About (disambiguation)

Spidersonas are fan-created characters inspired by the Spider-Man franchise and character. The word is a portmanteau of "spider" and "persona." As the word implies, the majority of them are based on the creator themself, but spider-powered characters created out of whole cloth are just as common, as are alternate-universe versions of Peter Parker, Miles Morales, or other preexisting characters. For this reason, other terms used are Spider-Verse OCs, Spider-Man AUs, or simply Spiders. Spidersonas have been a concept for almost as long as Spider-Man himself has existed, with Marvel itself parodying the concept in a What If joke. But interest in the concept picked up considerably with the announcement of the 2018 animated movie Into the Spider-Verse--a film wherein multiple Spider-heroes accidentally enter the world of recently-empowered Miles Morales and must find a way back to their respective dimensions. The film's distinctive artstyle, as well as its closing declaration that "Anyone can wear the mask. You could wear the mask," inspired countless artists and writers online to design characters based on exactly that: versions of themselves who wore the mask.

Within the context of the fiction, spidersonas are characters who gain spider-like superpowers, usually but not always from the bite of an unusual spider, and use them for a variety of purposes that generally include vigilantism. Their backstories, adventures, settings, and connection to the greater multiverse are infinitely variable, and so trying to describe them as a whole is an exercise in futility.

Most spidersonas have a similar basic suite of superpowers, based on the popular understanding of Spider-Man's power set. This usually includes superhuman strength, reflexes, and agility, an ambiguously-clairvoyant "spider-sense" for detecting danger, and the ability to adhere to and scale walls. (The exact limits of each of these are up to the creators' decision.) But many spidersonas also possess one or more additional, "bonus" powers, similar to Miles Morales' additional powers of invisibility and bio-electric "venom strikes." These bonus powers may or may not be based on genuine spider physiology depending on the creator's choice. Though many spidersonas can produce and fire spider silk organically, most instead supplement their powers with wrist-mounted machines called web-shooters.

Though not necessarily spider-powered, symbiotes (and the humans they're bonded to) are generally considered to qualify as spidersonas due to Venom's placement within the Spider-Man franchise. However, they are also called symbiote-sonas and Venomsonas, among other colloquial names.