Summary
- In Spider-Man #11, it is revealed that Spider-Boy was trained by Daredevil to control his enhanced senses and become Spider-Man’s sidekick.
- Spider-Boy’s powers are different from Spider-Man’s, as he can process more information, and Daredevil can relate to this due to his own enhanced senses.
- Daredevil’s training and guidance played a significant role in shaping Spider-Boy into the hero he is today.
Warning! Contains spoilers for Spider-Man #11!Spider-Boy, the unexpected sidekick of Spider-Man was trained not by Peter Parker, but by one of his closest allies. As Bailey Briggs tries to convince his old mentor of their relationship, he recalls the hero who actually helped Spider-Boy hone his powers.
In Spider-Man #11 by Dan Slott and Luciano Vecchio, Peter is in the middle of an argument with his supposedly former sidekick Spider-Boy. Despite Peter being unable to remember their past, Bailey tries bringing up more about himself to jog Peter’s memory, such as Spider-Boy’s origin of being genetically spliced with a spider and his ability to grow fangs.
When Spider-Man asks how the young hero sees out of so many eyes, Spider-Boy reminds Peter of the teacher who helped Bailey deal with the sensory overload: Daredevil. Flashbacks establish that Matt Murdock, going by the name ‘Club’, helped Spider-Boy deal with his enhanced senses, while also training him in combat and meditation techniques that helped bring his Spider side under control. After gaining Daredevil’s approval, Bailey joins Spider-Man as his official sidekick. But before departing, Daredevil reminds Spider-Boy that he will be keeping an eye on him.
Daredevil Taught Spider-Man’s Sidekick Everything He Knows
Spider-Man has had a lot of partners and allies through the years, but Spider-Boy is really throwing him for a loop. Bailey Briggs appeared at the end of the “End of the Spider-Verse” storyline after the Web of Life was restored. Though he claimed to be Spider-Man’s sidekick and that the two have known one another for years, no one has any memory of a Spider-Boy, frustrating the young lad as he tries to reclaim his former life. To make matters worse for Bailey, Spider-Man is firm on the idea that he’d never take on a young partner.
But according to Bailey, Spider-Man did help him when Peter turned the young man over to Daredevil to help him get ahold of his powers. And it makes a lot of sense for Matt to teach Bailey rather than Peter. Despite the name, Spider-Boy’s powers don’t work exactly like Peter’s. Spider-Boy is capable of taking in far more information than Spider-Man is, and it’s something Daredevil can relate to, especially given how similar Bailey is in age to Matt when he gained his enhanced senses. While Bailey didn’t ultimately become Matt’s sidekick, Daredevil may have helped Spider-Boy a bit more than Spider-Man.
Spider-Man is a great hero, but Daredevil was able to empathize with Bailey a bit more than Peter. Like Bailey, Matt also struggled with processing overwhelming information when he gained his powers and was able to help Bailey by training him in the way Stick taught Matt (hence why he asks Bailey to refer to him as ‘Club’). While Spider-Man has guided younger heroes before, Daredevil had been down the road that Spider-Boy was on and was better suited to help him learn. Though Bailey wound up working with Peter, he’s got Matt to thank for getting him started as a proper hero. Fans can see more of Daredevil assisting Spider-Boy in Spider-Man #11, on sale now.
