Spidey's Web of Influence

Image courtesy of Marvel

Disclaimer: Spider-Man is a registered trademark of Marvel. I stand to make no monetary value from this content

Spider-Man has always been one of my favorite superheroes. My initial encounter with the webbed wonder was through the TV show, which led me to the comics and eventually a deep appreciation of the medium as a whole. However the arachnid hero has always stood out from the pack. It is hard to relate to Superman and Batman. One is an alien with nearly godlike ability while the other is a billionaire with limitless resources.Even in the Marvel universe, Thor is literally a god, Iron Man is a high flying playboy, and Captain America is a super soldier. Despite this stiff competition from his peers, the wallcrawling do-gooder is by far the flagship character of Marvel. Not bad for a nerd from Queens. Let's explore what makes webhead stand out:

• Origin: OK, picture that you are an awkward adolescent who is suddenly vested with enormous power. Do you go out and fight evil for the good of mankind? Or do you attempt to see what your new gifts can do you for maybe more selfish purposes? Give a teen a sports car, you can expect a joy ride to happen. So it is no surprise that social pariah, Peter Parker, before donning his alter ego, looked to cash in on his newly found talents. A pretty realistic thing that one would expect of a high school student. But then, life deals a harsh lesson to the young man with great power through the loss of his beloved uncle. Given a state of clarity via this tragedy, a boy became a man who learned never to shrink from responsibility. Spider-Man reminds the reader that the life of a hero is not living above society but rather taking society to new heights.
• Everyday life: Let us run through the Marvel gallery of heroes and their day jobs. When he is not Iron Man, Tony Stark is a freaking billionaire. Thor's mortal guise of Donal Blake is a doctor. Captain America once again is a super soldier who is backed by the US government. Hell, even the X-Men live in a mansion. What does Peter Parker do? He's newspaper photographer. And his boss absolutely despises Spider-Man and would wish nothing more than see the hero go down in majestic flames. When not living with his aunt, Spider-Man has occupied several crappy apartments in New York City. Spider-Man's humble living standards makes him accessible to common everyman.
• Superhero antics: My favorite thing about Spider-Man is his constant stream of comedic one-liners even in the most dire of situations.
  
  
  
  
  So for all these reasons and many more, make Spider-Man a staying point of my life. Until next time true believers. Excelsior.