As I mentioned before, one of Stan Lee's primary goals in creating Spider-Man was to make him as relatable as possible, and the film immediately goes to work on this facet of the character. Like many of the recent superhero movies, this film is an origin story. When it begins, Peter Parker is still his normal self, not yet gifted (or cursed) with his super powers. In fact, you might say the most remarkable aspect of Peter Parker when the movie begins is how unremarkable he is. In a movie that begins in a high school setting, you may expect the super powers to be given to the star quarterback, or the charismatic guy that fits in with everyone.
Put simply, Peter Parker is... well, he's a geek. He's on the chess team, he wears glasses, he hunches when he walks, he's awkward, he can't talk to the girl of his dreams, and his only friend is fellow outcast Harry Osborn (an outcast because of his riches, not his personality). Even the bus driver likes to have fun with Peter, letting the poor guy chase the bus for a few blocks every morning. When he finally does catch the bus, the cool kids throw paper at him and even the fellow geeks refuse to let him share their seats. Nobody likes Peter!
There are a bunch of little moments that clearly illustrate Peter's social awkwardness. Waiting in line on a field trip, he sees Mary Jane look in his direction and wave. He returns the gesture enthusiastically, until he notices she was looking past him to two of her friends. Later when he sees Mary Jane waiting for a bus, he waits in the distance trying to figure out the perfect way to say hello to her. He literally tries different inflections of the word hello. Anyone who has ever had a hard time talking to the object of their affections can completely relate to the scene, and laugh at it too.
In both the comics and this movie, Peter doesn't immediately decide to use his new gifts as a force for good. Once he is bitten by the spider and his powers start to manifest themselves, he wins an inadvertent fight with the school bully quite handily, and when he sees MJ with her jerk boyfriend Flash in his new car, he decides to use his new skills to earn some money by competing in a wrestling match. After all, in a culture full of people looking for their fifteen minutes of fame, I'm sure that most individuals given such a gift would seek to profit from it. Peter starts on this path as well, and it takes a tragedy to set him on the path of a hero.
Peter is like any other teenager in another way; rebellion! Though he dearly loves his Aunt May and Uncle Ben, he's still a teenager, and when Uncle Ben tries to teach him a lesson about responsibility, he throws it back in his face, reminding him that he's not his father. After Peter is short changed after the wrestling show, the promoter is robbed, and when Peter has the chance to stop the crook, a moment of vindictiveness moves him to stand aside and allow the criminal to escape. He's understandably angry at the promoter, but heroic behaviour it is not.
Peter doesn't realize the depth of his mistake until he finds his Uncle Ben lying in the street, mortally wounded by a car jacker... the very same criminal that Peter could have stopped. Peter gets his revenge, but it's hollow; his Uncle Ben is gone, and Peter can't forgive himself for his behaviour during their last meeting.
The responsibility that Peter feels for his uncle's death is the cornerstone of his identity in both the comics and this movie franchise. It is Uncle Ben's words to Peter, that form the bedrock of his belief system; he now realizes he was given these gifts for a reason, and he has a responsibility to do something positive with them. It is only after this realization that Spider-Man is truly born.
He sets out trying to right wrongs across the city, foiling robbers and muggers, but a greater challenge is soon revealed. The father of his best friend Harry, Norman Osborn, has become the monstrous Green Goblin, and in his lunacy Osborn launches many attacks against the city and its inhabitants that Spidey must defend against. Interestingly, the Goblin initially proposes a truce with Spider-Man, and tries to convince him to abandon his heroic quest and make use of his powers for personal gain. The Goblin's case isn't all that ludicrous either; he rightly points out that people find Spider-Man fascinating as a sideshow but that many will eventually turn on him for his differences. But as we've seen, Peter has already learned his lesson about responsibility, and his rejection of the Goblin's offer only serves to further infuriate the villain.
Inevitably, Osborn/Goblin learns Peter's true identity and immediately takes advantage of the knowledge, first attacking and hospitalizing Aunt May and then kidnapping MJ. When Spider-Man catches up with the Goblin for the film's finale, he is offered an impossible choice; save Mary Jane and let innocent children die, or save the children and let the love of his life fall to a terrible death. As the Goblin tells him, The Goblin has chosen, but so has Peter. With a seemingly impossible feat, and with the help of some fellow New Yorkers, he manages to save both the children and Mary Jane, once again proving his heroism. In their ensuing final battle, Spider-Man beats the Goblin into submission, whereupon Osborn reveals his true face. He tries to dupe Peter into trusting him and looking at him as a father figure, all the while manoeuvring his glider into killing position, but Peter isn't fooled. He confidently names Ben Parker as his real father, and discovers the Goblin's ruse fast enough to jump out of the way, leaving the Goblin to be impaled by his own glider.
It's a journey he'll continue in Spider-Man 2, and I'll continue this journey next week, when I talk about Spidey's development through the second film in his trilogy. I hope you enjoyed this week's issue. Take care!
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