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Meet Pavitr Prabhakar, the Indian Spider-Man in his iconic suit and dhoti

Prabhakar is one of the five Spider-Men who belongs to alternate realities and lives in Mumbattan, a name inspired by the Indian city of Mumbai

Published: Thu 27 Jul 2023, 6:00 AM

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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse — the sequel to the blockbuster animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse — gave another dose of thrill to all superhero fans out there. The film was released on June 2.

But, this film was way more special as it marked the debut of the Indian Spider-Man, Pavitr Prabhakar, who was featured in Marvel’s comics earlier. In the film, Indian-American actor Karan Soni was the voice behind the character.

Prabhakar is one of the five Spider-Men who belongs to alternate realities. He is from Earth 50101 and instead of New York City, lives in Mumbattan, a name inspired by the Indian city of Mumbai and Manhattan in New York, US, as per Marvel.com.

The Indian Spider-Man not only wears the iconic red-and-blue suit but also sports a dhoti (a traditional Indian garment) and gold cuffs. He flaunts his wavy, long, and dark hair that is not concealed by his mask.

The origin of Indian Spider-Man

The character was created by Jeevan Kang, Suresh Seetharaman, and Sharad Devarajan and first appeared in the Marvel comic series Spider-Man: India (2004) #1, Marvel.com reported.

Pavitr Prabhakar, a name similar to Peter Parker, is looked after by his aunt Maya and Uncle Bhim. He lives in poverty but bags a scholarship to study in an illustrious school in Mumbai. He meets Meera Jain, the Indian counterpart of Mary Jane Watson, at the school where he is bullied for being poor.

One day, Prabhakar comes across a mysterious yogi who gives him superpowers, including enhanced strength and an ability to sense danger.

The Indian Spider-Man entered the Spider-Verse with the Spider-Verse (2014) comic series in which Spider-Men from across the Multiverse join hands to battle interdimensional vampires known as the Inheritors.

Indian Spider-Man and Satyajit Ray

Pavitr Prabhakar is said to be the brainchild of renowned Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, reported Harper’s Bazaar.

He had met late the legendary American comic book writer Stan Lee, co-creator of several popular Marvel superheroes, including Spider-Man, decades ago and offered some sketches and a mood board to present his idea of an Indian Spider-Man, the report added.

The idea was, however, shelved until writers Jeevan Kang, Sharad Devarajan, and Suresh Seetharaman introduced the desi superhero in a Marvel comic series in 2005, according to Conde Nast Traveller.

On creating the character, Sharad Devarajan told BBC, “We chose to play on the larger social allegory of having Pavitr be a village boy who feels out of touch with the Mumbai elite because it was reflective of what we saw in 2004 when big cities seemed to be moving at light speed while many of the people in rural India felt completely separated”.

Devarajan shared that reimagining Spider-Man for the Indian audience in 2004 was challenging as people in India had seen images of the superhero but did not know its story and hadn’t read any comics about him.

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