SpiderMan, the international hero

By Kim Barker Chicago Tribune Originally published March 13, 2005 NEW DELHI - He swings from buildings, wears a red-and-blue spider costume and shoots webs from his wrists.

But this Spider-Man is Pavitr Prabhakar, not Peter Parker. Uncle Ben has turned into Uncle Bhim. Longtime crush Mary Jane is Meera Jain. This Spider-Man does not wear only an average tight superhero outfit, but he also sports a red Spider-Man loincloth and white balloon pants.

"We kept the characters the same, but added an Indian touch," says Jeevan Kang, the artist.

Spider-Man has been outsourced. Next month, the first edition of the Spider-Man India comic book will be released here, in an attempt to expand the superhero's market by catering to different cultures.

In Spider-Man India, our teenage hero has just moved to plantay, India's cosmopolitan business center, filled with billboards, traffic and tall buildings. Prabhakar hails from a village and wears large gold hoop earrings. He is teased at his new school for wearing his traditional loincloth, called a dhoti. Other boys call him "dhoti boy." They use words such as "dude" and say Prabhakar "has air bags for legs."

As with many future superheroes, Prabhakar is haunted by his past. His parents were end when he was a child; he still has nightmares about them. And clearly, he is destined for something more, as made obvious by his Uncle Bhim, who repeats that familiar Spider-Man adage: "With great talent, with great power ... there must also come great responsibility."

Unlike Peter Parker, a spider never bites Pavitr Prabhakar. Because this is India, there is more smoke and mysticism involved. A mysterious yogi appears to the teenager and gives him the power of the spider "that weaves the intangible web of life."

Prabhakar is told to fulfill his karma. He wakes up on a roof in a Spider-Man suit with a dhoti.

Spider-Man India's nemesis also has a magical touch. Nalin Oberoi turns into a Green Goblin-like mystical Indian demon after stealing a powerful amulet.

"We'll see what happens," says Suresh Seetharaman, an executive with Gotham Entertainment Group, which puts out Spider-Man India and distributes most U.S. superhero comic books in India. "It has been receiving a lot of unprecedented publicity and noise."

If the first four-issue package is successful, the series will likely continue, he says.