Is Spider-Man Real?
Spinning A Web Of A Tale
About Queens' Hometown Superhero

By RICHARD SCHACK

Is it art imitating life? Does Spider-Man really live in Forest Hills?

These are just some of the questions the Tribune has tried to answer while untangling an amazing web of mystery that lies on a quiet Queens street.

The Marvel Comics character Spider-Man is one of the most recognized in the world, and since his first appearance, comic books have never been the same.

What most Queensites may not realize is that the character of Spider-Man was not born with superpowers on a planet far, far away.

He grew up right here in Forest Hills at the address of 20 Ingram Street.

Spider-Man was initially introduced to the comic book world as nerdy teenager Peter Parker who came upon his powers by accident while attending a school not unlike Forest Hills High School.

After being bit by a radioactive spider, Parker gained super human powers.

Since then, he has been seen in the pages of comics fighting battles all over the borough — from cat burglars on Queens Boulevard to fights over the Queensboro Bridge with his arch nemesis, the Green Goblin.

In an issue of Spider-Man from 1989, editors revealed that Parker (a.k.a. Spider-Man) lived at 20 Ingram Street, right in the heart of the Forest Hills Gardens.

We checked it out and the address is, indeed, real, as evidenced on our front page.

But what we found out afterwards is enough to shock even the Spider-Man villain Electro.

The Tribune placed a phone call to the Ingram Street home and asked for Mr. Parker.

A woman on the other end said her husband Andrew was not in at the time.

Approaching deadline and desperately seeking information on the reality of Spider-Man, this reporter questioned one Mrs. Parker.

“Um, I know this is going to sound a little crazy,” we asked, “but by any chance do you know that you share a name and an address with Spider-Man?”

There were a few seconds of a lingering, uncomfortable silence on the phone before Parker said, “I knew we shared the same name, but I had no idea we shared the same address.”

Mrs. Parker is actually Susanne Parker, an artist who works on surreal digital portraits.

She said there have been some bizarre occurrences since her and her husband moved into their home in 1974.

Spider-Man spins his web over Shea Stadium. Copyright Marvel Comics. All Rights Reseverd

For a period of time she claims she was receiving Discover Cards in the name of none other than Peter Parker.

That, along with catalogs of Star Trek memorabilia and “other things that would appeal to a 14-year-old boy.”

She said she figured that it was just a bunch of kids playing a prank because of her last name – she said she didn’t know the extent of the similarities until the Tribune told her.

“Boy, that’s really bizarre,” said Parker. “But the only way it would weird me out is if I received more bulk mail addressed to Peter Parker or phone calls asking for Spider-Man. It’s just a very odd coincidence.”

Coincidence or not, Parker insisted that she has no super powers and Spider-Man doesn’t live in her home.

“Well, now that this is being made public I just want people to know one thing,” said Parker. “We are normal people, and don’t climb walls or anything like that. I am, however, fond of Louise Nevelson’s spider sculptures.”

Spider-Man fans may argue that his greatest foe is the Green Goblin, whose real name is Norman Osborn.

When researching the Queens home of Spider-Man we made yet another shocking discovery.

At 19 Ingram St., across the street from Parker, lives the Osborn family.

That’s right – a family with the same name of Spider-Man’s greatest nemesis lives across the street from the Parkers — same spelling and all.

Despite the coincidences, Parker said she doesn’t believe any of the mailing pranks were played by the Osborns.

Very much unlike the comics, the Parkers and Osborns “get along just fine.”

On Metropolitan Avenue and Sybilla Street in Forest Hills, crowds have gathered in recent weeks to watch one of Queens’ own superheros weave his way onto the silver screen. Although it’s taken nearly forty years, Spider-Man, a hometown hero, is expected to become a big-time movie star by next summer.        

“Spider-Man: The Movie” has been years in the works.

In the early 90’s, following the success of the Batman movies and a popularity boom for comic books in general, rumors circulated throughout Hollywood that a Spider-Man movie was slated to be directed by James Cameron of “Titanic” fame.

The movie adaptation of Spider-Man has gone through a number of changes in the years that followed and Cameron has since dropped out of the project.

But Cameron was later replaced by “Young Hercules” television series Director Sam Raimi and filming on the project has been ongoing in Queens and other New York locations.

Tobey Maguire, best known for the movie “The Cider House Rules” will star as Spider-Man, Kirsten Dunst will star as Spidey’s flame Mary Jane Watson and William DeFoe will star as the nefarious Green Goblin. 

Produced by Columbia Pictures Entertainment, , “Spider-Man: The Movie” scenes have beem filmed on location at 69th Road off Metropolitan Ave. and Sybilla St. in Forest Hills.

The movie is set for release on May 3, 2002.

The Spider-Man character first appeared in comic books in 1962. “Spidey” was created by comic book legend Stan Lee, who had come up with and started writing the Fantastic Four and The Incredible Hulk comics just months earlier.

Spidey’s first appearance in the comic book world was in the Marvel Comics series “Amazing Fantasy,” issue 15.

It was the last issue of the series, and Lee wanted to try something different.

After creating the Fantastic Four and the Hulk, Lee was ready to flex his creative superpowers, to create a superhero totally different than what had been seen before. He had striven to break the mold of traditional, square-jawed superheroes in the mold of Superman, to create a hero kids can relate to as much as look up to.

In the comic, Spider-Man is a clean-cut student, science enthusiast and frequent target of school bullies. Peter Parker went to a science exhibit one day for a class trip when he suddenly felt something bite him.

In that classic story Parker looked at his hand and found out that this was no regular spider bite.

Rather than a sting and itch, Parker felt a sudden rush go through his teenage body. His hand was glowing and he felt a rush, one unlike anything he had ever felt before. Frightened and confused, Parker ran out of the exhibit.

The normal, everyday teenager from Queens would never be the same again.

He soon found out that along with superhuman strength coursing through his body, enough to lift 10 tons, he had started to feel a strange tingle – a “spider sense.”

He also discovered he could climb up walls.

The spider, which had been hit by a radioactive bolt at the science exhibit, changed Parker.

The spider bite transformed the teen into more than merely a man. Endowed with the powers of a human size spider, he was now Spider-Man.

Parker grew up in the Forest Hills home of his aunt May while saving the world by night, Parker made a living by day as a freelance photographer for the fictional Daily Bugle. He soon made a name for himself by taking pictures of who else? Spider-Man.

Amazing adventures followed, and Queens would never be the same again.

In the Marvel universe Queens was portrayed both as a nice place to grow up - and a very dangerous place were it not for its resident superhero.

Over the years, Spidey has prevented octopus men from breaking into his Forest Hills home, battled on rooftops on Queens Blvd., tried to stop a 100 foot super villain from destroying the Triboro Bridge and fought at LaGuardia Airport in battles where he saved the residents of the borough.