The Amazing Spider-Man (formerly and simply known as Spider-Man) is a custom-bodied monster truck owned by FELD Motorsports and licensed by Marvel Comics, based on the comic book character of the same name.
Spider-Man is Monster Jam’s most recurring licensed truck, having run as part of three different contracts across three separate decades; it originally debuted in 2001 with a red-and-blue 1963 Cheetah body, retiring by the end of the 2003 season. The truck would return in 2010 with an updated version of the same body, running until late 2014. It would return yet again in 2023, this time with an entirely new design. It is currently driven by Bernard Lyght; previous drivers have included Lee O'Donnell, Gary Porter, Whit Tarlton and Bari Musawwir.
History[]
2001[]
Spider-Man debuts in Oakland on January 5th with Lee O'Donnell behind the wheel, who would drive the truck during the winter season. In March, Charlie Pauken would drive the truck at the second Pontiac show and Gary Porter later took the truck to World Finals II.
During the same season, the truck would also perform the Steel Wall stunt as Mr. Destruction on two occasions, driven by Dennis Anderson.
2002[]
Lee would temporarily stop driving in Monster Jam and he would leave the team. Rookie Carl Van Horn takes over the driving duties starting in Oakland on January 4th. In Carl's second week in the truck, he would famously win racing in Tampa by defeating Tom Meents. Carl would move to Firemouth just before World Finals III, so Charlie Pauken would drive Spider-Man as a fill-in at the second Pontiac show once again.
At World Finals III, the chassis is used for Team Meents in the encore.
In the off-season, Brandon Harrington and Bobby Zee take over the duties. Both drivers began running in June, Brandon in Syracuse and Bobby in Salt Lake City. Bobby would drive Spider-Man in Saint-Denis, France in October.
2003[]
Two Spider-Man trucks start being ran, one driven by Brandon on the first Sting chassis and one driven by Bobby on a new chassis known as C-26.
Rookie George Balhan would drive Bobby's Spider-Man for the first three weeks in January, making his driving debut in Dallas and competing in Columbus and Reno. Afterwards, Bobby would return to the seat alongside Brandon also running his Spider-Man truck. Bobby would also run Demolition Man on the original 2001-2002 chassis for some events to perform The Wall of Steel. George would have another turn in Hampton and won the Rookie of the Year award at the end of the season.
Bobby is invited to compete in World Finals IV and during the same weekend, Brandon would use his chassis to run Vette King in Bridgeport as his Spider-Man bodywork had been destroyed the previous week in Cincinnati.
In August, Spider-Man runs its final event in Sunrise and Monster Jam's original Marvel sponsorship expires, leading to Spider-Man being retired.
In September, Bobby uses his chassis to run Werner Warrior in Loess Hill.
After its retirement, Brandon would return to Vette King full-time and run the name back on his chassis while Bobby moved to Monster Mutt and the C-26 chassis became Demolition Man.
2009[]
In October, it was announced that Marvel would re-join FELD Motorsports in 2010, resulting in both the return of Spider-Man and the introduction of a new Iron Man truck.[1]
2010[]
Spider-Man, with an updated version of the original Cheetah design, made its competition re-debut the following season under Whit Tarlton, where it competed on the Freestyle Mania arena tour.
Chad Tingler would drive Spider-Man at World Finals XI, the truck's first World Finals appearance since 2003. It would suffer a rather violent crash during freestyle while attempting to clear the double stack.[2]
For the remainder of the year, several other drivers would pilot Spider-Man along with Whit still as the primary driver. Dana Creech would drive the truck on the South America tour in San Juan and Panama, scoring a racing win on the first show in Panama. Next, Gary Porter returned to the seat in Philadelphia, followed by Ryan Anderson in Cincinnati with him winning freestyle.[3] Ryan again drove it at the Mexican events in Guadalajara and Mexcio City. Finally, Frank Krmel piloted the truck on the European Tour, namely Manchester and Arnhem.
2011[]
The truck competes in Freestyle Mania, once again under Tarlton. Tingler once again competes at the World Finals, getting a 4 in freestyle after breaking early in his run.[4] Dana Creech drives the truck yet again in Derby and Madrid.
2012[]
Whit would leave the Spider-Man team and move to Monster Mutt, and Bari Musawwir would take over driving duties. He would later be invited to and win the inaugural Young Guns Shootout at World Finals XIII; however, Bari didn't receive the final spot in the main field with the premise not being incorporated yet. Instead, Tingler would drive Spider-Man in the main field for the last time.
Later that year, the truck took part in the Path of Destruction Tour and the Team Marvel vs. Team Destruction competitions in Arnhem under Bari.
2013[]
Bari makes his World Finals debut in Spider-Man at World Finals XIV. He would make history at the event as the first African American to compete at the World Finals, making it to the semi-finals in racing. The truck later runs as For the People of Baltimore in the truck's namesake city.
2014[]
Spider-Man debuts a brand-new chassis.
