After the mindflipping (and life-ruining) events of No Way Home, Peter Parker runs away to try and start a new life...and somehow ends up in the DCU. He tries to make sense of his new world and maintain his normal routine (leading to Spider-Man making a Gotham debut). The web-slinger quickly gets noticed by Gotham's most famous crime-fighter...and the Bat Family gets its newest member.
Peter Parker Needs A Hug (from The Bat Family) is a series of MCU Spider-Man and Batman: Wayne Family Adventures crossover stories by truebluefool. The main plot is what would happen if MCU Peter Parker (fresh off of several traumatic incidents) ended up adopted by the Bat family. They are A New Home
, hot chocolate doesn't solve all your problems, but it doesn't hurt either, Memento Vitae, and A Matter Of Logistics. It's a continuing series, with the last update having been on June 13, 2023.
Heavy on angst, but also on Heartwarming.
Tropes found in these fics include:
- Actually Pretty Funny: When Spider-Man meets Superman, the latter gives the former a flying piggy-back ride while Spidey talks to him a mile a minute. Batman struggles to keep from smiling at the sight.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: While canon Peter Parker has it hard enough after No Way Home, this Peter Parker has lost his aunt, Tony Stark, the Avengers, his two best friends, and now his universe with no way home. Not to mention that he's a teenager with no records/resources who's living in poverty by the time Batman adopts him. Even after, he's still grieving what he's lost, especially Tony Stark.
- Adopting the Abused: It's in Bruce's nature to do this whenever he finds a kid or young adult who's suffering, be they orphans, people given a rough slice of life, or both. Peter Parker, after everything he's been through, falls strictly into the "both" category. It takes a while, but Batman eventually convinces him to move into Wayne Manor, making him the newest member of the Bat family and giving him people who can help him start a new life.
- Adoption Conflict: Peter is a variant; while he's grateful to Bruce for taking him in after he spent several months trying to survive on his own (which was difficult when he was seventeen with no records, money, friends, or family), he's slow to fully accept Bruce as a mentor/father figure because he's worried that he'd simply be replacing Tony, May, and every other mentor he's had. It takes a talk with Jason, and later Bruce himself, before Peter realizes that, more than anything, Tony and May would want him to be happy.
- All-Loving Hero: Spider-Man has been through a lot in the last few years of his life, but he still can't bring himself to let someone die if he can prevent it. Even though the man he fought after his arrival to Gotham clearly wasn't a good person (he was beating up an old man who kicked him out of a restaurant), Peter practically begs Red Hood not to kill him.
- Badass Family: The Bat family, with Spidey as the newest member.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: The second after he gets to Gotham, Peter Parker stops someone from beating up an old man (holding the criminal off until Red Hood shows up). The old man is the owner of a nearby diner, and hires Peter as a dishwasher as a thank-you.
- Blatant Lies: Batman denies to Wonder Woman that Peter is his newest adopted son. Even Spider-Man seems to know this isn't true.
- Big Brother Instinct: Nightwing/Dick Grayson and Red Hood/Jason Todd show it the most, but all of Batman's children are ready at a moment's notice to defend each other. They're all quick to be there for Spider-Man as well, especially when they learn just how much he's lost.
- Big Eater: Spider-Man's increased metabolism means that he always has an appetite. This quickly becomes a disadvantage, however, when he gets to Gotham, as what little money he makes goes towards making his web fluid so Peter can continue his hero work.
- Break the Cutie: Poor Peter Parker just went through a really bad Trauma Conga Line.
- Call-Back: Details from the web comic appear constantly, such as Red Hood's love of romance novels, Damian's love of animals and regular sessions with his school's guidance counselor, Tim's coffee addiction, and Jason being the only one of the kids willing to openly acknowledge that Batman won't stop adopting children.
- The Cameo: Superman and Wonder Woman appear in one chapter when Batman introduces Spider-Man to them. Wonder Woman spends most of the time talking to Batman while Superman talks to Spider-Man (although the web-slinger dominates so much of the conversation that Superman only speaks once).
- Catapult Nightmare: Peter hasn't been sleeping because of horrible nightmares, most of which depict all of the parental figures he's lost (his parents, his uncle, his aunt, and, of course, Tony). His having one of these after falling asleep in the library is what gets Barbara to suspect that he has/had more problems than they thought.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Peter can't stop being Spider-Man and helping people, even though he has more difficulty getting web-fluid (until Batman takes him in). Justified in that he later tells Bruce that being Spider-Man is the only tie he still has to his old life, and the only shred of normalcy he still has.
