What makes Spider-Man Spider-Man?

[the-screw-on-aaron]

Right, this is continuing the idea I had a couple of days ago in the What makes Batman Batman? Thread’ (http://www.revision3.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5605)‘I got to thinking what makes iconic characters so good what are the great traits that make them them and what writers and artists have truly captured their essence, so I thought it would be interesting to discuss what makes certain characters who they are.

So let’s talk about The Sensational, The Amazing, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man!;)

There is a lot of buss around the wall crawler lately with the new film around the corner and the fact that he’s back in black plus the extremely good quality of ultimate Spider-Man it’s a good time to be a spidy fan.

Spider-Man is perhaps the most human and epithetical superhero ever made, when I ask people if they could be a superhero most people say they would be Superman or ( like my self) Captain America or Batman and Wolverine because they are so damn cool.

If we did some how manage to get superpowers I'd say we would probably be like Spider-Man. For example in the new trailers there is the image of Peter Parker fighting with his best friend who is now a bad guy wile in his civilian clothes and at the some time reaching out to grab his ring that came out of his pocket as he is thrown through a window, the ring that in fact he is going to propose with to the girl he has loved all his life.

Life is hard and no one knows it better in comics then Spider-Man.

Well that’s my two cents worth, discuss!:D

[conorkilpatrick]

A hyphen in his name, for one thing. :)

[fred]

stan lee - for another

[the-screw-on-aaron]

A hyphen in his name, for one thing. :)

(A Homer Simpson like) Doh!:eek:

[diabhol]

Sadly, I don't think Spider-Man is who most people would be. Despite his "normal guy" problems (which, yeah, have mostly fallen by the wayside this century), Parker is not really one of us. He's rediculously smart, he's got an exceptionally quick wit, and he's more moral and ethical than nearly everyone on the planet. Despite all the crap that life throws at him, he still comes back and he doesn't give up. In his own way, he is as perfect as Captain America.

This is part of the reason why I don't understand why readers hate that Peter got to have a hot wife and (for a while) a decent paycheck. Honestly, he was *never* one of us; not really. So, I've been happy to watch him grow from the hard-luck kid to the reasonably successful adult he got to be (again, for a while).

Spider-Man is who we all *should* be. And that's what makes him who he is.


At least, that's how I see it.


--Marshall

[drwally]

I have a somewhat different perspective, in that I live in Japan, I have talked to Japanese about this character, and how they have almost zero interest in any other American costumed hero besides Spider-Man. The appeal of Spider-Man to them is the same as in America -- it's the "everyman" aspect of the character, who lives in a pretty ordinary apartment, never gets the respect he deserves, but still tries to do right, depite the mundane and terribly ordinary facts of life that intrude on this life.

Since these things have been fairly constant to the character over the past 40+ years, he has popped up in Japanese media from time to time, including a pretty dark very "Japanese" version of the character in comics in the 70s (?) that would drive long time Spider-Man fans in America crazy over continuity and who the character is -- basically it stressed the darker and more tragic aspects of the character in a very Japanese way, but basically still stressing nothing goes terribly right for this character no matter how he tries.

Sure Spider-Man has "powers and abilities that exceed normal men," but without the everyday, mundane problems of Peter Parker the character would not be who he is. I also think the individual who does have special abilities appeals to the inner psyche of many readers, who feel underappreciated by society at large - another aspect both Amercians and Japanese feeling rather dehumanized and isolated in an impersonal society can realate to. All that's happened since (marriage to the supermodel, etc., is just limited to the American comics scene, not really followed by Japanese readers and non-Spider-Man not reading the current JMS...stuff.

Of special note is that Spider-Man 3 will have, like the first two movies, an international, simultaneous release date, unlike any other American superhero move. The distributors know this movie will hit big all over the world simultaneously due to name recognition and appeal, unlike other heroes, and will be taking full advanage of it. Batman, Superman, and the X-men were released in Japan weeks or even a month or two after the US release. Since about 50% of Hollywood film profits come for overseas, glad to know somebody here gets it. Full frontal Hollywood buzz and not letting that buzz peter out over tme.

