Spider-Man is always present. The philosopher Grafton Tanner coined the term “foreverism” to refer to phenomena like the Star Wars saga (which never ceases to explore its own intricacies), or those veteran rock bands that never stop reuniting and never quite break up.

These are cultural expressions that have transcended their era. They remain relevant, generation after generation, making nostalgia impossible (and business always possible). Such is the case with Spider-Man: the industry surrounding this character continually offers products for people of all ages and backgrounds. He’s still, quite literally, a kid at heart. And to demonstrate his enduring appeal, the latest installment in the franchise, Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026), is premiering between July 29 and July 31 around the world.

“What’s interesting is that he’s a character who feels timeless,” says Julián M. Clemente, author of the seminal book Untold Tales Of Spider-Man (2015), published in Spanish by Panini Comics. “If you’re a kid from the 1970s or 1980s, if you grew up with the cartoons from the 1960s, you’ll see him as someone who’s always been around. But a kid carrying a Spider-Man backpack today sees him as something very current. He’s managed to metamorphose; he doesn’t seem outdated to the new generations.”

The infinite comic book

An X-ray of the superhero helps contextualize his unstoppable success. Spider-Man was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in issue #15 of Amazing Fantasy, published in the United States in August of 1962. It told the story of young Peter Parker, who, after being bitten by a radioactive spider (it was the era of nuclear fervor and terror), acquired strange powers that were inspired by the abilities of these arachnids.

One of the novelties of the character was that he was an adolescent with limited social skills. And, with the comic books featuring a teenage protagonist (who wasn’t merely the sidekick to an adult hero), many readers were able to identify with him.

The Spider-Man franchise just kept getting bigger and bigger. The 1980s and 1990s saw numerous milestones, including the black suit, the appearance of Venom, as well as the 1994 animated series. And, in the 21st century, he would be embodied by another character who wasn’t Peter Parker (something previously unthinkable): in 2011, after Peter Parker’s death in a branch of the Marvel Universe, writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli created Miles Morales, a young man of color. Half African-American and half Puerto Rican, he resonated with the era’s focus on diversity.

Later, in 2014, writer Dan Slott came up with a wild idea: the Spider-Verse comic book series, which also focused on diversity. Spider-Men of all kinds emerged, from a Spider-Punk to the futuristic Spider-Man 2099. One version was inspired by cowboys of the Wild West, while another was inspired by 1930s film noir. There was even a Spider-Ham (Peter Porker)!

“These [were] fresh ideas that worked out really well; they led to a series of highly-original animated films. [The many versions] demonstrated the character’s resilience, allowing him to reach another generation,” Clemente explains.

While there’s a wide variety of Spider-Man stories aimed at younger audiences, there are also options for those in middle age: Dan Slott’s Renew Your Vows series focuses on a 40-something-year-old Peter Parker’s married life with Mary Jane Watson. In that parallel universe, they have two children together, a situation also found in Jonathan Hickman’s recent Ultimate Spider-Man comic book series. “[This scenario] really connects with the audience that came to Spider-Man in the ’80s and ’90s,” Clemente points out. Going even further, Spider-Man: Reign shows an older, gray-haired Peter Parker, who’s around the age of 70. His eternal love, Mary Jane, has already died. He now lives under the rule of an authoritarian regime, in an atmosphere of darkness that seems inspired by Frank Miller’s aged Batman in The Dark Knight Returns.

A spider on screen

“Spider-Man’s audiovisual situation has always been peculiar. The film rights still belong to Sony, even though Marvel Studios has managed to integrate the character into its universe, thanks to agreements between the two companies,” says Jorge Iván, co-director of the Celsius 232 comic book festival in Avilés, Spain.

The truth is that Spider-Man is, by a long shot, the superhero who has best conquered cinema. While Superman certainly paved the way for major adaptations — and even though Batman influenced several generations — the wall-crawler is the character who has been consistently successful for more than two decades.

Sam Raimi’s 2002 film, Spider-Man, was a turning point for modern superhero cinema: it demonstrated that a comic book hero could become a global phenomenon, paving the way for the genre’s explosion in the following years. Since then, few characters have amassed so many cinematic versions: Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland have all portrayed Peter Parker at different stages in his life, culminating in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), an event that brought all three generations together on screen and became one of the franchise’s biggest hits. Together, these films have grossed over $7 billion. And, in addition to that figure, we can add the animated saga that began with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), considered by many to be one of the best superhero movies ever made, with its revolutionary visual style and a story that turned Miles Morales into yet another icon of the franchise.

