Alice Vietti

Mrs. Noyce
A3
11-20-14
Superhero Essay
In the superhero world, heroes are constantly fighting evil and saving the
world from terrors, but they also relate to American life in a way that touches
readers so that they keep buying the books. They relate to things that are going on
in the world and to values that people have. Sebastian T. Mercier and Mark R. Gould
state in their articles, Truth, Justice, and the American Way and The New
Spiderman Reflects The Countrys Demographics, that the character/story of
Spider-Man reflects youths becoming more independent, and relate with the
countries changing demographics of the 21 st century.
Spider-Man first appeared in 1962. His alter-ego was a boy named Peter
Parker, a kind of outcast and nerd. In Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #160, that boy
died while fighting the Green Goblin. He was replaced with a half African-American,
half Latino boy named Miles Morales. The editor in chief of Marvel Comics, Alex
Alonso, said, When the opportunity arose to create a new Spider-Man, we knew
that it had to be a character that represents the diversity in background and
experience of the 21st century. (Changing Demographics Mark R Gould) They
changed the whole image of Spider-Man, just so he could relate to more kids of
different backgrounds. In the 21 st century, the percent of children with mixed
ethnicities has grown impressively. This represents the current events because the

countrys changing demographics at the time of the death of spider-man was all
about the races and ethnicities of the new century. That was why the company
made the new spider-man a mixed-race child.
Spider-man was written in the time of the nuclear war, but unlike most of the
comic-book heroes, he is just a teen. Most superheroes are older and stronger, with
more access to resources and more matured bodies. Peter Parker is just an
orphaned kid who got bit by a spider. This represent cultural values because at the
time of the cold war, all the children and teenagers in America were helping their
families get ready for being bombed. They were scared, and Spider-Man came to
help them feel safe when they were in constant danger. In an era of nuclear
proliferation, Spider-Man offered comfort to his young readers. (American Way,
Sebastian Mercier) This Shows that even though the children of America were
working through some tough times, they could always read Spider-Man comics and
feel safe. The childrens opinions and political values were being taken more
seriously than they used to because they realized that the popular youth attitude
had more insight than they thought. Kids were being listened to more than they
were and it changed the prompt for comic-book writers and everyday politics.
Comic book trends express the events and concerns in American life. Such as
spider-man, he addresses that America has a new skin color, so they killed the old,
Caucasian boy under the suit and replaced him with an African-American/Latino
teenager. He also helps kids of the cold war to feel safe whenever they got a bomb
warning, or to give some action in their otherwise fear-filled lives.