Spiritual Parallels in Spider-Man

Philippians 3:10

MATURE • MENTOR • MINISTER • MAINTAIN • INVESTING IN BLACK FUTURES THRU STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Marvel Comics

Note: This is a web-work in progress.  Just throwing thoughts down on the page.
I'll expand on them and give them more shape and clarity as time allows.

What a challenge, delight and heart-breaker to walk around today's "Athens,"
peep the pop culture's constructions and their provocative inscriptions
and then build a bridge that can deliver the Gospel message to
people peeping the pop c.'s unwitting prophetic devices.

1.  Uncle Ben is not Peter Parker's real father (like Joseph was not Jesus' real father).

2.  100% man but also 100% spider (pictures the hypostatic union of Christ: 100% God / 100% man).

3.  He defies gravity (illustrates the Ascension).

4.  He is able to walk on buildings (analogous to walking on water).

5.  Accessible and identifiable with to all ethnicities because he is the only super-hero whose entire body is covered by his costume.

6.  Wrestling match segment illustrates depending on gifts for victory -- locked in time, space and a dangerous and unjust world.

7.  His face messed up (marred) in his battle with the enemy.

8.  Old school values reflected in his uncle and aunt (character issues reinforced, grace before meals, bed-time prayer), inculcated in their nephew. 

9.  Crisis reveals character inside (death of loved one, threats to loved one).

10.  His sense of imminent danger parallels the prophetic gift.

11.  Large eyes (sees more than most) -- a see'r.

12.  Wrestling with the forces of evil: seeking justice.

13.  Misunderstood by those he seeks to protect, defend and save.

14.  Spider-Man indirectly makes "disciples" -- how many people have you seen who have bought the gear or are working those "web-slinging" hand gestures?

15.  Vulnerability (1 Timothy 3:16) demonstrated in the fact that Spider-Man bleeds.  One drop of blood alerts the enemy to this telling and important detail, which will ultimately lead to the adversary's own undoing.  Refreshing to see the preciousness of one drop of blood play a pivotal role in the story line, and not the gratuitous bloody special effects often resorted to in action films.  Remember Steve Martin's epiphany in "Grand Canyon"?

16.  The Green Goblin is reminiscent of the ruler of the kingdom of the air.  He tempts Spider-Man to join him.  He is the first to know the hero's real identity (even as demons knew who Jesus was before most people did).

17.  Goes about his "father's" business (with great power comes great responsibility).

18.  He is in love with someone who's already in love with him but doesn't know who he really is.

19.  The hero takes on a servant role.

20.  Casting Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man raised eyebrows in the studio (disbelief), illustrating the objections many have that God would take on human form in the Person of Christ.

21.  The movie is a love story (so is Christianity).  It is also an action-adventure (so is following Christ). 

22.  Spider-Man uses the constructs found around him to get his work done.

23.  People treat spiders and the Lord in much the same way: they acknowledge their existence and maybe even find them fascinating, but when confronted by one / One, most people are very scared and either try to get rid of it / Him or get away as quickly as possible. 

24.  One really gets from the movie a real sense of the delight, joy and liberty a Christian should have in exercising his or her gifts in the power of the Spirit of God.  As we do the the will of God, discovering the works the Father has prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10), we should be able to operate within the constructs, but not necessarily bound by all  the limitations they impose.  (This first came to my attention as I watched with wonder the sword duel atop the bamboo trees between the 2 leads in "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.")  Allow the Holy Spirit (more powerful than the ability to sling webs or move quickly) to make connections to confining constructions (physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, volitional, etc.) which in turn will enable  Holy Spirit-prompted connections between fallen sinful creatures and their exalted Holy Creator.

25.  "Who am I?  Do you really want to know?"  (Peter Parker / Spider-Man introductory narration.)  Can you hear the Lord Jesus saying the same thing to people today?  Who's got the heart to say back to Him, "Yes, Lord, I really do want to know You."

26.  A couple of interesting spider facts:  a.)  You are usually never more than 7 feet away from a spider.  b.)  This would be a truly "bugged-out" world if there were no spiders to eat them.