Spider-Ham
Spider-Ham is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is an anthropomorphic funny animal parody version of Spider-Man, and was created by editor Larry Hama, Tom DeFalco and Mark Armstrong.
The character first appeared in Marvel Age #6 on an ad in the back cover. He also made a more full appearance in Marvel Age #7, here he had 2 pages detailing the character. Both of these books predated his full first appearance. His first full appearance was in the one-shot humor comic book Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham, which was then followed by an ongoing bi-monthly series, Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham, under Marvel's Star Comics imprint, with both titles edited by Hama. The character existed on Earth-8311, which was a universe populated by anthropomorphic funny animal parody versions of the Marvel superheroes and supervillains.
Spider-Ham made his cinematic debut in , voiced by John Mulaney.
Publication history
Spider-Ham was first featured as star of the 1983 humorous one-shot Marvel Tails, with a backup cast of other anthropomorphic funny animal parody versions of popular Marvel superheroes, such as Captain AmeriCat, Hulk-Bunny and Goose Rider.Two years later, a solo series, titled Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham debuted under Marvel's Star Comics imprint. The series, published bi-monthly, lasted seventeen issues before its cancellation in 1987. With the cancellation of Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham, the character became a backup feature in Marvel Tales, a monthly reprint series showcasing Spider-Man's past adventures. Beginning with issue #201, these new Spider-Ham stories appeared in issues #201–212, 214–219, 223–230, 233, 236, 237, 239, 240, and 247 before ceasing altogether.
In issue #3 of What The--?!, Porker meets with Raven the Hunter in a story that satirized the popular "Kraven's Last Hunt" storyline which had been featured a year earlier in Marvel's Spider-Man titles. Spider-Ham also makes appearances in issues #18, 20, 22, and 24 of What The--?! The 26th issue of What The--?! features "Spider-Ham 15.88", a humorous take-off on Peter Parker's future counterpart, Miguel O'Hara a.k.a. Spider-Man 2099. The "15.88" is not seen as a year, but rather a humorous take on the price of a ham.
Spider-Ham has also appeared on the cover of Wha...Huh? #1, and was referred to as a fictional character in the Earth-616 Marvel Universe, in Generation X #52.
Spider-Man Family #1 features a sixteen-page Spider-Girl story, in which May Parker watches a DVD showing a small portion of a fictional Spider-Ham animated series, discovering that it was created by one of Spider-Man's enemies, Jack O'Lantern. Here, Spider-Ham appears to mostly be a parody of Batman. Also in the issue, there is a partial reprint of Marvel Tails #1.
Spider-Ham was selected by fans and retailers to be the focus of the final variant cover by Mike Wieringo to the crossover, Amazing Spider-Man #528.
In January 2007, J. Michael Straczynski authored the Ultimate Civil War Spider-Ham one-shot, featuring Spider-Ham's attempt to find his missing "thought balloons" against a Civil War parody. The story does not fit in with previously established Spider-Ham continuity.
Tom Defalco returned to Spider-Ham's world in 2009, in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man Family #4–5. He introduces Swiney-Girl, the daughter of Spider-Ham and counterpart of Defalco's other creation Spider-Girl. Once again, the story strays away from the established, albeit loose, continuity of the original Spider-Ham stories by altering the character's origin and supporting characters, most notably in establishing Peter Porker as a natural-born pig bitten by a radioactive spider and altering his love interest from a water buffalo to a crane.
He fights alongside the X-Babies in issue #4 of their four-issue miniseries from 2009–2010.
To mark the anniversary of Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham #1, Marvel released the Spider-Ham 25th Anniversary Special in July 2010, with Tom Defalco writing both Spider-Ham and Swiney-Girl stories. These stories feature most of Spider-Ham's original cast and origin, but incorporates the Mary Crane Watsow character from Amazing Spider-Man Family rather than her original counterpart.
