With great power comes great responsibility
Everyone wants to be great at something — a great parent, a great friend, great partner, great craftsperson, great driver, great you-name-it.
Unfortunately, no one can be completely great at everything. We’re humans, which makes us infallible. But our imperfections and how we work around them are what make us super heroes of our own kind of our universes.
I recently went to see Spiderman: No Way Home with a friend. I love movies, period. As far as superheroes go, I lean more toward DC characters than Marvel, but I also don’t label myself as a “fan” because I’ve never kept up with the comics. But I find many of the standalone films fun, like a few from the Spiderman franchise, just as much as the next person.
I love the classics, so by default I’m a Toby-Maguire-Spiderman-gal. Not to mention, casting William Dafoe as Green Goblin was just genius; without a doubt, one of the best villain performances on record, in my opinion. I honestly never watched the Amazing Spiderman series; no particular reason, I just don’t always approach change with open arms. The same goes for the most recent installments starring Tom Holland — could never really get into those either. Holland’s especially — even though I think he’s an incredible actor and an even cooler human being — seemed a lot more adolescent and cheesier, which I guess was the point. Anyways, I was itching for some good action and Marvel rarely fails in that department so I went to go see the latest of Holland’s Spiderman, No Way Home.
My critical opinion: it was too long and had a few cringeworthy moments. I also would’ve loved less dialogue and more hero-on-villain action. My overall opinion, though: it was the right degree of closure to an incredible franchise. If you haven’t already seen it, there are a few surprise guest performances from some past “friendly-neighborhood” faces, and a few less friendly ones. These reprises in particular really gave the film the extra punch it needed, as well as some good ole nostalgia.
One thing I did especially appreciate about the film was the way the movie rolled back around full circle to the tried and true message from the very first movie, and my personal favorite, coined by the great Uncle Ben: with great power comes great responsibility. Holland’s Peter Parker was faced with a tremendous moral dilemma — to protect his own interests or protect the fate of mankind?
I know in my own life, in my late 20’s (the most relentless years yet), I’ve been faced with too many moral dilemmas to count, and the common denominator of them all is self-discretion. There are few definitive rights and wrongs in this world, but there are many vague uncertainties. Keeping the color between these lines of uncertainties is the biggest dilemma of them all because everyone colors differently, hence self-discretion.
I’m at the point in my life now where I’m having to come to terms with some pretty uncomfortable truths. One of which — acknowledging that I’m not the only person struggling with shit. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in yourself and what you’re going through that you fail to acknowledge that other people are trying to navigate a few uncomfortable complexities of their own lives.
We are who we choose to be, said William Dafoe’s Green Goblin in the first spiderman. So we got, we are who we choose to be and with great power comes great responsibility. Hmm…
To me, what both of these statements are saying is being just is a choice. In the first film, Peter Parker is faced with some pretty hard truths: the death of his uncle as a result of failing to disarm a robber that Parker was more than capable of stopping, that had stolen money Parker believed he deserved. And later in the movie there’s a scene where the Goblin is forcing Parker to choose between his lifetime-love Mary Jane and a train car full of people. Pulled deep into the blind rage that comes with revenge, he kills his uncle’s killer — which is not who Spiderman is, or any hero for that matter. In the last act of the movie, Parker is faced with the decision of choosing between the woman he loves and a group of strangers, Spiderman does what he can to do right by both — a complete 180 degree change from the first half of the movie.
So what changed? Besides time and maturity, Parker’s commitment to the greater good of something other than himself is what changed. Not perfection per se, but taking full advantage of his power to do all that he could do to save the day for as many people as possible. This applies for all superheroes — sacrificing one’s own life, even at the expense of betraying the trust of loved ones.
I won’t spoil the end of the Spiderman franchise for you, but let’s just say — the story of Peter Parker was more of a commencement to an unspoken chapter that, even with there being no tangible, Hollywood epilogue for the future of Spiderman, there’s a certain level of familiar understanding from anyone who knows what it feels like to give up your own self-interests for the sake of others, and how hard it feels in the moment, but how in the end, it’s all somehow worth it.
There is a lot superhero work going on around us right now. Think of the medical professionals working hard right now, sacrificing their own safety and that of their family, for something bigger than themselves — fighting the pandemic. Think about the amount of love it takes to surrender 18 years of your life to raising a child, and ensuring they grow up to be good people. Think about the selflessness it takes to be there for a friend struggling with depression when you have your own problems to worry about, or even when you’re at a happier point in your life and may not be able to necessarily relate.
Not all heroes wear spandex or capes. But we all have a super power, whether it’s hidden behind a mask or not. And it’s with this power we can either help create a better world or add to its sea of problems. What an incredible responsibility, indeed.
