Everyone Deserves a Super-Hero They Can Relate To

I have been a huge Spider-Man fan ever since watching 'Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends' Saturday mornings in my youth. There was something there that drew me in more than any of the other super-heroes out there. I wanted to watch anything connected to Spidey, so it was no surprise that when I started to get into super-hero comics books, Spider-Man was the first one I started collecting and the only one I kept collecting when times were tough, and I had to budget things. When I have money, buying Spidey back issues in my main indulgence.

As I look back it is easy for me to see why Spidey became my hero and why he is one of the most popular super-heroes ever, right from his first appearance. Spider-Man truly is the greatest every-man super-hero, created as a character you can relates to. From the get-go he was a person first and foremost, with human problems, human doubts and feelings. He was not the perfect clean cut super-hero with all the answers. He openly delt with insecurities that we all suffer from at one time or another.

The older I have gotten and now doing therapy, I can see so very clearly just why I have always related to Peter Parker even if I didn't realize it in my youth. I see much of myself in the character on so many levels. The key to the character's popularity is undeniably the relatability that has been there from the start.

Now Peter Parker/Spider-Man was created at a time when all such heroes were white heterosexual males. That character has strongly crossed over to appeal to people of all ethnicities and orientations which fuels my claim that Spider-Man is the most significant super-hero out there with Marvel doing so much to keep that true.

When the Spider-Man from Ultimate Universe (An off branch from the mainstream Marvel Comic universe where they had more freedom with the characters) died he was replaced by Miles Morales, a half black, half Puerto Rican kid. This was such a brilliant move, as it showed that the spirit of Spider-Man was universal.

Some years later we got The Spider-Verse and that idea was brought to a whole new level.

The Spider-People from the Spider-Verse have been the most inclusive set of characters out there, coming from every race, ethnicity, lifestyle, social standings and sexuality. There is no limit to who can be Spider-Man/Woman, even to the point of one Spider-Woman confined to a wheelchair because her super flexible bone structure is not able to support her weight, but she is still a superhero and is able to fight the villains with use of her special crutches.

As white straight male who has never had to look far to find heroes and strong characters that resemble myself, I think this has to be one of the greatest possible concepts to open that door and make it so that people of all varieties are able to find a Spider-Person who matches up with them. Despite what some may claim, there is great power in diversity and the popularity of the Spider-Verse concept shows that the majority of our society embraces the idea.

It is inspiring that our entertainment is reflecting those values. Everyone should be able to have heroic characters that they can feel connected to and inspired by. The more inclusion that is out there, the healthier our society will be.

The concept of the strength of diversity ended up being the central theme to my book 'A Day at Georgie and Armand's Place' and is a key element to that universe. I will continue to explore that concept in my creative endeavors as those are truly worthy ideas that we need to see more of.

Going forward society can only benefit by continuing with such ideas. There is room for everyone to be represented in entertainment.