Everyone knows the iconic 2002 Spider-Man quote, "With great power comes great responsibility," as it's a staple of the character from the comics. It neatly sums up why a teenager decides to step up and defend his neighborhood from threats big and small. On the other hand, a quote from the trailer, "Not everyone is meant to make a difference. But for me, the choice to lead an ordinary life is no longer an option," is the far more controversial line. For a film that helped to usher in the modern age of superhero films, the quote is jarringly out of step with the genre as a whole.
Superhero movies absolutely feature extraordinary beings doing extraordinary things, however, they also include moments where ordinary people do extraordinary things, playing into a common theme in the genre. The first part of the trailer quote implies that regular people don't have the ability to impact the world around them or incite change, but other superhero movies show exactly why that is not true.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Iron Man, for instance, Tony Stark's life is saved by an ordinary man named Dr. Ho Yinsen. Not only does Yinsen keep him alive while kidnapped in the Middle East, he also inspires Tony to become Iron Man and set in motion the entire MCU. Then in The Avengers, an unnamed old man in Germany stands up to Loki and refuses to bow down to a dictator. There is no denying the impact of these moments, and they stand as evidence against the broadly incorrect statement that ordinary people can't make a difference.
Another example is from Batman Begins, when Rachel Dawes criticizes Bruce Wayne's playboy behavior by telling him, "It's not who we are underneath, but what we do that defines us." Batman later returns that line to her, revealing his secret identity to his childhood friend. That quote also goes completely counter to the statement from the Spider-Man trailer because it shows the importance of the choices ordinary people make every day and how they have the power to impact the world around them.
The second half of the Spider-Man quote, "...the choice to lead an ordinary life is no longer an option," also runs completely counter to the general idea of superhero films. Superheroes are heroes not because they have powers, but because they choose to use those powers for the greater good. Even Spider-Man could choose not to be a hero once he gets his powers and instead become a full time wrestler, or a criminal, but instead, he chooses to be a hero. As Colossus explains in Deadpool, all it takes is "four or five moments" to make someone a hero. In saying this, he means that being a hero is a choice. For example, Superman isn't a hero because he can fly or is super strong, he's a hero because he chooses to use his gifts to help the world.
Another component of superhero movies is the power that their protagonists have to inspire others, convincing them to do what is good, what is right and to make a difference in the world. The heroes may be instigating that impact, but the good they inspire others to do ripples out and creates even an even larger impact. An example of this is Darcy meeting Thor in the first Thor film as a political science major, but after her experiences with him, she switches gears. By the time she shows up again in WandaVision, Darcy's a scientist who becomes instrumental in helping Monica and Wanda on their respective journeys. This is because Darcy chose to follow the lead of a hero and endeavors to spend her life doing good, all while just being a regular person.
The trailer line from the 2002 Spider-Man film completely misses the point of the superhero genre. It makes it seem like superheroes are forced into their heroic roles and that ordinary people can't make a difference. In contrast, the MCU and other superhero movies go to great lengths to show that this statement is simply not true and prove that heroism is a choice and that anyone can make a difference.
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