can't sell drugs but it appears he can take drugs. So the best we can hope for is a super high Spider-Man that is maybe bicurious?
