Spiderman 2 - Peter Parker

All the stress of trying to juggle school, normal money-making work, his personal life, the loss of Mary Jane, the fighting anger of his best friend Harry, and the coup de grace - the loss of his powers as spiderman at critical moments - result in more than Peter is able to bear. He does the unthinkable; he leaves his calling and stops being spiderman. This actually has a beneficial effect because he gets his regular life in order in a number of ways. He returns to his intellectual love of science and improves in school; at the risk of shame and her rejection, he tells Aunt May the truth about the night Uncle Ben died; and he courts Mary Jane, now engaged to the handsome, brave, successful astronaut. He has finally realized there's more to life than his calling.

However, in this phase of his life, he encounters questions regarding his decision, for instance, he walks away from a mugging, he braves a building fire to save a little girl but unknowingly leaves a person to die whereas spiderman could have saved both lives, and his Aunt May, not knowing he is spiderman, gives him the speech about spiderman and his value as a hero. The words she speaks carry a double meaning. She says that to do the right thing: ". . . sometimes we have to be steady and give up the thing we want the most, even our dreams."

She also says she believes there's a hero in all of us, someone who keeps us honest, makes us noble, helps us believe we can hang on a second longer. What a statement! We're an encouragement to each other - to be heroes, to persevere - the perseverance of the saints, and to do the most difficult thing of all - be honest. That was Peter. He could do the daring-do, swinging from buildings as spiderman, but honesty - that was the hardest thing. Then she faces the most fearsome aspect of life: "And finally allows us to die with pride."

But is the dream about being spiderman or about getting Mary Jane. Peter sees it as referring to his dream of getting Mary Jane. Here's the dilemma: His love for Mary Jane clearly fuels his ability as a superhero, yet he has to give up Mary Jane to be a superhero. In God's economy, we encounter paradoxes, seemingly insoluble situations where it seems we have to choose one of two things. If we choose in faith, we just might get both dreams, as Peter did. In a desperate confrontation with Dr. Oc, Mary Jane's life is in danger; spiderman regains the reliability of his powers. You see, love and power - from God - cannot be separated, because they are not separated in Him.