To pass time until some of us can see the movie and while others wait for reviews, what got some of you into Spider-man? What was the appeal to you?
Probably the animated series, which lead me to playing his video games, which eventually became a love for the Raimi films and eventually the comics themselves.
There's the obvious superfical "cool" stuff about the character: he has an absolutely fantastic costume, easily identifiable and iconic. He has a wonderfully unique and inventive power set that leads to great visuals, just him talking to himself looks cool and visually interesting.
He's also funny, a trickster, a wise-cracker. Always a fan of those characters, as my avatar is anything to go by.
But more importantly, Spider-Man is great because of Peter Parker. Peter, despite being a genius or having some sexy girlfriends, is very much like us. He doesn't have a billion dollars, and he's not from Krypton. He aint royality and he damn sure isn't a celebrity. He's got an elder parent to take care of, he has bills to pay, he's got a boss who gets on his last nerve, he's got dates or friendships he has to handle with other non-super powered people. He's got everyday problems like the rest of us, things that can't be solved with super powers.
Which leads to how powerful the metaphor for Spider-Man is. When he puts on that mask and goes swinging around, he's awesome. He's strong, he's fast, he's got a hundred one-liners for even the meanest toughest crook, and he doesn't have those human problems right in his face. If Peter Parker is the stand-in for who we are, Spider-Man is the heroic fantasy we
wish to be. It's the idea of super-hero comics as escapism literally translated to the page.
The fact that he was, in a way, responsible for his Uncle's death is an important part of his genius origin, it humanizes him with some selfish tendencies that he tries to absolve. We all make mistakes, and Peter Parker is just a guy trying to be better then he was the day before. He's not perfect, but he's tries damnit, and I think in a way that makes him a better role model then someone like Superman or Captain America, who are these amazing perfect people who never falter and are always morally-right.
This post is way too long, but yeah: Spider-Man is fuckin' awesome. I'd go as far to say he's my all-time favorite fictional character.
I really hope his new movie doesn't suck ass.
