Leaked 2011 Sony/Marvel agreement reveals rules about Spider-Man’s race, sexuality, and sex life

It’s important to remember that Spider-Man, no matter how much we wish it weren’t the case, is a fictional character. There is no “real” Spider-Man, so it’s bogus to say that Spider-Man necessarily has to be anything, other than some kind of spider man, I guess. But a legal licensing agreement between entertainment giants Sony Pictures and Marvel, released during the leak of the former, shows that the beloved superhero absolutely cannot be certain things, including black or gay. These mandatory and forbidden traits are spelled out individually:

a. Mandatory Spider-Man Character Traits. Spider-Man (whether Peter Parker or an alternative Spider-Man character) must always strictly conform to the following “Mandatory Character Traits”:

• Male
• Does not torture*
• Does not kill unless in defense of self or others*
• Does not use foul language beyond PG-13
• Does not smoke tobacco*
• Does not sell/distribute illegal drugs*
• Does not abuse alcohol*
• Does not have sex before the age of 16, does not have sex with anyone below the age of 16
• Not a homosexual (unless Marvel has portrayed that alter ego as a homosexual)

Items with a * are permitted while Spider-Man is wearing the black/symbiote suit.

Marvel can enjoin a Picture if it does not conform to the foregoing Mandatory Character Traits. For any other failure to conform to Character Integrity or other requirements, Marvel’s sole remedy is damages.

b. Peter Parker Character Traits. Depiction of Peter Parker or his Spider-Man alter ego must conform to the following character traits:

• His full name is Peter Benjamin Parker.
• He is Caucasian and heterosexual.
• His parents become absent from his life during his childhood.
• From the time his parents become absent he is raised by Aunt May and Uncle Ben in New York City
• He gains his powers while attending either middle school or college.
• He gains his powers from being bitten by a spider
• He designs his first red and blue costume.
• The black costume is a symbiote and is not designed by him
• He is raised in a middle class household in Queens, New York
• He attends or attended high school in Queens, New York, and he attends or attended college in New York City, New York.