#parker meta

[leverage-ot3]

you ever just think about how the leverage writers gave us a (basically) canon polyamorous relationship confirmation in the long goodbye job?

like, they didn’t have to go that hard

but they did

parker, hardison and eliot are seen as a unit, working together in sync. there are callbacks to the pilot episode multiple times that are centered around their interactions.

and then there’s the “death” scene: aka, the scene that proves just how ride or die they are for each other. they die in each other’s arms. they die holding hands. what’s even more- the two in a canon established relationship are not the ones holding hands. no- instead, it is eliot who is in the middle. eliot, their hitter, their protector, their best friend. he was the one that was in the middle, holding hands with hardison and then parker. he is the one that reaches out and grabs hardison’s hand, reassuring him one last time and referencing an inside joke. parker then makes a point to move and grab eliot’s hand in her own- her literal last act before dying. you CANNOT tell me that is anything but pure, unadulterated love. they lived together. they breathed together. they died together.

AND THEN, as if that wasn’t enough, we had this scene in the final minutes of the show:

sophie: promise me, (looks at parker and hardison) you'll keep them safe.

eliot: till my dying day.

let's take a minute to acknowledge that literally a minute after nate proposes to sophie eliot says THIS??? something reminiscent of marriage vows about parker and hardison? he will protect them until his dying day and not a second before.

and then we have this:

nate: you know, eliot, I'd say call if you need anything, but you never... never need anything.

eliot: yeah, I did. (looks at parker and hardison) and thanks to you, I don't have to search anymore.

parker never had a family, not really, but it's been established that she knows she's not alone, that she has people that care about her, that she is loved (the white rabbit job). hardison had his nana and his family, but we saw at the beginning of the show he was eager to slide into this new found family of his. he cares deeply, loves deeply. and now, at the end of eliot's arc, he admits that all that time, he was missing something. he looks at parker and hardison and states with conviction that he doesn't have to search anymore.

they all have what they were missing at the beginning of the show- each other.

#don't touch me I'm emotional #I know there was a bit of a retcon in redemption but they can NEVER take this away from us #parker hardison and eliot are in love and they wrote it that way. intentionally!!! #sorry if i got eliot heavy for a second. the meta about the ot3 in the last episode came with his lines #parker #alec hardison #eliot spencer #parker x hardison x eliot #leverage ot3 #the long goodbye job #leverage #leverage season 5 #meta #ot3 meta #parker meta #alec hardison meta #eliot spencer meta #my meta #mine

[qwanderer]

Thought: Parker asking what the bear does in broken wing job raises so many questions about what Bunny does

#leverage #parker meta #parker leverage #the broken wing job

[ithinkthingsaboutstuff]

Ok I saw across the spidervese and i loved it!

But I have been thinking of a mini theory. I think our main spider crew are all are/ have anomaly's in their reality's, (and most of them came from their time with miles)

noir's event was that he brought colour into a world that was not meant to have it (the rubrics cube).

peni's is that her spider suit was destroyed just before she left. (so it could not be destroyed in the 'canon' way on her earth.

Ham had moments of true seniority, he's the one to tell miles "in this job[..]you can't always save everyone." and he has real tears as he leaves, which in the style he is presented in cartoons al a loonytoons by design don't learn/have deep moments of reflection (that aren't jokes/ aren't rug pulls)

pavitr happen when miles saved the captain.

Gwen was not meant to make another friend like her perter again but she found one in miles

and Peter B would not of had mayday without miles influence

I'm not sure about bite and punk, but i do think its interesting that miles has such a profound effect on everyone he meets that they would fight for him and even break the laws of their reality because of him.

#atsv #peter b parker #hobie brown #pavitr prabhakar #gwen stacy #mayday parker #miles morales #across the spiderverse #spiderverse #meta #spiderman noir #spider ham #peni parker

[my-beloved-lakes]

Several times throughout leverage, the team tells Nate he's taking a job too personally and that it's dangerous and someone could get hurt because he's not thinking clearly. And just about every time, Nate denies there's any issues and agrues that he has it under control and that everything will be fine. Then we have the last episode, their last job together. When the Interpol agent asks Nate what his mistake was and how his friends died, he starts by establishing that the job was very personal. His mistake was not miscalculating the guards, it was letting his personal feelings get in the way. (The very thing he said Parker doesn't do before passing on the roll of mastermind to her, but that's not the point.) The point is, that the Interpol agent had no way of knowing about all the times Nate took a job too personally and it made the job more dangerous. She didn't know it had been an issue before, so it was almost like Nate only added that detail to the story for the team. It's like Nate was admitting to them that they had been right and that he did have a bad habit of putting them in danger because he was taking a job too personally. It was like an apology.

