|
 |
 | Spider-Man
is the quintessential Marvel character. Although a super hero, he is spared none
of the slings and arrows of ordinary life; he experiences difficulties with friends,
family, sweethearts and employers. His powers enable him to do good, but not to
improve his own lot in life, and it is his simple humanity, rather than his exotic
talent, that has won him millions of enthusiastic fans. He is one super-hero who
has not lost the common touch, | and in fact he
is frequently described as "your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man."
In his 1962 debut, Spider-Man took to fighting crime for a reason commonplace
in comc books: he was motivated by the murder of a father figure, his Uncle Ben.
Yet Spidey's driving force is guilt, not revenge; he must live forever with the
knowledge that he could have prevented the killing if he had not been so self
absorbed. Perhaps he suffers from a classic Oedipus complex; in any case he is
certainly neurotic, forever agonizing over the choices that confront him when
he attempts to do the right thing. Despite his best efforts, he is viewed with
a touch of suspicion by those in authority, and is sometimes considered little
more than a criminal himself.
Although nobody seems to understand him,
Spider-Man has the spirit to be a joker as well as a tragic figure. He is quick
with a quip, appreciates the irony of his endless predicaments, and relishes the
chance to play tricks on people who never suspect that he and Peter Parker are
one and the same.
As originally depicted by writer Stan Lee and artist
Steve Ditko, Peter Parker was just a bit of a wimp. Bright, imaginative, but nonetheless
an alienated adolescent, he might well have been a typical comic book reader.
Although he has matured and gained in confidence over the years. Spidey is still
all to human. He misses appointments, catches the flu when he needs to fight,
forgets to put film in his camera and has trouble paying the rent. In short Spider-Man
remains Everyman, "the super hero who could be you." | |
| |
