Spiderman Essay

In our English Composition course, we watched Spiderman. It was created by Stan "The Man" Lee, "Who is arguably the most well-recognized figure in comic books". Also co-creator Stan Ditko, the artist who drew the original Spiderman comics. There were many themes where jealousy, vengeance, justice, and motivation all take place. There is the web-slinging Peter Parker who relies on his real life to keep him down to earth. Norman Osborne tied to Peter Parker through his son Harry Osborne, he is also driven by greed, revenge, and power to keep his company successful. Then there is Peters Aunt and Uncle, Peters motivation and heart. All of the characters combined make for many highs and lows which include Peters inability to love and the death of the Green Goblin. If the movie version of Spiderman and Batman character can be seen as an allegory for the basic human desire for revenge and the need at times for vigilante justice then the plot itself as well as each of the characters must be important elements that help illustrate this theme for each viewer.

The Spiderman movie had many themes flowing through it. A few of them were also shared with Tim Burton's rendition of Batman. They both had a sort of vigilante justice theme. Such as when Peter found out who had killed his uncle he vowed no other innocent person would fall victim to hate and crime. Same idea, different story with Batman, where both his parents were murdered in front of him, only later did Batman go out for justice. Another old theme, there is no good without evil, dates back all the way to the bible. It finds itself in both movies, neither of the movies would be very compelling if we had heroes without villains. The two movies have one more similar thing, the media try to portray both of the heroes as a villain. On the flip side, Spiderman and Batman had some differences too. Batman had all the money he wanted to spend on gear and gadgets to help him out. Peter almost inherits his powers, not really having much of a choice if he wanted to have powers or not. The only choice he really had was how he was going to use those powers. "Peter Parker was crucial in the evolution of Marvel Comics because he was fallible and had recognizable human traits". (Rogert Ebert, Chicago Sun Times) Ebert almost sums up why we love the Spiderman so much.

Spiderman is a very delicate character, so is Batman, in their own respects. Both of them are faced with the inability to love, having to keep the city clean and free of crime gives them little to no time for anything else. Another thing they both have in common is motivation. Both of them are motivated by a tragic event that happened in both of their lives. The two have some differences though. Peter is a shy quiet nerd, who was very unlucky with girls. Where as Bruce was a multi-million dollar playboy who could have any girl he wanted. Peter had no choice to inherit his powers. Bruce decided out of vengeance to become Batman. The original intent for Peter to use his powers was to get money to buy a car, because chicks dig cars. So the three traits that Peter Parker had was that he lived in secret identity, he was a vigilante, and he felt he had to be the "bigger brother" and keep everyone safe from evil.

Norman Osborne, the villain in Spiderman, has very similar traits when compared to Jack Napier, who is the villain in Batman. He is trying to get funding for this chemical performance enhancing drug. He is pushed by his company to get the testing rapped up as quickly as possible. Norman ends up testing himself with the product which eventually either gives him bipolar or makes his other self come out in an enraged and unstable mindset. Jack Napier too, was induced to chemicals which made him mentally unstable. Both of them wanted revenge on the people who did this to them, but in Normans case Spiderman interrupts his stage of getting revenge on the company who was going to sell his company. The difference between the two is that Norman is emotionally tied to Peter through Harry Osborne, his son. At one point in the movie, Norman Osborne even tells Peter that he is family. Norman loves his son very much. At the end he tells Peter to not tell Harry that he was the Green Goblin. The only emotional attachment Jack Napier had was himself.

Aunt May and Uncle Ben were more than just an Aunt and Uncle, they were Peters heart, soul, and mind. Without a doubt if Peter did not have those two. His life would probably end up on the opposite end of the spectrum, the villain. This goes the same for Alfred Pennyworth, Batman's butler. Another thing that the characters had in common was they were the moral compass of their superheroes. On one hand Alfred knew about Bruce's alter ego. On the other hand Uncle Ben and Aunt May did not know about Peter's alter ego. One last thing that had a small similarity was motivation. Even if those Uncle Ben and Aunt May did not directly motivate the Peter at every point in the movie. Simply being there in the possible way of danger motivates Peter to keep them safe.

The climax of this movie is one of the greatest of any comic book driven movie. One of the only similarities Spiderman and Batman have in common is their inability to love, due to all the crime fighting going on in their lives. They know they wont have time for their loved one. Peter waited till Normans funeral to tell Mary Jane that he could only be her friend, nothing more. Norman Osborne becoming the Green Goblin is a climax, even though he is being developed throughout the entire movie. Where as jack Napier's transitional phase to becoming The Joker was a swift procedure. Both Norman's and Jack's death were the peak of both movies. As normal the fight sequences for both movies have you guessing the next thing that happens all the way to the inevitable death of the villain.

If the movie version of Spiderman and Batman character can be seen as an allegory for the basic human desire for revenge and the need at times for vigilante justice then the plot itself as well as each of the characters must be important elements that help illustrate this theme for each viewer. All of the characters combined make for many highs and lows which include Peter's inability to love and the death of the Green Goblin. Aunt May and Uncle Ben, who are Peter's motivation and heart. Norman Osborne whose son is best friends with his nemesis Peter Parker. Last but most importantly Peter Parker. Who's alter ego is Spiderman, who is driven by vengeance and feels the need to protect his city. The plot of this movie is very well fleshed out, tying all the themes together perfectly. As Roger Ebert says, "The origin is well told, and the characters will not disappoint anyone who values the original comic books". Out of all the superhero comic-book movies I have seen, this would be the one I would enjoy watching over again.