“Spiderman has managed to adapt to each generation, without losing his essence. In recent years, the biggest success has been Miles Morales, born in the Ultimate Universe (an imprint created by Marvel Comics) and firmly established through the Spider-Verse films,” Iván explains. He maintains that this so-called “Spider-Verse” is the most interesting aspect of the Spider-Man franchise today. “Its success lies in the fact that it presents complex storylines, while respecting both veteran fans and new generations.”

The truth is that Spider-Man’s dominance in film goes far beyond the character’s movies. For years now, Sony, which owns the film rights to the character, has tried to build a parallel universe, starring some of the villains and supporting characters (without including the hero himself). The result has been mixed: productions like Morbius (2022), Madame Web (2024) and Kraven the Hunter (2024) have received a lukewarm reception from critics and audiences alike. However, there is one major exception: Venom, the oil-like symbiote that bonds with people and grants them powers similar to Spiderman’s. The version starring Tom Hardy resonated with audiences, thanks to its more irreverent tone. It was so popular that it became a highly-successful trilogy.

And then, of course, there are the numerous TV series. From the 1977 live-action series to the recent Spider-Noir (starring Nicolas Cage and featuring a film noir aesthetic), the hero has appeared in numerous television productions for audiences of all ages. In fact, in recent years, the children’s series have become a global phenomenon, such as Spidey and His Amazing Friends, a show for young viewers that breaks ratings records and fuels a vast merchandising ecosystem.

Web-swinging through New York

Spider-Man’s capacity for reinvention is also evident in another of the most successful facets of the Marvel Universe: video games, where the superhero stars in some of the industry’s most ambitious productions.

After decades of adaptations (of varying quality), the character found his definitive consecration with the saga developed by Insomniac Games for PlayStation. Since 2018, Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018), Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020) and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (2023) have put together a spectacular web-swinging system through New York City, with visually stunning combat scenarios and a narrative on par with the best films. Their commercial success (analysts indicate that these three games have grossed over $3 billion) has made the franchise one of PlayStation’s cornerstones, further bolstered by budgets worthy of a cinematic blockbuster (close to $250 million were spent in the case of the second installment).

Few characters can boast of performing equally well across such diverse types of media. Spider-Man demonstrates that his popularity transcends formats, generations and technologies. So, with all this dominance across popular culture, what, then, is the superhero’s great secret?

“Spiderman triumphs because the true protagonist isn’t the superhero: [in fact], it’s Peter Parker. There [have been] many superheroes, but people became fans of the person beneath the mask,” Jorge Iván concludes. “He’s a profoundly human character: he’s constantly worried that his Aunt May will discover his identity, he has precarious jobs and he barely makes ends meet. Unlike other heroes, his everyday problems are just as important as the villains [he faces]: if he gets fired, he doesn’t have money for food.”

Ultimately, deep down, he’s not a hero. He is, as the wall-crawler reminds us, just “your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.”

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“In Europe, Madrid was playing in a lower league than it deserved. The major European capitals are Paris and London. And then, there’s another tier: Berlin, Milan, Amsterdam… [but] Madrid wasn’t even there.”

“[he city] finally had the opportunity to grow up. And I think the fact that [Spain’s economy] is doing well has also played a big role, since money attracts money,” explains Andrés Rodríguez, sitting in the lobby bar of Forbes House, a five-story private club (plus rooftop and basement). He’s the director, founder and mastermind of the establishment.

In an interview with EL PAÍS, he tries to answer the following question: what has had to happen in Madrid for so many private clubs to suddenly spring up like mushrooms?

Rodríguez explains how, for decades – and until just a year-and-a-half ago – the world of private clubs in Madrid was divided into two types. “The traditional clubs, which, with all due respect, were like our parents’ clubs: Nuevo Club, Club Financiero Génova, Puerta de Hierro,” he lists. “And then, there was the Matador Club, geared toward a creative crowd.”

However, in 2025, Forbes House arrived on the scene. And, this year, Club Metrópolis has emerged, located in one of Madrid’s most emblematic buildings. “It is the second-most photographed after the Puerta de Alcalá,” the club promoters affirm, referring to the triumphal arch that Madrid is known for.