Fictional character biography
Peter Porker was born a spider. He resided in the basement lab of May Porker, a slightly goofy animal scientist who had created "the world's first atomic powered hairdryer", hoping that "the introduction of nuclear fusion into America's beauty salons" would "revolutionize the hair care industry". After dousing her head with water and activating the dryer, May Porker accidentally irradiated herself, and in a fit of delusion, bit Peter, who then found himself transformed into an anthropomorphic swine much like May Porker herself. Running from the Porker homestead disoriented, Peter soon came to realize that he still retained a spider's abilities:"This is astounding! Am I a spider with the limitations of a pig? Or a pig with the proportionate strength and agility of a spider? I've become something greater than either spider or pig... I've become a Spider-Ham!" – Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #15
After this startling series of events, Peter dedicated himself and his new-found abilities to fighting injustice and the occasional animal parody of established Marvel Comics villains. May Porker's scientific genius was transferred to Peter, giving him the know-how to devise his webspinner gauntlets to replace his lost natural ability.
Misadventures
Porker, in his spider-themed alter-ego's first adventure, teamed up with Captain Americat, as they attempted to foil the nefarious plot of The Marauder, in a series of events that led to the creation of the Hulk-Bunny.Several months later, Spider-Ham encountered his main nemesis and one of his only recurring enemies in the form of Ducktor Doom, a duck parody of Doctor Doom. Spider-Ham would meet again with Doom when Porker would foil the would-be world conqueror's plot to create an army of living super vegetables.
Other notable menaces Porker would face along the way include the Bull-Frog, the Buzzard, Hogzilla, and the King-Pig.
Three characters, not parallels to anybody in the Spider-Man series, also begin in #1: J. Jeremiah Jackal, Jr., Bunson Bunny and Upton Adam Stray, all junior trainees at the Daily Beagle. They acquire super-powers in #15, encouraging Spider-Ham in his already made decision to abandon his super-hero career, but they fumble their first mission, forcing Peter Porker to resume his alter-ego as Spider-Ham. Further misadventures of the Beagle Brigadeers were presented within the back-up stories in Marvel Tales.
The series also included back-up stories featuring such characters as Deerdevil, Goose Rider and the Fantastic Fur.
Marvel Zombies
When Spider-Ham accidentally travels to the Marvel Zombies universe, he is suddenly zombified by a group of zombies, namely Captain America, Hulk, and Wolverine. It appears that he is directly shot in the head by an energy bullet by Earth 616's Ultron, effectively killing him but, in a zombie state, Spider-Ham turned into Ham-ibal Lecter.Spider-Verse
During the Spider-Verse storyline which featured Spider-Men from various alternate realities, Spider-Ham became a member of the Spider-Army fighting against the Inheritors. He played a crucial role in the final confrontation when he switches places with Benjy Parker – one of the three sacrifices needed for the Inheritors to destroy the Spider-Totems – allowing Ben Parker to get Benjy to safety.''Secret Wars''
During the Secret Wars event when all universes were destroyed and their remains formed a single planet called Battleworld, Spider-Ham found himself the only pig in the domain of the Battleworld called Arachnia and ended up as the captive of its Mayor, Norman Osborn. He was rescued by Spider-Gwen, and the two eventually discovered and teamed up with other spider-powered people, neither of whom remembered their previous encounter during the original Spider-Verse.''Web Warriors''
Following the conclusion of Secret Wars, the team of six Spiders that formed during the event feature in a new ongoing series called Web Warriors, a name that was coined by the Peter Parker of the Ultimate Spider-Man TV series during the original Spider-Verse.Other characters
Earth-8311 features anthropomorphic funny animal parody versions of a variety of other Marvel characters including some superheroes and supervillains.| Character | Real Marvel Character | Animal | First Appearance |
| Spider-Ham/Peter Porker | Spider-Man | Spider/Pig | Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1 |
| Spider-Ham 2099/Piguel O'Malley | Spider-Man 2099 | Spider/Pig | What The--?! #26 |
| May Porker | Aunt May | Pig | Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1 |
| Mary Jane Waterbuffalo | Mary Jane Watson | Water Buffalo | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #15 |
