eBay Today: Spider-Man Toy History Posted by D_Martin on March 13, 2007 at 03:48 AM CST: Regarding Spider-Man and the black costume Chances are you know the origin of this costume, but if you haven’t ever read comic book or spoken to a fanboy about Spidey and desire going into Spider-Man 3 completely oblivious to the history of the costume, skip the next paragraph. This edition of eBay Today will be spoiler free soon, and we assure you no actually movie spoilers will be said here. We'll only discuss the comic. Warning! Comic Book "Spoiler" Paragraph While out fighting with the rest of the Marvel Universe's heroes on some distant planet, Spider-Man picked up the black costume. He assumed it was just a cool thing that was created in a costume-making machine (ah, the good old days of Marvel). This new costume not only looked cool, being all black and white, it actually did whatever Spidey wanted it to. It made it's own webs, and it could even change into civilian clothes whenever the need arose. Sadly for the old webhead, it was actually a symbiote and it was feeding off him, and trying to take control of him. After a couple of scuffles, Spidey finally defeated the costume and it left him… At least until it found a new host. It merged with Spidey's rival, Eddie Brock, and together they became Venom. Want to know what happens next? Buy some comics. It's a good story. End of Comic Book "Spoiler Paragraph In 1984 Mattel produced a line of action figures and accessories called Marvel Secret Wars. The line produced sixteen single carded figures, two figure multipacks, two play sets, and four vehicles. The line's gimmick was a character specific shield packed in with each figure that featured interchangeable lenticular images. Cool for kids, but not really all that practical the heroes themselves since the images often revealed their secret identities. Capitalizing on his new black costume, Mattel released a repainted Spider-man in the second wave. While the sculpt was identical in every way to the red and blue Spidey in series one, this new figure was moulded in black plastic and was decorated with the white eyes and large spider (missing the white spots on his hands). This is the only character to receive a second figure in the collection. The figure was available single carded as well as being a pack in a three-figure multipack (with Captain America and daredevil), and with the good guy version of the Star Dart Glider. Secret Wars Black Spider-Man (1984) MOC (B8) Marvel Secret Wars Star Dart MISB Black Spiderman Secret Wars 3pk Daredevil Spiderman Capt America AFA 60 NOTE: One reoccurring problem with the Marvel Secret Wars action figure line is paint rub. Most of the finer details were painted on very lightly, almost more like a stamp than actual spray ops, as such it is tricky to find any of these figures loose in mint condition. 003