The promoters – Sandro Silva and Marta Seco – lead the Paraguas Group, a set of six fine dining establishments. They’ve spent more than 20 years leading the biggest success story in Madrid’s restaurant industry, including an international expansion to London, Dubai and Monte Carlo.

“Many of the clients we’ve had over the years are the ones who put their trust in us to set up this club, even before we even started construction,” they state. Conceived as an exclusive, international private club, Metrópolis houses seven different dining spaces, including a restaurant specializing in lobster and a terrace under its famous dome. There’s also a luxury boutique hotel for clients and VIPs.

The latest arrival is Club Vega, in the Salamanca district. Its public face is Iñigo Onieva, the “bad boy” with a heart of gold. He’s beloved by the tabloids for his marriage to Tamara Falcó. The daughter of socialite Isabel Preysler and aristocrat Carlos Falcó, she is the singer Enrique Iglesias’ half-sister.

Onieva’s explanation for the shift in Madrid begins in London. He studied there, experiencing a lifestyle in which many personal, professional and social interactions take place within private clubs. When he returned to Madrid in 2018, he considered importing the model, but he ultimately concluded that the city wasn’t ready yet. Now, he affirms, it is.

“Madrid is finally ready for this,” he repeats several times, during his conversation with EL PAÍS.

Over the past few years, Madrid has been changing so rapidly that it seems as if nobody has had time to realize it. For decades, it was a reasonably large and important capital. But suddenly, it began appearing in international investment rankings. Luxury hotels multiplied. Major brands began competing for prime locations along the so-called “Golden Mile.” Investment funds set up shop on the Paseo de la Castellana, a major thoroughfare. “Latin American students arrived, attracted by the business schools. And then, their parents came,” Rodríguez notes.

Vega is a prime example of the new Madrid: it occupies a huge space on Lagasca Street, surrounded by luxury boutiques, law firms and asset management companies. The club combines a restaurant, event space and meeting rooms, giving the impression that it’s essentially a place for celebrities to have fun, without fear of appearing in the press. This must be what Onieva means when he constantly talks about “community.”

He explains that they want a mix of businesspeople, artists, athletes, designers, politicians and executives. Spaniards and foreigners, youngsters and older folks. “We don’t want it to be a business club or a creative club. We want diversity,” he emphasizes.

But not diversity when it comes to finances, of course. Membership in these clubs costs around €4,000 a year, or $4,500. And that’s just for entry: drinks are extra. And exclusivity isn’t so much in the price as in the selection process. To get in, you have to be recommended by a member and accepted.

Rodríguez insists that Forbes House isn’t a club for the rich. Rather, he clarifies, it’s a club for success. The difference seems minor, but for him, it’s fundamental. “In Spain, there’s still a certain idea that success has to be invisible,” he explains. “Here, there’s no shame in saying that you want to boost your business, your personal brand, or meet interesting people.”

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For years, Germany has been facing a serious real estate crisis. Throughout the country, one million new homes are needed, according to expert estimates. Apartment shortage in large cities has so increased pressure on the government that in a new reform package, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has committed to creating a state agency dedicated to building affordable housing. It will be accompanied by a law that halts the Berlin city government’s plans to convert certain private rental properties (Germany is known for its large private rental companies that manage thousands of homes) into public housing. The federal government says this could impede private construction. There are doubts as to the effectiveness of these proposed measures.

Construction of new housing in Germany has been stalled for years. According to the Federal Statistical Office, 206,600 homes were constructed in 2025, 45,000 fewer than the previous year, and the lowest since 2012. This year, that number is expected to fall even further to 185,000, according to a report published last week by the Ifo Institute. That shortage, coupled with population growth in major cities, has led to rising rents. Add this to the war with Iran, which has raised construction costs and interest rates, raising borrowing costs.

“The outlook on housing construction in Germany had slightly improved prior to February. But war with Iran and the rise in construction industry inflation will probably come back to complicate the lives of developers and contractors,” says specialist Ludwig Dorffmeister in the Ifo report. Plus, industry leaders have complained that in recent years, politicians have weighed down construction with new regulations, such as energy and acoustic isolation standards.

All this, Dorffmeister says, adds up to a problem of disequilibrium between supply and demand that is making rents go up in a country where more than 53% of homes are rental units — the highest rate in the EU. In cities like Berlin and Leipzig, that percentage is above 80%, as Dorffmeister, who is also an economist at the DIW Konstantin Kholodilin Institute, points out. “They are also lacking lots to build on in big cities, and the process for obtaining construction permits is lengthy,” says the expert.