| Mary Crane Watsow | Mary Jane Watson | Crane | Amazing Spider-Man Family #4 |
| J. Jonah Jackal/Black Jackal | J. Jonah Jameson | Jackal | Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1 |
| Batty Brant | Betty Brant | Bat | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #15 |
| Betty Branteater | Betty Brant | Anteater | Marvel Tales #230 |
| Flash Tomcat | Flash Thompson | Cat | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #15 |
| Liz Alleycat | Liz Allan | Cat | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #15 |
| Awful Flight | Alpha Flight | Various | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #6 |
| Summersquash/Walrus Lamebrainski of Awful Flight | Sasquatch | Walrus | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #6 |
| Snow-Youse of Awful Flight | Snowbird | Unknown | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #6 |
| Hockeypuck of Awful Flight | Puck | Beaver | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #6 |
| Aroma of Awful Flight | Aurora | Skunk | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #6 |
| Deerdevil / Batt Burdock | Daredevil | Deer | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #7 |
| Kay-Mar the Sub-Merchandizer | Namor The Sub-Mariner | Dog | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #10 |
| Sub-Marsupial | Namor The Sub-Mariner | Unspecified marsupial | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #9 |
| Asinine Torch | Human Torch | Donkey | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #9 |
| Goose Rider | Ghost Rider | Goose | Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1 |
| Ducktor Doom | Doctor Doom | Duck | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1 |
| Buzzard | Vulture | Opossum | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #2 |
| Bull-Frog | Man-Bull | Frog | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #2 |
| Doctor Octopussy Cat | Doctor Octopus | Cat | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #17 |
| Hulk-Bunny / Dr. Bruce Bunny | Hulk | Rabbit | Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1 |
| Captain Americat / Steve Mouser | Captain America | Cat | Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1 |
| King-Pig | Kingpin | Pig | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #12 |
| Bee-Yonder | Beyonder | Bee | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #12 |
| Hogzilla | Godzilla | Pig/Dinosaur | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #8 |
| Mechano-Hogzilla | Mechagodzilla | Pig/Dinosaur Robot | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #8 |
| Hobgobbler | Hobgoblin | Turkey | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #15 |
| Paw | Klaw | Bear | Marvel Tales #207 |
| Black Catfish | Black Cat | Catfish | Marvel Tales #207 |
| Raven the Hunter | Kraven the Hunter | Raven | What The--?! #3 |
| Crayfin the Bunter | Kraven the Hunter | Crayfish | Spider-Ham 25th Anniversary Special #1 |
| Doc Clamson | Doc Samson | Clam | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #16 |
| Croctor Strange | Doctor Strange | Crocodile | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #4 |
| Magsquito | Magneto | Mosquito | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #2 |
| X-Bugs | X-Men | Various insects | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #2 |
| Iron Mouse | Iron Man | Mouse | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #3 |
| Nagneto | Magneto | Horse | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #3 |
| Thrr, Dog of Thunder | Thor | Dog | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #5 |
| Silver Squirrel | Silver Surfer | Squirrel | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #8 |
| The Watchdog | Uatu the Watcher | Dog | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #8 |
| The Whoatcher | Uatu the Watcher | Owl | Marvel Tales #237 |
| Croak and Badger | Cloak and Dagger | Frog and Badger | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #16 |
| J. Hamilton Hampster | Man-Thing | Hamster | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #10 |
| Ant Ant | Ant-Man | Ant | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #11 |
| Sandmanatee | Sandman | Manatee | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #11 |
| Galactypus | Galactus | Platypus | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #12 |
| Nick Furry, Agent of S.H.E.E.P. | Nick Fury | Bear | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #13 |
| Dodo Dugan | Dum Dum Dugan | Dodo | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #13 |
| Kangaroo the Conqueror | Kang the Conqueror | Kangaroo | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #15 |
| Ultrog | Ultron | Gorilla | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #15 |
