Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Spiderman: A Marvel Hero Deconstructed

I'm basing my analysis of Spiderman off of the Toby Maguire movies because I'm not familiar with the comic books or the cartoon series.  I chose him because he's the only Marvel hero with real powers, that wears tights my favorite Marvel hero.

Ordinary World: Peter Parker is just an ordinary human chillin' out, maxin', relaxin' all cool.  Then his life gets flipped, turned upside-down.

Call to Adventure: Peter is bitten by a science experiment of a spider.  He gets powers overnight.  At this time, Uncle Ben is worried about how he thinks Peter is feeling a change that everybody experiences.  One might imagine puberty but I think Uncle Ben meant responsibility in regards to your individuality and capabilities.

Refusal of the Call:  When Uncle Ben first tells Peter that "With great power comes great responsibility," Peter brushes it off to win some money to impress Mary-Jane. He also allows the robber to run past him as an act of vengeance for not getting the money he deserved from the wrestling manager.   Everybody looks bad at this point of the Hero's Journey  but I think it is a natural progression of human tendency, that fear of what may be dangerous.  Actually, this tendency probably extends to all animals which explains why such an ancient habit is hard to avoid.

Meeting with the Mentor:  Unfortunately for Peter Parker, his mentor is the dying Uncle Ben.  Now, in the movie the uncle dies after repeating Peter's name, much to the chagrin of my attempted stoicism during the movie.  But, I like to think that the lack of words shared between uncle and nephew serves to emphasize the last thing he really told Peter, the most famous quote out of Spiderman.

Crossing the Threshold:  It happens pretty quickly that Spiderman crosses the threshold.  He does so when he goes after the guy he believes killed Uncle Ben, who is also the guy he let run past him.  The values of this zone are certainly different from Peter's because he carries out an act of vigilante justice by killing a man who had done wrong.  Aunt Jane is good at reminding Peter that certain morals transcend multiple personality disorder.

Tests, Allies, and Enemies:  Then, we find out that the Green Goblin is a bad guy when he tries to kill a bunch of people at the parade, including the girl-next-door.  I'm sorry Miss Watson, the Green Goblin's for real.  In that act we see that Spiderman has few active allies.  Mostly, they tell him to look at his life and look at his choices, which is all mere humans can be expected to do.  Additionally, most of the good citizens of New York City become enamored with the "Masked Menace."

Approach:  For Spiderman's training regimen, he wakes up, eats his wheaties, irons his outfit, and goes to work as your friendly neighborhood Spiderman, protecting the world from devastation.

The Ordeal:  Could it be anything than the Green Goblin iffin' to hurt Aunt May.  Peter is forced to understand that his new role as a hero will affect those around him also.  This realization is a call to arms in regards to the Green Goblin because Spiderman now understands the personal threat this villain poses.

The Reward:  Mary-Jane loves Aunt May just like Peter does, so when they see each other at the hospital, sly old Aunt May takes advantage of the situation and stays quiet while listening to the creation of a new romance being built where before there was only friendship.  Mary-Jane is the one in danger now, because she is the Big Apple of Peter's eye.*rimshot*

The Road Back:  Peter is now engaged in the active pursuit of the Green Goblin who has taken Mary-Jane to the edge of a bridge.  However much of an objectification of women it is, Peter must go retrieve and protect his prize, the thing he went to hell and back to find.  

The Resurrection:  Peter ends up beating the Green Goblin when he dodges some blades that end up killing the villain.  This particular method of beating the bad guy was integral in the justification of Spiderman's character because it made amends for having begun as the guy who killed his uncle's killer.

Return with the Elixir:  Even though we thought that Mary-Jane was the true prize, in the last scene of the movie we learn that the real prize, the one that would benefit not only Peter, but also the rest of society, was Spiderman, the one capable of defending New York City.


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