In an attempt to incentivize construction, the Minister of Housing, Urban Development and Construction, Verena Hubertz, presented an action plan in June geared at reducing costs. Among other measures, it looks to simplify available support for real estate developers and to accelerate the planning process. The goal is for planning to last no longer than two years (currently, average time hovers around 27 months). It also seeks to more frequently employ industrialized construction, a system of prefabricated modules that are assembled at the building site, and which can speed up timelines.

In addition to those plans, the conservative-Social Democrat coalition government included a boon to the real-estate market in the reform package presented in June: an announcement of the creation of an affordable housing state agency. But the DIW Konstantin Kholodilin Institute doubts how much effect such an office might have, offering the reminder that there are already many regional companies dedicated to this. “Instead of creating a national bureaucratic structure with new positions, I would help the firms that already exist by, for example, providing more financial or construction support,” he says.

The government has announced that “in order to not endanger the construction of private housing, a federal law will prohibit the nationalization of private rental housing.” That measure would halt the Initiative to expropriate Deutsche Wohnen & Co (Germany’s largest real-estate company) in the Berlin city-state. “We want to build, not expropriate,” says Vice-Chancellor and Social Democrat leader Lars Klingbeil. But Minister of Justice Stefanie Hubig is skeptical. “There are experts who express doubts as to whether this can be regulated with respect to the Constitution,” the politician told the Handelsblatt newspaper.

In 2021, Berliners voted via referendum in favor of bringing private housing owned by large companies like Deutsche Wohnen — which has 100,000 homes in Berlin alone — into public ownership. Later, a law was approved to this effect. The regional coalition government has yet to apply the policy, but the Left Party and the Green Party have promised to do so, should they gain the majority in the September 20 regional elections.

This debate has long captured the public’s attention, and the Left Party has taken it on as one of its primary campaign messages to win votes in the Berlin election. Its candidate, capital favorite Elif Eralp, has focused her race on access to affordable housing, well aware of the subject’s importance among Berliners, as is reflected in polls — and not immigration or security, as the far right claims.

Hunting for an apartment in Berlin has become a titanic task. For a year, Dorothee spent a large amount of energy searching for an apartment for herself and her partner. At first, the two seemed to have everything in their favor: they are both German nationals who have held steady, well-paying jobs for many years. They don’t smoke and they don’t have pets. “Ads were taken down in a matter of minutes,” she remembers. “We we used to go to look at an apartment, the majority of the time there was a huge number of people, like 60 or 70,” she says. “There were simply very few offers at accessible prices. Sometimes, they were only for a limited amount of time, or they were on the ground floor of a really busy street. Or there were other factors that were absurd.”

Ultimately, they found an apartment in a neighborhood on the eastern side of the capital, far from the center and the areas where they originally had wanted to live. Dorothee, like many others, laments the number of offices that have been built in recent years in central areas, “simply because the state does not impose very strict restrictions” and how now, many of those buildings are empty. She also decries how the government is “advancing very slowly when it comes to improving the rental situation.” “I think that the problem can only be resolved by paying very special attention to the construction of affordable housing,” she says.

Aware of this lack of accessible rental properties, the government has presented an initiative to make caps on rent more effective, and that would establish a 10% increase limit in new contracts over local rent standards set by an annual index, a regulation that would apply to all areas experiencing housing shortages. Its goal is to expand the long-term rental market and end loopholes that have led to the proliferation of temporary housing and furnished apartments available for exorbitant prices.

The proposed law looks to place a six-month minimum on temporary rental contracts, and limit furnishing surcharges to the current value of the furniture. Plus, a flat rate of 10% of net rent (including expenses) may be applied to fully furnished units. According to Dorffmeister, while this cap on rents may be positive, it also has a downside: “It leads to less construction and creates an even larger housing shortage.”

In practice, and out of fear of conflict with their landlord, many tenants are hesitant to report abuse. In an attempt to fix that, in June, the Berlin regional government approved a landlord registry, a digital database that lists 1.8 million rental properties in the capital to detect suspicious cases of real estate speculation through the help of artificial intelligence. It will also activate a rental scanner that will automatically analyze online platform ads to detect potential noncompliance with the law. An initial analysis of more than 7,700 ads published in June revealed that 46% of them triggered suspicion of an infraction.

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