Let’s talk about the 5 reasons Spider-Man is the best Marvel Superhero, and today I’ll tell you why. In an age of Superhero films, comics, and everything else in between it’s hard to really discuss this question. Who is the best superhero? Some have an easy answer such as Superman. But if we’re talking films only and not taking comic books into account then our pool of heroes becomes rather limited.
For my research, looking at the stories, and films I choose to include both the comics and films. The film-only readers, hit me up on Twitter if you wish for a similar list. For now, let’s talk about why Spider-Man is the best superhero. Why is Spider-Man the best? Read on and find out the 5 reasons Spider-Man rocks!
5 Reasons Spider-Man is the Best Marvel Superhero
1 He’s Relatable to everyone
When it comes to the comic book and film worlds, most of the superheroes we’ve seen include those like Batman and Iron Man. They are billionaires. Superman is an alien, Thor is a god. Hulk is a scientist who was hit with gamma rays. Wonder Woman is also a quote on quote God, the list goes on. My point is, Spider-Man is just a normal kid. As seen in the Civil War version, when Tony asked him what’s his MO, what gets him out of bed.
Peter comes back with a version of the classic line; With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility. He’s a normal guy, trying to live his life in a world of superheroes trying to do the right thing. Saving everyone from the little guy to stopping a galactic threat. The truth is, anyone could be bitten by a spider and become Spiderman. He has anxiety, and insecurities and he is shy believe it or not (at least in his early year in high school). The point is, we have all been where he is, except for the whole web-swinging thing.
2 The Best Alternate versions of Spider-Man Work
Something a lot of comic book writers do is create another version or story of the hero they are writing. We’ve seen this time and time again with characters like Batman, Superman, and all the Flashes in the world. The problem many of these new versions have is they lose what made the original, the pure essence of the character. In some cases, they are too close to the original character and no one cares at this point.
For our webhead, Peter has had a few alternate versions such as Spider-Gwen and Miles Morales who not only captured the essence of the character but became their own. One could even say some have become a sort of successor to Peter, such as Miles had in his own verse.
You also have the whole Spider-Verse storyline which showed us every version of Spider-Man we’ve seen to date plus some new ones. They all worked. None of them seemed to just be a copy. While some were not fleshed fully out, we still got a sense that they are different from Peter but have that same essence that makes him Spider-Man.
3 Not Overpowered
One of the biggest issues in comics and in films has been characters being too powerful to the point their villains aren’t very interesting at all and as a viewer/readers, we lose a sense of the thrill. This is likely why I never became a full-on Superman fan. I like the idea and I understand the point, just he’s too overpowered.
Unless you have kryptonite or in some cases now, magical powers Superman and cut a fart and beat you. One can auger and say that Spider-Man is one of the top 5 most powerful superheroes in Marvel alone. If you’ve seen again Civil War, it’s showcased in a grand way when he is easily able to fight both Winter Soldier and Cap with ease. I loved that part of the film and hope to see more of that in Spider-Man Homecoming.
4 Sense of Humor is Unrivaled
I’ll be honest, the biggest issue I had with the Sam Rami films was the sense of humor of the character was seriously missing. I don’t want to say that it needs to be a comedy, no. Sure you have to have your serious moments, but being able to crack a joke at a very serious moment and get away with it is gold. This is why I feel for example Iron Man was such a hit, they didn’t lose what kind of made Iron Man cool; his cocky wit.
Within Civil War and even in the Homecoming trailers; we see that Marvel/Sony is making up for the lack of humor but not going over the top with it. Something that has driven Spiderman in both comic and animated films for years now is how funny he is. The reason is when he’s Peter, he’s so nervous and bottled up. Spider-Man is his drug; it allows him to let go and do and say what he normally wouldn’t do as himself.
5 Rogue Gallery is Amazing
Here is a question. Why is Batman so popular? Is it because he’s freaking Batman? Some, but a heck of a lot of it comes from the fact he has the best villains in DC. The same can hold true for Spider-Man. He has some of the best villains in Marvel. Even those who don’t say originated from his comic, but the crossovers are generally better than when they are in their own comics they came from. Thinking of it, how many of you watched the Daredevil Netflix series and saw King Pin? How many wished to see that version go head-to-head with Spider-Man? The great part is we might get it down the road.
Thinking of it, how many of you watched the Daredevil Netflix series and saw King Pin. How many wished to see that version go head-to-head with Spider-Man? The great part is we might get it down the road. I could easily write a whole article on Spider-Man’s rogue gallery alone. He has a ton of really cool and interesting ones, even the more bazaar ones like Hammerhead for example.
So, that was my list of the 5 reasons Spider-Man is the best Marvel Superhero. What did you think? Do you agree with me? Was there something I missed out on or something that you feel should be here over another? Let the world know about it, and share this post with friends. Thanks for reading today.