Across over six decades of his existence in comic books, Spider-Man has racked up a high number of appearances. Plenty of these instances are regular showings in the books of characters with which Spider-Man is associated. Just as frequently, the Web-Head is used as a guest star, with writers utilizing his popularity to boost sales of obscure comics, sell various products, or showcase him as a recognizable character.
From mainline Marvel titles to unofficial cameos, Spider-Man became an icon. He can be found throughout comic history and in video games, movies, television shows, and even advertisements. Spider-Man is well known for his sense of humor, so many of these guest appearances are quite funny, intentionally or otherwise.
10 Marvel and DC Heroes Took Over New New York
The Simpsons/Futurama Crossover Crisis II








When the world of Springfield collided with New New York, the comic versions of The Simpsons and Futurama met in two different two-issue crossovers in 2002 and 2005. In the second instance, the comic saw New New York flooded with various fictional characters, including several Marvel and DC heroes. These iconic superheroes were partially obscured in shadow, with Spider-Man explaining that it was for “Copyright protection!”
Even when only part of him is visible, Spider-Man’s recognizable upside-down figure hanging from a web is enough to make the joke land for readers. His typical irreverence towards surrounding events also shines through in the brief period he is partially depicted on the panel. Even Bart Simpson was confused about why the heroes were obscured, and Spider-Man lightens the mood.
9 Phineas and Ferb Saved the City of Danville With Spider-Man
Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel


Spider-Man has continually fought against crime bosses and supervillains like Kingpin and Chameleon who want revenge, power, or control of the city.
After Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s latest “-inator” inadvertently drained the powers from Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and Spider-Man, the Marvel heroes were forced to work with the cast of Phineas and Ferb to save the day. The Marvel characters were depicted in a somewhat silly light, seeing as they were part of a lighthearted cartoon. Thankfully, Spider-Man’s personality shone through despite the change in creative teams and universes.
Spider-Man slotted in well with the Phineas and Ferb characters as a jokey, lighthearted character himself. To underscore his feeling at home in their universe, Spider-Man even replaced the boys’ sister, Candace, in the special’s shortened intro. Spider-Man also delivered a hilarious meta-joke, telling Candace that the heroes were not allowed to accept her unsolicited fan-fiction, much like a professional comic book writer would say.

Phineas and Ferb
TV-G
Comedy
Action
Short
Musical
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Phineas and Ferb invent, scheme, and stay one step ahead of their bratty sister. Meanwhile, their pet platypus plots against evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz.
Release DateAugust 17, 2007
CastDan Povenmire , Jeff “Swampy” Marsh , Ashley Tisdale , Vincent Martella , Dee Bradley Baker , Caroline Rhea , Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Main GenreAnimation
Seasons6
StudioDisney Television Animation
CreatorDan Povenmire, Jeff “Swampy” Marsh
Main CharactersPhineas Flynn, Ferb Fletcher, Perry the Platypus, Dr. Heinz Doffenshmirtz, Candace Flynn
8Spider-Man Saved Peter Griffin and Cleveland Brown’s Life, but Only Once
Family Guy

A running joke in the irreverent animated sitcom Family Guy involves Spider-Man showing up to save a character from falling, upon which he will provide a safety net out of webbing and then proclaim, “Everybody gets one.” The initial appearance of the joke in a Season 2 episode, where Spider-Man saved Peter, proved to be so popular that it returned four seasons later, where he saved Cleveland, much to Peter’s indifference to Spider-Man’s “everybody gets one” policy.
Even in a parody, Spider-Man’s heroism shines through despite his insistence that he only saves each person once. While the latter part may not be particularly in character for the Spider-Man of the comics, the Family Guy writing team shows that Spider-Man also appeals to them with his straightforward heroism, even if his voice actor changes in between appearances.

Family Guy
TV-MA
Animation
Comedy
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In a wacky Rhode Island town, a dysfunctional family strives to cope with everyday life as they are thrown from one crazy scenario to another.
Release DateJanuary 31, 1999
CastSeth MacFarlane , Alex Borstein , Mila Kunis , Seth Green
Main GenreAnimation
Seasons23
CreatorSeth MacFarlane, David Zuckerman
Production CompanyFuzzy Door Productions, Fox Television Animation
Number of Episodes420+
7Invincible and Spider-Man Teamed Up to Take Down Doctor Octopus
Spider-Man Meets Invincible


With Season 2 of Prime Video’s Invincible right around the corner, there are many secrets TV fans don’t know about the all-powerful Viltrumites.
Angstrom Levy sent Invincible hurtling through various dimensions, and He found himself meeting Marvel’s Spider-Man. The two heroes teamed up to defeat Doctor Octopus, then met the other Avengers and some of Spider-Man’s supporting cast. It was a fairly amicable partnership between Spider-Man and Invincible, who worked off each other rather well, with a similar sense of humor and world views.
Working sufficiently as an introduction to both characters—in case the reader is unfamiliar with Invincible or Spider-Man—the one-shot issue spent significant time recapping the two’s lives. With two quip-happy characters sharing the same comic, this issue of Marvel’s Team-Up had a ton of meta humor, including an exchange where Invincible was decidedly unimpressed with the creativity of the name “Spider-Man.”