In March, Bari takes the truck to another World Finals appearance at World Finals XV, where he'd finish dead last in freestyle after crashing in one hit.[5]
Scott Liddycoat later drives the truck in Costa Rica, while John Seasock drove the truck for the Team Marvel vs. Team Destruction shows in Arnhem and Stockholm, coincidentally on Seasock's Batman chassis.
This would be Spider-Man's final year in Monster Jam before the second Marvel sponsorship expired.
2015[]
Bari would move to Zombie, which would go on to become his signature truck. Despite the truck's retirement, Mattel continued making diecasts of the truck until 2018.
2016[]
Two years after its retirement, the Spider-Man body is seen yet again on a live stream held at the Monster Jam Headquarters in Florida.[6]
2018[]
Photos revealed that it was merely the Marvel Monster Trucks Live display chassis from 2012. The chassis would later run as Megalodon Fire.
2022[]
On September 12th, Monster Jam premiered the 2023 Schedule Announcement Show, where Scott Jordan announced the third renewal of the Marvel contract, and that the Spider-Man truck would make yet another return.[7]
2023[]
On April 25th, the truck's entirely new design would be revealed via a 3D render.[8]
On June 13th, the completed body was unveiled at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, as part of a licensing expo.[9]
On July 15th, Spider-Man, now officially known as "The Amazing Spider-Man" and driven by Bernard Lyght, would make its second competition redebut in London, England alongside new versions of Iron Man and Thor, as well as the brand-new Black Panther truck.[10] Though the truck did not win any of the competitions, Lyght got the biggest air of the whole event.[11]
In Frankfurt, the truck would win both racing competitions.
The truck "would" make its US debut in Lakeland, Florida at the RP Funding Center for testing to showcase Monster Jam's new Monstergon for international events that don't allow dirt in certain arenas. [12][13]
2024[]
Bernard continued driving the truck for international events.
Brandon Arthur performed double duty starting at show 2 in Zurich, Switzerland as a fill-in for reasons unknown after having driven Iron Man for the first show, he would drive the truck again for a full weekend in Glasgow, Scotland.
Peter Nyman drove the truck as a fill in for Bernard in Munich, Germany.
On October 5th, the truck made its first appearance in the United States with Camden Murphy in Glendale, Arlington and Houston, with Bernard competing on the International tour.
In December, Brandon Arthur drove the truck in Liwa, Abu Dhabi. On December 30, Bernard announced his retirement on Instagram.
2025[]
Mike Vaters II started to drive the truck internationally beginning in Stockholm, Sweden in February. Charlie Pauken will drive the truck for the Ramped Up shows on the international tour.
Drivers[]
Former drivers[]
- Lee O'Donnell (2001)
- Carl Van Horn (2002)
- Brandon Harrington (2002-2003)
- Bobby Zee (2002-2003)
- George Balhan (2003)
- Whit Tarlton (2010-2011)
- Bari Musawwir (2012-2014)
- Bernard Lyght (2023-2024 international tour)
- Camden Murphy (Houston, Glendale & Arlington 2024 (October))
Fill-in drivers[]
- Charlie Pauken (Pontiac 2001 show 2; Pontiac 2002 show 2, Ramped Up 2025)
- Gary Porter (World Finals II & Philadelphia 2010)
- Chad Tingler (World Finals XI, XII & XIII)
- Dana Creech (South America 2010; Derby, Madrid 2011 racing)
- Ryan Anderson (Cincinnati, Mexico City & Guadalajara 2010)
- Frank Krmel (European Tour 2010)
- Dustin Brown (Barcelona, Madrid 2011 freestyle)
- John Seasock (European Tour 2014)
- Scott Liddycoat (Costa Rica 2014)
- Brandon Arthur (Zurich, Glasgow & Liwa 2024)
- Peter Nyman (Munich 2024)
Designs[]
| Design | Description | Picture |
|---|---|---|
| 2001-2003 / 1963 Cheetah | The original Spider-Man design, introduced in 2001 until its initial retirement in 2003. This design featured a light web pattern, a blue spider logo on the roof, a silver web net on the back, and Spider-Man himself on the hood. An alternate version of this design was run in 2003, lacking many of its usual details aside from Spidey on the hood.[14] |   |
| 2010-2014 | The second Spider-Man design, essentially an updated version of the 2001 design. Spider-Man was repositioned onto the truck's back, while his eyes resided on the hood. Additionaly, a large red spider logo is present on the back, several blue spider logos are scattered throughout, and the blue section is outlined with a web strand. |   |
| 2023 / 3D | The current Spider-Man design, introduced in July 2023. Unlike the previous two, this one is a completely custom concept, featuring Spider-Man's eyes on the fenders, a 3D spider logo on the roof, metallic blue accents, red lights, and 3D web-patterned hubcaps. It also has a unique "web-shooting" feature, achieved with a net gun built into the chassis.[15] |   On display at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center |
World Finals appearances[]
| Year | Driver | Results | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Gary Porter | Qualifying: 5th (16.99) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by The Destroyer | Freestyle: 7th (31) |
| 2002 | none | display only | ||
| 2003 | Bobby Zee | Qualifying: 6th (17.92) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Blacksmith | Freestyle: 9th (22) |
| 2010 | Chad Tingler | Qualifying: 24th (DNQ) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by El Toro Loco | Freestyle: 13th (12) |
| 2011 | Qualifying: 10th (16.45) | Racing: defeated in round 3 by Maximum Destruction | Freestyle: 24th (4) | |
| 2012 | Qualifying: 24th (DNQ) | Racing: defeated in round 3 by Maximum Destruction | Freestyle: 13th (24) | |
| Bari Musawwir | Young Guns Shootout: defeated Grinder in the finals | |||
| 2013 | Qualifying: 15th (17.123) | Racing: defeated in the semi-finals by El Toro Loco | Freestyle: 25th (7) | |
| 2014 | Qualifying: 8th (16.652) | Racing: defeated in round 2 by Lucas Oil Crusader | Freestyle: 32nd (6) | |
Video game appearances[]
- Monster Jam: Maximum Destruction
- Monster 4X4: Masters of Metal (Planned, but cancelled)
Trivia[]
- Spider-Man is currently the only truck to have been a part of all three contracts with Marvel. It is also the only truck to have its name changed.
