"Everybody loves a hero"

Even though the Spider-Man franchise has been rebooted with Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and company, I must admit that the previous Spider-Man series with Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man and Sam Raimi as director will always be the Spider-Man franchise that is my favorite.

There’s a marvelous scene from the movie Spider-Man 2 that recently came to my mind. I was recalling a touching moment between Aunt May and Peter as she eloquently speaks to Peter about the virtue of heroism. This is a topic that everyone should be thinking about on this special day that we honor the memory of our fallen heroes.

Let me give you the context of the scene of the film. Peter Parker is fed up with being Spider-Man. He sees it as a thankless chore. He announces: “I’m Spider-Man no more” and throws his Spider-Man suit into a dumpster. It's not clearly stated how much time passes, but crime steadily begins to go up in New York in Spider-Man's absence. Peter feels torn between his responsibility and his desire to live a normal life.

Peter decides to go visit to his Aunt May. He discovers that May is moving and that Henry, a young boy from across the street, is helping her. In the course of their conversation, Aunt May says that Henry misses Spider-Man; and that he eventually wants to be Spider-Man himself. Peter asks her why. Here are her words in reply:

“He knows a hero when he sees one. [There are] too few characters out there flying around like that saving old girls like me. Lord knows kids like Henry need a hero. Courageous, self-sacrificing people, setting examples for all of us. Everybody loves a hero. People line up for them, cheer them, scream their name, and years later they’ll tell how they stood in the rain for hours just to get a glimpse of the one who taught them to “hold on” a second longer. I believe there’s a hero in all of us; that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride.”

Aunt May’s words inspire Peter to resume his role as Spider-Man, but her words inspire us as well. Today I want to remember the brave men and women who are heroes in every sense of the word. They are “courageous, self-sacrificing people”; they are “examples for all of us.”

Kevin