Spider-Man: India is a 2004 comic book limited series, published in India by Gotham Entertainment Group. The series is based on Spider-Man characters licensed from Marvel Comics. Marvel republished the series for the American market in 2005.
Pavitr Prabhakar is a gifted young student in Mumbai. His parents died several years ago, and he now lives with his uncle Bhim and aunt Maya. Pavitr has a scholarship to a prestigious school, but his family is poor and his classmates look down on him. He doesn't feel as if he fits in, and only fellow student Meera Jain is nice to him. His problems are only just starting.
Wealthy businessman Nalin Oberoi is seeking a magical amulet that will grant him great power. Seeking to thwart him, a mystic appears to Pavitr and bestows spider-powers and a costume upon him. Now Pavitr has to use his new powers to stop Oberoi and his demonic masters.
The series is an adaptation of the original Marvel Spider-Man stories, and many key aspects are localised, but not significantly changed. Pavitr has the same powers as Peter Parker, and his family, allies and enemies are all have names and roles similar to their American counterparts (e.g. Nalin Oberoi is a version of the Green Goblin, Norman Osborn).
Marvel later defined Pavitr's world as an Alternate Universe connected to the main Marvel Universe, allowing him to meet Peter Parker and join an Alliance of Alternates, but this initial story is more of an adaptation, with no suggestion that it's connected to the main Marvel continuity.
Spider-Man: India contains examples of the following tropes:
- Big Bad: Nalin Oberoi is the villain of the story, and responsible for most of the bad things that happen. His men slaughter Pavitr's village, his quest for the amulet triggers Pavitr's transformation into Spider-Man, and he's the final foe Pavitr confronts.
- Death by Origin Story: Uncle Bhim is stabbed to death while trying to stop a mugging. Pavitr hears shouts and screams in the distance, but doesn't intervene because he's in a hurry, on his way to meet... Uncle Bhim. The details are different, but the death - and the way the guilt shapes Pavitr's path as a hero - play exactly the same role as Uncle Ben's death in the original Marvel Spider-Man stories.
- Doing in the Scientist: In the original Spider-Man stories, Peter Parker's powers came from science, as did Norman Osborn's goblin serum and Doctor Octopus's robotic tentacles. In this version, the equivalent characters are all magical - as is Venom, a demonic presence rather than an alien one.
- Foreign Remake: The series was initially created as an Indian version of Spider-Man for an Indian audience. As the title suggests, the story is relocated from Spider-Man's usual New York setting to India. Almost all of it takes place in Mumbai, where Pavitr is now living.
- Shout-Out:
- Pavitr sarcastically calls himself Shah Rukh Khan after his awkward attempts at talking to Meera Jain fails.
- Spider-Man says Bohot dum hai inn haatho me, Thakur! (These arms are strong) while battling Doc Ock.
