Peter+Parker+(Spider-Man)



by Brian Tamburello

**Biography**
Peter Parker was orphaned at the age of six when his mother and father were killed in an airplane crash overseas. He went to live with his uncle and aunt, Ben and May Parker, in Forest Hills, New York (marvel.com). Parker was extremely bright and became a high honors student at Midtown High School. His shyness and scholastic interests often made Parker a social outcast. While attending a public exhibition demonstrating the safe handling of nuclear laboratory waste materials sponsored by General Techtronics Corporation, Peter was bitten by a spider, which had been irradiated by a particle accelerator used in the demonstration (marvel.com). Making his way home afterwards, Peter discovered that he had somehow gained incredible strength, agility, and the ability to cling to walls; spider-like traits that he immediately associated with the spider bite. After testing his newly found powers in the ring with a professional wrestler, Parker was presented an offer by a television manager to showcase his talents on national television.

Over the next several evenings, Parker used equipment borrowed from his high school to fabricate a fluid that imitated a spider's silk web, and spinneret devices to project that fluid from his wrists in the form of a web strand (marvel.com). He also designed a costume and called himself Spider-Man, becoming an immediate media sensation. Following his first TV appearance, Peter failed to act to stop an escaping thief, claiming that it was not his responsibility. Later that evening, Peter returned home to find his Uncle Ben had been murdered. Learning the police had the burglar responsible holed up in a warehouse, Peter easily captured him as Spider-Man only to discover it was the same thief he had allowed to escape earlier. Filled with remorse, Peter learned “with great power, there must also come great responsibility.” (marvel.com) He then vowed to never forget that responsibility again, and began using his powers to fight crime.

Peter is the flawed superhero with every day problems; juggling his time with college, his relationship with neighbor Mary-Jane Watson, and helping his Aunt May pay the bills by working as a photographer for the Daily Bugle. The insecurities and anxieties portrayed by Peter in the series were something that many readers of the series could relate to, and launched Spider-Man as one of the top selling Marvel comic book series (marvel.com).

**Humanistic Approach**
Carl Rogers exemplified a key existential approach to personality in his belief that each person is responsible for his or her own life and maturity. Rogers believed that people have an inherent tendency toward growth and maturation (Friedman, 301). The focus of humanistic psychology is what Rogers described as the experiencing person; each person defines important issues for himself or herself in the context of the total range of things the person experiences (Friedman, 302). An inability to accept aspects of oneself blocks the path to personal growth.

The story of Peter Parker revolves around the theme of growth and maturation and how his past affects his present self. Peter was orphaned at the age of six, something that is very traumatizing for a child, and taken in by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Peter’s first trial as Spider-Man comes when he hunts down the thief that he let escape at the television network that killed his Uncle Ben. This is another trial that Peter must overcome. Peter blames himself for his Uncle’s death and is looking for revenge. When Peter finally finds the escaped thief in the warehouse where the police have trapped him, he is faced with the decision to take matters into his own hands and kill the thief, or leave him to the police. Thinking of what his uncle would want from him, he decides not to throw the thief over the ledge of the building and instead leave him unconscious for the police to find.

The next couple scenes find a crying Peter on top of a skyscraper thinking about his Uncle Ben and the recent events that have just occurred. For a child who has already experienced being abandoned, the last thing that Peter needed was for his mentor to die when he could have intervened. Peter always carries his uncle’s death with him, but vows to never forget his responsibility ever again and use his powers to rid the city of evil and be there when somebody needs a hero. With the death of his Uncle, Peter is the man of the house and needs to help support his Aunt May. Rogers would take this story and view this as Peter coming to terms with his newly found responsibilities as he is enlightened on the path to maturation.

Another Humanistic theory comes from Abraham Maslow and his Hierarchy of Needs. Physiological needs are the basic biological necessities such as food, water, sex, and shelter. The Safety needs involve the necessity of a generally predictable world, one that makes some sense. Belongingness and love needs involve psychologically intimate relations with other people. Finally Esteem needs involve respect for oneself and for others (Friedman, 311). Because of Parker’s trouble balancing his life as a superhero and every day student, Parker has trouble meeting each of these needs. Maslow would argue that because the lower needs need to satisfied before higher needs can be important. But for Peter, he must balance each of these levels and sometimes take on multiple stages at once. An average day in the life of Peter Parker is taking care of Aunt May and making sure that she has enough money to bay the bills, making sure that Mary-Jane Watson is not mad at him for skipping yet another date to save the world, and fighting any foe that stands between him and the safety of the city. Peter can never be at peace with himself because of his hectic lifestyle in trying to fulfill many stages in the hierarchy of needs at once.

