Marvel Reveals 'Spider-Man's' New Costume, Announces Mysterious Peter Parker Replacement

Marvel Comics' most popular character was getting a hip new look -- and a new person to wear the threads, the New York Post reported Monday.

"That's not Peter Parker," Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso said. "There's going to be someone new wearing the costume."

The new web slinger and the new look -- a sleek black and red costume revealed for the first time Monday -- were set to make their debut at some point this summer, after the conclusion of the ominously titled "Death of Spider-Man" storyline in June's "Ultimate Spider-Man No. 160."

The comic will be wrapped in plastic and was expected to shake the comic book world to the core.

"It's unlike anything you've seen before," Alonso said.

The shakeup marks the first time someone else catches thieves like flies in the "Spider-Man" titles besides Parker -- or a clone of Parker -- during the character's almost 50-year history in either the traditional "Marvel Universe" or the more recent "Ultimate Universe."

Alonso would not reveal much more about the new wall crawler -- "there's significance in the color scheme," he teased -- but the image's release was another bad sign for Parker, who in the 10-year-old Ultimate line of comics was still a New York high school student.

The perpetually hard luck teen was shot through the gut by anti-hero the Punisher at the close of last week's issue while trying save Captain America. Comic fans were burning up the internet speculating whether Parker might survive the storyline, even if his web slinging days are over.

Alonso would not reveal his ultimate fate, but said, "We did call it the 'Death of Spider-Man' for a reason."