Randy Schueller had a million-dollar idea – and he got paid $220 for it.
Actually, his idea was worth closer to $700 million – about the amount “Spider-Man 3” has raked in so far worldwide.
Even fans of Spidey comics have never heard of Schueller. But his story stretches back 25 years and contributes mightily to the web-slinger’s new film.
Back in 1982, Schueller was a 22-year-old comic-book fan living in Chicago. Marvel, the publisher of “Spider-Man,” asked readers to send in ideas for the hero, and Schueller jumped at the chance. He spent two weeks crafting a story in which Spidey dons a new costume.
A black costume. Like in a certain movie currently in theaters.
“It occurred to me that Spider-Man is this character that creeps around in the shadows looking for bad guys, so why is he wearing this bright red and blue costume?” Schueller says.
“It seemed like he should have more of a stealth mode.”
He mailed the pitch to Marvel, and a few months later, he got a letter from then-Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter telling Schueller he liked his idea and wanted to buy it for $220. Shooter also offered to let the novice write the story.
“The money was incidental. It was cool at the time, but really, it was the possibility of working on the character that I had loved my whole life,” Schueller says.
He was set up with Spidey editor Tom DeFalco, and the two worked on the story. “We went back and forth [with revisions]. It got to the point where I don’t know exactly what happened. They eventually stopped returning my calls, and I stopped sending stuff in,” Schueller says.
“Yes, a fan did send in the idea,” confirms DeFalco. “Marvel bought the idea. We went out and tried to turn the idea into an actual story, but for assorted reasons, it just didn’t work out.”
Schueller soon gave up any aspirations of comic writing. Today, he’s 47 and a chemist at a beauty-products company in Chicago. (He credits his love of science to Peter Parker.)
But his idea never died.
Two years later, Marvel was working on a series called “Secret Wars,” in which many of its heroes underwent changes. “So we were trying to figure out what to do with Spider-Man, and Shooter said, ‘Hey, remember the story that guy sent in where Spider-Man got a new costume?’ ” DeFalco says.
Spidey’s black duds debuted in May 1984 and featured heavily in story lines for years to come – sagas far different than Schueller’s original one-issue tale.
“I was pleased but a little bit appalled, because I didn’t see any credit for me at all. I’m not indignant that Marvel wronged me or anything, I just thought they could have easily said ‘thanks to so-and-so’ in a note or in the letters column,” he says.
Marvel declined to comment, but Schueller did sign a contract, leaving the company free to use the idea however it saw fit.
He says he’s not looking for money – just acknowledgment.
“I never really mentioned this story before . . . But now with the movie hitting, I’m like, ‘I gotta tell everyone about this!’ ”
“People will say, ‘Oh, did you see the new Spider-Man movie?’ I’m like, ‘Funny you should bring that up.’ Then I tell them the whole story. They just look at me slack-jawed.”