- Cool Big Bro: Nightwing/Dick Grayson to all of his siblings, and later to Peter. Red Hood/Jason forms a surprisingly sweet bond with the web-slinger. Barbara also applies, seeing as she clearly has a soft spot for kids (considering how many teenagers Oracle works with, this makes sense).
- Cooldown Hug: Peter needs a few of these.
- Commonality Connection:
- Peter has lost his family and has had his world come crashing down around him. He's still working through his grief when he's taken in by Batman, aka someone who knows first hand how much grieving hurts.
Peter: It's not fair that he's gone and I'm still here.Bruce (thinking): Oh, that last part certainly felt familiar.- Peter/Spider-Man's energy, joking nature, and strong moral compass reminds Bruce of Dick Grayson when he was Robin.
- Continuity Nod:
- When he buys Peter a meal at a diner, Jason tells him about being killed then revived.
- Spider-Man tells Superman about his ability to stick to flying objects by describing his fight with Vulture in Homecoming. He also sympathizes with Dick's Unfortunate Name by recalling what some kids at his old high school used to call him.
- Daddy's Girl: Barbara's love and loyalty for her father is never questioned, as he's willing to do anything for her, and she does all she can to protect/help him (as both Barbara and Oracle, although he doesn't know about her secret life).
- Darker and Edgier: This fic is slightly darker than the Batman: Wayne Family comics for several reasons:
- The full effects of all of the traumas Peter's faced are shown (such as his bad dreams and his not wanting to get too close to anyone out of fear of getting them hurt.)
- Jason's Good Is Not Nice attitude is on full display. He's still a Jerk with a Heart of Gold like in the web comic, but he also swears constantly and was fully ready to kill a mugger (only stopping because of Peter).
- The Joker makes an appearance (something that, due to it's Lighter and Softer nature, has not happened in the web comic note ). While it's stated that no one died in his attack, all of the damage he's done to the Wayne family (i.e. Jason's death and Barbara's legs) is briefly discussed.
- Dudley Do-Right Stops to Help: How Peter ended up in Gotham in the first place.
- Dynamic Entry:
- Peter Parker meets Red Hood this way; he's trying to keep a thug from killing an old man when Hood breaks up the fight by firing his gun into the air and jumping to the ground from a fire escape. note
- The Joker crashes the Wayne Foundation phone drive by busting down the doors and filling the air with his laughing gas.
- Everyone Has Standards: Red Hood is the deadliest, most vulgar member of the Bat family, who can and will kill criminals if they tick him off... and nothing ticks him off worse than seeing people go after kids. Batman certainly taught him a few things...
- Family of Choice: The Bat family. None of them (minus Bruce and Damian) are actually related, and some of them (namely Bruce and Jason) don't get along well, but they are undeniably a family. As several members have lost loved ones or come out of bad situations, they understand the importance of having someone to rely on, hence why the whole family is okay with taking in Spider-Man.Jason: Oh, yeah, sorry to tell you this, but you became a member of the family the minute you stepped foot in the Manor. There's no avoiding it now; you could run away to Siberia, and Alfred would still find you to send you an invitation for Thanksgiving dinner. [...] So what's it gonna be, new little bro? You wanna stay at my place, or should we head back to the Manor?
- Foregone Conclusion: The stories "hot chocolate", "Memento Vitae", and "A Matter of Logistics" were written before the "A New Home" stories. Thus, anyone who reads the stories in order of publishing already knows that Peter Parker ends up a member of the Bat family, despite his efforts to not get too close to anyone again.
- Friend to All Children:
- Even after all he's been through, Peter Parker is still good with kids, and has a lot of fun at the park with a neighbor's kid he babysits. He even makes a good impression on Damian Wayne (which is saying something).
- Every Batman fan knows that Batman is good with children, to the point that he has one biological son and several (legally and metaphorically) adopted children.
- The fastest way a criminal can tick off anyone in the Bat family is if said criminal threatens a child. Heaven help the man who's foolish enough to go after a kid in front of Red Hood.
- Great Detective: A majority of the Bats are this, with Batman and Red Robin being considered among the best detectives in their family. Spider-Man quickly comes to recognize Batman as one of these, and (after what happened with Mysterio) is noticeably cautious about what he says to any of the Bats (though he does agree to work with them).
- Handicapped Badass: After losing the use of her legs, Barbara Gordon became Oracle, acting as the "man in the chair" (as Peter puts it) for the Bat family and Spider-Man.
