There’s a propensity in Spider-Man stories to grind the hero down. Constantly under threat of financial breakdown, always fearing for his loved ones (and famously losing them to tragic ends), Peter Parker has faced a slew of grueling stories. Perhaps it’s an aspect of the Spider-story as integral as his powers: the perpetual underdog, the hapless victim of circumstance.
Even in the hands of the best writers – and the character’s earliest – Peter’s tragic aspects sometimes bog the character down. He is made sullen and mopey, his face locked in a constant Sal Buscema grimace.
The problem with these periods is their tendency to overshadow what might be a much more central identity for the wallcrawler: his decency. More than a tragic figure, Spidey is meant to be an inspiration, a bright beacon of heroism. We are told, over and over and in no uncertain terms, that he is a great figure, respected by characters ranging in moral decency from Emma Frost to Captain America. His selflessness has given supervillains motivation for redemption. It’s hard to buy into that decency in stories where Peter is always whining, constantly dragged down by longwinded “woe is me” monologues (no matter the number of quips inserted alongside them).
It’s one thing for a character to be depressed, but depressing the reader is another thing altogether. There is a difference between a solid, sad story and a mopey story.
Tom Taylor’s run of Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man understood the importance of heroic levity and inspiration, and embraced the Spider-Man who uplifts the reader rather than the one that depresses them.
In the sixteen issues collected in Spider-Man by Tom Taylor, the day-to-day drama of Peter Parker’s life is left to the pages of Nick Spencer’s then-running The Amazing Spider-Man, freeing up Spidey for adventures unanchored by any concern larger than the adventure at hand. Those adventures embrace a good-hearted optimism and spotlight an altruistic, aspirational hero. Peter looks out for the unhoused, building first-name-basis relationships with the people in his community, people who pass on that guardianship by putting themselves in danger for the sake of others. He overthrows an underground dictator, and if that isn’t heroic enough, he is inspired to do this to ensure the well-being of two endangered children.
Wrapped in the dynamic, bold, and bright artwork of ten different phenomenal artists, these stories capture Spider-Man as an icon; beneath the mask, he is rendered with deeply human expressiveness. This is a book that embraces humanity first, and the bevy of artists produce pinpoint accurate moments of emotion. The supporting cast sings with honesty.
Even that supporting cast gets into the uplifting action. The Prowler, ever walking the line between hero and criminal, is given an opportunity to do good outside of his costume. The Fantastic Four run support in the underground uprising. Mary Jane takes over, in issue #11, to save a train full of people from a War of the Realms troll – after having spent a moral-support afternoon buying wigs with a chemo-bald Aunt May.
Ah, yes – the book isn’t without its tragedy; May is sick, after all, but rather than dwelling on the trauma and mournfulness inherent in diagnosis stories, the book leans into the sad sweetness of supporting your loved ones in hard times. These are stories of the goodness of family, and not stories about Peter being overwhelmed by grief.
In a standout – and tragic – issue, Spider-Man goes on an epic adventure with Spider-Bite, a young boy in a matching Spider costume – by issue’s end, it’s revealed that this is a game Spider-Man is playing with a terminally ill child in a hospital; faced with the horrifying tragedy, our hero chooses to further the astounding adventure: he takes the boy webslinging.
Even in the face of the most overwhelmingly bitter odds, Spider-Man is a hero first.
Smart, fun, and uplifting, Spider-Man by Tom Taylor is a book that reminds the reader of the character’s best parts by allowing them to shine without the melodrama of main Spider-continuity. It makes a reader feel great and makes them want to do great things. It refuses to grind our hero – our us – down.
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