Comics Archives - The Simple Catholic

Editor’s Note: Post originally published on December 06, 2021.

One of the movies I’m most excited about since Avengers: Endgame is Spider-Man: No Way Home. One of the ways I have been preparing for it is rewatching the Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield Spidey films. Another way is reading the recent run of The Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer. It’s an intriguing series and puts a new spin on one of Peter Parker’s greatest villains. Specifically, this article will be based on issues #37-60.

The Amazing Spider-Man cover Volume 9 Nick Spencer.

Even Heroes Need to Grieve

Arguably the most iconic quote in comic book history is Ben Parker’s, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Peter Parker took his uncle’s words to heart and takes the job of a superhero seriously. In the MCU, Peter is always trying to do his best at making Tony Stark (a father figure) proud. The weight of responsibility Spider-Man carries makes him one of my favorite Marvel characters.

One of the side effects of taking your responsibilities so carefully and seriously is you often don’t have the foresight to recognize it’s sometimes okay to make mistakes. In Spencer’s The Amazing Spider-Man, Peter doesn’t give himself enough grace when things happen outside of his control. He even takes responsibility for the choices of the villains Sin-Eater and Kindred.

Sins Must Be Paid— But By Who?

The Sin-Eater is a former S.H.IE.L.D. agent (Stanley Carter) turned serial killer. He believed the sins of his father were passed onto him and decided to “absorb” the sins of other people who abused their power. Spider-Man values human life so much that his battles with Sin-Eater forces Parker to defend one of his greatest villains—Norman Osborn.

In a soliloquy during issue #47, Sin-Eater tells Spider-Man:

“Do you want to know what your problem is, Spider-Man? You think you’re superior. Above all this. Above them. You look at their fear, and their bloodlust with disdain. Of course, you do. Why wouldn’t you? You swing up high, through the city, you tear down walls with your bare hands. It affords you this luxury. The luxury to call what I do unseemly. To refuse to believe in my calling. To insist I can’t be trusted. You don’t know what they’re feeling—how desperate they are. But you will…you see the one who called me, he has a plan for you. I am just his vessel. He told me who to cleanse next—see what your sins have done.”

Sticking to the Mission

Throughout his superhero career Peter Parker took it upon himself to protect his city, family, and friends. When I think of Spider-Man I don’t normally associate him being part of a superhero team like the Avengers or Fantastic Four. Spider-Man had good reasons to be solitary and keep his identity secret—to protect Aunt May, Mary Jane, and others he loved.

Even when members of the “Order of the Web” showed up in Volume 9: Green Goblin Returns, Peter Parker is reticent to accept their help. He doesn’t think it’s their responsibility for his “sins” or past failures. He wants to stick with his mission of fighting villains by himself.

In issue #51 Spider-Man seeks out help from Dr. Strange in finding the demon Kindred. Peter tells Strange, “For as long as I’ve been putting this suit on, one deranged monster after another has used the people I love as pawns. I have lost so many of them…But that ends here. It has to.” Great power. Great (sole) responsibility. That’s what Peter learned long ago from his Uncle Ben. He continued to tell the mystical doctor, “So whatever you think can be done—to find him (Kindred), to free them—I am in. But understand this—I will be there. I’ll be the one to face him. And I am not taking no for an answer.”

The Amazing (and Lonely) Spider-Man

When Peter Parker does eventually find Kindred he is quickly outwatched. The centipede-clothed villain wants Spider-Man to confess his sins. After torturing Spidey for some time, Kindred pulls off his mask and reveals himself to be Harry Osborn.

Kindred (Harry) hints at Spider-Man’s primary character flaw in reply to Peter blaming him for sending Sin-Eater, “No, you decided—like you always do—that you knew best. Thinking you know better than all of us.” Much of the hatred Harry/Kindred feels towards Spider-Man originates from Peter keeping the secret of Norman Osborn being the Green Goblin. Harry felt betrayed because he didn’t know what his father was going through until it was too late. Spider-Man wanted to protect Harry from his father.

The following exchange between the former best friends comes to a boil:

Harry/Kindred: He was my father!!! I had the right to know! It was my family, not yours! I could’ve gotten him help. You just let him walk free!

