State of the Site
It has been a long time since that last time I was able to just write a blog article just for the enjoyment of it all. Since I launched this site in June, I could not have predicted that through out the next several months, I would have had to have dealt with the aftermath of a car accident, a vandalism, the death of my grandmother, an increased workload, and several minor housing issues all in the span of a short 5 months. Stability was a concept that had been foreign to me until the beginning of this month. What I ultimately wish to communicate with you all is that this December, I am officially relaunching my blog beginning with a project I am calling The 12 Days of Christmas (I know hardly original). Starting today, there will be a new blog post every day until Christmas. After this month, the plan is to have about 3 articles a month going into next year, so I hope you will all look forward to checking this blog on a more regular basis. With this long winded introduction, let us begin this special 12 Days of Christmas Project, with a look at what I believe to be the most essential component of what makes Spider-Man one of the greatest Superheroes of all time.
Spider-Man: Balancing Strength and Weakness
“I bet Superman could have lifted this”
I was having a conversation with a friend recently when he mentioned something about Spider-Man that really made me stop and think for a second. He said that one thing he always forgets about Spider-Man is that when you compare him to the vast majority of all comic book characters, he really is not that strong. Spider-Man certainly is not weak by any stretch of the imagination. After all, he has the ability to lift and throw cars without breaking a sweat, he can run fast enough to keep up with a car on the highway, he can tank the impact of falling from a 40 story New York Skyscraper, and he has a 6th sense that allows him to sense danger before it even arises. All those things are true, but when you look at the universe he inhabits, many characters have abilities and powers that make Spider-Man seem pretty insignificant by comparison. I mean Iron Man has built suits that have exceeded the speed of light. Scarlet Witch has reality warping powers that have re-written reality. The Hulk once took a step that caused earthquakes and tidal waves to occur across the US’s entire eastern seaboard. In terms of intelligence, characters like Mr. Fantastic and Hank Pym, Ant-Man, dwarf Peter in terms of breadth of knowledge. With all that considered, why do we still love Spider-Man to the point where he is consistently within the top 5 lists of most popular superheroes ever, rivaled only by Batman and Superman in terms of widespread appeal? I believe that part of the secret to Spider-Man’s success lies in the fact that he is not ‘overly super.’
Spider-Man is one of the few superheroes in fiction that strikes a fine balance between overpowered fantasy and realism. He is powerful enough where we can believe that he has the abilities necessary to save the day, but he is not so powerful as to make victory a forgone conclusion. When we see Peter go up against the likes of Venom, Doctor Octopus, and the Green Goblin, we know by nature of the story that Spider-Man will find a way to overcome them, but we are also afraid for him, because though we know he is smart and has a wide variety of flexible abilities, very few of his options seem that viable against such overpowered foes. Spider-Man is not practically invincible like Superman or the world’s greatest detective with a gadget for any scenario like Batman. In order to win, Peter has to carefully balance the most effective ways to use his powers with his quick wit and ingenuity in order to overcome villains who are either massively more powerful than or intellectually superior to him. More often than not, when Spider-Man wins, it feels like he earned his victory and did so by the skin of his teeth.
Not only does Spider-Man feel more relatable and down to earth because of his relatively balanced set of powers and abilities, but this balance also helps give Peter a unique and relatable role in Marvel’s big crossover events. When Spider-Man gets swept up in events that threaten to effect the entire continuity of the the Marvel universe, and he willingly decides to offer up his relatively meager set of abilities for the sake of doing whatever he can to help resolve the situation, we clearly get to see his nobility of spirit. In those moments, we see that it is not ability that makes a hero, rather a hero is one who surrenders what they have for the sake of others. It does not matter that Thanos is one of the strongest beings in existence. When a young Peter Parker who understands that he has the power to help, to make a difference, puts the lives of others before his own, he embodies heroism in a way you just do not get with much more powerful or resource rich heroes. A famous passage from the Bible says, “man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart,” (1 Samuel 16:7). If we look at the outward appearance of Peter, we see a young man with spider powers. That in and of itself, does not make a great hero. What really makes him great is that even when he is lacking sufficient power or resources to win, he presses on and tries regardless of the outcome. Spider-Man is a great hero not because he wins, but because he tries and his greatest weapon is not his abilities, but his heart.
It is not about How Hard You Hit
Not only does Spider-Man showcase himself well as a hero, perhaps better than any other superhero, he embodies what it is to be a man. Spider-Man is not some rich, blessed, or fortunate soul. He never asked for his abilities and never really wanted them. He is the “Everyman,” a normal aspiring young man who just happened to be blessed or cursed with amazing abilities. Because of this dual nature of being both hero and human, we as fans can easily identify with his humanity as we simultaneously wrestle with our own thoughts about how we would deal with personal relationships, jobs, and friendships while secretly trying to protect and better the world. Spider-Man is simple yet complex; powerful in many ways, yet still awkward, weak, and inept in others. One of the most admirable qualities we as people can witness is to see someone who is struggling or dealing with great pressure and burdens, faithfully pressing on despite what circumstances seem to tell him or her to do. A single mother who works 3 jobs and raises 4 kids who grow up to become college graduates is an extremely noble image and no doubt society at large would view that person as a hero. In the same way, when we see Peter Parker attempt to juggle school, work, friendships, love life, and fun all while having to worry about saving New York or the world, we see someone who pushes on in spite of problems for the sake of others. We see someone we can identify as a sacrificial servant who carries burdens for others. We see a true hero.
Life hits hard and we know from experience that life is not easy. We also know that we as people are not perfect. We hurt our friends with our words and actions. We cut corners and take short cuts to try and get ahead. We lie to others and to ourselves. We are all deeply flawed. More than any other hero I have seen, Spider-Man is a hero that shows me that though I make mistakes and though I may fail and fall short at times, I am not defined by my failures. Spider-Man has failed spectacularly both as Peter Parker and as Spider-Man. As Peter he let a robber escape even though he had the means to stop him and that mistake cost him his Uncle Ben. He also helped the mentally unstable Otto Octavius in his experiments that would eventually turn him into Doctor Octopus. He has lied to friends and family multiple times and has had to deal with the fallout when those lies eventually caught back up to him. As Spider-Man, he failed to save the life of Gwen Stacy, the woman he loved. He also failed to destroy the Venom Symbiote which would later give birth to Carnage as a result. He made a deal with Mephisto to save Aunt May’s life. All of these are tremendous failures, signposts all pointing to Spider-Man and Peter’s unworthiness as a hero. Despite what his failures continually say of him, he continues to fight on for the sake of others, learning and reflecting on his mistakes, so that he may become better for having made or gone through them.
With Spider-Man, we do not have a hero who we are unable to empathize with. We see him lose. We see his humanity and his brokenness. We understand his weakness, yet in the midst of his failings, he chooses not to be defined by his short comings. In this way he gives hope to us regular people because in a way, Spider-Man bears with us in our burdens. Life is not fair and we are not perfect people, but despite how discouraging that sounds, a hero like Spider-Man shows us that it is okay to fail, for life to get too hard at times. What really matters is that every time our burdens, self inflicted or otherwise, knock us down do we continually rise again like Spider-Man. If we can do that, we too can be called heroes.
“This is my gift, my curse. Who am I? I’m Spider-Man.”