- Happily Adopted: While it took him time to adjust, by "Matter of Logistics" Spider-Man has accepted Batman as his newest boss/mentor/Parental Substitute and the Bats as his new family. Likewise, the other members of the family (notably Jason and Bruce) are quick to accept him.
- Heroes Gone Fishing: In chapter six, Peter and the boy he's babysitting go to the park and play an impromptu soccer game against Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne, and Titus.
- Hidden Depths: Red Hood, aka the most hardcore and arguably deadliest member of the Bat family...likes romance novels. Red Robin teases him for it.
- Hurt/Comfort Fic: "A New Home" is the hurt part of the series, while the other stories are the comfort.
- I'm Taking Her Home with Me!: The fact that Bruce tends to do this with every crime-fighting orphan he meets is an inside joke in both the Bat family and the Justice League. He held off from doing this to Peter...until he learned that this teenager is struggling to get enough food to eat and living in relative squalor while still dedicating his time and resources to fighting crime. Then he played this trope straight and had Peter move into Wayne Manor.Bruce had heard all of the jokes about his penchant for taking in stray children. Hell, he could even appreciate some of them, though he'd never admit to it. And when Spider-Man's mask came off, revealing himself to be an adolescent barely scraping by on his own but still willing to put himself in danger to save Gotham, it came as a surprise to no one (except maybe Peter) that Bruce immediately offered to take him in.
- Insistent Terminology: Batman refers to Spider-Man's spidey-sense as "precognitive danger-sensing ability". While that's accurate, everyone else simply calls it spider-sense.
- Internal Reveal: Peter tells Jason, and then Bruce, about being blipped by Thanos, and then losing Tony.
- It's All My Fault: Spider-Man holds this attitude, as he believes that he should have taken the Gauntlet instead of Tony, he shouldn't have gone against Dr. Strange's advice, and he's the reason why his aunt is dead and his identity was exposed (which is what led to no one remembering Peter Parker). As if that's not bad enough, he also blames himself for not being able to keep Commissioner Gordon from getting hurt by the Joker (despite the fact that he didn't have his costume on him, had barely any web fluid, and had no idea who he was dealing with). It gets to the point that he tries to avoid becoming too close with anyone, believing that if they help him, they'll just get hurt.
- I Work Alone: Spider-Man, after all he's suffered and everyone he's lost note , tries to adopt this attitude so he won't let anyone down again. When they first meet, Batman pretty much tells him why this is a bad idea and gets him to agree to contact Oracle in an emergency.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Jason Todd/Red Hood. He's easily the most abrasive note member of the Bat family, but he's still dedicated to fighting crime/defending the innocent, will be there for his family whenever they need him, and quickly grows fond of Peter (even before learning he's Spider-Man). He's also the first of Batman's sons to call Peter his brother.
- Killed Off for Real: Tony Stark and May Parker. Peter's grief over losing them (and feelings of guilt for not preventing their deaths) is present in every story of this series.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Seeing as how he's working a low-wage job in a city (and universe) where both he and his alter-ego are unknown, no one would blame Peter if he decided to give up being Spider-Man. But he doesn't; even though it's now much harder to get basic necessities while still affording web fluid (he sometimes goes without food to get the fluid ingredients faster), he can't sit back and do nothing when people need him. It's this attitude that earns the respect of the Bat family, who eventually become his new team.
- Lighter and Softer: A lot of the chapters/stories of this series are emotional and heavy, but "A Matter Of Logistics" is a largely light-hearted chapter about Spider-Man meeting Superman while Wonder Woman teases Batman about adopting another child.
- Likes Clark Kent, Hates Superman: A minor version. Red Hood was the first Bat Peter met when he came to Gotham, and Jason's family clearly sees that he has a soft spot for the kid. Meanwhile, Hood is suspicious of Spider-Man and halfway convinced that he's a human-spider hybrid with eight limbs (even though Tim tells him this is impossible). He stops being this trope when Peter/Spider-Man becomes a member of the Bats.
- The Mentor: What Tony was to Peter (just like in canon). Bruce becoming this for Peter (as well as a surrogate parent) is an important part of the fic.
- Motor Mouth: When he gets excited, Spider-Man talks a mile a minute. Batman thinks it's adorable (not that he'd ever say so out loud).
- Must Have Caffeine: Red Robin states he won't go on patrol without coffee...as long as it isn't from Starbucks.
