<P> Spider - Man's plight was to be misunderstood and persecuted by the very public that he swore to protect . In the first issue of The Amazing Spider - Man, J. Jonah Jameson, publisher of the Daily Bugle, launches an editorial campaign against the "Spider - Man menace ." The resulting negative publicity exacerbates popular suspicions about the mysterious Spider - Man and makes it impossible for him to earn any more money by performing . Eventually, the bad press leads the authorities to brand him an outlaw . Ironically, Peter finally lands a job as a photographer for Jameson's Daily Bugle . </P> <P> The mid-1960s stories reflected the political tensions of the time, as early 1960s Marvel stories had often dealt with the Cold War and Communism . As Wright observes, </P> <P> From his high - school beginnings to his entry into college life, Spider - Man remained the superhero most relevant to the world of young people . Fittingly, then, his comic book also contained some of the earliest references to the politics of young people . In 1968, in the wake of actual militant student demonstrations at Columbia University, Peter Parker finds himself in the midst of similar unrest at his Empire State University...Peter has to reconcile his natural sympathy for the students with his assumed obligation to combat lawlessness as Spider - Man . As a law - upholding liberal, he finds himself caught between militant leftism and angry conservatives . </P> <P> A bite from a radioactive spider triggers mutations in Peter Parker's body, granting him superpowers . In the original Lee - Ditko stories, Spider - Man has the ability to cling to walls, superhuman strength, a sixth sense ("spider - sense") that alerts him to danger, perfect balance and equilibrium, as well as superhuman speed and agility . The character was originally conceived by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko as intellectually gifted, but later writers have depicted his intellect at genius level . Academically brilliant, Parker has expertise in the fields of applied science, chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, mathematics, and mechanics . With his talents, he sews his own costume to conceal his identity, and he constructs many devices that complement his powers, most notably mechanical web - shooters . This mechanism ejects an advanced adhesive, releasing web - fluid in a variety of configurations, including a single rope - like strand to swing from, a net to snare or bind enemies, and a simple glob to foul machinery or blind an opponent . He can also weave the web material into simple forms like a shield, a spherical protection or hemispherical barrier, a club, or a hang - glider wing . Other equipment include a light beacon that can either be used as a flashlight or project a "Spider - Signal" design, a specially modified camera that can take pictures automatically, and spider - tracers, which are spider - shaped adhesive homing beacons keyed to his own spider - sense . </P>

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