| Quackula | Dracula | Vampire Duck | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #13 |
| Chickenstein's Monster | Frankenstein's Monster | None. Composed of different vegetables. | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #13 |
| Living Moooooooomy | N'Kantu, the Living Mummy | Cattle Mummy | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #13 |
| Pinhead of Crime | Kingpin | Polar Bear | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #13 |
| The Fantastic Fur | The Fantastic Four | Various | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1 |
| Mooster Fantastic of the Fantastic Fur | Mister Fantastic | Moose | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1 |
| Invisible Gorilla of the Fantastic Fur | Invisible Woman | Gorilla | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1 |
| Simian Torch of the Fantastic Fur | Human Torch | Gorilla | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1 |
| Thang / Ben Grizzly of the Fantastic Fur | Thing | Grizzly Bear | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1 |
| The Scavengers | The Avengers | Various | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #15 |
| Scarlet Pooch of the Scavengers | Scarlet Witch | Dog | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #15 |
| Quacksilver of the Scavengers | Quicksilver | Duck | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #15 |
| Squawkeye of the Scavengers | Hawkeye | Chicken | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #15 |
| Black Panda of the Scavengers | Black Panther | Panda | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #15 |
| Pigeon of the Scavengers | Vision | Pigeon | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #15 |
| Baron Zebro | Baron Helmut Zemo | Zebra | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #16 |
| Paste Pot Peep | Paste Pot Pete, a.k.a. the Trapster | Sheep | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #16 |
| Mad Stinker | Mad Thinker | Skunk | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #16 |
| Ham-Droid | Awesome Android | Pig | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #16 |
| Mandaringtail | Mandarin | Ring-Tailed Lemur | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #16 |
| Doo Wop Doo | Fin Fang Foom | Dragon | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #16 |
| Grey Gopher | Grey Gargoyle | Gopher | Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #14 |
| Punfisher / Frank Carple | Punisher | Fish | Marvel Tales #212 |
| Pork Grind | Venom/Symbiote | Pig/Symbiote | What The--?! #20 |
| Shock-Cur | Shocker | Dog | Marvel Tales #201 |
| Flash "Tombenstain" Bear | Tombstone/Flash Thompson | Bear | Marvel Tales #227 |
| Captain Zooniverse | Captain Universe | Cosmic force/Pig | Marvel Tales # 236 |
| Anya the Ant-Girl | Anya Corazon | Ant | Spider-Man Family #1 |
| Hamneto | Magneto | Pig | Ultimate Civil War Spider-Ham #1 |
| Ultimate Captain Hamerica | Captain America | Pig | Ultimate Civil War Spider-Ham #1 |
| Green Ham | Hulk | Pig | Ultimate Civil War Spider-Ham #1 |
| Deviled Ham | Daredevil | Pig | Ultimate Civil War Spider-Ham #1 |
| Hambit | Gambit | Pig | Ultimate Civil War Spider-Ham #1 |
| Iron Ham | Iron Man | Pig | Ultimate Civil War Spider-Ham #1 |
| Wolverham | Wolverine | Pig | Ultimate Civil War Spider-Ham #1 |
| The Fantastic Ham | The Fantastic Four | Pigs | Ultimate Civil War Spider-Ham #1 |
| Ant-Ham | Ant-Man | Pig | Ultimate Civil War Spider-Ham #1 |
| Swiney-Girl | Spider-Girl of Earth-982 | Spider/Pig | Amazing Spider-Man Family #4 |
| Green Gobbler | Green Goblin | Turkey | Amazing Spider-Man Family #4 |
| Eelectro | Electro | Electric Eel | Spider-Ham 25th Anniversary Special #1 |
| Mysteriape | Mysterio | Gorilla | Spider-Ham 25th Anniversary Special #1 |
| Doc Jaw | Lockjaw | Dog | Lockjaw #3 |
| Miles Morhames/Ultimate Spider-Ham | Miles Morales | Spider/Pig | Ultimate FF #4 |
| Guin Stacy/Spider-Guin | Gwen Stacy | Spider/Penguin | Spider-Gwen Vol. 2 Annual #1 |
In other media
Television
- Spider-Ham is alluded to in the cartoon series Ultimate Spider-Man. In "Flight of the Iron Spider", Iron Man shows Spider-Man a machine that could scatter any physical object's particles across parallel universes. Spider-Man briefly envisions himself being turned into Spider-Ham as a result. In "Run Pig Run", Loki gives Spider-Man an enchanted hot dog that turns him into Spider-Ham on the day of Asgardsreia, a holiday where Asgardians go on a day long hunt, as payback for stopping one of his earlier schemes. With the help of Thor, Agent Coulson, Nick Fury, and his teammates, Spider-Ham evades the Executioner and his Asgardian hunters until sundown when he turns back to normal.
