Marvel's Spider-Man Dog Names

Names that could be related to the Marvel's Spider-Man movies are seen relatively frequently in popular culture. Ben, a Labrador Retriever in Ireland, made headlines due to his unconventional friendship with a wild dolphin named Duggie and Betty is the name of the nine-week-old ability dog that was recently hired to help students manage stress at the Northwood Primary School in England. Mary Jane, a name shared with Peter Parker’s love interest, is the name of a Pit Bull type dog that lives in luxury with several other animals, including dogs, cats, pigs, and even miniature horses, in the home of singer/songwriter Miley Cyrus. 

Peter, a Collie dog from London, was a hero born over two decades before Peter Parker was first brought to life in the Amazing Fantasy #15 comic book in 1962. Peter was born in 1941 and purchased by a Mrs. Audrey Stables, who quickly found that he was simply too active and unmanageable for her. The transfer to war service gave him a job suitable for his active and intelligent nature and he thrived as a search and rescue dog that was active in London from early in 1945 until after the end of World War II, searching for bodies and survivors in the shells of bombed buildings, often for hours at a time in rainy and difficult conditions. In one case, the victim Peter rescued was an African Grey parrot, and in another case, he was responsible for saving six people during a single attack. Peter was awarded the Dickin Medal, the animal equivalent to the Victoria Cross, in 1945, and presented to the King and Queen in 1946, where he receive a kiss on the nose from then Princess, Elizabeth II, the current Queen of England. 

A more recent example of a dog with a Spider-Man related name is a Briard dog with the name of Norman. Like Norman Osborn, later to become Green Goblin, Norman the Briard turns heads with his choice of transportation, as he is capable of independently riding both a scooter and a bicycle. He is, as of this writing, the first and only official Guinness World title holder of the fastest 30 meters on a scooter by a dog. Norman’s fame and following likely saved his life when he was diagnosed with stage four lymphoma in June, a disease that can result in death in as little as two to eight weeks. Lymphoma requires aggressive, expensive, and immediate care to survive, the kind of expense that most of us are not prepared for. Fortunately, Norman’s fans came through for him and he was able to receive aggressive life-saving chemotherapy treatments in time to reverse the course of the disease.