Invincible
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6Spider-Man Used Fruit Pies to Bring Down Villains
Hostess Fruit Pies Advertisements








Issue(s)
Year
Writer
Artist
Various
1975-1982
Various
Various
In the 1970s and 1980s, Hostess partnered with Marvel to advertise their fruit pies, resulting in many one-page advertisements for the snack, wherein a hero would defeat a villain with the power of a delicious dessert. The fruit pies were depicted as so irresistible that the bad guys, superpowered or not, would have no choice but to surrender. A notably uncommon non-violent outcome for a superhero comic, likely to help the ads be more family-friendly.
Often, these comics used more obscure villains for Spider-Man to fight, increasing the almost surreal tone. The advertisements played their absurd situations straight, which arguably enhanced the silliness and cheesy humor of the ordeal. As usual for Spider-Man, the character is flexible enough to fit into extremely kid-friendly scenarios as part of his cross-generational appeal.
5Spider-Man Saved She-Hulk’s Disembodied Head
The Sensational She-Hulk


Spider-Man has beaten both villains and superheroes. Learn more about the good guys he defeated in the video!
When She-Hulk gained another self-dedicated series in 1989 with The Sensational She-Hulk, the character took on a satirical tone and broke the fourth wall. Following that meta direction, the third issue of The Sensational She-Hulk had her outright state on the cover that Spider-Man’s appearance was because she needed “an obligatory guest star!” True to her word, Spider-Man played a significant role in this issue, helping She-Hulk fight her headless clone.
In typical She-Hulk fashion, the story was very zany, which fit well with a character like Spider-Man, who has seen a lot of strange things and still managed to bounce off of it with good humor. To cap off the madcap energy, at one point in the issue, She-Hulk’s disembodied head told an underwhelming joke directly to the reader, which earned her a pie in the face.
4Peter Parker Had to Be Saved by Squirrel Girl
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl

Ryan North and Erica Henderson’s (and later Derek Charm’s) creative endeavor, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, showcased several corners of the Marvel universe through an irreverent, lighthearted lens. In the story “Pop Quiz,” Squirrel Girl’s best friend, Nancy Whitehead, finds herself kidnapped and held hostage alongside Peter Parker, who had been separately split into himself and Spider-Man. When Nancy comes close to figuring out Peter’s secret identity, Peter has to awkwardly pretend not to know what she is talking about.
From the story’s first page, which gave Spider-Man’s history a goofy recap, the silly energy of the issue pervades the entire plot. At one point, Peter even mistook Nancy as Squirrel Girl’s secret identity, leading to a humorous misunderstanding. This kind of goofiness fits well with Spider-Man, who can be equally quippy and awkward.
3 Spider-Man Bumbled Around While Slapstick Saved the Day
The Awesome Slapstick


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When Steve Harmon gains powers resembling those of a cartoon character, he becomes the energetic Slapstick. Debuting in 1992 with a zany four issues, Slapstick was yet another character who provided an irreverent take on the Marvel universe. When fighting The Overkiller, a Punisher-like character who vowed revenge on mutants after one of the X-Men’s battles interrupted a game show he was watching, Slapstick was joined by Spider-Man, who happened to be at the same mall as the former two.
Spider-Man’s appearance in this issue saw him treated like a fool. He only managed to web up The Overkiller after Slapstick defeated him, and at one point, Spider-Man tumbled through a crowd into a clearance pile of his own books. Ultimately, this depiction of Spider-Man was a departure from his usual appearances in his own comics, which enhanced the humor of the situation.
2Goofball Spider-Man Disliked Working With Howard the Duck
Howard the Duck

Following the success of the 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy film, which reintroduced Howard the Duck in its post-credits scene, Howard received a new ongoing comic at Marvel. As Howard attempted to solve various problems using his detective skills, he encountered several goofy aspects of the Marvel Universe. One running gag featured Howard’s strained relationship with Spider-Man, who would often ignore the duck’s texts or become distracted by using Bing to ask for duck facts.
Spider-Man’s appearances throughout this series often comedically portray him as a fool or an overly dramatic angst machine. Upon being unable to save Howard from being abducted by aliens, this version of Spider-Man knelt down and cried while remembering Uncle Ben. A take on Spider-Man filtered through Howard the Duck‘s world, this Peter Parker proves to be hilariously incompetent and endearingly entertaining.

Howard the Duck (2023)
WriterJason Loo, Chip Zdarsky, Daniel Kibblesmith and Merritt Kopas
PencilerWill Robson, Joe Quinones, Derek Charm and Annie Wu
InkerWill Robson, Joe Quinones, Derek Charm and Annie Wu
Publisher(s)Marvel
Main CharactersHoward the Duck
1 Spider-Man Saved the City From a Mind-Controlled Powdered Toast Man
The Amazing Spider-Man vs. Powdered Toast Man








A crossover that, according to its own cover, “no one demanded,” future Spider-Man writer Dan Slott penned this issue that set up a fight between Spider-Man and The Ren & Stimpy Show‘s superhero, Powdered Toast Man. Filling in for a mind-controlled Powdered Toast Man, Spider-Man served Ren and Stimpy breakfast, then went to fight the bread-headed hero.
One amusing sequence showed Spider-Man thinking of all of his loved ones, starting with his Aunt May and ending with a man whose phone number is one digit off from his, to which Spidey noted that he’s usually able to get out of traps by the time he thinks of his wife. This issue captured many aspects of Spider-Man’s character, such as his quips, his desire to not let down his loved ones, his rivalry with the Venom symbiote, and his toyetic appeal to children, all of which were invoked or lampooned in this crossover.