"AND TO THINK THEY USED TO CALL ME SKINNY!“ PART 2: WITH GREAT POWER THERE COMES GREATER SELFISHNESS

And then came the superhero “who could be you”“. The superhero who would change how superheroes acted, felt and thought about themselves. Looking at the cover for Amazing Fantasy No. 15 (1962) by Kirby and Ditko, one immediately feels reminded of one of those Charles Atlas ads: “Though the world may mock Peter Parker, the timid teenager”¦ it will soon marvel at the awesome might of Spider-Man!”“ Clearly, this was very much a story like in those, “The Insult That Made A Man Out Of Mac”“ ads, only in this case, Mac was made into a SPIDER-Man. And the first page to the story does look a lot like it came right out of one of those ads, with a group of attractive high school students talking: “Say, gang we need one more guy for a dance! How about Peter Parker, over there?”“ To which another guy, muscle-bound and clearly the center of attention, casually replies: “Are you kiddin“? That bookworm wouldn“t know a cha-cha from a waltz!”“ The two girls in this little group of students are laughing mockingly as if this was the best joke they“ve heard in a while, with the pretty blonde girl adding another insult: “Peter Parker? He“s Midtown High“s only professional wallflower!”“ To the right side, all by himself, we see the hero of the story, head tilted towards the ground, shoulders slumped, looking dejected, clearly a nerd. But we also see something the other students cannot. Behind this frail kid there is very tall shadow on the wall. That of a much bigger, much stronger guy. A guy with spider-webbing. So, having seen all those Charles Atlas ads, and because we have read a ton of superheroes comics, we get it right away. This is our hero. He would be transformed. Into a he-man, into a Spider-Man. This nerdy kid, Peter Parker, looked how we saw ourselves. He is unpopular. He is thin and frail, and he is definitely a bit square. And Peter is the only one seen with books under his arms. The pretty blonde girl holds a little purse. Unlike Steve Rogers twenty years earlier, he is already smart. Unlike the guys in the Charles Atlas ads, he doesn“t get made fun of, because he is “97-pound weakling”“, but because he takes school and his studies seriously. He is a good student, like Barry Allen must have been, before he grew up to be a police scientist. But this kid is clearly no Barry Allen. Barry has a pretty fiancÃ©e and had dated a girl prior who became a Hollywood actress not less. No, this guy is different. He is a teenager and we can relate to him because of that, and we can relate to him, because all the pretty girls at his high school would not even go out on date with him like they did with Clark Kent, or Mac or Joe in those ads. But there was something else on that first page. A box with black letters on a yellow background. Exactly like the copy was presented in that very first Charles Atlas ad you saw. And like the guy with the body of a real-life superhero, Stan Lee is talking directly to you, the reader, when he tells you: “But, we think you may find our Spider-Man just a bit”¦ different!”“ And he was different. We could sense it right away. Here was a guy who tried to get through life without life kicking him in the face constantly. If he was not deserving of superpowers, who was?

In the world in which Peter lived, The Fantastic Four had also received superpowers. Only a year earlier. But these were characters (who looked a lot like they had been lifted from earlier stories by Stan and Jack) who were very much molded in the image of the superheroes that had come before. In fact, these characters became superheroes (by accident) because they stole a rocket ship to beat the Commies to the punch, for society, for mankind. They knew they had a mission. They knew this instinctively, all four of them (even if Ben needed a bit convincing). This idea of their mission to benefit others, is reinforced once they received superpowers. Yet, Stan Lee lets Ben Grimm say it out loud, so we can be sure that this guy who least wanted these powers, got with the program: “You don“t have to make a speech, big shot! We understand! We“ve gotta use that power to help mankind, right?”“ Reed, always the smartest man in any the room, reiterates this sentiment: “Right, Ben, right!”“ For The Fantastic Four, this was the beginning of their adventures. But not the beginning of a journey. They knew what they had to do. They knew their mission. But from those familiar black letters in the yellow box we knew this would not be the case with Spider-Man. Like those ads seemed to entice you to, Peter acted selfishly once he got his superpowers. And wasn“t that totally ok? Let the guy have some fun for a change. Here was a superhero who for once was not in it for the betterment of mankind. No super god to show society the way. Stan had promised that this costumed character would be different. And different he was. He acted like we would. And if to further show us that this selfishness was ok, the issue featured not one, but two ads from bodybuilder types like Charles Atlas, one even in the familiar style. Mike Marvel, who offered his method of how to put on muscles for only $1.98, plus “Secrets of Attracting Girls”“ for FREE, and another ad with the promise to build you into “A New Athletic Mighty-Muscled All-Male He-Man”“ in 10 minutes a day. And here was Peter Parker. Our hero now transformed. He became the star of a late-night show.

