The Soul of Spider-Man by Jeff Dunn

Author:Jeff Dunn [Dunn, Jeff and Adam Palmer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Spider-Man (Fictitious character), Comic books, strips, etc.—Religious aspects—Christianity
ISBN: 9781441224897
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2010-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Even Superheroes Need Help

John Donne famously wrote, many, many years ago (it was in 1623, if you must know) that “no man is an island, entire of itself.” This English poet saw, even 400 years ago, that a life lived completely alone is a dull thing.

There is no historical record as to whether Donne said, “I’m getting married in a church,” but Mary Jane says it to Peter early on in Spider-Man 2. He had been sure that she would get married on a hilltop, but no, she flatly corrects him. A church it is.

And what a church! At the end of the movie, we see the church that Mary Jane meant, a giant, ornamental cathedral, spires reaching to the skies. The architecture itself is a cheery celebration of joy.

Ah, but within the ornate décor, Mary Jane’s lonesome expression stands as a perfect counterpoint to the opulence around her. Yes, she’s a beautiful bride, but she’s begun to realize that she’s marrying the wrong man (his astronaut status notwithstanding).

Cut to the wedding—a lavish, extravagant affair with flowers all over the place … and a jilted groom, who is handed a note by, one assumes, Mary Jane’s friend or maid of honor or someone like that.

Never one for subtlety, Sam Raimi, the film’s director, then treats us to a shot of Mary Jane running through a sun-dappled park, trees in full bloom, white doves fluttering behind her, the fountain joyously erupting, all shot in gauzy hues that lend the whole proceedings an aura of heavenly light. MJ is taking her life into her own hands! Who cares that she now knows Peter is Spider-Man? Or that he’d told her they can’t be together? Or that he views rejecting her as a means of protecting her? She’s smiling, following her own heart.

And where is she running? She’s headed to Peter’s apartment, where he is morosely looking out the window, his back to the open door (why is it open, exactly?). He notices her presence and she tells him, “I had to do what I had to do.”

Much speechifying follows, where she points out to him that it’s not up to him to decide how she should handle her heart. If she wants to be with him and sign up for all the dangers that connotes, then that’s her right.

But what she says in the midst of that cuts to the core of everything that sucks about being a superhero: “Isn’t it about time somebody saved your life?”

It’s the catch-22 of superhero-dom. Sure, you do a lot of good for people and, you know, save the world again and again … but you do it all alone. You don’t have anyone to confide in, anyone to share your troubles with, anyone to give you a hand when you really need it.

And make no mistake, you’ll need it. Peter says as much toward the end of Spider-Man 3, when he’s rushing off to take care of Sandman and Venom and pleads with his friend Harry Osborn for help.

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