Spider-Man almost used a gun instead of his webshooters – and Peter Parker’s life would have been completely different.

Marvel’s Spider-Man is known for his webshooters, but he nearly carried another piece of equipment in their place: a gun. Peter Parker is a relatively non-violent character when it comes to the pantheon of Marvel superheroes, and like the others, he has sworn never to take a life. But a very lethal-looking weapon was nearly carried by Peter Parker in an era when legendary artist Jack Kirby almost created Spider-Man.

Spider-Man was a breath of fresh air in the 60s when superheroes were seemingly created every week. Unlike virtually every other character his age, Peter Parker was the featured superhero and not a sidekick or assistant. He wore a full-length costume that covered his entire body, had terrible interpersonal problems that made him inimitably relatable to the average comic book reader of the era, and he had no classic heroic elements to his suit (no large boots or cape, for example). But if artist Jack Kirby had his way, Spider-Man’s classic webshooters would never have seen the light of day, because they would have been replaced with a web-firing gun.

While Marvel fans still argue today over the contributions by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the task of creating Spider-Man was initially given to Jack Kirby, the artist behind the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Captain America and dozens of other Marvel characters. Ditko thought of the powers and the infamous Spider-Signal, but it was Kirby who gave Spider-Man his would-be signature weapon: a handheld web-gun. “The costume is what is important” claimed Steve Ditko in a 2002 essay. “I’m uncertain about the abstract chest design. The closest thing to it is the one on Ant-Man. Kirby’s Spider-Man had a web gun, never seen in use.” Jack Kirby also made multiple additions to the Spider-Man costume that made Peter Parker resemble his more famous creation Captain America, including military-style boots and an open cowl.

Spider-Man’s Gun Never Made It To Print

Jack Kirby favored a smaller spider-emblem on the character’s chest, but Steve Ditko decided to draw a complicated web pattern on the superhero’s upper body, arms and boots instead. This made the character considerably more complex to draw, but Spider-Man’s classic costume has since become one of the most iconic superhero outfits in the genre, hardly changing in over 60 years. As for the gun, little information remains: Jack Kirby rarely discussed Spider-Man, reclusive Steve Ditko rarely granted interviews, and Stan Lee rarely attributed credit to anyone other than himself.

Spider-Man was a result of the work of Lee, Kirby and Ditko; precisely what artist contributed what idea will never truly be known. As of 2023, all three men have died and their secrets have died with them. Spider-Man, for his part, remains dedicated to his classic webshooters and has never carried a gun into battle.