Good for me! For once I will be in the theatres the same days you guys are, something very welcome.

[drwally]

stan lee - for another

Steve Ditko and Roy Thomas Sr., for another.

[kal]

I have a somewhat different perspective, in that I live in Japan, I have talked to Japanese about this character, and how they have almost zero interest in any other American costumed hero besides Spider-Man. The appeal of Spider-Man to them is the same as in America -- it's the "everyman" aspect of the character, who lives in a pretty ordinary apartment, never gets the respect he deserves, but still tries to do right, depite the mundane and terribly ordinary facts of life that intrude on this life.

Since these things have been fairly constant to the character over the past 40+ years, he has popped up in Japanese media from time to time, including a pretty dark very "Japanese" version of the character in comics in the 70s (?) that would drive long time Spider-Man fans in America crazy over continuity and who the character is -- basically it stressed the darker and more tragic aspects of the character in a very Japanese way, but basically still stressing nothing goes terribly right for this character no matter how he tries.

Sure Spider-Man has "powers and abilities that exceed normal men," but without the everyday, mundane problems of Peter Parker the character would not be who he is. I also think the individual who does have special abilities appeals to the inner psyche of many readers, who feel underappreciated by society at large - another aspect both Amercians and Japanese feeling rather dehumanized and isolated in an impersonal society can realate to. All that's happened since (marriage to the supermodel, etc., is just limited to the American comics scene, not really followed by Japanese readers and non-Spider-Man not reading the current JMS...stuff.

Of special note is that Spider-Man 3 will have, like the first two movies, an international, simultaneous release date, unlike any other American superhero move. The distributors know this movie will hit big all over the world simultaneously due to name recognition and appeal, unlike other heroes, and will be taking full advanage of it. Batman, Superman, and the X-men were released in Japan weeks or even a month or two after the US release. Since about 50% of Hollywood film profits come for overseas, glad to know somebody here gets it. Full frontal Hollywood buzz and not letting that buzz peter out over tme.

Good for me! For once I will be in the theatres the same days you guys are, something very welcome.

Sometimes I feel like posting, but when I come back to the thread, I find that DrWally or someone else has posted my exact same thoughts on the matter.

So, really, I can only say:

Word up, sir.

[the-screw-on-aaron]

Sometimes I feel like posting, but when I come back to the thread, I find that DrWally or someone else has posted my exact same thoughts on the matter.

So, really, I can only say:

Word up, sir.

I concur well said Wally you truly are a very good Wordsmith;)

[comhcinc]

Sadly, I don't think Spider-Man is who most people would be. Despite his "normal guy" problems (which, yeah, have mostly fallen by the wayside this century), Parker is not really one of us. He's rediculously smart, he's got an exceptionally quick wit, and he's more moral and ethical than nearly everyone on the planet. Despite all the crap that life throws at him, he still comes back and he doesn't give up. In his own way, he is as perfect as Captain America.


speak for yourself

[the-screw-on-aaron]

speak for yourself

Now now, to be fair he made a contrasting point that I actually had not thought about even though it's a point you or I may necessarily not agree with all the way it's exactly the kind of idea I'm interested in.

One person has an idea of what Spider-man is well somebody else thinks the opposite which I find fascinating! It's exactly what I'm interested in everybody thinks that they now want their favorite character is like and assumes that everybody else sees it the same way but we all have a different idea of what a certain character is and when somebody thinks the opposite it's striking to see the difference!:)

[comhcinc]

Now now, to be fair he made a contrasting point that I actually had not thought about even though it's a point you or I may necessarily not agree with all the way it's exactly the kind of idea I'm interested in.


i was referring to his argument that spider-man is more moral and ethical than ever one else. i don't sell people that short

[the-screw-on-aaron]

i was referring to his argument that spider-man is more moral and ethical than ever one else. i don't sell people that short

Never said you did:) , sorry I got confused on your point and it's completely different now.