Interestingly, when Lee (with Jack Kirby, Syd Shores) retold Captain America“s origin in Captain America No. 109 (1969), this time from Steve Rogers“ perspective, he expanded on the Steve Rogers pre-Captain part significantly. This Steve (in contrast to the Simon and Kirby tale) is less interested in being in it for America and for society, when he tries to join the Army, and when Steve volunteers for the experiment that would transform him into a he-man. The way Stan Lee lets him tell his story, Steve sounds a lot like Charles Atlas would describe himself in some of his ads (and how the guys looked in the “before”“-panels in these ads styled like a page torn from a comic book): “I was the skinniest, scrawniest recruit ever”¦”“ And even though it seems that Steve“s motives are altruistic (some might even say “pure”“), he sounds a lot like Peter, in that he appears to be very self-centered as well: “You“ve just got to accept me! There must be something I can do, some place for me!”“ But of course, Captain America was born during “The Golden Age”“ of comics, Stan knew this. And thus, once transformed and realizing that he in fact would be unique (remember, the professor gets killed), he accepted his mission: “As long as I live, I“ll dedicate myself to fighting, to destroying the enemies of liberty! That shall be my purpose, my sworn dedication for all the days of my life!”“ Which sounded a lot like the oath young Bruce Wayne swore in Detective Comics No. 33. But with this new hero, Spider-Man, we encountered a guy for the very first time who was no hero before he got his powers and put on his costume, like Hal Jordan was, and who did not just become one because of them. Because Peter had no in with society like Hal or Barry Allen. Spider-Man would be different from any other hero, like Stan Lee had told us in that yellow letter box with the black writing on the first page. Before he became a superhero, Peter was a thin, nerdy guy, and even after he got bitten by a radioactive spider (which in the world of comic books in the 1960’s meant he got powers), Spider-Man looked nothing like Mike Marvel or Charles Atlas who had built up their bodies from a mere 97 lb. It is widely believed that Jack Kirby had either pitched the character to Stan or that Stan had asked The King for his ideas. In any case, there is a character design by Kirby that shows a muscular superhero. If this was too reminiscent of an earlier hero by Simon and Kirby or if this was entirely not what Lee had envisioned, Stan eventually brought Steve Ditko on board the project. Between the two of them, these creators came up with a new kind of superhero entirely. His build, even as a superhero, suggested that here was superhero who was still a teenager, unfinished in his development as a man and a hero. Other than all the heroes (and heroines) before him, Spider-Man did not arrive fully formed. And neither did Peter. He was an ordinary guy. But Stan and Steve went on to give Peter Parker something superheroes and superheroines had lacked before. And no, not just a motivation. This was nothing new, really. Steve Rogers was motivated by his drive to be part of something bigger than himself. And even though Steve“s motivation came from the role HE could play in the war effort, he wanted to belong, to be recognized. Hal Jordan was a brave test pilot. When the Green Lantern of sector 2814 was dying and in need of a successor, his power ring chose the bravest man, a man without fear. Hal Jordan.

