Random Ramblings

If you haven’t been introduced to my writing before, it’s time you were… Enjoy…
Growing up as a kid, I always enjoyed comic books. There was something about them that always seemed to capture my imagination. The early years in particular, back when they first introduced characters like the Hulk, Thor, or the Fantastic Four. But my personal favorite, even when I was a small child, was Spider-Man (Family relations aside – When I was growing up, my cousin actually drew him for Marvel. =). As a kid, what drew me to the character was how cool his powers were, I mean, come on? Stick to walls? Spider-agility? And swinging from webs? After having toured New York City, I feel like I have a true appreciation for how awesome it would be to be Spider-Man, with that as my playground.
As I’ve grown older (I refuse to call myself an adult, I’m too young for that yet. =), I’ve noticed myself more relating to his character than his powers. He defended the weak, not because it was really his job, but because he learned the hard way that with great power comes great responsibility. He made his mistakes, like all humans do, but he tried his best to rectify them. He had loved ones to support him, people like Mary Jane or Aunt May. He had critics who misunderstood him & labeled him a menace, like J. Jonah Jameson, the newspaper editor bent on destroying him. The more you look at the character, the more you realize, he’s just another human being.
What separates him (aside from his super-powers) is his willingness to sacrifice for others. What else would drive a man to fight an ongoing fight to keep a city safe without pay? What could possibly motivate someone to protect people even as their critics are throwing mud at them in an attempt to make him leave? Issue after issue, Spider-Man continued to do what was right. Sure, he had his doubts at times, but overall he persisted. Even when he stopped being Spider-Man, Peter Parker’s conscience dragged him back into the fray, battling injustice whether it be a petty purse-snatcher in midtown or battling it out with the Green Goblin over the Brooklyn Bridge.
As outright bizarre as it may seem, I think there is a lot to be learned from my childhood hero, even today when I realize I can’t put a spider in the microwave, let it bite me, and get spider-powers (The spider didn’t even survive to bite me, thus foiling my attempt to be a hero. =). The constant selfless acts are something that I think more people should be modeling in this day and age. Granted, I don’t mean stopping a bank robbery in progress necessarily (Unless you have the opportunity and ability to stop one, I’d say attempting to do so might be considered foolish. =), but just putting others before ourselves. Thinking about what’s best for the welfare of others instead of acting only out of our best interest.. Invest in someone to help them grow.
A thought that crossed my mind is that, in a way, our favorite wall-crawler was investing in people every time he performed a heroic deed. I wonder if any kids he saved went on to be an incredible doctor, giving people a second chance at life the way Spidey gave them one? How many went on to be top research scientists, inventing some wonder of technology to help improve the way people lived? How many went on to be great firefighters or policemen, saving people from dangerous situations? Even though Spider-Man is fictional, the opportunities he’s had to impact life is staggering. And that’s not even mentioning the impact that the fictional character’s impact would have on a child’s perspective on life!
Part of what made Spider-Man so great was that creator Stan Lee explored the psychological aspect to the hero instead of simply having him save the world again and again. He said “It always bothered me that comic characters were one dimensional. But what about their personal life? Who were their friends? Did they go to the bathroom?” By exploring the other half of the character, it made them seem more real, more like they could easily be your next door neighbor, just another guy trying to go on with his life. With that perspective, the sacrafices we’re called to make on a daily basis hardly seem worth complaining about when you know a guy holding down two jobs to make ends meet and are saving the world every other minute. =)
Yes indeed, there’s quite a bit you can learn from reading comic books if you look in the right places. I think as we grow older, people forget the lessons they might’ve learned from this childhood pastime. Maybe more people need to pick up a comic book once in a while…

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