** Neo-Analytic Approach **
According to Jungian theory, the mind or psyche is divided into three parts: the conscious ego, the personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious (Friedman, 113). The conscious ego refers to the individuality of a person that is the central core of personality and embodies the sense of self (Friedman, 113). Peter Parker’s ego is that he is a student who is commonly referred to as a social outcast, with extraordinary powers that allow Peter to express his true personality by being Spider-Man, and being a hero for those in need. The personal unconscious is the component of the mind that contains thoughts and feelings that are not currently a part of conscious awareness (Friedman, 113). Parker often has to juggle when it is time for his responsibilities as “Puny Parker”, and saving the world from Dr. Octopus and other villains. When Peter is busy saving the world from evil, he does not have time to worry about his Aunt May or his relationship with the girl next door. Peter’s personal unconscious suppresses these thoughts, so that he can focus his full attention on the situation that requires his powers. The collective unconscious is the component of the mind that contains a deeper level of unconsciousness made up of archetypes that are common across all people (Friedman, 113). These archetypes come from the emotional reactions of our ancestors to continually repeating events, and personality patterns. These patterns predispose people to react in predictable ways to common, recurring stimuli.

There are two archetypes that are most prevalent to Peter Parker. The first is the persona and shadow archetype. These two opposing archetypes represent the differences between our outward appearances and our inner selves (Friedman, 114). The persona archetype represents the socially acceptable front that we present to others. In contrast, the shadow archetype is the dark side of personality, the shameful desires and motives that we would rather not admit (Friedman, 114). For Peter, his nerdy outward appearance is only a front to hide his true identity as Spider-Man. One of Parker’s main concerns is somebody finding out his true identity, as most likely, villains would use that information to hurt the people he loves. Because of this, even when confronted by his Aunt May and Mary-Jane as to where he has been, Peter never reveals his true motives, and often makes up an excuse such as he had to work late or was in the lab, to hide his secret. The second archetype is the hero archetype. The hero archetype describes a strong and good force that does battle with the enemy in order to rescue another from harm. The opposite is the demon archetype, which embodies cruelty and evil (Friedman, 115). Parker exemplifies the hero archetype, as he vowed when his Uncle Ben died to never forget his responsibility as a hero again. As Spider-Man, Peter is a true hero to New York City, and goes out of his way, sacrificing himself to prevent harm to others and the people he loves. For Carl Jung, a successful life involves a process of self-realization, through which a person integrates archetypes from the unconscious into a more fully developed self (Friedman, 115). Peter Parker has fully accepted his role as a hero to the city and realizes that with power comes responsibility. Peter has chosen to use his powers for good and to never forget his responsibility to protect the city.

Another New-Analytic theory that can be related to Peter Parker comes from Alfred Adler, who was concerned with individual’s perceptions of social responsibility. Adler identified three fundamental social issues that he believed everyone must address: occupational tasks, societal tasks, and love tasks (Friedman, 121). Peter Parker has chosen to be Spider-Man which is a career that makes him feel worthwhile, fulfilling Adler’s occupational task. Societal tasks create friendships and a social network, for Parker, his only real friend is his college roommate Harry Osbourne, and next-door neighbor Mary-Jane Watson. Though small, Parker has a team of support behind him, even though they do not know his deep secret as the web-slinger. Parker has trouble addressing the Adler’s third social issue, love tasks, finding a suitable life-partner. Although he later marries Mary-Jane in the series, Peter’s relationship with Mary-Jane is very shaky as he often disappoints her because he cannot always be there for her when the city needs his help.

** Discussion **
Peter Parker is a character that nearly everyone can relate to. Peter is a unique superhero in that he is the first to appear to have realistic problems in his life that make many readers of the series to feel sympathetic towards him. There is so much more to the social outcast who is made fun of by his peers, Peter is truly one of the greatest superheroes and his true personality shines when he makes appearances as Spider-Man. The aforementioned psychological approaches to access his personality, I feel truly embrace the spirit of the comic book series, portraying the struggle of Peter’s daily life as a nerdy student by day and crime-fighting web-slinger by night. Peter always stands up and accepts his responsibility, looking to never disappoint his Uncle Ben ever again. His love for his family and friends is what drives him to be the courageous hero the city of New York needs, and will always remember the words of his Uncle Ben, “with great power, must also come great responsibility.”

** References **
Friedman, H. S. & Schustack, M. W. (2009). Personality: Classic theories and modern research (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Marvel Directory, Individuals, Spider-Man. [|www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/s/spiderman.htm]