Spider-Man Life Story Review

Posted On June 21, 2023

*Contains spoilers*

“With great power comes great responsibility,” this quote alone has to be one of the most recognizable quotes in pop culture. It goes without saying that in any form of media involving Peter Parker’s Spider-Man, the topic of responsibility will always be present. In fact, that’s just what Spider-Man: Life Story is, a story about responsibility. Hi, I’m the APC Enthusiast and today I will be giving my thoughts on the comic book miniseries, Spider-Man: Life Story.

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Overview:

Spider-Man: Life Story is a short, six-chapter miniseries that showcases Peter Parker’s life throughout various decades, starting in 1966 and ending in 2019. Within this story, we see major American events such as the Vietnam and Cold War, as well as major events in Spider-Man’s history like the Green Goblin’s saga, as well as the Clone Saga, and the Civil War saga. It’s through the aging of the protagonist and his involvement with other heroes and villains, that his sense of responsibility starts to change and evolve over time. For example, Peter wonders if it’s his responsibility to fight in Vietnam during the 60s while a veteran like Captain America can’t even give the younger hero straightforward advice due to his own uncertainty about the situation. Even though he decides that he can do more good at home than in Vietnam, his choice and idea of responsibility are once again tested in the 70s when Mary Jane questions his decision to stay home during Vietnam, stating that Peter’s decision inadvertently cost their friend Flash Thompson his life. 

It’s situations like this that are sprinkled throughout the comic that display Parker’s inner turmoil. Even though Peter Parker and Spider-Man are physically the same person, morally, they’re two very different people with different values and senses of responsibility. Will Peter allow himself to be happy and the opportunity to further his relationships with others or will he continue to distance himself in order to continue saving others? It’s not until his identities start to merge together with the passage of time that he realizes he can’t choose between his family or people in need, he has to save everyone because it’s all he can do. It’s this conflict and his final decision that makes the character so compelling and relatable. His struggles with his identity and responsibility aren’t tied to just one time period and it’s a situation everyone can relate to because regardless of age, race, or gender, everyone has some sense of responsibility to something, making this the perfect Spider-Man story.

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Rating:

Besides Brian Michael Bendis’ Ultimate Spider-Man comic series, Spider Man: Life Story has been the only other full-length Spider-Man series that I’ve ever been exposed to. Even with my limited knowledge of the sources the comic drew from, I was very easily able to pick up on most of the American and Spider-Man history sprinkled throughout the series. Even when I wasn’t totally familiar with stories such as Kraven’s Last Hunt or characters like Morlun, I was able to understand the essence of everything by the time I finished reading each chapter. Because of this duality, I think it’s the perfect comic to read for anyone wanting to get into the character. 

Despite this, I think the fact that the story is compressed into one volume holds it back. I really enjoyed this book but I’d have enjoyed the story so much more if they dived deeper into each decade. Because of how short each chapter is, we’re often left to use our own imaginations to infer what has and hasn’t happened before the story starts as well as what happens between each decade. Some of my favorite moments in the comic involved Peter’s interactions with Norman Osborne. Even though Osborne had a very prominent influence within the story, the dialogue and conflict between him and Peter felt very limited. I wonder how much more compelling the story would’ve been if we’d gotten the opportunity to dive deeper into those sorts of relationships. Overall, I’d give the comic a 7.5/10 rating. 

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Thanks for reading my latest post! If you enjoyed it, please leave a comment and share it with your friends and family. If you’re a fan of Spider-Man comics and would like to recommend a book to me, leave a recommendation in the comments as well. I’m the APC Enthusiast and I’ll see you next time, bye!