Charlie Brown Finally Kicked the Football in a Bizarre Marvel Crossover
No other fictional introvert understands the receiving end of bullying like Peanuts' Charlie Brown or Marvel's original Spider-Man, Peter Parker. The two wallflowers frequently get picked on for being wishy-washy, unconfident, and shy. Lucy van Pelt often tricks Charlie Brown by pulling a football away from his running punt, while Flash Thompson is more stereotypical, smashing Peter against a high school locker and teasing him about his lack of love life.
As every fan knows, Peter is eventually bitten by a radioactive spider, granting him super strength, agility, and other amazing superpowers. As Spider-Man, Peter manages to defend victims big and small. Sadly, Charlie Brown is not so lucky. In the 50 years of Peanuts comic strips, Charlie Brown never manages to kick the football while Lucy is holding it. Charles M. Schulz, the creator of Peanuts, purposefully focused on Charlie Brown's failures to develop a new kind of relatable character. Seeing him fail on a constant basis only makes fans want to see Charlie Brown succeed more.
Related: Peanuts: Why Lucy is Actually Charlie Brown's Friend, Not Bully
Many Marvel fans may not know this, but the legendary Amazing Spider-Man artist—John Romita Sr.—also sketched out a newspaper comic strip for the Web-Slinger from 1977 to 1981. At one point, comic collector and fan Mike Burkey requested a commission in which Spidey meets Charlie Brown and helps him finally kick the football. Schulz's name is also on the top of the page, suggesting he wrote or helped the creation of the comic in some way, though the art is unquestionably in the style of John Romita. This comic is the only time Schulz's name appears on a strip that presents Charlie Brown kicking the football.
The Spider-Man/
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