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Post by Ozymandias on Feb 12, 2015 19:44:35 GMT
The main ingredients for his success, could be: - He was a frustrated teen, it isn't just that he was the superhero instead of the sidekick, but that he wasn't cut out to be a hero in the first place. In a time when nerds weren't seen in a positive light, not matter what angle you chose to look at them, Peter Parker turned out to be an odd bet for a role model.
- His power set was nicely chosen. He had all the characteristics of a spider, which offer a lot of possibilities for action scenes, but without the weirdness. Instead of having as many eyes as necessary to accomplish 360 degree vision, he's granted some sixth sense. The web spinning could also turn out to be icky, so that part is left out and replaced by mechanical means. The end result was someone halfway between street-level and really "super", a character which offered great flexibility when it came to fight all kinds of adversaries.
- Not unlike Bruce Wayne, we also get an origin story that provides the character with a motivation for doing what he does. Where Batman went the vengeance route, Spider-Man travels one not as dark, karmic in nature, one of self-discovery that's more in line with Ditko's oriental interests.
- Being an orphan wasn't original, but given that he was too young to live on his own, the mother figure isn't completely removed from the picture. This was a clear difference, that set him apart from other characters, whose parents played no significant role in the stories.
And let's not forget about jolly Jonah, a mix of enemy, supportive cast and comic relief (with a touch of sad envy), all rolled into one. When in his civil identity, there were two distinctive environments to play with, school and work. The Daily Bugle would have been way duller, without JJJ. |
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Post by dav on May 22, 2015 20:36:50 GMT
The main ingredients for his success, could be: - He was a frustrated teen, it isn't just that he was the superhero instead of the sidekick, but that he wasn't cut out to be a hero in the first place. In a time when nerds weren't seen in a positive light, not matter what angle you chose to look at them, Peter Parker turned out to be an odd bet for a role model.
- His power set was nicely chosen. He had all the characteristics of a spider, which offer a lot of possibilities for action scenes, but without the weirdness. Instead of having as many eyes as necessary to accomplish 360 degree vision, he's granted some sixth sense. The web spinning could also turn out to be icky, so that part is left out and replaced by mechanical means. The end result was someone halfway between street-level and really "super", a character which offered great flexibility when it came to fight all kinds of adversaries.
- Not unlike Bruce Wayne, we also get an origin story that provides the character with a motivation for doing what he does. Where Batman went the vengeance route, Spider-Man travels one not as dark, karmic in nature, one of self-discovery that's more in line with Ditko's oriental interests.
- Being an orphan wasn't original, but given that he was too young to live on his own, the mother figure isn't completely removed from the picture. This was a clear difference, that set him apart from other characters, whose parents played no significant role in the stories.
And let's not forget about jolly Jonah, a mix of enemy, supportive cast and comic relief (with a touch of sad envy), all rolled into one. When in his civil identity, there were two distinctive environments to play with, school and work. The Daily Bugle would have been way duller, without JJJ. Point #1 The fact that he was a frustrated teen and the fact that the vast majority of comic readers were frustrated teens was what made him so popular. They could completely identify with him, empathize with him and live vicariously through him. Not so much of an odd bet for a role model. #2 The Parker character was was going to be popular no matter what powers he was given, but I think his power set was an intuitive choice rather than a conscious choice on the part of Ditko. In fact I get the strong feeling that Peter Parker was modeled after Ditko himself! From what information I've gathered about the man, I can see him as a person very similar to Parker in high school, and not coincidentally a comic reader as well! I can see him as a science geek, comic reader, frustrated teen, and maybe even an amateur arachnologist as well! Spiderman had another power that is not even spider-related: His intelligence. How many times was he able to defeat a foe with superior powers by using his intelligence, another thing the Spidey demographic would find appealing! Along the same lines, science geeks were sure to to love the mechanic webbing as well! #3 Although not necessary, having a motivation gave Spidey a greater depth. Also, it made the character a good role model for the readers. I mean "with great power there must come great responsibilty!" WOW! Also I didn't know about Ditko's oriental interests. Again, Parker was probably modeled after Ditko himself! Heavy stuff! #4 Again, look at the demographic, a large portion of which I can speculate didn't have a strong male father figure in their lives, thus making Parker an appealing character, and this might also be the case with Ditko. Hmm, what do newspapers and comic books have in common? Publishers, many of whom I imagine were tyrants! Not a big surprise they went this route! LOL I imagine this might have been Stan's and Steve's way of getting digs in at their boss! Wow! This thread got real deep real quick! Good topic! |
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Post by Ozymandias on May 22, 2015 21:29:00 GMT
You're saying that readers could identify with Peter because there were similarities, and that sounds about right, but the thing is that you don't identify with a role model. A role model is someone who might inspire you to become someone similar, but if you were similar to begin with, what would be the model needed for?
Crazyoldhermit has already pointed out (in his thread), the main role Peter's brains played, in many of his victories, specially at the beginning, with Ditko.
His motto was obviously the "role model" part, what turned an otherwise odd choice, into something with good prospects. I only say that Ditko was interested in the Orient, because of Doctor Strange.
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Post by dav on May 22, 2015 23:52:07 GMT
You're saying that readers could identify with Peter because there were similarities, and that sounds about right, but the thing is that you don't identify with a role model. A role model is someone who might inspire you to become someone similar, but if you were similar to begin with, what would be the model needed for? Crazyoldhermit has already pointed out (in his thread), the main role Peter's brains played, in many of his victories, specially at the beginning, with Ditko. His motto was obviously the "role model" part, what turned an otherwise odd choice, into something with good prospects. I only say that Ditko was interested in the Orient, because of Doctor Strange. A role model is a person whose behavior, example, or success is or can be emulated by others. If someone similar to ourselves achieves success we will emulate that behavior. That peer is a short term role model, thus Peter Parker becomes that to the readers. |
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