EARTH-1983
Type: Alternate Earth
Environment: Earth-like
Usual means of access: Presumably vibrational
attunement
Dominant Life Form: Humanity
Significant Inhabitants: Firestar (Angelica Jones), Iceman (Robert "Bobby" Drake), Ms. Lion, Norma Osborn, Spider-Man (Peter Parker); most likely Hulk, Tony Stark (see comments)
Significant Locations: New York City
Visitors: Morlun of Earth-001
First Appearance: Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends#1 (December, 1981)
History:
(Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends#1)- Norman
Osborn, having reverted back into the Green Goblin during his leaving
of the sanitarium, decided to dump his goblin formula into the city
reservoir thus creating a city full of goblins (despite his looks only
being a costume, he was under the impression that he was a real
goblin), all under his control. Heading back to the science lab at
E.S.U., where he stashed the last remaining vial of formula, Osborn
encountered two problems: One, the formula wasn't in the safe where he
had placed it; Two, Spider-Man and his friends were all ready on
campus. Figuring that his niece Norma would know if anyone, he set out
to find her.
Around this time, Norma was at a costume party with Peter Parker (as well as Angelica Jones and Bobby Drake). While showing some attraction to Peter, Norma snuck out with Bobby to walk around campus. Despite her being dressed up as the Inhuman Medusa, the Green Goblin still recognized her and snatched her away. Taking her to an abandoned OsCorp building, the Green Goblin tried to frighten the information out of her. She broke down and told him where the last (rather large) stash of the formula was hidden. Before the Green Goblin could use her as a guinea pig, the Spider Friends rescued her. She did not witness the battle between them and the Green Goblin, nor did she see the Goblin's transformation back into her uncle Norman Osborn.
She was later seen hanging around with Peter and his friends at his aunt's boarding house, relating her tale to the understanding May Parker. She was largely oblivious to the jokes Peter and Angelica were telling about their alter egos.
(Amazing Spider-Man III#7 (fb) - BTS) - After becoming his reality's Spider-Totem, young teen Peter Parker began fighting crime as Spider-Man. At an unrevealed point in time, he roomed together with the mutants Bobby Drake and Angelica Jones. Their apartment doubled as their base, outfitted with computer banks and other high tech equipment (see comments).
(Amazing Spider-Man III#7 (fb) - BTS) - Out on his quest to devour all the Spider-Totems in the multiverse, Morlun of Earth-001 was guided to Earth-1983 by the Master Weaver. Arriving in New York City, the villain used his enhanced senses to track down Peter Parker's apartment. However, he didn't encounter Spider-Man there, instead facing his friends Iceman and Firestar. The young mutants proved no match for Morlun, who savagely murdered them and then waited around for Spider-Man to arrive.
(Amazing
Spider-Man III#7) - As soon as Spider-Man returned to the apartment,
Morlun grabbed the youth, who had no words for the atrocities he'd just
witnessed. Morlun commented that this was a world of particular
naiveté, calling it gentler and kinder than most, which explained why
Spider-Man lacked the appropriate language to describe what had
happened to his friends. Morlun then consumed Spider-Man's essence,
finding it one of the sweetest he'd ever tasted, almost like a piece of
candy. After draining the life out of Peter Parker, Morlun had the
Master Weaver teleport him to the next Spider-Totem, ordering him
to locate a morsel that's a little more filling this time. As Morlun
vanished, the Spider-Friends' tiny pet dog Ms. Lion was left amongst
the smoldering ruins and broken bodies.
(Amazing Spider-Man III#7 - BTS) - The death of Spider-Man and his
Earth-1983 friends was witnessed by Billy Braddock, the Spider-UK
of Earth-833, who used Otherworld's omniversal monitoring equipment to
keep track of Morlun and the other Inheritors. Shocked by the murder
and brutality, Braddock decided to stop them.
Comments: Created by Dan Slott (writer), Giuseppe Camuncoli (pencils) and Cam Smith (inks).
This alternate earth was, of course, based on and
named after the 80s cartoon Spider-Man
and his Amazing Friends that ran for three seasons between 1981
and 1983. In the cartoon, Tony Stark was the one who funded the
Spider-Friends advanced equipment. Also noteworthy is the poster of the
Hulk, which suggests he might exist in one form or another as well on
Earth-1983.
Why don't the Core Continuum Designation for the two cartoon realities seen in Amazing Spider-Man III#7 and Amazing Spider-Man III#9 match those listed in the Handbooks? Asked on twitter, Dan Slott replied "Unless mentioned in actual stories, designations in Wiki entries & handbooks don't count." We, naturally, beg to differ on that last, though of course, any information is subject to retcons. Amazing Spider-Man III#12 suggests the possibility (but not likelihood) that we say an alternate reality version of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, in an official FAQ that notes "There are a lot of universes out there. So maybe there's a version of the Amazing Friends who are still alive. I wouldn't bank on it, though."
Profile by Norvo.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Earth-1983 has some connections to
images: (without ads)
Amazing Spider-Man III#7, p14, pan4 (main image)
Appearances:
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends#1
(December 1981) - Dennis Marks (plot) Tom DeFalco (script), Dan Spiegle
(pencils), Vinnie Colletta (inks), Bob Sharen (colors), Jim Novak
(letters), Tom DeFalco (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man III#7 (December, 2014) - Dan Slott (writer),
Giuseppe Camuncoli (pencils), Cam Smith (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
First Posted: 03/25/2015
Last updated: 08/09/2022
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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