Peter Parker is Jewish and we should talk about it

When it comes to superheroes, we don’t often think of religion as a significant aspect of their character. Heroes like Daredevil and Nightcrawler absolutely bleed Catholicism, and Moon Knight's Judaism impacts every part of his story. Kamala Khan is Muslim, and well, we all know what happened to Erik Lehnsherr during World War II. But these heroes are exceptions. Aside from the occasional passive Christmas moment in the comics and movies alike, most heroes aren’t overtly or explicitly religious.

That being said, almost every superhero—and especially Peter Parker—is Jewish.

And that’s because the men who created these heroes were Jewish. Superhero comics were a Jewish American invention, used as a way to relate their own experiences in the Jewish diaspora through spectacular adventures and large blond men punching Nazis. In this way, most of the heroes established in the golden age of comics are Jewish coded—because these men were attributing their own lives to these heroes but couldn’t confirm them as Jewish due to the antisemitism and cultural censorship of the time. That being said, Jewish values were baked into many of the heroes' entire methodology. Especially our man, Peter Parker.

Peter Parker’s Judaism is evident. He comes from Forest Hills, Queens, a historically Jewish neighborhood. His speech mannerisms and casual Yiddish use are also an indicator of at the very least someone who was raised by Jews. And, yes, it could be argued that his speech is that of any New Yorker and therefore bound to be influenced by the high Jewish population that lives there, so he might not be Jewish himself. However, you can’t divorce the core of Spider-Man from the Jewish culture. From his quippy dialogue, promoting the Jewish ideal of bickering and kvetching, to the actual tenant of Spider-Man, “With great power comes great responsibility.” This ideal exemplifies the virtue of Jewish guilt, calling one to take action for the betterment of their community.

Peter has never had a comic moment confirming his Judaism. But if you take the comic creator's words as fact, Peter Parker has actually been confirmed as Jewish. Ultimate Spider-Man writer, Brian Michael Bendis, is one of the writers guilty of peppering Peter’s speech with Yiddish words and allusions to Jewish holidays and, when asked about this on Tumblr in 2014, reported simply that “he’s Jewish [sic]”. When asked further if just his version of Peter is Jewish, he followed up with “every spider-man is Jewish [sic].” And that sentiment has held up. In 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, a montage showing Peter B. Parker getting married presents the audience with his foot crushing a glass—an explicitly Jewish tradition. This Spider-Man is Jewish. Every Spider-Man is Jewish.

Of the actors who have played Peter Parker in live-action films, Andrew Garfield, having a Jewish heritage himself, was the only one to communicate Peter’s Judaism through his performance. This is one of the reasons, I believe, that Andrew Garfield was the most successful in bringing Spider-Man to the big screen. His vocal inflections and large expressive gestures do an amazing job of invoking the comic book personality of Peter Parker. He told Time Out London, “Spider-Man is neurotic... Peter Parker is not a simple dude. He can't just switch off... He never feels like he's doing enough. And Peter suffers from self-doubt. He ums and ahs about his future because he's neurotic. He's Jewish. It's a defining feature.” Garfield clearly understood the assignment.

As for the future of Jewish Peter Parker in film, it remains to be seen. In a Wired interview from 2019, Tom Holland seemed surprised and confused by the question. ”I don’t think he is” he said, but it’s clear he’d never thought about it. He’d never even thought to interpret Spider-Man in this way. It doesn’t mean he can’t be convinced, just that we need to start pushing our Jewish Peter Parker agenda even harder. We can absolutely have on-screen Jewish Spider-Man in our lifetime—he’s already such a mensch.