[comhcinc]

Never said you did:) , sorry I got confused on your point and it's completely different now.

no problem you are just drunk like all america teenagers in france :D

[k-dizzle]

in 2006/07 a half billion American dollars makes Spider-Man, Spider-Man

http://www.newscloud.com/read/83139/

[diabhol]

I don't think the problems make Spider-Man who he is; I think it's his personality, his upbringing, and Aunt May and Uncle Ben.

His problems do make him relatable, but I don't think his relatability is what makes him Spider-Man. It's just (part of) what makes him popular.



[M]

[big-doze]

I think that the main thing that, for me, makes Spidey Spidey is the same thing that has kept me from fully embracing the movie version of the character. Don't get me wrong, the films are excellent and Tobey is a great actor who turns in a fantastic performance, but...

Well, he's just not that funny.

For me, what makes Peter Parker one of the best characters in town is the fact that his life often sucks, he's surrounded by tragedy, the city hates him, he runs out of web-fluid in mid-battle, and yet he always has a quip or a wisecrack at the ready. This is how Pete deals with the madness that constantly surrounds him, with a joke and a laugh. For a person to see everything he's seen and experience the loses that he's lost, for him to come back swinging with a pop culture reference never ceases to impress.

In the comics, Peter has always been "Yeah, life's tough, but at least I'm not green and angry!" In the flicks, he's "Waaaaah!! I don't WANNA be Spider-Man any more! Why doesn't MJ love me?"

Just my take.

[keithm]

What make Spider-Man Spider-Man is simple. It's Peter Parker. If Superman or Batman never appeared as Clark and Bruce, I really doubt anybody would notice. Hell, even as much as I love Cap, Steve Rogers barely exists. The core appeal of Spidey is that he is just a normal average American, who happens to put on a costume and patrol the streets at night. I would go so far as to claim that I would still read Spidey, even if he really did give up being Spidey.

Even though he is moral and just, there is a huge difference between him and Cap. Even though at the end of the day Peter always does the right thing, he struggles to get there. He is constantly faced with the desire to simply do what's best for him and say screw the world. And that's an aspect of his realatablilty. We all wanna blow of work occasionally, but we know we need to pay the bills. We all wanna go out and party, but there's school work to be done. However, tied into his origin is this massive guilt about the one time he did put his own intrests first, and it cost him the most important person in his life.

Another unique aspect of him is that he fails. He loses. Hell, most of the time, even when he wins he loses. He might beat the baddie, but he lost the girl as a result. And even though occasionally aspects of his life go right, it never lasts. He's the Charlie Brown of the MU. No matter how many times Lucy keeps yanking away the football, he's always gonna try to make the field goal. He's never gonna stop seeking redemption for his one original sin.

[billy-parker]

Spider-Man is balance and originality. He is the most well balanced and original superhero archetype ever created. Every aspect of his character and origin is set up to tell the world's best hero stories through this 1 character.

He gets Amazing powers. But when he misuses them, he then suffers the consequences in Uncle Ben's death and is therefore driven, nearly forced to use his powers for only one thing: responsibility. He has to use them for good. Therefore, he becomes forever selfless.

He has powers, but the sole desire to do the right thing because of the powers.

And his powers continue to play into every aspect of his normal life, until the day he dies. It makes for really interesting stories, when given the proper care, which is often.

The character is essentially indestructible, unlike all other superhero characters.

[paper]

Snark and circumstance.

[jerome]

The character is essentially indestructible, unlike all other superhero characters.

what do you mean by that?

[alexg]

I think that the main thing that, for me, makes Spidey Spidey is the same thing that has kept me from fully embracing the movie version of the character. Don't get me wrong, the films are excellent and Tobey is a great actor who turns in a fantastic performance, but...

Well, he's just not that funny.



I agree. That's one thing about the movies I wish were a bit different-I'd like to see more of the wisecracking Spider-man in the films. Who knows maybe we'll see more of that in the new film.

I guess that's something I like about Spider-Man, the idea that eventhough he has powers all the time, it isn't until the mask goes on that Peter can truly let go and be free. Freedom in anonymity.

This is also why I find it annoying that they "outed" spider man in Civil war. The mask was such an integral part of the character and now they've essentially rendered it meaningless.