Like Steve and Hal Jordan, Peter had a motivation as well, long before he became a superhero. The new thing was, his motivation was all about him. Me-first! This was unique and laid the foundation for what would eventually become the Marvel Universe, much more so than with The Fantastic Four. While these four people understood their mission (“to benefit mankind”“), Peter Parker was the first character in any superhero book whose mission was to fulfill his own needs. And he felt no guilt about it. In that respect he was very much like everybody those Charles Atlas and Mike Marvel ads spoke to. That following your own goals was perfectly alright. And this made him like us. Because face it, tiger, we are about me, first. Sure, when he discovers, that now he has superpowers, Peter goes to tests these powers in a wrestling match. This sequence, which is reminiscent of the scenes in which Mac and Joe finally got their revenge over their bullies in the Charles Atlas ads (only of course much better done by Steve Ditko), feels in line with other heroes testing their new superpowers. But then, when Peter gets approached by a producer, he designs his web-shooters and his famous costume, not to fight crime, but to go into show business. Surely an opportunity, to be further testing his superpowers, and to earn a bit cash on the side like with the wrestling match. But he had done more than win the match. Peter had humiliated his opponent in the ring in front of the spectators. So yeah, his powers and the sweet taste of success might have gone a bit to his head. Small wonder, for a guy who has been picked on for such a long time by his classmates. And Spidey becomes an overnight TV sensation. As Stan puts it: “As his first TV spectacular ends, Peter Parker breathes the first sweet scent of fame and success!”“ We understand, and maybe we would have acted the same way. Right from the opening page to Amazing Fantasy No. 15, we got that Peter wasn“t well liked. But if we look closely while we follow Peter through his day, a different picture emerges. We learn that there were reasons why he was unpopular among all of his peers. Peter came across as fairly arrogant, pretty aloof and petty. You could well imagine, that when this guy was in class, and even after school, he would push through his science books, granted his shot at rating the college scholarship we see his teacher talking about, but caring little for his classmates (this would play out in detail during his first days in college in The Amazing Spider-Man No. 31, when Peter got distracted by the troubles in his life). In Amazing Fantasy No. 15, at his school, Peter clearly desired the pretty girls who in turn told him in no uncertain terms that he wasn“t desirable to them. Why should he? He was perceived as a teachers“ pet. Peter was solely focused on achieving his goals, and he did very little to communicate why this was important to him. One wonders, were his efforts to be a top student motivated by him needing to win a scholarship, or was he not much more driven towards achieving academic excellence by his desire to be ahead of his fellow students, to feel superior to them? It isn“t surprising that he was not well liked.

Still, Peter wants to hang with the group of cool students, yet we do not see any attempt on his part at getting to know them when we are introduced to his world. Like a child, Peter expects them to like what he likes. His idea of connecting with his popular classmates, is him asking them if they want to see the “great new exhibit at the science hall”“, something only he would be interested in. He gets turned down of course and laughed at again for coming up with the ridiculous notion that they would fancy such an endeavor. Peter“s reaction isn“t him reflecting on this outcome, like: “Ok, I get it! These are the hip kids. This is simply not their bag. Next time I“ll suggest something they might be interested in!”“ Instead we get this: “Some day I“ll show them! Sob! Some day they“ll be sorry that they laughed at me!”“ Peter isn“t only entirely dedicated to achieving his own goals, he clearly expects others to connect with him when he feels like it and by doing things he likes. Peter is unsocial, and he is a major a dick. And naturally, that is what he is, even after he has obtained his superpowers. And contrary to what these ads from Charles Atlas and Mike Marvel (including the one in this very book) told you, what would be required from you, you training for at least 10 minutes a day, it seemed Peter needn“t invest anything into becoming a he-man, this Spider-Man. The radioactive spider-bite gave Peter the proportional strength and the abilities of a spider, turning him into an instant superhero if he so desired. But it did nothing to develop his mind or his character. He was self-centered before the spider-bite and this had not changed. The reaction to the spider-bite did not include a re-wiring of his brain and thoughts like what had happened to Steve in the original telling of the origin of Captain America all the way back in 1941 (by Simon and Kirby). Like with the “marvelous muscle-building system Dynamic Tension”“ that Charles Atlas was peddling in his comic-like ads, the change was purely to his physique, and it brought new abilities that made Peter feel “alive, full of zip and go!”“ Like Mac and Joe, and his nemesis at his high school, Flash Thompson, he felt like a real man, a regular he-man, and best of all, he was his own man now. And when a police officer asks him to stop a fugitive, Peter, as Spider-Man, not only lets the criminal escape, but he tells the police officer off, who appears both angry and surprised that a hero would allow this, or in this case, would do nothing: “Sorry, pal! That“s your job! I“m thru being pushed around”¦ by anyone! From now on I just look out for number one”¦ that means”¦me!”“ Really? But was this not how Peter had acted before? At least we do not see it otherwise. But like all those ads from Charles Atlas and Mike Marvel told you and Peter, this was ok. Being selfish, being vain, and feeling superior was part of the deal. Looking out for “number one”¦ that means”¦me!”“, was totally cool. And wasn“t Peter as Spider-Man in his perfect rights to tell the police officer that sorry, but no, it wasn“t his job to stop a criminal from escaping? And that he was “”¦thru [with] being pushed around”“? Unless of course, we do not see him being pushed around. Yet throughout the entirety of the eleven pages that make up Spider-Man“s origin story, Peter is looking out for himself. Sure, he loves his Uncle Ben and his Aunt May, who give him a microscope they might not be able to afford. But what does Peter care. “They “are the greatest family any fella ever had!”“ But the rest of the world? Not so much. Then, Uncle Ben is killed. And Spider-Man, after capturing his killer, realizes that this is the same criminal he“d let escape earlier: “It“s the fugitive who ran past me! The one I didn“t stop when I had a chance!”“ Once again, we get an image of a dejected Peter by Steve Ditko. We the readers see him crying. We see Peter putting the blame for his uncle“s death on himself: “My fault”¦ all my fault! If only I had stopped him when I could have! But I didn“t”¦ and now”¦ Uncle Ben”¦ is dead.”“

