There’s a “What If…?” where Peter realizes that stopping the crook will get him a reward. Uncle Ben never dies and Spider-Man becomes a media sensation, not a superhero.
To be fair, in the Raimi Spider-Man world where he’s on his own (it’s implied Dr. Strange exists in a quick JJJ joke, but we can safely assume that was a tongue-in-cheek reference and not deep lore), NYC probably reasonably ought to make an exception to certain laws and give Spider-Man an anonymous stipend. Just with no bounty system – a flat, modest rate to pay his living expenses.
Obviously it’s extrajudicial vigilantism, but it’s clear he’s doing nothing but good, and he probably saves taxpayers tens of millions at least for the numher of common criminals and supervillains he gets off the streets (we’ll ignore the nuclear fusion reaction that would’ve destroyed the city since no one but Peter and MJ can attest to it). Like just give the guy $50,000/year (~$85,000 in 2004, when the second movie was released and it was obvious to most he was a hero). If there’s a conflict with taking it out of the city’s budget, just raise the money through charity and let a trusted third-party disburse it. That’s one dollar for every 160 New Yorkers (~8 million at the time); I’m sure by 2004, Spider-Man has positively impacted enough New Yorkers’ lives for 1 out of every 160 of them to tip him a dollar, and that’s not even counting people outside of NYC that we never hear about.
Imo, there’s no good reason in the Raimiverse that someone shouldn’t have successfully reached out to Spider-Man offering financial help in good faith. Not enough to make it glamorous or his main motivation but enough to keep him afloat. He could even keep working at the Daily Bugle for a while so it isn’t suspicious.
There’s a “What If…?” where Peter realizes that stopping the crook will get him a reward. Uncle Ben never dies and Spider-Man becomes a media sensation, not a superhero.
To be fair, in the Raimi Spider-Man world where he’s on his own (it’s implied Dr. Strange exists in a quick JJJ joke, but we can safely assume that was a tongue-in-cheek reference and not deep lore), NYC probably reasonably ought to make an exception to certain laws and give Spider-Man an anonymous stipend. Just with no bounty system – a flat, modest rate to pay his living expenses.
Obviously it’s extrajudicial vigilantism, but it’s clear he’s doing nothing but good, and he probably saves taxpayers tens of millions at least for the numher of common criminals and supervillains he gets off the streets (we’ll ignore the nuclear fusion reaction that would’ve destroyed the city since no one but Peter and MJ can attest to it). Like just give the guy $50,000/year (~$85,000 in 2004, when the second movie was released and it was obvious to most he was a hero). If there’s a conflict with taking it out of the city’s budget, just raise the money through charity and let a trusted third-party disburse it. That’s one dollar for every 160 New Yorkers (~8 million at the time); I’m sure by 2004, Spider-Man has positively impacted enough New Yorkers’ lives for 1 out of every 160 of them to tip him a dollar, and that’s not even counting people outside of NYC that we never hear about.
Imo, there’s no good reason in the Raimiverse that someone shouldn’t have successfully reached out to Spider-Man offering financial help in good faith. Not enough to make it glamorous or his main motivation but enough to keep him afloat. He could even keep working at the Daily Bugle for a while so it isn’t suspicious.
There’s a canon Spider-Man from very early where Spider-Man tried to join the Fantastic Four but they turn him down when he asks for a paycheck.
I really liked the early Luke Cage comics when he was still ‘Hero For Hire.’
iirc Luke was a Defender and was getting paid by Nighthawk, another secret billionaire superhero.