I mean recently I think marvel is trying shove down our throats that spiderman and their other characters are for kids, I mean ultimate spiderman and the scenes with the kids in the amazing spiderman 1 and 2, what do you think

Yes Spider-Man is primarily aimed at kids as of late but he's not necessary just for them. Spider-Man is aimed at anyone who enjoys the values and the character that he represents.

what do you mean by as of late?

Nope.

I am gonna go with no, anyone who asks this question has either never read Superior Spider-Man or completely forgotten about it.

Not necessarily. Kids just so happen to love superheros.

I think it matters what sort of media we are talking about here. If we are talking about mainstream consumption (television), I would say yes, Spider-Man is being focused at the younger population. However, like others who have posted in this thread have already stated, as a whole, Spider-Man is not only for kids (mind swap with one of your archenemies and retconning your marriage with basically a deal with the devil).

...kids seem to particularly love Spiderman more than say Batman coz he is a fun character, but there's sufficient depth in the comics to keep adults interested. Dark stories such as those involving Kraven are similar to some of the Dark Knight stuff..

The scenes with the kid in ASM2 were wonderful.

@fallschirmjager:

Yes I agree, reminded of the sort of thing Superman did years ago in the reeve era when he cared about civilians !

Only if you know nothing of Spiderman would you assume such things.

Especially the end scene. Even though I wanted to say "This mother is an idiot and this situation is a bit unbelievable" the feels override that :)

I wouldn't think so. If there is a sense of that in films and television shows, it might be because of toys and whatnot aimed at kids. It's not just comics that the character is popular by, although for me it is.

i feel like its limited to an extent in television because of disney and it always will be because they fail with tv. The main comic series is not directed at kids, i believe it has a teen rating. They do have a childrens comic due his appeal to children. The movies seem to be on the same level the main series with a pg13 rating.

@averywetfrog: You act like it wasn't like that before Disney. They're cartoons like it or not they're aimed at kids.

i feel like any popular super hero, there are stories aimed for children ,and stories that a children should not be reading. Heck I think even spawn had a toned down version for kids at one point. Spawn X? Marketing and money, but spiderman deals with very messed up adult issues.

@deadpool48: The scenes with the kids from thew movies,are just to show the values of the character.

As of in general,look how it is......Spider-Man was created for young adults,and aimed at this kind of audience.He debuted in Amazing Fantasy #15 the only Marvel comicbook aimed at a more mature audience.With the stories that followed he retained that "feel''.

Sure some stuff like the USM cartoon are for kids,but it's only that.The films are all-ages,and have some strong mature themes,and the comics are primarly for adults.

Hope i helped.

@feartheliving: yes they have had spiderman shows for kids but there are some things that disney will not do that the others did. Ultimate spider man is toned down kids show and so far it is being held back. I actually like the show more than most, but it is definitely meant for children more than the others

@punyparker: you pretty much say it all

so spiderman is not primarily for kids, he is for everyone?

Pretty much. However, I would say Spider-Man, in most cases, is aimed more towards adults due to some of the more mature themes and tragic stories.

Lol I remember before AMS cane out the director was all, "its a darker take" haha I'm still trying to see the supposed grittiness.

@ultrastarkiller:

Why is that a problem? If you want gritty go watch a Batman film, spiderman is meant to be lighter. Just because its lighter doesn't mean its "childlike".

And @deadpool48 Why did you think Spiderman was more childlike that other comic book characters?

People DONT understand that.......they also ignore the fact that Avengers was light as hell,and it's IN NO SITUATION concidered "childish" ....

@bezza: I think you miss understood my post lol I was joking how Webb said AMS was a darker take and its funny cause its obviously not dark.

@ultrastarkiller:

Ok, !

More like lighthearted(It's stories are mature and edgy but it's feeling is optimistic like Superman), but Spidey's a immature idea and looks like a little kids birthday wrestler. So maybe half and half?

Spider-Man is a kid at heart so therefore his demographic will naturally reflect that, he sells more toys and is loved by young people more than any other superhero out there, Spidey like it or not is always going to be the child pandered superhero of Marvel.

It all depends.

Spider-man is not just for kids, however Marvel is targeting the character to a younger demographic

@mrnoital: oh, I remember this

Spidey's general audience is catered for kids though, the edgy stuff that teenagers like is the Avengers or Daredevil.

The Amazing spider-man book is rated "T for teen" so it is clearly catered for a teenage audience, however kids and adults can also enjoy the book. But other forms of media like he ultimate spider-man TV show is targeted towards a younger demographic

Spidey cartoons are aimed at kids but the comics are aimed at adults.

Spiderman is an all ages superhero.

Spider Man the new animated series was made for teenagers and was aired on MTV. So not totally true.

@deadpool48: You can have a character or series appeal to both kids and Adults, not just one or the other.

The Spectacular Spider-man was a perfect cartoon that could appeal to all age groups.

And you don't need to be a kid to like Spider-Man or keep liking him.

Take myself; I got into Spider-Man as a kid (watching the 90's cartoon rather than reading the comic first and loved it) and I'm a fan of the character the Black Cat. Now I suppose the original argument could have been made, I was just a young hormonal teen into a good looking woman in leather with big breasts. They'd probably be right too :)

But as iv grown older I still like the character and enjoy reading about her and I'm not a teen anymore either so that argument is no longer valid. It's not science I'm just a fan of the character that's it and liked her relationship with Spider-Man giving him the opposite problem as opposed to the usual.

The point is people have there own reasons for enjoying a comic/series etc and don't need to be pigeon holed.

@heatblaze123: You're right, I forgot about that show, really liked it, infact I may rewatch it now, thanks for reminding me of it!

You're welcome, mate!

Spiderman comics were never aimed at adults, sure for everyone but they held an optimistic sense of family friendly context, if you want Spidey for adults, just read the Kaine series or Deadpool. Generally Spider-Man is just a childish iconic property and all adult contextes are ready pg 13, seriously compare Spider-Man to Wolverine or Deadpool and you will understand that Spider-Man is just too kid friendly to be a true adult superhero series like Batman was.

Adults shouldn't have to read other comic properties because the current Spider-Man run is aimed at 4 year olds, mate. JMS run and The Spectacular Spider-Man show on the other hand were written well enough to be enjoyed by both younger and mature audiences.

No Marvel comic now os aimed at 4 year olds. Do you even know what you're saying.

Obvious sarcasm was clearly not obvious enough for you. Do you even know how to spell?

Yes, the superhero whose entire story is built upon guilt and death is really just for the kids.

By your own admission on another thread, of only having read around 300 issues of Spider-Man post OMD, you prove over and over how much you really don't know about the history of ASM and many other Spidey titles over the years. FACT: Peter Parker is a mature 28 year old man and Spider-Man is a true adult super-hero.

You obviously like the Ultimate kiddies cartoon version that came much later than the original comic book run, so perhaps you should pick up copies of "Marvel Adventures : Spider-Man" or "Spidey."

It's an interesting fact that when one goes through the letters page of vol 1 ASM, especially the 60's & 70's that a lot of the correspondence is from college students and adults alike. Marvel were publishing stories that resonated with a wider demographic, unlike the tripe aimed at 12 year olds today.