Today's installment is one that I think many people can involve themselves in, and I think my choice is going to be shared by a lot of people for a lot of reasons.
So, with all being said, let's get to this...you scumbags!
The Mast's 30 Days of Comicdom (Day 9): Who Is Your Favourite Classic Character?
When I think of classic characters, I take that to mean those in the comic world that have become pop culture icons. Characters who appear on t-shirts, are embedded in consciousness and have transcended the medium to become household names.
You can't argue that there are some good choices, and it ultimately came down to three choices. My favourite classic character is...
Spider-Man.
Whilst comic book fans will undoubtedly know more about Spidey than the average person, many more people know about his character than any other candidates in this category, I would say. You have Batman, you've got Superman, you've got The Hulk Captain America maybe? The Flash? I'd say those are icons, but not on the same level as the others.
Superman was the FIRST and he IS the most famous. This is an undeniable fact.
However, due to the various mediums Spider-Man has been exposed in, I think people gravitate toward him a lot more. Let me tell you why I love Spider-Man.
I don't love him because he's the everyman, despite his powers. I love Spidey because I respect Spidey. I respect him the most of possibly any Marvel character or comics character ever. He is one of, if not THE, most selfless superheroes and people you could ever imagine. He never enters a situation concerned about his own well being in a cowardly way.
NEVER will you catch Spidey worried about dying if he fights a certain person, and then running away. He will, without fail, give everything he has to help and protect both the people of New York/Earth AND his loved ones. Spider-Man's comics have given us some memorable, terrific and diabolical villains.
They've given us everyone from the Green Goblin, to Venom. From The Scorpion to The Kingpin (THANK YOU). He's never had it easy.
His most impactful moment of trauma came not long after becoming a superhero! Spidey saw his girlfriend (Gwen Stacy at the time) thrown off a bridge by the Green Goblin. In an attempt to save her he desperately shot out a webline. Little did he know, he didn't have the measure of his powers or how to use them. The sudden jerk of being stopped by webbing caused her neck to snap. He pulled her up, thinking she was safe, and found her body limp, lifeless...dead.
What endeared me to Spidey was the fact that I can't imagine what it's like to be a superhero AND Peter Parker. If I've ever had a fight with a girlfriend, a loved one or someone else over something that's stuck with me, it's not unlikely that I'll have issues going about my day with full concentration. That's fine if you work in retail, or most other areas. What if you're a mortal superhero?
If Spider-Man's stressed about bills (Not so much now, he's financially decent NOW), his love-life or taking care of a perpetually ailing Aunt May, he then has to go fight crime. How do you HANDLE that shit? I used to get stressed if I had too much homework as a teenager. This dude goes and fights the Green Goblin, and does so willingly. Unlike Batman, his nudge toward superheroism came later. Upon being bitten, he did what any normal human would do! That's what I love! He hid the fact that he had powers and went to make money off himself.
The murder of his beloved Uncle Ben fell onto his shoulders, as we all know, because he ignored the robber that would eventually go on to commit that murder. The great line was birthed before this tragic event, and it IS a line that we can all learn from.
There aren't many truer statements than saying, "With great power comes great responsibility."
Civil War, I came to realise, is a major Spidey moment. He may not be the lead, but he gains so much from that whole time period, and loses a lot too. We see Spidey, for the first time in ages, crippled by indecision and doubt. The tie-ins, especially, show how hard the whole ordeal was for him and what certain actions did with his life.
I won't spoil it, but it was major. Of course, Joe Quesada then anal fucked the continuity into oblivion, but in hindsight I think the decision of what he did during the Civil War story was for the betterment of it.
The Amazing Spider-Man is fast approaching 700 issues (We're up to #640 or something), being published on a tri-monthly basis. Everyone has their favourite author, and everyone pretty much has their favourite Spider-Man moment.
My favourite moment came in The Amazing Spider-Man #33. The now famous scene where he is trapped beneath rubble and debris, fighting his way out from underneath the crushing weight as the room fills with water. It was Steve Ditko's finest hour on the title and an absolutely mind-blowing, heart-swelling tribute to the human spirit, and the spirit that Spider-Man would come to embody.
If you've not read much Spidey, do. Grab Maximum Carnage, grab Kraven's Last Hunt, grab Grim Hunt, grab Shed. So many of his stories are just brilliant. Now, he's a member of The Avengers and rightfully taken his place among the Marvel Universe's big boys for good.
He is one of the most known, loved and legendary characters in human creation. Not bad for a scrawny science geek from Queens, huh? For all of these reasons, he is my favourite classic character.
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Really. I'm not someone who buys The Amazing Spider-Man regularly, but he's had some good recent stories and some damn fine ones over the years. Check them out.
Thanks for reading, thanks for commenting, thank you for all of that shit. I'm off to play Xbox since I just got my new one. Bullseye!
Have a good day/week and be sure to tune in tomorrow for a...fashion orientated installment?! Indeed!
Until next time, peace.
-The Mast
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