But does he? And is he to blame? This quote reads a lot like what Steve is saying to the Army physician who rejects him in Captain America No. 109. While Steve makes the war about himself, Peter does so with the death of his uncle. Uncle Ben is dead because of him. But we see that Peter is a smart guy and he must have figured out, at least on a subconscious level, that hadn“t he gained his spider-powers, had he never gone into showbiz instead of fighting crime, Peter would never have met the police officer to begin with, or the thief, to stop him from becoming a killer. Most likely, his uncle still would have died, with Peter being entirely powerless in the whole affair. Of course, this is speculation, but if you look at how this event is treated in a series like What If (which is about how alternative decisions would have played out across the Marvel Universe) and issue No. 7 (1978) specifically, it feels that Uncle Ben“s death only matters, only ever occurs when Peter is involved. In this story by Don Glut (with art by Rick Hoberg), three different people other than Peter Parker get bitten by the spider and thus gain superpowers. Only one of these three stories involve the death of Ben Parker. In the other two we are to assume that Ben makes it out of the story alive. At least we don“t see anything to an adverse effect, and all stories follow Peter. Interesting to note, Peter is presented as being envious of whoever now possess spider-powers. And in another What If story, this one by Peter Gillis and Pat Broderick (No. 19, 1980), we get to see an alternative world in which Spider-Man stops the thief. However, he is clearly once again motivated by his selfishness as The Watcher, the narrator of this series, observes “”¦for it is done for”¦ publicity!”“ The death of Ben Parker is a storytelling device for Stan and Steve. But we are not to understand, that it is the death of this character and Peter subsequently putting the blame on himself, are to cause an instant change in him. Peter does not get up and walks into the night a changed man. Stan and Steve knew that this would be a cheat, and this wasn“t the story they wanted to tell. Gaining superpowers and then not to use them for the benefit of mankind and witnessing the consequences this wrought, did not change Peter on the spot. He was still self-centered. Peter did not have a mission like the Fantastic Four did.