- Alongside Wolverine, Iron Man, Thor, and Superman, it is also one of the few Monster Jam sponsorship trucks to have been revived after its retirement while still retaining its sponsorship. Coincidentally, all five of these trucks are based on superheroes.
- Currently, Spider-Man is also the only Monster Jam sponsorship truck that has been revived more than once.
- The 2001 version of Spider-Man was planned to have a custom concept body, with the character's eyes as the side windows.[16] Later on, the body was changed to that of the 1963 Cheetah after the cancellation of the Hitman Bret Hart truck.
- In 2012, Spider-Man, along with all other existing Marvel trucks at the time, was scheduled to compete at a unique, scripted event called "Marvel Monster Trucks Live". The event, however, was eventually cancelled a year before it was meant to take place, likely because of the show being too complicated and expensive to create.
- Gary Porter is the only driver known to have driven both the first and second iterations of the Spider-Man truck.
- Bari and the truck were the only Showdown/Young Guns Shootout champion to not receive the final invite into the World Finals main field, since the idea of the winner competing in the main event hadn't been incorporated yet.
- Prior to becoming the truck's driver, Bernard was the stunt actor for Spider-Man in the Marvel Universe Live! arena show, which is also operated by Feld Entertainment. He's also a self-admitted fan of the character.[18]
- Despite the truck's multiple drivers being from different hometowns and locations, the truck would often be billed as being from New York City, NY, the site of Marvel's headquarters and Spider-Man's hometown.[19]
- The crawling Spider-Man art on the 2001-03 version's hood was originally drawn by comic artist Mark Bagley for Ultimate Spider-Man #3 (Nov. 2000), while the 2010-14 version was created by Scott Johnson, whose art was used for many Marvel products at the time.[20]
- In 2018, Spider-Man was also mentioned in a YouTube poll, asking fans what their favorite discontinued truck is. Spider-Man led the poll with 41% of votes.[21]
Gallery[]
Generation 1[]
Generation 2[]
Generation 3[]
Merchandise/miscellaneous[]
.jpg "2011 55-Spiderman (2).jpg (411 KB)")
References[]
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160919152226/https://adage.com/article/media/marvel-teams-harley-davidson-orange-county-chopper/139852
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFkMRuLslZM
- ↑ Ryan and Porter's freestyles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdYc-S60Qc0
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d6WN5HuqQ0
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnXPeckOLeE
- ↑ Livestream screenshot: File:Spider.jpg
- ↑ https://youtu.be/s9T8yYJXEWg?t=1920
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9P2Mf3tbio
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CtcU4xOvxnA/?hl=en
- ↑ Spider-Man's introduction: https://youtu.be/k9b873ECsQ4?t=231
- ↑ https://youtu.be/EKXXi7lQCcI?t=249
- ↑ Frankfurt show 1 final race: https://youtu.be/FKD8ccNQ2Xo?t=395
- ↑ Frankfurt show 2 final race: https://youtu.be/hlESfg6PJq0?t=309
- ↑ File:368932518 e2f1965488 o.jpg
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKD8ccNQ2Xo
- ↑ File:Spiderman concept.png
- ↑ File:20170828 205254-1.jpg
- ↑ Inside Monster Jam episode with Bernard: https://youtu.be/nlaWs_NZ7YQ?list=PLaSx_lF7AsqxaUOlii0xT_7T9opKm_lLA&t=888
- ↑ File:HpDlbIfKNiM-00-04-43.png
- ↑ Ultimate Spider-Man #3 cover: https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/File:Ultimate_Spider-Man_Vol_1_3.jpg
- ↑ Screenshot of the Youtube poll: File:Image-0.png
