Theme of responsibility and power found in "Spider-Man"

At the emotional heart of the new "Spider-Man 2" movie is the most famous line ever written for a comic book.

It was the center of the first "Spider-Man" movie, too, pretty much the way Stan Lee wrote it 42 years ago:

"With great power there must also come — great responsibility."

For more than four decades, Spidey (and his alter ego, Peter Parker) has struggled to be responsible in the face of personal sacrifice. And sometimes he comes up with what he later decides was the wrong choice.

The theme that responsibility and power are webbed together also is found in many religious and ethical traditions. In fact, it's such a universal human conflict that even theologians are inclined to nod respectfully at this particular comic-book hero.

"I would suggest that's because the line expresses a great truth, a truth that's applicable to all men and all times," said Doug Blount, a philosophy professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

The story of Spider-Man was created during a time of great national tumult. More than just an iconic battle between good and evil, it's a tale that includes realistic uncertainty. What is the best way to do good?

Since the first story, Spider-Man has been one of the most popular characters in modern fiction. The first movie, which was all about why Peter becomes a hero, was the top-grossing film for 2002, drawing $403.7 million in domestic sales.

In India, a reworked version of Spider-Man (civilian name: Pavitr Prabhakar) will battle a traditional Hindu demon in a comic book later this year.

Rabbis recognize something essentially Jewish in Spider-Man, pastors find a Christian message and imams identify the tenets of Islam.

"The whole Hebrew Bible is one long story about the just use of power," said Rabbi David Stern of Temple Emanu-El in Dallas. "From Adam and Eve onward, there is the idea that we are endowed with unique power by being created in God's image and that the power automatically entails responsibility."

Christian examples

Christians hear an echo of Stan Lee's line in the book of Luke: "From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required, and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded."

The ultimate Christian example of the responsible use of power is Jesus on the cross (there's a faux-crucifixion scene in "Spider-Man 2"). But there's also Jesus as servant, washing the feet of his disciples. And the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Spider-Man reflects other aspects of Jesus' example, said the Rev. Kendall Harmon, an Episcopalian theologian from South Carolina.

"You don't see Spider-Man interacting with the powerful because he has power," he said. "Jesus was never seen courting the powerful."

As with the Bible, the Quran is about power and its uses, said Imam Yusuf Kavakci of the Dallas Central Mosque in Richardson, Texas.

More is expected from the prophets than other people, he said. And Islam teaches that people are to be given jobs that fit their abilities.

Present-day real heroes often recognize that the power to do the right thing entails responsibility to act, said Samuel Oliner, author of "Do Unto Others: Extraordinary Acts of Ordinary People."

"This inner conversation is actually real: 'What will I tell my children? What will I tell myself if I don't act?' " he said. "You aren't allowed to be a bystander."

Power and responsibility

So what makes this comic-book good guy different from other famous, popular comic book characters?

The early Superman was a powerful alien with a satisfyingly simple soul, filled with small-town altruism. Batman was an unimaginably rich guy, driven by an intriguing, slightly creepy obsession to get revenge on all criminals for the murder of his parents.

The X-Men? Persecuted but powerful, they fight in self-defense and partly to demonstrate their essential humanity to a world that's inclined to reject anyone different. Harry Potter? Wizard by inheritance, he's all about loyalty and friendship.

Peter Parker, on the other hand, starts out as a nebbishy every-geek decades before Bill Gates made geekdom potentially cool.

In the original telling of the tale by Lee and artist Steve Ditko, Peter gains his powers and decides to make a buck — and nothing more.

He lets a robber run by and discovers a few comic panels later that the same criminal has subsequently murdered his beloved Uncle Ben.

Lee's line about power and responsibility is almost a throwaway, squeezed into the last panel of the story. In addition to religious traditions, the idea for the line could have emerged from the current events of the day. Questions about power and responsibility filled the headlines of the early 1960s even as they fill the headlines of the current millennium:

President Kennedy recently had told the nation to "ask not what your country can do for you ... " The civil rights movement was leaping into the headlines. The space race was sending Americans and Soviets into orbit. Lee was just starting his revolution at Marvel Comics, co-creating a bullpen of unusually conflicted characters. So did world events or religious themes inspire the famous line?

"I'd love to say that I was inspired by things happening in the world such as the civil rights movement or an impending war, or even a previous war, or politics or whatever," said Lee, now 81. "But I really think it was just a phrase that came to me and it sounded good, and I wrote it down and continued writing without giving it much more thought."