“With great power there must also come great responsibility,” were words spoken to by a dying man to the boy he raised like a son, and they will never leave me.
Spider-Man is a superhero known all around the world, he’s one of the most recognizable and popular superheroes ever and therefore many people are aware of the aforementioned quote that has become synonymous with the character; and, for me, he is the most inspirational fictional character. But for those of you who are not familiar with him or for those who simply need a refresher, here are the highlights of Spider-Man’s origins: bullied science nerd Peter Parker, who is raised by his elderly Aunt May and Uncle Ben, is on a field trip with his high school science class when a spider gets caught in a demonstration about radiation, the spider becomes irradiated, bites Peter, and this bite endows him with the proportional strength, speed, and agility of a spider and also a precognitive warning sense or “Spider Sense.” Peter then decides that he will use his new found powers to get fame and fortune as The Amazing Spider-Man, he then lets a burglar escape from a TV studio because it wasn’t his responsibility to stop him because he only looks out for himself now; unfortunately, this same burglar goes on to shoot Peter’s Uncle Ben while trying to steal his car. Peter arrives at the scene later; his uncle dies in his arms, which causes Peter to seek vengeance on the man who did it, not knowing that he could have prevented Uncle Ben’s death if he had just stopped the burglar in the first place. This series of events causes Peter to dedicate his life to fighting crime so he can prevent further tragedies. A lot of highlights, I know.
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When I first read this story when I was a kid, about three or four I think, I was saddened by Uncle Ben’s death but then moved on and became more interested in the flashy costumes and web-slinging. But when I returned to it later in my teens I found something more than just another orphaned protagonist and cool fight scenes; I found a character that reminded me of myself at that point in my life. I wasn’t bullied as severely as Peter was, but I also wasn’t a very popular kid; in fact I only had three or four friends at the time. I’m introverted and reclusive and shy. And while I’m not a science geek like Peter I am a very intellectual person. And I could relate to Peter’s desire to use his new found powers for selfish reasons, every comic book nerd has had his/her fair share of super powered fantasies where you get whatever you want and beat up your bullies and all that. Now, nobody likes being taken advantage of, nobody likes to be bullied, and everybody has at one time or another gotten fed up with being treated like a floor mat and has decided to only look out for themselves because nobody else is; and so everyone can relate to Peter in this regard. But this kind of selfish thinking often has unforeseen consequences, which is something that Peter learned the hard way. And I’m not saying that Peter is responsible for his uncle’s death, the burglar chose to shoot him, and I’m also not saying that he should have seen it coming, that’s borderline victim blaming, but what I am saying is that Peter was capable of doing the right thing in that situation and because of that he was also responsible to do the right thing. This is something that really stuck with me, the idea that if you can do the right thing you must do the right thing, it is your responsibility to do it; and this is how I try to live my life. And no, I don’t always do the right thing, even when I can, I’m flawed and can be irresponsible, but I am still inspired everyday by this sentiment.
And what also resonated with me about Peter as a character is that even though he is inspired to turn to crime fighting by the death of Uncle Ben, he is not fueled by vengeance. Unlike some other superheroes, (cough, Batman, cough) Peter doesn’t seek revenge for the crime that catalyzed his transformation into a superhero and instead he fights to honor his Uncle’s memory. Peter turns his tragedy into something positive, he recognizes that it wasn’t his fault and takes the lessons he learns to heart and is just trying to change the world for the better. I have a tendency to internalize my feelings and blame myself for everything bad that happens to me; but when I catch myself doing that I try to remember how Peter tries to turn a poor situation into a better one, he makes lemons into lemonade, and that inspires me to try to the same thing.
And while I can relate to Peter on a very superficial level, we’re both straight white guys, what makes Spider-Man so inspirational is that it could anybody under that mask; it doesn’t necessarily have to be a straight white guy, Spider-Man could be black, brown, Asian, man, woman, trans, gay, bi, he can be anyone you want. That’s what Spider-Man is about, as long as you take responsibility for yourself, as long as you try to make every situation into a positive and constructive one; anybody could be Spider-Man, I could be Spider-Man, you could be Spider-Man.
