couple of folks have asked why I’m so harsh on comic book Spidey when I talk about his experiences with the symbiote.
and I get that, i do! the story was set up to make the reader feel sorry for poor noble victimized peter, as so many spiderman stories are, and to direct the reader’s attention away from the suffering of the ‘bad guys’. that is just how the overwhelming majority of spidey stories work and have always worked. it’s the formula. i get it.
that said, if you really want to know why i personally come down hard on him, why i still hold peter primarily culpable for the toxic mess that situation became, then the first thing you have to bear in mind, and a few marvel writers have not been so good at bearing this in mind, is that
the symbiote is a person.
i cannot stress enough how important that point is. like, if you don’t agree then turn back now.
if we do agree on that point, then consider the following:
1. comic book peter is not a child. comic book peter is an adult and a scientist who encountered an alien life form. he is a scientist who, in fact, served as humanity’s first representative to said alien life form. and he made NO attempt to determine whether said life form was sentient or even whether it had feelings. (and that type of oblivious callousness is not in any way uncharacteristic for classic peter parker. he really is a completely different guy than mcu peter.)
2. he brought an ALIEN LIFE FORM to earth, to a completely unfamiliar environment, and just started wearing it as his clothes. that’s not a normal, sensible thing to do, especially for – again – a scientist.
3. symby was completely unfamiliar with human ideas of right and wrong. in their view, everything they did for and to peter was the right, ethical thing to do. in addition; when they first encountered peter, they were a prisoner, probably traumatized to hell, and prob would have really benefited from not being treated like fucking clothes.
4. when reed got them off peter, did peter feel even a small amount of remorse? did he spend much time brooding over the possibility that he’d re-traumatized an already-damaged person? did he worry that reed keeping the symbiote – a person – in a tiny, tiny JAR to be studied like some animal was maybe unethical? nope. what did he do? he went away and felt sorry for himself, because that is 50% of what classic peter does.
5. for years after he learned symby was a person, peter kept referring to them as a costume, a suit, or a thing. again: peter. is. a. scientist.
6. since he brought the symbiote to earth, the symbiote has been 1. tortured 2. enslaved 3. abused 4. rinse and repeat. they have had a HORRIBLE time at humanity’s hands. now, that isn’t peter’s fault directly, but it also wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t brought a vulnerable person into a strange and hostile environment and then abandoned them.
7. when the symbiote says peter ‘betrayed’ them? they’re right. the fact that peter did what he did out of ignorance rather than malice does not change the fact that peter did what he did. if you call yourself a *hero*, then when you hurt someone, you apologize. you don’t start making excuses and blaming it on the person you hurt. that’s not how a hero should behave.
all of this, god.
MAKE PETER APOLOGISE. it makes me aggravated that Marvel hints that Peter is sympathetic towards people who try to turn around, and he believes in villain rehabilitation, but never show it. especially to have Peter ignore that Symbie is a person who is trying to make a better change with Eddie.
the only good thing that came out of recent is this part…
and i fear it’ll be forgotten in favour of continuing Dumbass Peter™
who never grows or learns as a person.
that was a good moment, thank you for reminding me of it ❤
also, yes, unfortunately that’s an aspect of Peter’s character that Amazing Spiderman 2018 has chosen to keep around:
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