Spider-Man: India
Encyclopedia
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
originally published in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
by Gotham Entertainment Group
Gotham Entertainment Group
Gotham Entertainment Group LLC is a US based company established in 1997 to establish a leadership position in the Indian comic magazine and children's book market...
in 2004, retelling the story of Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
in an Indian setting. It ran for four issues, which were later also published in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 2005 and collected into a trade paperback
Trade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
(ISBN 0-7851-1640-0). The series was created by Sharad Devarajan
Sharad Devarajan
Sharad Devarajan is the co-founder, Chief Executive Officer and Publisher of Virgin Comics LLC and Virgin Animation Pvt. Ltd, a set of companies he co-founded with Sir Richard Branson and the Virgin Group, acclaimed author Deepak Chopra, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and entrepreneurs Gautam Chopra and...
, Suresh Seetharaman, and Jeevan J. Kang with Marvel Comics.
Parallels with western Spider-Man
Spider-Man's alter ego in the comic is named Pavitr Prabhakar, a phonetic distortion of Peter ParkerSpider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
. There are a number of other parallels with the original comic book characters:
- Meera Jain, analogous to Mary Jane WatsonMary Jane WatsonMary Jane Watson, often shortened to MJ, is a fictional supporting character appearing, originally, in Marvel comic books and, later, in multiple spin-offs and dramatizations of the Spider-Man titles as the best friend, love interest, and one-time wife of Peter Parker, the alter ego of Spider-Man...
- Auntie Maya, analogous to Aunt MayAunt MayMay Reilly Parker-Jameson, commonly known as Aunt May, is a supporting character in Marvel Comics' Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, she first appeared as May Parker in Amazing Fantasy #15...
- Uncle Bhim, analogous to Uncle Ben
- Nalin Oberoi, analogous to Norman Osborn, and transforms into a demon reminiscent of the Green GoblinGreen GoblinThe Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
- Hari Oberoi, analogous to Harry OsbornHarry OsbornHarry Osborn is a fictional character, a supporting character of Spider-Man in the . In addition to being Peter Parker's best friend, Harry was the second Green Goblin and is the son of Norman Osborn...
, did not appear, but was mentioned by Doc Ock - VenomVenom (comics)Eddie Brock is a fictional character created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. A comic book supervillain, Brock's earliest appearance is a cameo in Web of Spider-Man #18 before making his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #299 as Venom...
- Doctor OctopusDoctor OctopusDoctor Octopus is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics since 1963. A highly intelligent mad scientist, Doctor Octopus is one of Spider-Man's greatest foes...
- Flash ThompsonFlash ThompsonEugene "Flash" Thompson is a supporting character in Marvel Comics’s Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 ....
Plot summary
Pavitr Prabhakar, a simple Indian boy from a remote village, moves to MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
with his Aunt Maya and Uncle Bhim to study after getting half a scholarship. His parents died some years ago. Other students at his new school tease him and beat him for his studious nature and simple background. He knows his uncle Bhim is struggling to support him and his aunt Maya, and pay his school fees. Only Meera, a popular girl from his school, befriends him. Meanwhile, Nalin Oberoi, a local crime lord, uses an amulet to perform an ancient ritual, in which he is possessed by a demon committed to opening a gate for other demons to invade Earth. While being chased by bullies, Pavitr encounters an ancient yogi
Yogi
A Yogi is a practitioner of Yoga. The word is also used to refer to ascetic practitioners of meditation in a number of South Asian Religions including Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.-Etymology:...
who grants him the powers of a spider, in order to fight the evil that threatens the world. While discovering his powers, Pavitr refuses to help a woman being attacked by several men. He leaves the place, but comes back when he hears his uncle's cry. He learns that Bhim was stabbed when he tried to help the woman. Pavitr understands that with great power comes great responsibility, and swears to use his powers for the good of others.
Nalin Oberoi briefly becomes human again, transforms a mild-mannered doctor into a demon with four magical tentacles (the Indian version of Doctor Octopus), and sends him to kill Spider-Man, as instructed by the demon voices. Doc Ock fails, and Spider-Man makes his public debut as a hero. He is however labeled a threat by the newspapers.
Oberoi kidnaps Pavitr's aunt, taking her to a refinery outside Mumbai. There he betrays Doctor Octopus, blasting him into the ocean with a ray. Spider-Man arrives and fights Oberoi, who has also kidnapped Meera. He drops both Maya and Meera from the top of the refinery. Spider-Man dives for his aunt, but fails to rescue Meera, who is saved by Doctor Octopus. Pavitr reveals his identity to Meera and asks her to take his aunt to safety.
Oberoi gets rid of Doctor Octopus for good, and touches Spider-Man with the amulet. A Venom
Venom (comics)
Eddie Brock is a fictional character created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. A comic book supervillain, Brock's earliest appearance is a cameo in Web of Spider-Man #18 before making his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #299 as Venom...
-like creature emerges from the amulet tries to lure Spider-Man to the dark side. Pavitr remembers his uncle's saying about responsibity and rejects the evil. By doing so, the link between the demons and Oberoi is shattered, and he becomes human again. Spider-Man throws the amulet into the ocean, and Oberoi is sent to a mental institution.
Peace is restored to Mumbai eventually. Pavitr begins a romance with Meera, and is shown celebrating the festival Diwali
Diwali
Diwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...
with his aunt. The story ends with a quote from the Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...
, showing the Venom-demon still alive.
External links
- "Spider-Man, Swinging Through India". NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
. January 6, 2005 - Overdorf, Jason. "A MULTICULTURAL WEB". Newsweek International. July 25, 2004
- Sandhu, Sukhdev. "World Wide Web". New York Magazine May 21, 2005
- "Spider-Man gets Indian make-over". BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
. June 24, 2004