With Great Power Comes Great Relatability

Surface level critics of modern day fiction do not see the complexity that these characters can give us. They see two dimensional characters like Flash Gordon and characters like Superman like one in the same. The concoction of story, character traits, and presence in modern media do not hold the same weight. Critics of the modern superhero story often like to refute the fact that these characters hold weight for us regular people. Joseph Campbell wrote a fantastic book called The Hero With A Thousand Faces in which he describes a story thread called the Hero’s Journey. To keep it simple, he goes through old tales and finds common story beats that us regular people perceive as a heroing tale. This is likened to Luke Skywalker’s journey in Star Wars and Harry Potter’s journey in the Harry Potter franchise. The typical story beat of an outsider getting a mentor, getting thrust into a new world, and overcoming great odds are elements in just about every Peter Parker story. Critics will say that Campbell’s title describes the character of Peter Parker but they are not seeing what millions if not billions of people have seen across the decades since his inception.

Modern day fiction is so beloved for many reasons. Escapism, splashy visuals, or spectacle are all important but they can’t explain the phenomena of Spider-Man. Looking at a character like Spider-Man, we see many aspects of a regular person like humor, signs of class struggle, and emotional insecurity. The misconception of Peter Parker is that he is a funny character. Yes his story does have humorous elements and his bright colored costumes don’t reflect the other heroes like Batman, but he is known as a character that is meant to lose people, relationships, or just about anything he can call his own.

Speaking of Batman, let us talk of loss. Where Batman and Spider-Man differ mainly is in their portrayal of their humanity. Batman is a billionaire who watched hi parents get gunned down in front of him as a child, whereas Parker is a suburban kid who is gifted incredible powers with a strong moral compass. Batman on paper is the most human. No super powers, just a lot of money and resources. Batman fights mad clowns, solves crimes like the modern day Sherlock Holmes, and has a company to his name.

Someone with enough knowledge of Spider-Man would bring up the fact that in The Superior Spider-Man #20 (2014) Dan Slott and others wrote a story in which Peter Parker founded a Bruce Wayne type company called, “Parker Industries”. Yes that is true and to add to it, in context of the current run it wasn’t Peter Parker as Spider-Man. In the earlier issues it was revealed that Otto Octavius also known as the villainous Doctor Octopus took over the body of Peter Parker.

Another fact of this comic run, it was the longest running comic series in Spider-Man history. Thirty three issues captivated audiences on how Peter Parkers body was being treated like an avatar for Doc Ock. But that’s not Peter Parker right? That’s where you’re wrong and what most of us comic fans had thought to be the case. Dan Slott and other creators told the story of Otto Octavius, a man with no empathy, traverse the complex life of Peter Parker. Otto was given three dimensions by living Peter’s life. Part of the story included Otto and Peter fighting over control of the body. What seemed like an other worldly plot with body switching like Freaky Friday ultimately gave us a battle for a man’s soul.

Although there are other characters now that try to focus on human stories, none have captured our attention like Spider-Man. A more up and coming character in the DC universe is Nightwing. Nightwing was the first Robin to Batman and now titles his own line of books. A paper Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University states that Dick Grayson,” serves as the quintessential example of the hero’s journey and provides examples of human qualities such as
loyalty, charisma, optimism, trust, sympathy, as well as a general knack for heroics and a strong
sense of justice in ways that Batman does not. These qualities allow Grayson to break ground in
morality, human relations, and empathy in terms of comic books studies. Going through multiple
coming-of-age style stories, Grayson’s growth is something that was decades in the making. This
growth and development are things that Batman does not experience, specifically in the manner
that Grayson did, as he is presented as having already completed his journey, and is fully
developed. The presence of this coming-of-age narrative allows for the incorporation of Allison
and Goethals’ heroic leadership dynamic and Propora’s theories regarding hero identification…”

Having those human qualities is something highlighted in Spider-Man’s character. Where Parker and Grayson differ is their overall purpose in the context to their larger universes. Spider-Man was born on his own account and forged into the hero he is on his own to feet. Grayson on the other hand is an emotionally complex hero with depth, but he is a supplementary character. His initial purpose as to make Batman more relatable and kid friendly according to Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and the other creatives. This makes his character purely supplemental. Without Batman, there is no Nightwing. Without Spider-Man, there is still a very interesting character in Peter Parker. He still goes through the girl problems, the rent issues, and all the other every day troubles.

The whole plot of Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man: No More are about struggles to balance identity. The comic is about human emotion and wanting to give up his responsibility to have personal pleasure with the people he cares for. The film falls in the same category with Peter giving up the hero act to try and live a life with the girl of his dreams. Stories like these two are more popular examples, but if what Stan Lee and Jack Kirby said is true, then he’s had the life of an every day person since his inception.

References

BBC. (2010, August 15). Superheroes ‘Poor Role Models for boys’. BBC News. Retrieved April 17, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/health-10957590#:~:text=Modern%2Dday%20superheroes%20promote%20a,Psychological%20Association%20meeting%20was%20told

Campbell, J. (1968). The hero with a thousand faces. Pantheon Books.

Sidekick story: Robin spreads his wings. Hindustan Times. (2020, December 11). Retrieved April 17, 2022, from https://www.hindustantimes.com/hollywood/sidekick-story-robin-spreads-his-wings/story-jmhJ34tbte3hUsnjs35HsM.html

Smith, J. R. (2020). Dick Grayson: Relatability, Catharsis, and the Positive Development of a Superhero (thesis).