Round 16: The Spider Vs. The Clown

Real Name: Peter Parker

Speaking in the 1980s, Stan Lee said the idea for the series sprang out of the apparent increased teenage interest in the new Marvel comic books, and that he wanted to create a character that could cater to them. One influence Lee has described for the character's name is the non-superpowered pulp magazine crimefighter The Spider. In the Spider-Man movie DVD extras, Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters and Marvels and elsewhere, Lee said he was inspired by seeing a fly climb up a wall. When discussing this in documentaries, he often comments, "I've told this story so many times, it may actually be true." Originally, Lee assigned Jack Kirby to illustrate the story, but after seeing sample pages, decided Kirby's style was "too 'larger than life'" for what he wanted. Lee turned to artist Steve Ditko, who found the concept particularly appealing and developed a visual motif Lee found satisfactory.

Kirby stated in a 1982 interview in Will Eisner's Spirit Magazine that Lee had minimal involvement in the creation of the character:

"Spider-Man was discussed between Joe [Simon] and myself. It was the last thing Joe and I had discussed. We had a strip called the 'The Silver Spider'. The Silver Spider was going into a magazine called Black Magic. Black Magic folded with Crestwood [Simon & Kirby's 1950s comics company] and we were left with the script. I believe I said this could become a thing called Spider-Man, see, a superhero character. I had a lot of faith in the superhero character that they could be brought back ... and I said Spider-Man would be a fine character to start with. But Joe had already moved on. So the idea was already there when I talked to Stan"




Real Name: Unknown

The Joker is a fictional DC Comics supervillain, widely considered to be Batman's main archenemy. Created by Batman co-creator/writer Bill Finger and artist Jerry Robinson (while on staff under Batman co-creator/artist Bob Kane), the Joker first appeared in Batman #1 (1940) (Bob Kane denied Robinson's claims, stating that he [Kane] created him with Finger).

Modeled after Conrad Veidt’s character in the 1928 film The Man Who Laughs (which was based on a novel by Victor Hugo), the Joker is a prank-obsessed criminal with a clown-like appearance, who likes to kill people with fatal hilarity. Writers have alternatively portrayed him as a goofy trickster-thief or as a homicidal psychopath with a warped sense of humor. Recent writers of the Batman comic book series have preferred the latter, and the Joker has been responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, such as the murder of Jason Todd, the successor to the mantle of Robin after Dick Grayson, the injury/paralysis of Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. Batgirl/Oracle, and the death of Sarah Essen, Jim Gordon's wife.

The Joker has been featured throughout the Batman saga, and has been an enemy of the Caped Crusader in most adaptations in other media. Interpretations of the Joker that have made him well-known to the general public include Cesar Romero's in the 1960s Batman television series and Jack Nicholson's in the 1989 feature film.

The Joker (as played by Nicholson) ranks number 45 in the American Film Institute's list of the top 50 film villains of all time.