Mumbai-based Marvel Comics has launched “SpiderMan India,” the first ethnic adaptation of the popular comic-book series. Pavitr Prabhakar, a lad from Mumbai, is replacing Peter Parker of Queens, the hero under the classic Spiderman mask. He will also wear a more modest costume—a dhoti.

As Spiderman, Prabhakar leaps around rickshaws and scooters on Indian streets, while swinging from monuments such as the Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal.

“Spiderman India interweaves the local customs, culture and mystery of modern India, with an eye to making Spiderman’s mythology more relevant to this particular audience,” according to Marvel and its alliance partner Gotham Entertainment Group.

But the reinvention goes further than just translation. “Unlike traditional translations of American comics, Spiderman India will become the first-ever ‘transcreation,’ where we reinvent the origin of a Western property like Spiderman so that he is an Indian boy in Mumbai and dealing with local problems and challenges.

India is very rich in graphical mythology, and that plays well to the superhero ethos,” Marvel’s move marks a new step in tapping into the large Indian market.