Saturday, May 3, 2014

A Letter to Peter Parker - 5/3/2014

Dear Peter,

You are an idiot. Most of the time, you are written as a brilliant scientific mind in the Marvel Universe, which has more than a few geniuses running around in it. Reed Richards has been impressed by you at times, along with a number of others.

Your body has been changed by a remarkable accident. You are fully aware of this, and in a unique position to study yourself in a scientific and controlled manner. In most incarnations, one of the first things you notice is that your eyesight has improved, along with your other senses. You possess strength, speed, reflexes and flexibility that would make an Olympic athlete weep. You heal from wounds that would kill others in hours, if not instantly.

And yet, you constantly juggle a lack of money and a difficult social life with your pursuits as Spider-Man. So here's what you need to do. First, stop whining. Second, write a proposal, get a grant, get a loan, sell a few pictures of Spidey to real media outlets that would actually pay you real money instead of the pittance that the Bugle provides.

Second, establish a lab. Hire only people you truly trust, and do the critical work yourself. Don't let them know that it's your tissue they're studying, just get the study going. You have the potential to figure out how to stop real problems, like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Hodgkins' diseases. To change the way people deal with age and infirmity. To change humanity for the better, all without going around wasting your time and talents stopping muggers and car thieves.

Yes, some will get away that you might have stopped, and there might be a few threats out there that you have to pull out the tights to deal with. But your talents and your opportunity are worth far more to humanity than slightly safer streets in one city.

Grow up, be a man and put away your power fantasies. Your responsibility is not to individuals who face violence in the street, it's to everyone who faces reality every day.

Sincerely,
Someone who understands that your decisions are based on dramatic tension and not reality and therefore realizes that there would be no Spider-Man comic books without the fundamental misunderstandings you make about yourself.


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