Spiderman is one of the most popular and beloved superheroes of all time. Everyone knows Peter Parker’s story like the back of their hand. Shy nerdy kid gets bit by a spider, wakes up the next day shredded, gains the power of sticky hands and parkour, experiences the tragic loss of the good-hearted and wise Uncle Ben, and of course who can forget “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility.”
Spiderman has been so saturated across society, since his first release in 1962 that I would honestly be shocked, and even a little bit appalled, if no one over the age of 6 knew of the friendly neighborhood web-slinger. Marvel has done a phenomenal job over the years developing, not only Spiderman, but many of the comic book’s iconic superheroes, such as the Avengers, the X-Men, Deadpool, and many more. Each one is so unique and have very interesting personalities and character developments that make them easy to fall in love with.
But, out of all these great comic book characters I always come back to Spiderman. Why? Why do I proudly say that I am a Spiderman fanboy? What makes him stand out so much from characters like the blind fighter, the short tempered goliath, or any of the mutants in the Marvel universe? What is it about this teenager swinging around New York in tights that makes him so memorable and so beloved over the generations? Well hold onto your web shooters because I’m about to tell you!
The Spidey Powers
First we’ll start off with the obvious. The guy has some of the coolest powers in the Marvel universe! He can shoot webs, swing across buildings, crawl up walls, has super strength, spider sense, and he has increased speed, balance, and healing abilities. The guy can do some pretty amazing things. They don’t call him the Amazing Spiderman for nothing!
Spidey powers are awesome, but that’s only half the power that Spiderman holds. He’s also a genius. We’re talking Tony Stark potential level smart just without the massive inflated ego. He handcrafted all his different suits to combat different enemies and situations. Not to mention he created his famous web shooters. This guy is the real deal and I know just about everyone would want to climb up a wall like Spiderman to see how it feels!
So we can all agree that Spiderman has some of the coolest powers and abilities in the Marvel universe. Captain America throwing a shield or Iron Man shooting someone will a photon blast is cool, but not nearly as cool as Spiderman doing freaking gymnastics on a dude and stringing him up from light post. Sorry Cap and Tony, I love ya, but unless you’re parkouring through Queens like a boss, you don’t measure up!
WHO IS SPIDERMAN?
So here is where we get down to the nitty gritty of who Spiderman is and why I absolutely love him as a character. I really, really, really love Spiderman because I see a lot of myself in him.
Peter Parker is the shy nerdy kid in highschool who would get picked on and have jerks like Flash Thompson talk crap about him behind his back. Yep that was definitely me (Don’t think I didn’t forget about you Logan!). Before he had powers, he wished that he could stand up to people like Flash, but he always felt powerless. That was a good part of my life in middle school and high school. Always wanting something to say, always wishing I could stand up for myself, but at the end of the day I didn’t have anything to give.
Now there’s is always going to be a turning point in life where things are going to change, and typically for the better. When Peter Parker gets bit by a radioactive spider, everything changes for him. His DNA and the spider’s DNA get mixed and Spiderman is born!
He has all of these awesome powers and he feels like he can take on the world. The flimsy nerdy kid who gets stuffed into lockers turns into a ripped supermodel who can hang from ceilings. He has more energy, better reflexes, and even more confidence. The Flash’s of the world don’t seem so bad anymore and he is anxious to get out there and see what he is truly capable of.
Now that’s pretty cool! I can’t say that at one point in my life I got bit by a spider and got my dream body and started being able to stick to walls. That hasn’t happened to me yet. Patience is a virtue and I eagerly await the day. However, I did have some turning moments in college when I felt more sure of myself and the Flash Thompsons in school and in my past were just jerks and nothing more.
I didn’t feel overpowered or weak in their presence anymore. I was like “Whatever dude I have to stop the Rhino from rampaging across the city so I’ve got better things to do.” Besides, I’ve learned that the Flash Thompsons in the world secretly admire me anyway, so it all becomes this ironic laugh at the end of the day.
It’s also when Peter Parker gets bit by this Spider that he really starts to understand who he is and becomes so much more than just a shy kid at Midtown High. Peter Parker is always going to be shy on the outside. He might see Mary Jane from across the room and go crazy for her, but he typically is going to keep a distance or stumble on his words whenever he does end up talking to her. I cannot tell you how perfectly this describes me.
However, Spiderman is really the other side of his personality. Everyone knows Spiderman as this confident, reckless webhead who is always cracking quips even in the most serious of situations. He’s bold and ambitious and doesn’t shy away from a challenge. When he meets MJ with the mask on, all that shyness seems to drift away as he’s causally flirting with her and taking her on romantic webswing rides across the city.
Man, there are sometimes when the inner Spiderman in me just comes out. I’m asking girls out like its no big thing and I’m cracking jokes and having a good time. It’s awesome when stuff like this happens. The shy guy in me takes a brief vacation while the confident, talkative me steps forward, even for just a second, to get some of the spotlight.
