Spider-Ham

Superherobox|

caption=Variant cover art for Amazing Spider-Man #528, featuring Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham. Art by Mike Wieringo and Karl Kesel.
comic_color=background:#8080ff
character_name=Spider-Ham
real_name=Peter Benjamin Porker
publisher=Marvel Comics
debut="Marvel Tails" #1
creators=Tom DeFalco
Mark Armstrong
alliance_color=background:#ffc0c0
status=Inactive
alliances= Capt. Americat, the Daily Beagle staff
previous_alliances=
aliases=
relatives=May Porker (aunt)
powers=-Ability to cling to surfaces
-Enhanced strength, durability, agility
-Precognitive ability known as "Spider-Sense"|

Spider-Ham (Peter Benjamin Porker) is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic funny animal parody of Marvel Comics' popular Spider-Man character, created by Tom DeFalco and Mark Armstrong.

He first appeared in the one-shot humor comic book "Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham" #1, which was then followed by an ongoing bi-monthly series, "Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham". The series lasted 17 issues, all of which were published under Marvel's Star Comics imprint.

Fictional character biography

Peter Porker was born a spider (simply named Peter). Residing 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 (May 1987)

After this startling series of events, Peter (who adopted the surname "Porker", that of his benefactor May Porker, who after the accident reverted mentally to a state in which she believed she was Peter's loving aunt) dedicated himself and his new-found abilities to fighting injustice and the occasional animal parody of established Marvel Comics villains.

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 ("Marvel Tails" #1, "If He Should Punch Me").

Several months later, Spider-Ham encountered one of his only re-occurring menaces in the form of Ducktor Doom ("Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham" #1, "The Mysterious Island of Ducktor 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 ("Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham" #6, "Salad Daze").

Other notable menaces Porker would face along the way include The Bull-Frog (a parody of the Marvel villain Man-Bull), the Buzzard (an opossum take on the Spider-Man adversary The Vulture), Hogzilla (a swine counterpart to the more popular Gojira, or as he's known in English, Godzilla), and The King-Pig (seemingly the swine equivalent of Marvel's mob-boss The Kingpin). The series also included back up strips featuring such characters as Deerdevil (Daredevil), Goose Rider (Ghost Rider) and the Fantastic Fur (the Fantastic Four). Some of these back-ups were contradictory, presenting different anthropomorphic versions of characters in different stories, such as two Namor counterparts: the Sub-Merchandiser (a dog) and the Sub-Marsupial (possibly a wombat). (Note: the Asinine Torch (a donkey) that appeared in a story with the Sub-Marsupial and the Fantastic Fur's Simian Torch are not two variants of the Fantastic Four's Human Torch; since he was depicted as elderly in the 1980s, and referred to as an "old sparring partner" of the Sub-Marsupial's, he was obviously a counterpart to the golden age Human Torch.)

Post-cancellation

After the cancellation of his solo series, "Marvel Tales", a monthly reprint series which specialized in reprints of Spider-Man's past adventures began carrying Porker as a back-up feature in 1987, beginning with issue #201 (cover dated July 1987).

These adventures appeared sporadically, in issues 201-212, 214-219, 223-230,233,236,237 239, 240, and 247

Amongst other characters, the "Marvel Tales" stories introduced the heavily-weaponed vigilante shark Punfisher (a parody of the Punisher).

Another notable appearance of the character was in the Marvel humor anthology title, "What The--?!" In issue #3 of that title (cover dated October 1988), Porker met with Raven the Hunter (a parody of Spider-Man's nemesis Kraven 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--?!"Even Marvel's once-popular "2099" line of titles wasn't safe, as seen in the 26th issue of "What The--?!" (cover dated Fall 1993), which featured "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 "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 featured a sixteen-page "Spider-Girl" story, in which May Parker (Peter Parker's daughter) 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. 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. [http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=53776]

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 Wizard Spider-Man Special featured a Twisted Toyfare Theater comic "Four Webbings and a Funeral". In it, Spider-Ham is one of the entrees being served at Spider-Man's funeral.

Other characters

The Spider-Ham comic parodied a variety of other Marvel characters.

{| class="wikitable"
-! 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 15.88 / Piguel O'Hara
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
-
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
-
Flash Tomcat
Flash Thompson
Cat
"Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham" #15
-
Liz Alleycat
Liz Allen
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
???
"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 (Golden Age)
Marsupial (possibly a wombat)
"Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham" #9
-
Asinine Torch
Human Torch (Golden Age)
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
-
The Buzzard
The 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
-
The King-Pig
The Kingpin
Pig
"Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham" #12
-
Bee-Yonder
The Beyonder
Bee
"Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham" #12
-
Hogzilla
Godzilla
Pig/Lizard
"Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham" #8
-
Mechano-Hogzilla
Mechagodzilla
Pig
"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
-
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
-
Croak
Cloak
Frog
"Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham" #16
-
Badger
Dagger
Badger
"Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham" #16
-
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
-
Kang Aroo
Kang the Conqueror
Kangaroo
"Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham" #15
-
Ultrog
Ultron
Gorilla
"Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham" #15
-
Quackula
Dracula
Duck
"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 Gorrila of the Fantastic Fur
Invisible Girl
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
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
-
Quack-Silver 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 Zemo
Zebra
"Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham" #16
-
Paste Pot Peep
Paste Pot Pete
Sheep
"Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham" #16
-
Mad Stinker
Mad Thinker
Skunk
"Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham" #16
-
Mandaringtail
Mandarin
Ringtail
"Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham" #16
-
Grey Gopher
Grey Gargoyle
Gopher
"Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham" #14
-
Punfisher / Frank Carple
Punisher
Shark
"Marvel Tales" #212
-
Pork Grind
Venom/Symbiote
Pig/Symbiote
"What The--?!" #20
-
Shock-Cur
Shocker
Mongoose
"Marvel Tales" #201
-
Flash Tombenstain Bear
Tombstone/Flash Thompson
Mongoose
"Marvel Tales" #227
-
Captain Zooniverse
Captain Universe
Cosmic force/Pig (Spider-Ham host body)
"Marvel Tales" # 236
-
Anya the Ant-Girl
Araña
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 Eggs and 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