Fellowship Previews: Spider-Man To Get A Sidekick?

Marvel gave Fox News the exclusive that the "Alpha" that was teased a couple of weeks ago will be in fact a sidekick for Spider-Man. Alpha's real name is Andy Macguire (cute huh, think about it) and will make his first appearance in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #692.

In this story, we find that Peter Parker's days as photographer for the Daily Bugle are behind him and he's now a scientist at a research firm. Andy is part of a student field trip that visits Parker's lab. He's in the wrong place (or perhaps the right place) at the wrong time when Parker's invention malfunctions and zaps him with great power. Parker - haunted by the way he got his own super abilities and how his failure to use them led to the murder of his beloved Uncle Ben so many years ago - feels an even greater responsibility to help young Andy. He feels he must help him discover his powers and teach him how to use them responsibly.

So, the team of Spider-Man and Alpha is born. Spidey has his own "Robin."

"Part of it is that Spider-Man is grown up," said Axel Alonso, editor-in-chief of Marvel Entertainment. "He's older, more seasoned, but young at heart. He's still a young man, but he's been around. It's interesting because it flips the paradigm. Teen hero Spider-Man is now responsible for this teen hero sidekick. He's responsible because one of his inventions caused this kid to get his powers. He's directly responsible for the responsibility this kid now has with his new powers. He feels he has a responsibility to make sure this kid walks the right path, which won't prove easy."

"If you put Spider-Man and Batman in the same situation, you're going to have way more fun with Spider-Man," said “Amazing Spider-Man” writer Dan Slott. "With Batman, he never really screws up the way Spider-Man does; he always seems to make the right decision. But with Spider-Man, he always screws up. He's us as a superhero. Batman is a paragon of what we'd like to be, but in reality, we're more like Spider-Man. He makes all the mistakes we make."

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