Too Many Words About Spider-Man!

This week at The Inclusive, The Thought Bubble finds a way to discuss moral objectivity with Spider-Man! Preview below, the rest at the link above or here.

A few articles ago, I went after Spider-Man and everything I hated about his biggest, status-quo-shaking story in recent years, Brand New Day. But I have said before — and maintain to this day, and will forever — he is my favorite hero. I grew up with the character; he was the older brother I never had. And, much like my real life family, I can write scathing articles in my corner of the Internet about everything I think he’s doing wrong and still be on good enough terms with him at the end of the day to stay in touch (Right, Uncle Frank? I’d sure appreciate it if you’d return my calls.). He connected with me in a way other heroes didn’t, and for a reason that goes way back to his beginnings in the fantastically weird annals of Stan Lee’s mind.

In the early 1960s, Batman, Superman, and Captain America were all established characters, known and recognized in newsstands and magazine racks across the country. And while their adventures were equal parts dashing, daring, and amazing, they were lacking the other half. Who were their civilian identities, and why were readers supposed to care about them? Comic readers weren’t rich like Bruce Wayne; from dead planets like Kal-El, last son of Krypton; or pumped up on government juice like Steve Rogers. Their super exploits were thrilling, but the audience quickly lost interest when the villain was vanquished, which made for pretty shallow storytelling.

Stan Lee saw this as an opportunity to sell comic books. He created a hero that…