Peter: I…I didn’t know he was still a threat. He had suffered amnesia after our last fight. He didn’t even remember he was the Goblin.

Harry/Kindred: There we are. There’s the lie. You let him go because of the amnesia. Yeah, Pete, that’s right. But not because he didn’t remember who he was. It was because he didn’t remember who you were.

A fractured friendship was sowed by distrust. Harry could have forgiven Peter’s mistake of not keeping him aware of Norman’s identity as the Green Goblin. Spider-Man could have eased the tension by looping more friends into his secret of being a superhero. But trust lost entangled their relationship.

Confession Leads to Peace

The fight between Kindred, Spider-Man, and Green Goblin (who shows up at the end of Issue #55) ends with Wilson Fisk showing up. The Kingpin harnessed and amplified the villain The Spot’s powers to contain Harry. Kindred is trapped in a sort of dimensional encasement.

Even after the capture of Kindred, Peter continues to have dreams about him and struggles with his past decisions as Spider-Man. At the urging of Mary Jane, Peter decides to talk about his problems and fear relating to Kindred. Peter closes his eyes and imagines Kindred standing before him. Spider-Man explains why he takes it upon himself and decides what’s best for others. Peter blamed himself for his Uncle Ben’s death and the lost friendship with Harry. Peter pleads, “Just tell me out to fix it, Harry. Tell me what to do. I’ll confess to anything, do anything…”

Peter admits to Mary Jane he feels more at peace getting his “sins” off his chest. There’s something about externalizing our problems, failures, and sins to others that makes us better able to move on. The Catholic Church has the sacrament of confession where one receives the grace of healing and forgiveness. Though not an exact parallel, Peter does find the ability to move past this obstacle in his life. Mary Jane’s love for Peter was a catalyst for him pausing and recognizing he needs help.

Nick Spencer’s The Amazing Spider-Man was a fun and intriguing read. Peter Parker’s stubbornness and need to shoulder responsibility by himself resonates with me. Great power comes with great responsibility. But the greater lesson I learned? You don’t need to shoulder the burden by yourself. Be willing to ask for help in time of need.

Thank you for sharing!

Since 2008, no other superhero has commanded as much attention or authority as Iron Man. Portrayed by Robert Downey Jr, the Armored Avenger has been the face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe from the beginning. What is most fascinating about Tony Stark is his character development. He goes from a selfish and greedy business man to a selfless hero.

In Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron Tony Stark almost makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the world. It was fitting that Iron Man was the superhero made the final snap of the new technological Infinity gauntlet in Avengers: Endgame. His death may have come as a surprise, but it was appropriate and necessary for the Golden Avenger to be the one to save everyone in the end. Iron Man’s completely noble deed completed the 180 degree transformation of his character.

Unfortunately, not every Iron Man storyline shows Tony Stark as a hero and leader. The Superior Iron Man (2014) series has an egomaniacal character thinking he is greater than the rest of humanity. This article will discuss the potential dangerous effects immoral use of technology would have on humanity, examine the Christian understanding of being the “best version of yourself”, and how Jesus is still the way in the age of superheroes.

The New Man vs. The Man of the Future

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 452, “The name of Jesus means ‘God saves.’” Jesus did not enter our world as a political or military messiah to usher in a worldly power of dominion. Instead, he entered into our world and became one of us to show us the true path—the road of true love and obedience to God. He gave us the blueprint to overcome sin—the sacraments. St. Augustine described sacraments best by calling them, “an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace.” As the New Man, Jesus gave us access to become new and better versions of ourselves, free from sin and death.

In Marvel comics, Tony Stark stands at the vanguard of human advancement. He is often referred to as the Man of the Future. The future ignites excitement. Possibility. Promise. Fulfillment. We all hope for a better future. Issue #1 of Superior Iron Man opened with that excitement. In San Francisco, Stark delivered a free app to all citizens to access and download Exetremis 3.0 This was a techno-virus created to turn people into the best version of themselves. Iron Man was a messiah figure!

Upgrading the Exterior

All promises for a better future are enticing at first. Superior Iron Man’s plan for the future was no different. However, Extremis 3.0 only solved physical defects. Tony Stark’s altruism quickly faded as he cut off free access to the techno-virus. He made the cost so expensive it caused people to turn to robbery. Bodily perfection became addictive.