It’s during moments like this that I feel like jumping off a roof and webswing like crazy through the buildings in downtown Raleigh, all while beating up some bad guys along the way. However, I’m not sure how well that would go, so I’ll just stick to fighting crime in the Spiderman PS4 game for now, just to be safe.
Some may think that Spiderman is Peter’s alter ego and the life of Peter Parker is just the hero’s cover up life but, like any great hero, Peter Parker and Spiderman are the same. They just come out at different times. Peter still stays to his shy introverted self at heart, but even the most introverted of people feel the need to put themselves out there a little. Peter putting on the Spiderman mask allows him the freedom to this.
When I’m feeling overly confident or quippy for no real reason I metaphorically put the Spiderman mask on myself and show people the other side of me and it’s freeing to do this. I think it's amazing how the duality of these personalities can be seen in this one character. That spider gave Peter Parker the means to be his whole self. We all eventually get bitten by the metaphorical spider of life and are able to be so much more than what we were before, which I think is the true superpower right there!
The Man Behind the Spider
One of the biggest traits about Spiderman that I really love and connect with is his desire to help others. Constantly, you see Spiderman risking his life for others, especially those he cares about like Mary Jane and his Aunt May.
When he’s saving a woman from being mugged he is quick to jump onto the scene and usually unloads a quip or two he’s been dying to use all day along with the old spider butt whooping. When people like MJ and Aunt May are involved, however, he becomes much more alert, serious, desperate even. Peter will not hesitate to jump into the action, take a massive blow, or even die for the people he cares about.
Now I know what you’re thinking, “But Dean, all superheros have a desire to help others. That’s their whole thing!”, and yes reader you are most certainty correct on this! Spiderman is not really unique in helping others. That’s Superhero 101. You would kinda be a crappy hero if you chose not to help others. I think they call people like that villians? Part of the definition of being a superhero is protecting those who can’t protect themselves, but I’m not just talking about saving a damsel in distress.
I’m talking about consistently helping others, not just in the suit. Peter Parker shows immense levels of care in his everyday life. When he’s not fighting for those he cares about in the spidey tights, he’s helping people in more practical means. In the Spiderman PS4 game, you see Peter Parker volunteering his time and effort to help out at a homeless shelter known as F.E.A.S.T. In the game you see him offering his help in the kitchen with his Aunt May, getting people coffee, or just listening to people’s stories and showing empathy for their struggles.
He struggles balancing his two lives, maintaining a relationship with the love of his life, paying rent on time, and holding down a steady job, all while fighting crime, but all of those things don’t matter to him. The only thing he cares about is helping those in need.
Again, I can relate to Spiderman in this regard. I genuinely enjoy helping others. Sometimes I can’t help myself. I usually volunteer my time when it's needed and would do anything to help my friends and family. I’ve never been in a life or death situation that Spiderman usually has to deal with, but if the moment arose to where I would have sacrifice something to help those I care about, I’d do it without thinking.
I’m not perfect, but seeing how Peter Parker regularly makes sacrifices for others...that’s the kind of person I inspire to be.
Spiderman: Threat or Menace?
Every good character in any type of entertainment media has great virtues that are matched with some nasty flaws. We know that Spiderman likes to help others. Well sometimes his desire to help others can act as a double-edged sword.
He wants to keep those he cares about safe and out of harm’s reach. However, he can be so obsessed with protecting his loved ones that he actually pushes them away. Peter and MJ have broken up several times because of Peter’s obsession for her well being and the conflict of his double life.
You know how Peter conveniently disappears when a villain trashes the place and his friends and family are wondering where he’s gone off to and seconds latter Spiderman comes onto the scene? Well Spiderman saves the day, but Peter often get the short end of the stick. He ends up late for everything, even the important occasions like birthdays and dates, and people like MJ or Aunt May often wonder if they’re even worth Peter’s time.
Peter wants to be there for them, but needs to fight crime to keep them and others safe. He wishes he could tell MJ about his other life, but he knows that if he tells her, or if anyone finds out who he really is, she’ll be in danger. So, when MJ expects him to show up as her boyfriend, often times he arrives empty handed, if he even manages to show up at all. MJ feels like he’s not there and that he values other things over his own girlfriend and, despite MJ loving Peter as much as she does, it can sometimes be too much for her and she forces herself to leave the relationship.
How many of us have pushed others away because we think they are better off not knowing this part of our past or when we prioritize other things in our life over what really matters. We can say that focusing on our career or hiding certain parts of our life is best for the ones we care about, but when we leave the MJ’s in our lives alone and feeling worthless, are we really being there for them? I think we’ve all been there in our lives when we’ve thought that putting x,y, and z first would help the ones we love, and maybe in a way it has, but, more often than not, it drives those we care about away.