- Noodle Incident: At some point, a woman tried to get Batman to come to her child's birthday party by contacting Barbara and Commissioner Gordon. The commissioner does not remember the incident fondly.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The fact that Red Hood asked for Red Robin's help in finding out more about Peter is enough to tell Oracle how worried he is about the kid.
- Papa Wolf: Batman is teased by other heroes for how often he takes in orphans. Still, the guy (though not perfect) is a protective father who won't hesitate to beat the crap out of anyone threatening his kids (or any kid). He's also willing to talk to them when they're grieving (which he does for Peter in "Memento Vitae") but still knows when to say no (he refuses to let Spider-Man learn to fly the Batwing yet).
- Please, Don't Leave Me: Peter uses this trope when things start to go south at the phone drive, trying to get Commissioner Gordon to stay with him. But it's not because he's scared for himself: it's because his spider-sense is telling him that things are about to get a lot worse and he wants the Commissioner to stay with him.
- Replacement Goldfish: Spider-Man is once again in a city full of crime and has been all but adopted by another superhero/billionaire. Subverted in that Peter doesn't want to feel as though he's replacing Tony and his friends. Through Batman's help, however, he manages to work through his grief and appreciate his new family and father-figure.
- Stalker without a Crush: When they realize that Peter is going through something bad (and think he's still in danger), Red Hood approaches him while Oracle and Red Robin watch from her tower. Red Robin lampshades the trope in how he feels bad about spying on a kid who might just be dealing with PTSD.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Batman attempts this on Spider-Man, unaware that his spider-sense makes him pretty much immune to this trope. Spider-Man plays along with the attempts to surprise him until he gets close enough with the family to reveal his powers and tells them about his spider-sense.
- Tastes Like Friendship: After Spider-Man's breakdown during a fight, Jason takes him out for a late meal to help him calm down, then gets him to finally open up.
- Thou Shall Not Kill: A rule kept by both Batman and Spider-Man.
- Title Drop: The title of hot chocolate is spoken word-for-word by a kind waitress who can see that Peter's going through something.
- Trapped in Another World: Peter Parker/Spider-Man ends up in Gotham with no way back to the MCU. Considering how there's nothing left there for him (as no one even remembers him thanks to Doctor Strange), he's not in any rush to go back.
- Trauma Button:
- Spider-Man gets a Heroic BSoD (immediately after his mental health started getting better) after he shouts for Tony during a fight. It reminds him of everything he's lost, especially Tony Stark. He freaks out and runs from the fight, leaving his com in the Batmobile. He finally confesses to Red Hood, and later Bruce, about the events of Infinity War, Endgame, and No Way Home. Even Jason admits that's a lot for someone to go through.
- Jason's "Pit Rage" (a side effect of being revived by the Lazarus Pit) reappears when he learns that the Joker attacked a phone drive that both Commissioner Gordon and Peter were attending.
- The Unseen: Duke Thomas/Signal, Stephanie Brown/Spoiler, and Alfred are mentioned by name (or alias, in Duke's case) but have yet to make an appearance in the series. Numerous other characters (Cassandra Cain/Orphan, Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Kate Kane/Batwoman, Officer Montoya, Harper Row/Bluebird, Luke Fox/Batwing, Harley Quinn, Helena Bertinelli/Huntress, etc) have not even been mentioned (although, considering how big the Bat family is, this is understandable).
- What the Hell, Hero?: Batman gave Spider-Man one of these when he learned that the teen had been skipping meals to afford his web fluid ingredients. He told Spider-Man that starving himself will make him a less effective fighter and endanger the lives of everyone around him. He ends it by asking Spider-Man to let him help (something that Peter had been refusing since the offer was first placed). The speech worked, as Peter moved into Wayne Manor shortly after.
- Women Are Wiser:
- Barbara notices after Peter has a nightmare in the library that Peter's been through something bad. Considering how she already knew that the kid was on his own and struggling to get by, the added possibility of PTSD leads to her roping Hood and Red Robin into investigating him. Later, when Red Robin voices his guilt about spying on a kid who might have nothing going on, she comforts him but remains firm, knowing that there's something going on with Peter. Of course, she's right.
- Wonder Woman can tell from the moment she's introduced to Spider-Man that Batman has adopted another child. She proves herself right when she jokingly suggests that Spider-Man should move to Metropolis with Superman and Batman shuts her down with all of the reasons why that wouldn't work out.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: When his spider-sense lets him know that he's being followed, Peter starts limping to draw out his stalker: Red Robin (who was doing so after Oracle got worried about the kid).
