Web Head, Spidey, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
Spider-Man is one of my favorite Superheroes hands down and I’ll tell you why. To me, he is a combination of the best qualities a superhero can have. An amalgam of some of my other favorite heroes.
Like Batman he is an urban, street level hero, who also goes on the occasional cosmic or inter dimensional adventure and it totally works. He could be going up against Doctor Doom in one issue and Rhino in the next. His adventures are so versatile and interesting.
Another aspect that I really enjoy about the character is what most Spider-Man fans like about him. I’m talking about his witty wisecracks. He spouts jokes and wisecracks as he fights bad guys and I love that about him. It puts a smile on your face and makes you smile. It also keeps things from getting too serious. I truly appreciate this lighthearted aspect of the character.
My favorite elements of Spider-Man are his selflessness, nobility and heroism, even in the face of overwhelming adversity. Spidey’s had to make some pretty tough decisions in his life. Choices that have cost him friendships and relationships. Choices that have forced him to alienate a lot of the people he cares about, but ultimately these choices were the right ones.
He sacrificed a lot to do the selfless thing, the noble thing, the right thing. This in large part is a result of his upbringing. Uncle Ben and Aunt May raised Peter right. These were good people, salt of the earth, compassionate, kind and amiable. They taught these values to Peter Parker and as a result he became a great hero. This reminds me of another popular Superhero’s adopted parents.
Of course, I mean Superman’s parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent. They themselves passed down their kindness and compassion to Superman. So the way I see it Spider-Man and Superman had very similar upbringings. I’m sure that if Uncle Ben and Aunt May ever actually met Jonathan and Martha Kent they would become the best of friends. They have the same morals and values.
Yet another similarity between Spidey and Supes is their common newspaper jobs. The Daily Bugle and the Daily Planet. Clark is a reporter and Peter is a photographer.
Let’s not forget Spidey’s rouges gallery, which in my humble opinion is the best aside from Batman’s rouges gallery. Let’s take a look at DC’s and Marvel’s respective Femme Fatale Cat burglars. Catwoman and Black Cat.
Catwoman and Black Cat are both sexy female thieves with feline themes and crushes on the heroes . I find it Interesting is that Spider-Man’s and Black Cat’s relationship is almost identical to that of Batman and Catwoman.
Yet another comparison that I like to make between Spider-Man and Batman is the fact that they have both had loved ones killed as a result of crime. With Batman it was both his parents Thomas and Martha Wayne, while with Spider-Man it was his uncle Ben Parker. As a little boy, Bruce Wayne is horrified and traumatized to see his parents murdered by a mugger in front of his very eyes. This drives him to fight crime in Gotham City as Batman. Spider-Man has a similar origin, but with a twist. After Peter gets his powers, he becomes a successful TV star. One day at a studio he refuses to stop a thief, saying that it is the job of the police not that of a number one star. Weeks later his beloved guardian, Uncle Ben, is murdered and an angry Spider-Man sets off to capture the killer. When he does, he is horrified to find that the man is none other than the thief he refused to subdue. Learning that with great power comes great responsibility. This even propels Spider-Man into becoming a superhero.
So I believe that Steve Ditko and Stan Lee took the best elements from several of DC’s superheroes and mixed it with their own genius and that resulted in Spider-Man.