I know I’ve had some failed relationships in the past where I’ve left girlfriends feeling like MJ, thinking that if I just do this she’ll be happy, provided for, loved, but just like Peter, I got blinded to what I thought was important to what actually was important and the relationships ended poorly, to put it lightly.
While Spiderman typically strives to help others, there are times when he is just plain selfish and this is where the character of Spiderman becomes real. Maybe even a little too real.
For example, when Peter first gets his powers he’s amazed at all that he can do. Never in his life could he imagine he would be able to scale buildings and move the way he does. He had been given this great power and was awestruck by it. However, just like any person who comes into a sudden immense amount of power, he misuses it.
The first thing he does with his powers is, not help people, but try to turn his powers into a profit. He wrestles Crusher Hogan for a cash reward, but gets robbed of his money. The person in charge of the wrestling ring gives him a fraction of a cut that he is owed. A few moments later a criminal robs the money man and rushes down the hall. Peter, furious from being jipped, sees the robber running toward him. He had ample time to stop him and had these newly gifted powers and what does he do? He lets the robber brush past him, satisfied that the money man now knows what it feels like to be robbed like he was.
Spiderman didn’t always have other’s interests at heart. He was very self-centered when he first got his powers. Of course, we all know the incident with the robber was the catalyst for him becoming the Spiderman that we all know and love. Uncle Ben gets killed by the very same robber who he let get away and he tragically experiences the consequences of his actions. It's here where he learns the meaning of great responsibility.
The temptation for using his powers for his own self-interest is a theme that comes up again and again in the comics. When Spiderman is introduced to the symbiote suit, he feels a rush of energy. The suit amplifies his powers making him stronger, but it also amplifies his desires, especially his dark ones. He has to fight the symbiote to prevent giving in to his own selfish desires, but often times he gives into the darkness, thriving in it. It's very similar to how we, as humans, wrestle with sin on a daily basis. Just saying.
If it's not a symbiote from space causing him to go astray, it's a girl. The Black Cat uses her charm and seduction to sway Spiderman into giving in to his more darker desires, even to the point where Spiderman struggles into turning into a criminal like Black Cat. Once he snaps himself out of it, he tries to turn Black Cat into a hero sensing good inside of her.
However, his desire to help others gets him into trouble yet again as he is left heartbroken as Black Cat learns of his true identity and rejects him and she leaves to indulge her own desires instead of changing her ways for Peter and the common good.
These are just a few of the character flaws that Spider man wrestles with on the regular, but there are all so relatable. How many of us have been given power or a blessing and we immediately misuse it? Maybe it's a new job with bigger salary, but instead of giving it to those who need it we white-knuckle it for ourselves. Or in Peter's case, how many of us had to power to be there and make a difference, but refuse and only see the consequences of our inaction when its already too late?
How many of us have fallen to our temptations and enjoyed them, knowing they were wrong? When Spiderman was exposed to the symbiote and was giving into his darkest desires he knew deep down it was wrong, but he enjoyed the thrill of it so much that he just didn’t care.
How many of us put ourselves out there for someone we cared about even if they were no good for us just to be left heartbroken and abandoned because we we're swayed by their charm and promises or we wanted the relationship to work or we just wanted to help the other person who simply didn’t want to be helped?
I don’t know about you, but I for one can affirm to all of these. I personally have struggled with selfishness and lustful temptations. I have been hurt by those I love by putting my whole self out there and committing to something they weren’t willing to be committed to in return, facing flat out rejection.
It's for these reasons I thoroughly enjoy the character of Spiderman because while he has a good heart, he is just as susceptible to the real flaws and temptations that all of us have or are currently struggling with. He’s one of the most relatable superheroes out there because, while he has all these powers he’s still human and it shows in his actions and the consequences of those actions.
When he realized he caused the death of his uncle, it devastated him. His uncle was one of the most important people in his life and he lost him because he was too arrogant and too selfish to use his powers for good.
Peter makes mistakes and sometimes they can be dire and he has to live with those mistakes. It’s not always a happy ending. He has to live with the death of Uncle Ben, the consequences of his actions in the symbiote suit, the heartbreak of MJ from pushing her away, and the heartbreak of Black Cat for being invested in a woman that was never right for him in the first place.
Spiderman is a man who is not perfect and has to learn how to deal with a lot of pain and regret that he, most often, is inadvertently responsible for. For a spider, he’s one of the most real, human characters I’ve seen.
I know this was lengthy, but to be honest there’s so much more to Spiderman that I think is awesome and I can talk about him for hours on end, but for your sake, I think I’ll stop it here.
I leave it to you to keep the conversation going, though! Who is your favorite superhero and why? Comment below and don’t be afraid to go all out!
Dean Willms
~Gamer. Designer. Friend.