Since this eleven-page long story in Amazing Fantasy, a soon to be cancelled anthology series, was a big hit with readers, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko were able to continue Spider-Man“s adventures. And this character even got his own series, which picked up right where his first story had left off. Consequently, in The Amazing Spider-Man No. 1 (1963) we see Peter Parker going back to his showbiz gig. But first, he briefly contemplates a life as a criminal. Why? Because now that Uncle Ben is dead, he needs to find a source of income in earnest, not like before when it was part of the thrill. This time around, it is not just about himself: “But I“ve got to help Aunt May somehow!”“ He even offers “to quit school and get a job!”“ But back in the limelight, things have also changed on this side of the equation. Reality sets in. As the guy in charge explains: “I can“t give you cash! I“ve got to give you a check, so there is a record for taxes!”“ What superhero ever had to deal with taxes? And how does a superhero cash a check made out in his name? He doesn“t, and it doesn“t matter, because a certain newspaper publisher declares Spider-Man a menace to society. The opposite of what any hero“s mission should be. What Lee and Ditko show us, here was a hero who had to learn what no superhero had to learn before. That being a hero is not easy. Yes, you are handed these fantastic superpowers, but they do not make you more than a man, nor do they make you a superhero. Superpowers might make you stronger than any other man (including Mike Marvel and Charles Atlas) or faster or even both, and maybe you can leap tall buildings in a single bound, smash your enemies, but this was clearly not solving your money problems. But there was more to it. Something those ads that featured all these most perfectly developed men had failed to mention. They had no answer for you other than how to get such a perfectly developed body and that once you did it, now it was your turn to kick sand into a bully“s face. In the first panel of The Amazing Spider-Man No. 1, we see Peter throwing his costume angrily into a closet as if to imprison it, or like Mac and Joe would push the other guy around once they had become a real he-man thanks to Charles Atlas. “Uncle Ben is dead. And all because I was too late to save him. My Spider-Man costume! I wish there were no such thing!”“ Peter hated being this new guy, because it came at a high cost. Here was a superhero who not only not had a mission, but who rejected his superpowers and his superhero identity symbolized by the costume he had created to be an entertainer. This was something unheard of, something we would see over and over as the series progressed. But like in Amazing Fantasy, when Peter seems to be crying over his uncle“s death, and the role he feels he has played in it, and here again, his frustrations aren“t about the death of his uncle or his perceived failure associated with it. Neither are they about a lack of money.

At the end of the first Spider-Man story in Amazing Fantasy we see Peter crying. But Stan lets us know that this was not because he had been weak for one moment when he enjoyed his new fame and he had let a criminal get away who later went on to kill Uncle Ben. Peter was well in his rights to say, that it was not his job to do a cop“s work, to endanger himself in the process perhaps. But him not acting in that moment came out of his character. It had not arrived with his new powers. Peter cries because he feels guilt over his selfishness, this vanity all those Charles Atlas ads had promised was totally ok. In this moment when Peter realized who the killer of Uncle Ben was, he started to see what his job was. Had he stopped the thief like we see in What If No. 19, not only had Uncle Ben lived, but he would not feel this guilt either. But also, he would not have come to realize, that it was not just one moment in which he“d failed. Leading a life in which looking “out for number one”¦ that means”¦me!”“ had consequences. At school, it isolated him from his fellow students, during the wrestling match, he had behaved like the bullies in those ads, and it had prevented him from stopping his uncle“s murder. When Peter is crying in this one panel, it is not because he mourns the loss of Uncle Ben, but he cries for the loss of his ego, his feeling of self-importance. And he cries because he realizes that he had to change. And that this was not as easy as getting superpowers and designing your own costume. That this was a journey, a journey that had just begun. But in Amazing Fantasy No. 15 we had seen Peter as a good student. We had seen his willingness to learn. To go on learning. Most likely, we were good students, too. And Stan and Steve invited us to learn each new lesson together with Spider-Man. And they gave him and us our first lesson, not in a free book, like the ones we could send out a coupon for from a Charles Atlas ad, but at the very end of the first story about this superhero Stan had told us we “may find just”¦ a bit different!”“ A lesson, that oddly enough or interestingly so, contains the single most misquoted line in the history of comics: “And a lean, silent figure slowly fades into the gathering darkness, aware at last that in this world, with great power there MUST also come”¦ great responsibility!”“ Peter“s journey had just begun. So had ours.

Author Profile

Chris Buse (RIP)

A comic book reader since 1972. When he is not reading or writing about the books he loves or is listening to The Twilight Sad, you can find Chris at his consulting company in Germany... drinking damn good coffee. Also a proud member of the ICC (International Comics Collective) Podcast with Al Mega and Dave Elliott.