By BARBARA VANCHERI
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Friday, May 04, 2007
The comic-book and movie worlds are bursting with superheroes, but Spider-Man holds a special place in our hearts.
Creator Stan Lee has a theory about that. "I think Spidey has made such a lasting impression because he's possibly the most realistically human of all Super Heroes," he writes in the foreword to "The Amazing Spider-Man: The Ultimate Guide" by Tom DeFalco.
"He never has enough money, he's constantly beset by personal problems, and the world doesn't exactly applaud his deeds _ in fact, most people tend to suspect and distrust him. In short, he's a lot like you and me."
That may be the No. 1 reason Spidey is special, and why millions are rushing out to see "Spider-Man 3" as it opens the summer movie season this weekend:
_ He is one of us. He wasn't sent here to escape his exploding planet, as Superman was. Peter Parker was just a high-school boy when he was bitten by a genetically altered spider during a science-class field trip.
_ He's not to the manor born. Not even to stately Wayne Manor, where Batman resides with his butler. Parker, a college student and struggling free-lance photographer in "Spider-Man 3," lives in a tiny, rundown apartment that calls to mind the famous Bette Davis line, "What a dump!"
_ He rolls alone. No Robin the Boy Wonder.
_ Everyone needs an Uncle Ben. The orphaned Peter (in the comics, his parents died in a plane crash) was raised by his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Uncle Ben was murdered in "Spider-Man," the first film in the Sam Raimi trilogy, and the effects of his death continue to be felt, but he delivered the movie's message: "With great power comes great responsibility."
_ ... and an Aunt May. She is soft-spoken, gentle and wise, whether dispensing advice on marriage proposals, husbands and wives or the poisonous power of revenge.
_ He is still boyish. Let Batman have his black suits with ripples and nipples. The trademark blue-and-red costume nicely works for footed pajamas or Halloween costumes. In real life, actor Tobey Maguire may have earned enough to buy a Beverly Hills mansion, played in the World Series of Poker, become engaged and fathered a daughter, but he looks youthful and innocent enough to be on the cover of teen magazines.
_ Spider-Man NY. That puts him on the front page of the tabloids, sends him careening through the city's canyons and gives him close encounters with recognizable landmarks, from Times Square billboards to Broadway.
_ He has cool powers. Who wouldn't want to shoot webs, swing through the city like Tarzan on fast forward, scale walls, possess a built-in radar courtesy of his spider sense and battle evil, for starters?
_ Spidey has a sense of humor. After encountering the villainous Sandman, our boy asks, tongue-in-cheek, "Where do all these guys come from?"
_ He is romantic, if not exactly original. When he decides to propose to girlfriend Mary Jane Watson in a fancy restaurant, he asks that the engagement ring be slipped into a flute of champagne as memorable music plays.
_ He is only human. When Gwen Stacy, Peter's lab partner and, coincidentally, the daughter of NYPD Capt. George Stacy, wants to kiss him during a public ceremony, he cannot resist, even though Mary Jane is watching. And when he goes to the dark side, he enjoys his newfound nastiness ...
_ ... but he's no Darth Vader. He realizes he needs to literally and figuratively shed the blackness enveloping him.
Many more theories and observations can be found in the trade paperback "Webslinger: Unauthorized Essays on Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man," edited by Gerry Conway with Leah Wilson and published by BenBella Books Inc. of Dallas. (See www.benbellabooks.com or www.smartpopbooks.com for more information.)
(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette movie editor Barbara Vancheri can be reached at bvancheri@post-gazette.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.shns.com.)
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