Spider-Man in film in the context of "Marvel Studios"

Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962) in the Silver Age of Comic Books. Considered one of the most popular and commercially successful superheroes, he has been featured in comic books, television shows, films, video games, novels, and plays.

Spider-Man is the secret identity of Peter Benjamin Parker, who was raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben in Queens, New York City, after the death of his parents. Lee, Ditko, and later writers had the character deal with the struggles of adolescence and young adulthood. Readers identified with his self-doubt and loneliness. Unlike previous teen heroes, Spider-Man was not a sidekick nor did he have a mentor. He would be given many supporting characters, such as his Daily Bugle boss J. Jonah Jameson; friends like Harry Osborn and Flash Thompson; romantic interests like Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, and the Black Cat; and enemies such as Doctor Octopus, the Green Goblin, and Venom. In his origin story, Peter gets his superhuman spider-powers and abilities after he was bitten by a radioactive spider. These powers include superhuman strength, speed, agility, reflexes and durability; clinging to surfaces and ceilings; and detecting danger with his precognitive "spider-sense". He sews a spider-web patterned spandex costume that fully covers his body and builds wrist-mounted "web-shooter" devices that shoot artificial spider-webs of his own design, which he uses for both fighting and "web swinging" across the city. Peter initially used his powers for personal gain, but after his Uncle Ben was killed by a burglar that he could have stopped but did not, he learned that "with great power comes great responsibility", and began to use his powers to fight crime as Spider-Man.

Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., commonly referred to as Sony Pictures and abbreviated as SPE, is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and recorded videos) through multiple platforms. It was founded in December 18, 1987 as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc. from the spinoff of The Coca-Cola Company's Entertainment Business Sector and merger with Tri-Star Pictures, Inc., with Coca-Cola retaining a 49% stake in the resulting entity. The studio was wholly acquired by Sony in 1989 and renamed as SPE in 1991.

Based at the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City, California, as one of the "Big Five" major American film studios, it encompasses Sony's motion picture, television production and distribution units. Sony Pictures is a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA). Sony's film franchises include The Karate Kid, Ghostbusters, Jumanji, Men in Black, 28 Days Later, Spider-Man, and Sony's Spider-Man Universe.

Films generate income from several revenue streams, including theatrical exhibition, home video, television broadcast rights, and merchandising. However, theatrical box-office earnings are the primary metric for trade publications in assessing the success of a film, mostly because of the availability of the data compared to sales figures for home video and broadcast rights, but also because of historical practice. Included on the list are charts of the top box-office earners (ranked by both the nominal and real value of their revenue), a chart of high-grossing films by calendar year, a timeline showing the transition of the highest-grossing film record, and a chart of the highest-grossing film franchises and series. All charts are ranked by international theatrical box-office performance where possible, excluding income derived from home video, broadcasting rights, and merchandise.

Traditionally, war films, musicals, and historical dramas have been the most popular genres, but franchise films have been among the best performers of the 21st century. There is strong interest in the superhero genre, with eleven films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe featuring among the nominal top-earners. The most successful superhero film, Avengers: Endgame, is also the second-highest-grossing film on the nominal earnings chart, and there are four films in total based on the Avengers comic books charting in the top twenty. Other Marvel Comics adaptations have also had success with the Spider-Man and X-Men properties, while films based on Batman and Superman from DC Comics have generally performed well. Star Wars is also represented in the nominal earnings chart with five films, while the Jurassic Park franchise features prominently. Although the nominal earnings chart is dominated by films adapted from pre-existing properties and sequels, it is headed by Avatar, which is an original work. Animated family films have performed consistently well, with Disney films enjoying lucrative re-releases prior to the home-video era. Disney also enjoyed later success with films such as Frozen and its sequel, and The Lion King (along with its computer-animated remake), as well as its Pixar division, of which Inside Out 2, Incredibles 2, and Toy Story 3 and 4 have been the best performers. Beyond Disney and Pixar animation, China's Ne Zha 2 (the highest-grossing animated film), and the Despicable Me and Shrek series have met with the most success.

Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., commonly referred to as Sony Pictures and abbreviated as SPE, is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and recorded videos) through multiple platforms. It was founded on December 18, 1987 as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc. from the spinoff of The Coca-Cola Company's Entertainment Business Sector and merger with Tri-Star Pictures, Inc., with Coca-Cola retaining a 49% stake in the resulting entity. The studio was wholly acquired by Sony in 1989 and renamed as SPE in 1991.

Based at the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City, California, as one of the "Big Five" major American film studios, it encompasses Sony's motion picture, television production and distribution units. Sony Pictures is a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA). Sony's film franchises include The Karate Kid, Ghostbusters, Jumanji, Men in Black, 28 Days Later, Spider-Man, and Sony's Spider-Man Universe.

The Wizarding World (previously known as J. K. Rowling's Wizarding World) is a fantasy media franchise and shared fictional universe centred on the Harry Potter novel series by J. K. Rowling. A series of films have been in production since 2000, and in that time eleven films have been produced—eight are adaptations of the Harry Potter novels and three are part of the Fantastic Beasts series. The films are owned and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The series has collectively grossed over $9.6 billion at the global box office, making it the fourth-highest-grossing film franchise of all time (behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man and Star Wars).

David Heyman and his company Heyday Films have produced every film in the Wizarding World series. Chris Columbus and Mark Radcliffe served as producers on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, David Barron began producing the films with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in 2007 and ending with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in 2011, and Rowling produced the final two films in the Harry Potter series. Heyman, Rowling, Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram have produced all three films in the Fantastic Beasts series. The films are written and directed by several individuals and feature large, often ensemble, casts. Many of the actors, including Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, Gary Oldman, Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, and Dan Fogler star in numerous films. Additionally, Jude Law and Johnny Depp feature in two films each. Soundtrack albums have been released for each of the films. The franchise also includes a stage production (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), a digital publication, a video game label and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter–themed areas at several Universal Destinations & Experiences amusement parks around the world.

"With great power comes great responsibility" is a proverb popularized by Spider-Man in Marvel comics, films, and related media. Introduced by Stan Lee, it originally appeared as a closing narration in the 1962 Amazing Fantasy #15, and was later attributed to Uncle Ben as advice to the young Peter Parker. The idea—similar to the 1st century BC parable of the Sword of Damocles and the medieval principle of noblesse oblige—is that power cannot simply be enjoyed for its privileges alone but necessarily makes its holders morally responsible both for what they choose to do with it and for what they fail to do with it. After it was popularized by the Spider-Man franchise, similar formulations have been noticed in the work of earlier writers and orators. The formulation—usually in its Marvel Comics form—has been used by journalists, authors, and other writers, including the Supreme Court of the United States.