Why we love
Spider-Man

By Garth McLennan

Wit is it about superheroes that
we find so appealing? Is it their sense
of justice? The way they sacrifice their

= personal happiness for
he good of the people?
Is it the way they never
quit, no matter what the
odds? Or is it because
they use their amazing
powers to help others
when they could be using
~ them for personal gain.

~_ Many of our all-time favorites
do this, including Superman, Batman,
Captain American, and many others.
But no one combines
these factors as well
as Peter Parker, the
amazing Spider-
Man. Batman and
Superman may be
better. Known, but
to so many people,
no superhero is
more appealing than

Spidey.

One of
the big reasons that
Spider-Man is so well
liked is because he’s
so easy for normal
people to relate to. Superman is a God
on Earth, while Batman is a billionaire.
Spider-Man though, is someone almost
anyone can identify with.

He’s got everyday problems
that he has to balance with his web-
slinging super heroics. He has to focus
on making rent every month, maintaining
his marriage, making money as a
photographer and a part-time teacher,
and taking care of his Aunt while at the
same time avoiding getting killed by
tons of super-powered bad guys.

Another thing that makes
Spider-Man so likeable is the fact that
he’s had to endure so much hardship.

“Batman and
Superman may be
better known, but
to so many people,

no superhero is
more appealing
than Spidey.”

He was partly responsible for the death
of his Uncle Ben, he saw his first love,
Gwen Stacy, stolen away from him, and
he’s repeatedly had to put his sense of
responsibility ahead of his chances for
contentment.

He’s not perfect either. While’s
he’s always determined to do the right
thing, he does make mistakes and has
trouble balancing all of the aspects of his
life.

Additionally, despite the fact
that he never has enough money, screws
up all the time, and has been shafted by
life more times than anyone deserves, he
still has a sense of humor, and always
manages to make it
through the rough
times, just like the
rest of us.

Also, he
helps all of New
York without any
thanks whatsoever.
He is even regularly
trashed in the Daily
Bugle newspaper.

Spider-
Man is a character
that people want to
emulate. He’s brave
and courageous, and
always puts others before himself. He’s
a guy that people can look to when they
have to make a tough choice to make,
because he’s the type of person who
always does the right thing over the easy
thing.

All of these things make Spider-
Man seem much more human than most
superheroes, which is ultimately what
we love about him so much, when we
look at him, he could be any one of us,
and its easy for us to look at him and see
a little bit of ourselves.