Acting as one of the moral compasses in this series, Pepper Potts expresses concerns about Stark’s use of technology. “You created a master race across the city, but you’ve also created an instant underclass. Extremis may have made people more beautiful on the outside but you know as well as I do that, for some it will only enhance all of the ugliness within,” Potts warns Tony (Issue # 1).

Similar to technology there is an allure, an attraction to the exterior—to the mere outside. We can only see outward appearances. It is difficult to sense the underlying beauty at times. Iron Man’s various suits of armor are both attractive aesthetically and technologically. Whenever I watched the Iron Man or Avengers film I dreamed a day where similar technology could be created and implemented in our world. Fighting off evil with the flick of a wrist or voice command would be incredible. If given the chance to overcome a physical limitation would you have it cured?

Playing God Not Man’s Destiny

Iron Man gave Daredevil his eyesight back temporarily. Infused with a dose of the Extremis virus, Matt Murdock regained his vision. In response to receiving the virus without consent Murdock asks Stark, “What gives you the right to play God?” (Issue #3). Stark quips back, “Being a God can’t be too hard. I mean if Thor can do it…I’m the most intelligent, capable person on the planet. I’m not playing God. All this time…I’ve been playing human.”

This world is definitely imperfect. Human beings are selfish. Manipulative. Greedy. Prideful. We long for control of our situation. Control over suffering—eventually the eradication of all suffering.

God Values His Creation

Another important theme in Superior Iron Man is the creator versus creation. Tony Stark prior to his personality becoming infected with pride and egomania implemented a contingency plan to keep himself in check if he ever got out of control. Pepper works with a mysterious “new” Iron Man to combat the Superior Iron Man (Issue #6 In His Own Image). Later it is revealed that the “new” Iron Man is actually an artificial intelligence (the consciousness of Tony Stark before he turned evil) in an earlier version of the Iron Man armor.

As creator of his advanced superhero armor and artificial intelligences, Tony Stark is like God because he creates. That is as far as the similarities go. God respects human freedom. He did not create humanity to blindly obey 100% of the time. We are not automaton. Mere robots. Fighting his creations across San Francisco, Tony takes a brief moment to inform the artificial intelligence Tony, “Do you know what’s left when you take away everything that was holding us back? Freedom” (Issue # 8 Bio-Mark-One). He goes on to boast in Issue #9, “I made you. All of you. And I can tell you: each and every one of you is inferior.”

Danger of Man’s Pride

This is definitely the mentality of a prideful man. According to St. Teresa of Avila, “There is more value in a little study of humility and in a single act of it than in all the knowledge in the world.”

The Superior Iron Man certainly possessed superiority, but dominance in worldly things alone. Tony Stark had a genius level intelligent, grand ambitions, and creativity second to none. His inability to account for human freedom and the need for morality would be his downfall. Stark failed to depend on others’ for help. Potts, Murdock, and their allies united together in humility to fight the selfish Stark.

Next Steps for Humanity?

Technological advancements such as advanced prosthetics, improving medical procedures, and renewable energy sources provide hope for the future. We can learn from the Superior Iron Man that true perfection is not skin (or armor) deep. Pride initially causes us to experience invincibility—and superiority. Experience shows us otherwise.

Jesus as the New Man—and True Man of the Future—teaches us the importance of the virtue of humility. His humble obedience to the Father led to suffering on the Cross, but it also led to the Resurrection—True life! We can experience authentic power when we follow Jesus, the Avenger of Sin. There is still value (and entertainment) in watching and reading about the adventures of Iron Man. Be a superhero. A superhero of virtue! St. Paul wrote, “Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil.” Suit up. Not with arc reactor technology, but with the “ark technology” of the sacraments instituted by Christ and safeguarded by the Catholic Church.

Thanks for staying for the credits!

Did you enjoy this article?

If so, become an email subscriber (enter your email address in the Subscribe to Blog Via Email box and hit the Subscribe button. It’s that easy!

Soon you will be receiving cool Catholic (and some comic book related) content in your inbox. Thank you for reading!