***All images are under copyright to Marvel Characters, Inc***
On October 1st, 1985, Marvel Comics released issue 269 of The Amazing Spider-Man. Fourteen days later, I was born. You might be asking yourself, “what do those things have to do with one another?” I’m here to tell you that they have absolutely nothing to do with each other. An interesting thing to me is that while I was a big Superman fan growing up, I always seemed to identify with Peter Parker/Spider-Man. The reason why this specific issue of The Amazing Spider-Man being released just two weeks before my birth is interesting to me is because it has more to do with who I am today and the struggles I face with my mental health.
Before we get into this specific issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, I want to challenge you to find a comic book that you feel shares a connection with your struggles. For me, it was very cathartic and eye opening to make the connections that I made between Peter and myself. Remember, even in comics, most of the heroes are flawed just like you and me and they will deal with these issues in similar ways to us.
Issue 269, Burn Spider Burn, takes place shortly after the events of the Beyonder and Secret Wars 2, It starts with the character Firelord, a former herald of Galactus, flying through space trying to outrun his own demise. After escaping death, Firelord decides to visit the closest planet to him while he contemplates his next move. The planet he chooses to visit is a planet that he has been to before, and that planet is Earth.
Firelord is feeling famished after his journey through space, so he starts looking for a bite to eat. All of the sudden he spots a big sign for Tony’s Pizza and he decides that Tony’s Pizza is where he is going to eat. The comic then cuts to Peter having a family dinner with his Aunt May and some other relatives. As they prepare to eat, a fearmongering news report about the “rise of mutants” airs. Peter excuses himself to the kitchen to help Aunt May. While helping May, Peter’s Spidey Sense (Peter Tingle) goes off with such an intensity that he believes the Beyonder is back. Meanwhile, a misunderstanding takes place between Firelord and the owner of the pizza shop. The earthlings have seen the report about mutants and they believe Firelord is a “mutie”, so they hatch a plan to attack Firelord, who fights back.
Eventually, Peter shows up in his black Spidey suit to save the humans and to do battle with Firelord. After a tough battle, Peter decides that he is no match for Firelord, so he makes the decision to enlist the help of the Avengers or the Fantastic Four. Peter starts making his way toward the HQ of the Fantastic Four before he remembers that their HQ was destroyed a few weeks prior. Peter starts thinking about how to get to Avengers Tower without Firelord spotting him. After much considerations Peter comes to the conclusion that the only way he can get back up is if he were to travel to Avengers Tower as Peter, not Spidey. While changing, Peter notices that his wallet was on the ground. As he picks up the wallet, it opens to a picture of Peter, May, and Uncle Ben. He thinks of the possibility of Firelord going “berserk” when he is not able to find Spider-Man and how that could lead to harm or the death of innocent people. Peter then decides that the best course of action is to take the fight to Firelord because he doesn’t want to “duck out on his responsibilities,” and because he didn’t want anyone to die because he failed, because he was afraid.
After reading all of that, you might be wondering, “what does this have to do with mental health?” Well, when I was reading this comic and when I got to the part about Peter wanting to take off the suit and run from Firelord incognito, it reminded me of how I’ve always dealt with my anxiety. To me, Firelord represents my anxiety. No matter how hard I fight, I never feel strong enough to win. I take off my suit and run from my anxiety on a regular basis and I watch as my anxiety hurts those who are closest to me. I ducked out and failed because I was scared. After reading this comic, I realized that I want to put the suit back on. I want to take the fight to my anxiety, even if I feel like I’m not in the same weight class as the Avengers or the Fantastic Four.
Nerdy at Home Dad 