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PETER PARKER'S STUFFED ANIMAL

Classification: Stuffed animal

Creator: Unrevealed

User/Possessors: 'Len Wein'; formerly Peter Parker; formerly unrevealed

First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man I#163 (December, 1976)

Powers/Abilities/Functions: The stuffed animal has no superhuman abilities, though it is remarkably big compared to most teddy bears. Its head undeniably resembles that of a dog with a sad and simple face, it seemed capable of engendering instant sympathy in most people.



History:

(Amazing Spider-Man I#163 - BTS) - Shocked by the fact his apartment barely had any furniture, Peter's neighbor Glory Grant got his friends together for a special 'please-provide-for-Peter-Parker's-pad-party. They all brought some of their spare home accessories including five toasters, an easy chair, a mounted sail fish, a wooden 'cigar store indian' statue and the giant plushy toy 'Doug Bear' (see comments).

(Amazing Spider-Man I#163) - Peter was more than surprised when he came home to find his place was now fully decorated. He had a look around to appreciate his spruced up living quarters.

(Spectacular Spider-Man I#48 (fb) - BTS) - Peter didn't care for Doug Bear, feeling it was silly for a grown man to have big stuffed bear. But because it was a gift from a friend, he didn't feel he could dump it.

(Amazing Spider-Man I#169) - Peter caught flack from J. Jonah Jameson when the Bugle publisher visited his apartment, describing it as "decorated in early disgusting" while looking at Doug Bear who had an almost guilty look on its stitched face.

(Spectacular Spider-Man I#27 - BTS) - The villain Carrion came to Peter's apartment to confront him. When he realized no one was home, he trashed the place and even threw Doug Bear around.

(Spectacular Spider-Man I#27) - Peter's landlady Mamie Muggins was horrified when she came up to check on the ruckus caused by Carrion's rampage. When she opened the door, she shrieked as she discovered the piled up furniture and the message Carrion had carved in the wall: 'The dead walk, Parker'.

(Spectacular Spider-Man I#28) - In the wake of Muggins' discovery, police detective Jimmy D'Angelo arrived at Peter's apartment to take her statement. Flash Thompson and Mary Jane Watson also showed up, but they were too concerned with the unrevealed whereabouts of their friend to care for Doug Bear who was still in a corner on his back with the telephone on top of him.

(Spectacular Spider-Man I#29) - Peter's friends Mary Jane Watson, Betty Brant, Hector, Holly, Flash Thompson, Sha-Shan, Harry and Liz Osborn decided to clean up his apartment in the wake of Carrion's attack. They put Doug Bear back where he belonged near the mantelpiece.

(Spectacular Spider-Man I#32) - When Peter Parker returned home from his prolonged conflict with Carrion, he was pleasantly surprised to find Doug Bear and the rest of his apartment had already been cleaned up.

(Amazing Spider-Man 202) - Peter was unpleasantly surprised when he came home and found the Punisher waiting for him, gun in hand. He had already combed through the apartment looking for clues, even Doug Bear had been moved and strip-searched.

(Amazing Spider-Man I#207) - With Dog-Bear looking on contentedly in the background, Peter called his ladyfriend Debra Whitman to invite her to a 19.00 Broadway performance of A Chorus Line.

(Amazing Spider-Man I#210) - Doug Bear was seen near Peter's couch as he read the news about the arrest of Rupert Dockery and the fact his downfall caused The Globe to suspend publication.

(Spectacular Spider-Man I#48) - Doug Bear accidentally caught fire when the floor lamp Peter had just fixed short-circuited when he switched it on. Alarmed at the sight, Debra told him to put it out by throwing it in the bathtub. Peter decided against it, claiming he had photo-chemicals in the bathroom (in reality, he didn't want her to see his Spider-Man suit hanging in there). Instead, he tried to smother the fire with his living room curtains, not realizing those were made of plastic. The curtains instantly melted and clung to the stuffed animal's fur.

(Spectacular Spider-Man I#48 - BTS) - Peter and Debra couldn't help but laugh at the situation and Doug Bear's misfortune.

(Spectacular Spider-Man I#48) - Later that night Peter took Debra for coffee, but not before dumping Doug Bear in the trash. He assured Debra he could easily get along without 'old smokey' and that the fire was an excuse to finally get rid of it. Some time later, a teddy bear aficionado spotted the poor toy stuffed in a trash can. Immediately taking a shine to it, he picked it up thinking: "What a neat bear! It's amazing what some people will throw out!"

Comments: Created by Len Wein, Ross Andru, Mike Esposito.

The stuffed animal was never named, but seeing as it's clearly a bear that resembles a big dog... Why not Doug Bear? Or Dougie if you're feeling cute about it.

Doug Bear was a gift from one of Peter's friends, but we never learned who he had to thank for it. It definitely wasn't Mamie Muggins, she and her husband donated the stuffed sailfish.

For the sake of clarity and brevity, this profile only lists the times Doug actually appeared on panel. It goes without saying (and yet, here I am saying it...) that the stuffed animal was BTS present in Peter's apartment from the time he got him in Amazing Spider-Man I#163 until he got unceremoniously tossed out in Spectacular Spider-Man I#48.

It's been well established that Doug's creator Len Wein loved teddy bears and had a sizeable collection. John Byrne even created the not too flattering character/caricature of Big Enilwen to mock Wein's perfectly innocent hobby. Roger Stern clearly wasn't a fan of the toy either, but he was nice enough to grant the poor thing a new lease on life by having him picked up by someone who looks remarkably like Len Wein.

Profile by Norvo.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Peter Parker's teddy bear should not be confused with


'Len Wein'

Shortly after Peter Parker tossed the fire-damaged Doug Bear in the trash can near his Chelsea apartment, the stuffed animal was spotted by a teddy bear enthusiast who was instantly taken by it. The collector took the bear out of the trash, convinced that with a little work he'd be good as new.

- Spectacular Spider-Man I#48














images: (without ads)
Amazing Spider-Man I#163, p8, pan1 (main image)
Amazing Spider-Man I#169, p7, pan4 (decorated in early disgusting)
Spectacular Spider-Man I#29, p8, pan4 (picked up again)
Spectacular Spider-Man I#48, p7 pans3&4 (burns)
Spectacular Spider-Man I#48, p8, pans4&5 (and melted curtains)
Spectacular Spider-Man I#48, p9, pans 5&6 (Len Wein new owner)


Appearances:
Amazing Spider-Man I#163 (December, 1976) - Len Wein (writer/editor), Ross Andru (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks)
Amazing Spider-Man I#169 (June, 1977) - Len Wein (writer/editor), Ross Andru (pencils), Mike Esposito (inks)
Spectacular Spider-Man I#27 (February, 1979) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Frank Miller (pencils), Frank Springer (inks), Mary-Jo Duffy (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man I#28 (March, 1979) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Frank Miller (pencils), Frank Springer (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man I#32 (June, 1979) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Jim Mooney (pencils), Frank Springer (inks), Allen Milgrom (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man I#202 (March, 1980) - Marv Wolfman (writer/editor), Keith Pollard (pencils), Jim Mooney (inks)
Amazing Spider-Man I#207 (August, 1980) - Dennis O'Neil (writer/editor), Jim Mooney (pencils), Pablo Marcos (inks)
Amazing Spider-Man I#210 (November, 1980) - Dennis O'Neil (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Allen Milgrom (editor)
Spectacular Spider-Man I#48 (November, 1980) - Roger Stern (writer), Marie Severin (pencils), Bruce D. Patterson (inks), Dennis O'Neil (editor)


First Posted: 04/25/2024
Last updated: 04/25/2024

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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