Rambles In The Brambles

In the end, the hero (Peter Parker / Spiderman, as played by Tobey Maguire) defeats the villain. No problem, no big surprise. He wins the heart of the girl (Mary Jane Watson, as played by the red-haired Kirsten Dunst). No surprise there, either. In the last scene, she offers her love to Parker, even though she doesn’t know that he has superpowers. She loves him because of his good character, not because of any amazing abilities. It should be a done-deal, because he has pined after her for years. Mary Jane thinks, in the climax, as she dangles hundreds of feet above the ground, “I hope I make it through this, so I can see Peter Parker’s face again.”

But Parker rejects her. Why?

He thinks that if they were together, she would be endangered. Super-villains would be able to get to him because she would not be able to defend herself. He would always have to take risks, and thus could hurt her by the fact that he could be hurt. “No matter how hard I try, the ones I love will be the ones who pay.”

But he is wrong, clearly and demonstrably. Parker and the girl were not romantically involved during the climax of the movie, but she was used to bait Spiderman into a trap. (Spidey-memory must not be that amazing at all, as this obvious lesson was quickly forgotten.) The super-villain was able figure out what Parker loved, and used it against him. Another fact was that she made Spiderman stronger. With the thought of her, Spiderman was able to rally in his battle against the villain and succeed. She gave him inspiration and purpose, and it would be wrong to give up something that made him better. Also, it demeans Dunst’s character, as it implicitly assumes that she is unable to properly judge risk.

So my advice to Spiderman? Admit your love, and work on the relationship. Villains and problems will come either way, and so one might as well live as well as you can. “With great power, comes great responsibility.” Don’t blow it.