The beloved and classic Marvel superhero, Spiderman, has been increasingly popular since his first appearance in the 1960s. The vibrant red and blue of his costume covered in a spider web pattern, along with the long-legged spider emblem, is an instant indication of the hero. Completely enshrined from head to toe, Spiderman is a classic character that is cherished by both children and adults alike because of his courage and penchant for justice but also his incredible intelligence and aptitude for science.
When an image of the entire hero is desired, he is often depicted crawling up a building or hanging from a thread of web, upside down. These designs emphasize the superhuman abilities of the hero, Peter Parker, once bitten by a radioactive spider. The phrase, taken from the first published Spiderman comic, “With great power comes great responsibility” can be included with any design as it summarizes the mantra of the hero throughout the series.
Images of the hero are usually taken from the comic books using bright blue and red but darker tones can be used as well. The darker colors, along with more detailed shadowing, create a more ominous version of Spiderman more akin to the movie franchises than the original comics. Greyscale is often used as well, drawing focus to the trials that the hero is subjected to.
A black Spiderman with a white spider emblem on the chest is an opposing image of the hero. The Black Suit was worn for a period of time until it began to overtake Parker. It was destroyed when it was removed and so the image highlights a specific plotline of the comic series. The new costume was a revelation to fans and many chose to commemorate the updated version of Spiderman.
Often, the spider emblem, sewn on the chest of Spiderman’s costume, is used as a simpler design. A web pattern can be placed in the foreground or the traditional red and blue. The spider is a tribute to Spiderman’s origins and the series as a whole. Tear or scratch marks are often used as well, revealing the costume of Spiderman beneath the torn skin. These realistic designs are generally larger and display an identification with the hero.
Spider-Man since his debut in the 1960’s has been one of Marvel Comics’ most popular and lead superheroes within the franchise. With so many years of this masked, web-slinging hero fighting off the bad guys, Spider-Man and Peter Parker alike have accumulated their fair share of enemies and supervillains. Tattoos of Spider-Man’s adversaries are great ideas to either add to your Spider-Man piece or start a whole new scene filled with mischievous doings.
One of Spider-Man’s most recognized enemies is the Green Goblin. The Green Goblin wasn’t always a foe of Spider-Man however, but a good friend and father-like figure who Peter Parker thought highly of. Norman Osborn, the amoral industrialist head of the company Oscorp, is Peter Parker’s best friend, Harry Osborn’s father. Norman was exposed to an experimental formula that was to enhance not only his physical abilities and strength, but his mental abilities to make himself smarter than he already was.
The experiment went drastically wrong and altered Norman so much that he was driven to the point of insanity, never to return. With his new superhuman strength and cynical mindset, he then made it his life goal to destroy Spider-Man and dominate as much as he possibly could. The Green Goblin in both the comic book and the movie adaptation, has the iconic weapon and transportation of choice, the ‘Goblin Glider’. This device is a sort of hoverboard that flies through the air which the Green Goblin controls by standing on top of it, surfing to its destinations in a matter of seconds.
This extremely high-tech hovercraft not only gets the Green Goblin to and fro, it has a number of gadgets attached to cause harm to his enemies, specifically Spider-Man himself. Another weapon of choice for the Green Goblin is the ‘pumpkin bombs’ he has attached to his utility belt. These small spherical-shaped grenades explode on impact when thrown at the target. Whether you prefer the classic comic book Green Goblin, with his green reptile-like skin and pointed ears, topped with a purple hood and a purple tunic, or the movie version of the Green Goblin decked out in an iron-like green suit with yellow eyes, the glider and pumpkin bombs are a must-have when illustrating a picture of this deadly character.
Doctor Octopus is another well-recognized villain in the Spider-Man Marvel universe. Like Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin, Dr. Otto Octavius, was a scientist that Peter Parker was fond of. That was until a freak accident in Dr. Octavius’s lab. Dr. Octavius designed a harness that straps to the body, protruding from this harness are four long mechanical arms that look like Octopus tentacles. These appendages, two on each side of the harness, were used to not only lift extraordinarily heavy objects but to act as extra arms to use as a multi-tasking device.
Colleagues of Dr. Otto Octavius would often laugh and make jokes behind his back calling him ‘Dr. Octopus’. An extreme radiation leak while conducting experiments in his lab one day resulted in the fusion of the harness and Dr. Octavius’s body. Not only was this harness now part of Dr. Octavius’s body, he was able to control the appendages with his mind as if they were normal parts of his body. He went even more crazy and diabolical than ever before.
He then made it his life’s goal to destroy the city and form a clan of supervillains that were named the ‘sinister Six’ to take down anyone who stood in their way, including Spider-Man. Since Dr. Octopus has been one of Spider-Man’s most threatening villains from the get-go, a tattoo of Doc Oc and Spider-Man battling it out is a great eye-catching and action-packed tattoo concept. A Dr. Octopus tattoo would fit very nicely with the tentacles wrapping around your arms or calf.
Perhaps one of the darkest and most violent predators in the Marvel universe of all time is the supervillain ‘Carnage’. The story of Carnage is disturbing, to say the least. Born as Cletus Kasady, Kasady was brought up in an abusive home. At a young age, Kasady killed his grandmother by pushing her down a flight of stairs.
He then tried to murder his mother by throwing a hair dryer in the bathtub she was soaking in. Kasady killed his mother’s dog with a drill, then was almost beaten half to death by his mother. Kasady was now an orphan at a school for boys but due to his social behavior, he was bullied by other children and the adults and staff alike. It was here that Kasady really began his life of killing. He killed one of the disciplinary figures in the boy’s home and even killed a girl because she denied him of a date, pushing her in front of a speeding bus. After all was said and done, Kasady burnt down the orphanage he suffered in most of his childhood years.
Kasady was now a serial killer doing time for 11 counts of murder although he bragged to his cell mates he killed many more than that. Kasady just so happened to be stuck in a cell with one of Spider-Man’s foes, Eddie Brock also known as Venom. Eddie Brock was a host to an alien symbiotic parasite that takes over and controls its host. This parasite latches on giving the host superhuman abilities and powers. It completely takes over the host, possessing the body mind and soul.
As Venom escaped his jail cell and made a run for it, a piece of the alien symbiotic fungal was left behind and found its way into Kasady’s body. Granting him superhuman strength and abilities. Breaking out of the prison walls, Kasady went on a killing spree spreading fear and the word ‘Carnage’ written in blood throughout the city. Tattoos of the villain Carnage are usually depicted as the monster himself spreading over city buildings with a muck of fog illuminating his path of destruction. This tattoo is for sure a head-turner and should be done with black and crimson red ink.
Whether you want a tattoo of our masked hero himself, one of his adversaries, or even a battle scene of Spider-Man duking it out with one of his opponents, you can’t go wrong with art like this. Comic-style tattoos will never go out of fashion and is always a good conversation starter. With flashy, bright cartoony colors, a piece like this can fit almost anywhere on your body.