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Though he predates the '70's/'80s punk rock phenomenon by over a decade (debuting exactly 60 years ago in 1962!) Spider-Man has an odd history with punk music, with American genre pioneers The Ramones even covering Spidey's famous '60s cartoon theme song.
Nowadays, the legacy of Spider-Man and punk music falls on the more than capable shoulders of the aptly nicknamed Spider-Punk - the punk rock inspired Spider-Man of Earth-138 (itself a numerical reference to the Misfits song We Are 138, which was in turn inspired by George Lucas' early sci-fi movie THX1138).
But rather than Peter Parker, Spider-Punk of Earth-138 is Hobie Brown, known to fans of the core Marvel Universe as the original Prowler and current wearer of the Hornet armor which he helped design.
Spider-Punk #1 is about to launch the eponymous hero's first solo title courtesy of writer Cody Ziglar, part of the current 'Beyond Board' group of Amazing Spider-Man writers, and artists Justin Mason and Jim Charalampidis.
And true to the traditions of punk music, Spider-Punk is bringing a whole band of heroes along as he deals with the aftermath of overthrowing the sitting US President of Earth-138, none other than Spidey's long time arch-enemy across multiple realities, Norman Osborn.
Along with a brand new set of high-energy unlettered pages from Mason and Charalimpidis that channel the feeling of a fast-paced mosh pit, we've got some insights from writer Cody Ziglar to share about how Spider-Punk taps into the political legacy of punk music, who makes up the so-called Spider-Band - and maybe most importantly, Ziglar's recommendations for the perfect Spider-Punk soundtrack.
Newsarama: Cody, punk rock and political activism have always gone hand-in-hand, and Spider-Punk takes that to the extreme in overthrowing his reality's US President Norman Osborn. How does that concept of punk and politics intermingling inform this story, especially in our modern political climate?
Cody Ziglar: You’re absolutely right. Art and politics, especially shit like punk, are so intertwined that they’re inseparable. Hobie’s journey is very much him trying to grapple with dismantling an institution as opposed to just the figurehead. Hobie & the Spider-Band are full of “piss and vinegar” because, well, they should be! They’ve been dealt a shit-hand by society and they’re doing their best to make things better and I think it’s obvious the parallels to, well, most political systems.
Nrama: On that note, punk music is usually played by a whole band, and Spider-Punk has a team of allies lined up for this story. Who's on board, and what can you tell us about how they relate to the Marvel characters we know? What's the challenge that brings them together?
Ziglar: Oh man, honestly putting together the Spider-Band with Justin Mason has been one of the absolute highlights of breaking this story! You’re right, you've got to have a strong team if you want to have a strong band.
I don’t want to reveal every member cause I want readers to have the fun of the surprise, but the initial member list includes Hobie Brown, the Spider-Punk (duh); Karl Morningdew AKA Captain Anarchy; and Riri Williams aka Riot Heart. This is a road story so members come and go but those are the initial three.
I was given basically complete freedom to pick and choose and remix any characters that I wanted so that’s exactly what I did. There’s the foundational character stuff that’s pretty universal across the board but with a li'l splash of punky energy and humor.
Nrama: In this reality, Hobie Brown (better known to mainstream Marvel fans as the original Prowler) is Spider-Man. How does he differ from Peter Parker as a hero, and specifically as Spidey?
Ziglar: Well the big difference is that Hobie grew up Black in a Brooklyn that basically became a toxic dump. He and his community have had to fight for scraps from the jump. And I think a life like that meant that Hobie had to grow up quicker than Pete, but there’s still that throughline with all Spider-Folk; they’re willing to do the hard thing even if it comes at great personal cost. And they’ll do it with a smile/humor.
Hobie or Peter or Miles or Gwen or Cindy or whoever wears the mask has a voice in the back of their head they can’t ignore that tells them they have to do the right thing. That’s what ties them all together. That’s why they do this.
Nrama: You've been co-writing Amazing Spider-Man as part of the 'Beyond Board,' with Ben Reilly in the lead. How has writing multiple different incarnations of Spider-Man informed the way you see him as a character?
Ziglar: Kind of to the point I just made, Ben also was dealt a pretty hard hand. But the fun thing about him is he’s this cool nature vs. nurture reflection of Peter. They both have the need to do good - that’s in their DNA - but where Peter might go left, Ben goes right. Ben feels like he has to fight a li'l bit more than Peter might because his whole thing is wanting to prove he's earned this Spider-Man Mantle. It's a fun character to dive into for sure.
Nrama: Finally, given this is Spider-Punk, I've gotta ask what kind of soundtrack you'd give this title. Any recommendations fans should be putting on their playlists to get in the right vibe?
Ziglar: Funny you ask this! As soon as I got the call from [editor Danny Khazem] saying I got the job, I immediately created a playlist with a bunch of shit I thought fit the mood of the book, along with stuff I loved growing up or even just got into.
Long story short, I actually ended up with a 7 song playlist for each issue and we’re going to be dropping the official Spider-Punk Playlist alongside each issue every month and I am stoked! But I definitely recommend a lot of Bad Brains, The Ramones, Dead Kennedys, Slant, and Jeff Rosenstock.
Spider-Punk swings his way into his own five-issue limited series on April 6.
Our guide to all the new Spider-Man comics planned for 2022 and beyond means you don't need Spider-Sense to see what else is coming up for the Wall-Crawler and his pals
