The Marvel Son

           For decades the American public has been captivated by the spectacular sensation that is Spider-Man. There have been toys, tv shows, movies,  and costumes to acknowledge this almost universally beloved fictional character, but that popularity almost becomes a bit of a fault to the character.

           The Marvel Comics character has existed since his appearance in Amazing Fantasy  issue number 15, a product of the work of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in the early 1960s. The character was made for teenagers, someone the younger crowd could not only aspire to be, but to also relate to as far as their day to day issues and even the trails of growing into young adults. Spider-Man, a.k.a Peter Parker, was made to be the "kid" to all the other heroes, he is written to learn and grow into one of the next great heroes. In the earlier days of Marvel, if only a few series were doing well at a time, characters from less successful series were put into popular ones for an issue or two to regain interest in those characters. Spider-Man was a character that went through this process for both the Fantastic Four and the X-Men,  there were even times when characters to show themselves in his comics to gain popularity. The point being, while in other comics, Spider-Man learned from the respective heroes he met and would in turn continue to have lasting relationships with those heroes in future comics in a manner that was noticeably different from any other. He was a scientist, his time with Mr. Fantastic broadened his mind and made him realize the technological advancements he was capable of. He didn't fully understand or accept his powers, his time with Professor Xavier and his student made him feel accepted enough to prove his worth as a hero. To many characters in the Marvel universe Spider-Man is the student of many, the hopeful teenager that will grow into an amazing hero, but this has put the character in an awkward position at adulthood.

         Spider-Man has been kept in the limelight for so long it almost seems as though his fans see him as infallible. Him being one of the oldest and most popular heroes has placed him on a pedestal of such prestige, that to say anything negative of his character would sound like blasphemy to some people. I personally adore the character, but a key feature of what makes him who he is that he is almost prone to failure and  does not have the best understanding of some the situations he is thrown into. Fans are aware of this to an extent, many acknowledge the death of Gwen Stacy, but for some that is as far as it goes. For example, no one really wants to remember the Brand New Day story, also none as the time Spider-Man sold his soul. In comics today, his famous  mantra, "with great power, comes great responsibility," just seems like a self indulgent phrase he uses when he doesn't agree with someone's methods. All this including the fact that he is an adult now and it just seems like Marvel is not completely sure what to do with him. In some situations he has achieved what was always expected of him, but still isn't holding onto it yet. All the issues he faces are things he should have come to terms with by now.

          All I wish to accomplish with this statement is to have fans that read and follow the character to look at him critically. If anyone agrees and wants improvement on the current run of comics, Marvel will take notice in the lack in demand for the character. The heroes of Marvel look at Spider-Man as a son and fans look at him as a friend, and just like both of those things he should not be looked at as perfect.