#leverage #Nate Ford #Eliot Spencer #alec hardison #parker #Sophie Devereaux #leverage meta #im totally normal about this realization 🙃

[sciderman]

Sci in the short time Uncle Ben was around -- or even if he'd lived longer -- would he have known that Peter is Spiderman?

this is such a delight of a question! what a delightful little thought experiment. thinking about a scenario where uncle ben was still around when aunt may finds out peter is spider-man – when she finds peter's tights, when he was seventeen.

i think there's no way at all that aunt may wouldn't have told uncle ben. she definitely would have told him. i don't think uncle ben would've been observant enough to figure it out by himself, but – aunt may, she's smart. she figures it out.

may and ben have such entirely different ways of handling peter

[x]

ben's old-fashioned, a bit square (like peter), and not very well-informed. he worries a lot about peter. worries about him getting into trouble. sees his unusual behaviour, and meets it with soft concern. he doesn't understand it all, he doesn't understand the youth. but he has a desire to embrace peter and attempt to understand him. he worries about him a lot.

may - may's always been the cool parent. she's encouraging, and very easy about this sort of thing. i think she has a lot of trust in peter. maybe more than she should. she is well-informed, and smart, and she recognises behaviours in peter and kind of feels like it's nothing to worry about. she knows peter's doing all the important exploration that he needs to do, and he'll do it at his own time. she thinks peter can handle it.

(of course peter could not handle it.)

i think that's why aunt may didn't confront peter about spider-man. i think she's of the feeling that peter would come out to her when he's ready to. but - she'd definitely tell ben. and if uncle ben knew - well, oh. he would be worried out of his mind.

god bless, it would come out of such a place of concern. and he'd talk to peter. in the most awkward way a father could give his son the talk.

#sci speaks #ask-spiderpool #peter parker #uncle ben #meta #uncle ben cares so much. he's old fashioned and you probably would need to Explain bisexuality to him but he's got the spirit. #he's the only heterosexual cis man in 9319. and he is a true ally. #i think aunt may taught him a lot but he's still got a lot of learning to do.

[spiderpussinc]

official artbook quotes that drive me insane. you are gay

#spiderdads #petermiguel #atsv #spider man: across the spider verse #across the spiderverse #miguel ohara #miguel o'hara #miguel spiderverse #peter b parker #peter parker #itsv #into the spiderverse #my spider stuff #meta tag

[soliloquent-stark]

tony's been on both sides of the ultra-specific situation of confronting mortality on the ground, towered over by a friend, and wondering if this is it. if that's the last face they'll ever see.

tony and steve.

peter and tony.

but in the face of possible death, tony and peter were nothing alike.

the discomfort of facing a death caused by someone you're supposed to trust versus the comfort of departing in the presence of someone you love.

the shame of allowing someone you admire to witness your weakness versus the regret of showing them your pain.

the last defiant act of accepting your faith, maintaining eye contact, and daring them to do it versus trying to fight your destiny, looking away, and apologising for not being able to stay.

the millisecond of disappointment when you realise you'll survive versus the millisecond of utter misery when you realise you won't.

tony got up both times, and life went on.

marvel parallels 13/?

robert downey jr and tom holland in captain america: civil war (2016) and avengers: infinity war (2018)

#NOT anti steve rogers #marvel parallels #irondad and spiderson #gifs by soliloquent #tony stark meta #peter parker meta #tony stark #peter parker #iron man #spiderman #rdj #tom holland #tony stark gif #peter parker gif #captain america civil war #avengers infinity war #peter parker and tony stark #mcu gif #marvel gif #avengers #avengers gif

[panickedscribbles]

I've heard people talk about the Themes of Across the Spiderverse, and about how "You can't have your cake and eat it too," and about how their excited to see how Miles chooses between saving his dad and being Spider-man, but I don't think that's actually the theme of the movie at all.

Miles himself says that you can have your cake and eat it too, if you have two cakes. I think a lot of people write this line off after the scene where he literally tries to bring two cakes to his dad's party and they both get ruined, but that, in my opinion, is the point. You can have two cakes, but you can't carry them alone.

Look at what happens in Mumbhatten. Pavitr tries to save his girlfriend and her father, he tries to have both cakes, and it Works! But only because Miles stepped in and helped. Or later when Miles escapes Miguel's force-field. He only manages that thanks to Hobie's advice. Or what about the end of the film when Miles is stranded in the wrong dimension, with no way to get back. The only way he'll get home in the third film is because his friends are coming to get him, who are themselves only in a position to help because Hobie provided them with Home-brewed Multiverse Watches.

That's the core theme of the film, Community; how instead of working alone and being forced to accept the most optimal compromise, we can work together and find a better path forward. That's why the Spider Society are the film's villains. Because they've built and entire secret base, full to bursting with the greatest Spider-people in existence, and yet they've sworn off helping each other.

