Supernormal by Meg Jay

Author:Meg Jay
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canongate Books

CHAPTER 15

Cape

The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.

—Albert Einstein

The most iconic declaration in comic-book history is this: “With great power, there must also come great responsibility.” Though a similar sentiment has been expressed by many others—Winston Churchill said, “Where there is great power there is great responsibility,” and Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote on the eve of his death, “Great power involves great responsibility”—many know these words to be the moral revelation of Spider-Man. Gifted with special powers by way of a spider bite, teenage Peter Parker initially eschewed his unique abilities, and he was uninterested in using them for good. “I’ve got my own problems,” he reasoned, and he did: bullying, money trouble, girl trouble, family strife. However, shortly after Spider-Man failed to stop an escaping thief because he felt it was not his duty, this same burglar killed his surrogate father, his beloved uncle Ben. On the last panel of the comic-book issue that tells this sad story, a grief-stricken and regretful Spider-Man walks down the road alone surrounded by the words of an omniscient narrator: “And a lean, silent figure slowly fades into the gathering darkness, aware at last that in this world, that with great power there must also come—great responsibility.” It is in this moment that Peter Parker embraces his powers and his role as a superhero who has an obligation to do good.

A similar, though maybe less dramatic, transformation occurs for many supernormals. They may not have been bitten by spiders, but other events may leave them with strengths and competencies that, by adulthood, they feel compelled to put to use. Of course, like young Spider-Man, they too have their own problems. But also like young Spider-Man, they have been made keenly aware of injustice in the world, and so they become helpers or problem solvers at home or at work, often standing up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. In one way or another, they put on a cape and swoop in and save the day. To stand by and do nothing would be wrong; besides, helping other people is what they are good at. Likely, they have been doing it all their lives.

***

David’s mother cried the night before she married his father, a man who was gone not long after David was born. “You are the best thing to come of that,” David’s mother often said to him. “You are the light of my life.” This sentiment was expressed each night when David’s mother tucked him into bed with hugs and kisses and, together, they sang “their song”: “You Are My Sunshine.” For a while, bedtime was a warm and happy time, and David thought his mother had the most beautiful voice in the whole world. “You should be a singer, Mommy,” he encouraged her as she sat on the side of his small twin bed. When his mother said that her voice was not good enough for all that, David felt sad for her.

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