‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ Hits Home on So Many Levels

The sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home continues the story of young high school student Peter Parker as he continues to discover to use his powers with his Aunt May. However, Aunt May is not the only parental influence in Peter’s story. You have Tony Stark aka Iron Man who serves as a father figure to Peter as he grows into his superhero persona. The challenge to Peter Parker is balancing his adolescent life with the life of a superhero that he has been thrust into living.

Far From Home is not just a sequel to Homecoming. It is also a sequel to Avengers: Endgame.  So, if you have seen Endgame, you’ll see some continuing story arcs followed through here. However, you do not need to watch Endgame in order to appreciate Far From Home.  Far From Home can stand on its own, and it does so in a way that will keep your spider senses tingling.

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I’ve always believed that Spider-Man is one of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s greatest (if not THE greatest) creations. Here, you have a character who is an everyman. Peter has normal real day problems that people can relate to. Add to that the fact that he is a teenager, and you have all sorts of real life challenges.

Unlike Tony’s Iron Man or Steve’s Captain America, Peter’s Spider-Man is a normal guy with superpowers. The super heroics are not instinctive to Peter, and he would rather deal with the problems of his adolescent life than focus on his powers. This inclination comes into full display here in Spider-Man: Far From Home.

This is what makes Spider-Man so relatable as a character to a lot of people, and Far From Home highlights this point.

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In Far From Home, Peter’s ambivalence as a superhero takes the form of his love for MJ, his classmate in high school and target of his adoration. The story shows how much of an adolescent Peter is by focusing more on getting MJ’s attention rather than his responsibility as Spider-Man. Can you really blame him?  MJ is the love of his life, and he shuns his responsibility as a superhero to be with the girl he loves. Add to that the passing of a torch in the film, and you have a teenager who is experiencing a lot of pressure to grow up faster when the center of his world is the girl he loves and his school life. Well, more so with the girl than the school life. Peter simply feels that he is not ready for all of this responsibility.

However, as the story progresses, he realizes that he needs to balance both his private life and his superhero life because they are both part of him. He is forced to make this decision because of a new superhero that comes along, Mysterio.  Mysterio forces Peter Parker to make hard choices out of easy ones.

Because of Mysterio, Peter realizes that he has to take responsibility of situations thrust upon him sometimes, even though he is not ready for them. And isn’t this a common experience for a lot of people? Taking responsibility with relative unreadiness is a very relatable feeling to most of us. Peter shows that even when you are not prepared sometimes, you have to take responsibility not for your own sake, but for the people you care about.

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Additionally, Peter comes to another important realization in Spider-Man: Far From Home.

For the most part of the story, Peter relies on what he sees and not what he feels. With his over-reliance on visual perception, he is led to invalidated conclusions that get him into trouble. It is only when he starts to trust his instincts and his feelings that he is able to address the challenges that face him in the film. When he realizes that and starts to trust his feelings more, the resolution of the story becomes far more favorable to him than in the beginning of the story.

All in all, Spider-Man: Far From Home hits home on so many levels. It shows us that it doesn’t take a lot to be a hero. Even with all of the challenges and responsibilities we have, heroes can emerge if we embrace the power we already have inside us. We only have to trust what we feel to guide us on our journey of discovery. Indeed, we can all be heroes, and Peter Parker shows us the way.