- * The actual Spider-Ham appears in the two "Spider-Verse" four-parters, voiced by Benjamin Diskin. This version of Peter Porker was a pig who got his powers from a spider that fell into his Aunt May's vitamin pancake batter and transferred said vitamins and powers to him, turning him into Spider-Ham. He used his powers for good and even joined his world's Avengers, but J. Jonah Jackal turned the public against him and forced him to quit. In the episode "Spider-Verse Pt. 2", he encounters Spider-Man while relaxing on his farm. With encouragement from Spider-Man, he decides to become Spider-Ham once again and help him fight the Green Goblin. Following the battle, Iron Mouse offers him a spot on the Avengers again, which he accepts. In the episode "Spider-Verse Pt. 4", Spider-Ham appears along Spider-Man 2099, Spider-Girl, Spider-Man Noir, Spyder-Knight, and Miles Morales to help Spider-Man defeat the Spider-Goblin and Electro. In the episode "Return to the Spider-Verse Pt. 1", Spider-Ham ends up in Peter Parker's living room alongside Spyder-Knight and Miles Morales' mother Rio due to the effects of the shattered Siege Perilous. In the episode "Return to the Spider-Verse" Pt. 4, he is shown as a captive of Wolf Spider who sought to drain the life forces of all of his multiversal counterparts. Spider-Ham is saved by the primary Spider-Man while Wolf Spider was killed by all of the heroic Spider-Men's combined energy.
Film
- Spider-Ham appears in the film , voiced by John Mulaney. He arrives in Miles Morales' universe along with Spider-Man Noir and Peni Parker and teams up with them to get back to their home dimensions. This version follows similar funny animal cartoon behavior as seen in cartoons from the golden age of American animation, complete with giant mallet and falling anvil gags as the character bears a resemblance to the Looney Tunes character Porky Pig. His origin remains the same and he seems to be aware of the fact that talking animals are not common in other universes. He uses his unique skill set to take down Scorpion alongside Spider-Man Noir and Peni Parker. Before returning home to his own dimension, he leaves his cartoon mallet with Miles as a keepsake.
- * Spider-Ham appears in the short Caught in a Ham, which is included in the digital and Blu-ray release of the film, with Mulaney reprising his role. In the short, Spider-Ham takes on Doctor Crawdaddy in his typical, cartoonish fashion. After defeating Crawdaddy, the portal that sucked up the other Spider-heroes appears and messes with him before whisking him away; leading into his introduction in the movie.
- * Mulaney also expressed interest in a potential film starring Spider-Ham; he described its plot as a Watergate-like story along the lines of The Post or All the President's Men while focusing on the character's career as a reporter.
Video games
- In ', Spider-Man mentions Peter Porker in a conversation.
- Spider-Ham appears in ', voiced by former Activision Associate Producer Kevin Umbricht who was not credited for the role. In the intro, Madame Web shows the images of several alternate universes to which Spider-Man then notices the image of Spider-Ham and says "Is that a...cartoon pig?". In a scene during the credits, Spider-Ham answers Madame Web's call to save the universe too late asking "So, what'd I miss?".
- One of Spider-Man's win quotes in ' is "Man, I bet the Amazing Spider-Ham could have beat you". Spider-Ham also appears as a support card in the "Heroes vs. Heralds" mode of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
- Spider-Ham was available as a purchasable hero in Marvel Super Hero Squad Online on March 15, 2014, to celebrate the game's anniversary.
- Spider-Ham has a cameo appearance in '. He is seen locked up in a stasis tank in the Alchemax building in Chapter 15. He also shows up in Peter Parker's drawings in the credits, in a mock fight against Spider-Man 2099.
- Spider-Ham appears in Marvel Heroes. He can be purchased as a pet.
- Spider-Ham and other associated spider characters from the Spider-Ham comics are playable in Spider-Man Unlimited.
- Spider-Ham appears in Marvel Avengers Academy during the Spider-Man Event, voiced by .
- Spider-Ham appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2. He can be unlocked by completing a free roam quest for him that involves rescuing his friends, though they are implied to be regular animals.
- Spider-Ham appears as a playable character in Marvel Puzzle Quest.
Miscellaneous
- The Wizard Spider-Man Special featured a Twisted ToyFare Theatre parody comic "Four Webbings and a Funeral". In it, Spider-Ham is one of the entrees being served at Spider-Man's funeral.
Reception