According to Spider-Man gets Indian make-over, the popular American character is getting reinvented for the Indian market:
The character will no longer be known as Peter Parker — but will become the young Pavitr Prabhakar.He will also have a more modest costume, wearing a dhoti, the loincloth worn by men in India.
There will initially be four comic books produced, released to coincide with the Spider-Man 2 movie. The first film was a huge success in India.
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When the first Spider-Man movie opened in India, it took 67m rupees (?940,000) in its first four days of release — and made more in its first weekend than any Hollywood movie yet released in India.
If the first Spiderman movie was a huge success, why are they “transcreating” the character?
“Unlike traditional translations of American comics, Spider-Man India will become the first-ever ‘transcreation’, where we reinvent the origin of a Western property.”Spider-Man would become an Indian boy in Mumbai and dealing with local problems and challenges, he added.
Spider-Man India will interweave local customs, culture and mystery to make it more relevant to the readers, set against the backdrop of monuments including the Taj Mahal and the Gateway of India.
The Green Goblin villain will be replaced by Rakshasa, an Indian mythological demon that has shape-shifting abilities.
If you’re going to change the character’s costume, setting, and enemies, why not create a new character?
(Hat tip to Marginal Revolution.)