They have super-scientists from every branch of reality in there. They have hyper-advanced technology. They have nigh-unlimited resources and manpower. And yet, none of them are trying to find a solution to the Canon Events, none of them are trying to stop these tragedies from befalling yet more spiders. They all just sit back and say "This is how it must be, and there is nothing that can be done to change it." No, actually, it's worse than just sitting there and doing nothing, they actively intervene to ensure these horrific events take place.

That's why Miles is able to evade all of them. Because, despite their numbers, none of them are working together, none of them are fighting as a team. And that's why, in Beyond the Spiderverse, Miles will get both cakes. Because he'll have a team backing him up.

#across the spiderverse #miles morales #peter b parker #gwen stacy #miguel o'hara #meta #across the spiderverse spoilers

[mingus-archives]

Saviors, Suffering, and Isolation in Across the Spiderverse

Something that really stuck with me from Spider-Man Across the Spiderverse was the theme of suffering inherent in the hero narrative (and specifically the spiderman narrative) and how we can perpetuate suffering in our justification of it.

In the intro to the movie, Gwen gives background into how she became Spiderwoman. She explains the traumatic experience of inadvertently causing her friend Peter’s death and says that because of this she can’t have friends. We see how this has caused her to further suffer, forcing a wedge between her and her band, her and her father, and her and Miles. She is obsessed with not letting a loved one suffer at her hands in the same way again. Furthermore, she is okay letting herself suffer through isolation as long as her loved ones are safe.

Then, we meet Miguel, Spider Man 2099, who fervently defends his and his organization’s behavior as making sure some suffering occurs in order to prevent larger suffering. Miguel took over a different dimension’s Miguel, allowing him to have a daughter and live a happy life. However, this dimension fell apart because he was an anomaly and caused that dimension’s timeline to not flow as it should. After this, he forms the Spider-society, which is intent on making sure that anomalies are taken care of and, more importantly, that canon events happen.

This is where the main conflict of the plot arises, as a canon event in the timeline is the death of the police captain, who in Miles’s universe happens to be his father. Miguel insists that Miles has to let his father die, and rages that Miles has already helped another Spiderman (Pavitr) avoid that fate. This is not a surprise to Miguel’s character; he is tormented by his attempts to lead a happy life and therefore believes that suffering is necessary. 

However, what is striking is that all the spider-people seemingly stand by Miguel except Miles. The characters we know, namely Peter B Parker, Jessica Drew (Spiderwoman), and Gwen all support Miguel’s perspective. This seems wildly out of character for these individuals who we’ve seen be insistent on saving people if it is in their power to do so. But it is important to note that, besides Gwen, they’ve already suffered that canon event of the police captain dying. For them, that was a necessary trauma in their lives that allowed them to be who they are today. It is in a sense a passive justification. They did all they could, but the captain had to die. But for Miles (and Gwen), the death of the captain is something they’re being forced to allow or even facilitate. They have to make the active choice to let their captains, both their fathers, die. Miles is insistent that this is wrong, and that there is another way to live.

As a story centered on characters of colors (and minority characters given Gwen is implied to be trans in the movie), this can be seen as a message about how some communities or people of color treat suffering. That is, the belief in many minority communities like mine (Hmong) is that suffering is a necessary evil to endure for the good of everyone. They suffered, so their children must suffer as well. However, this mindset moves from a coping mechanism to harm when, upon finding no or a lack of suffering, we fabricate suffering onto others like us because we believe this is necessary for success. Instead of finding help, lifting one another up, leaning on each other, we lean into the suffering, the pain, and the isolation. We are unduly harsh to our children, or we don’t try to disrupt the unjust systems that harmed us, or we just let bad situations be.

The Spider Society may be a group of spider-people, but there is surprisingly little care being given to one another’s wellbeing. Instead, they all look at each other and empathize rather than offer real care. I understand rather than let’s understand together. The coldness of this community is made clear with how  harshly Jessica treats Gwen when she screws up, with how cruelly Miguel treats Peter (”I’ve had enough of you”), and most humorously with the therapy scene where the therapist spiderman rudely remarks, “Let me guess your Uncle Ben died?” The spider-people are all heavily traumatized individuals, and instead of healing they’ve worked themselves into a web of control and fatalism. By accepting that suffering as inevitable, they create the suffering of Miles.

As a daughter of a refugee, I grew up hearing the message that suffering made us strong, that it allowed them to be successful. Children who didn’t suffer were spoiled and grew up to be ungrateful wastes to society. I heard stories in my LGBTQ+ community about how young queers take things for granted and don’t understand how hard it once was. And when I suffered myself, I felt a similar urge to say that this suffering made me a better person. And this is so hard to fight because if you acknowledge the suffering wasn’t needed, that means you shouldn’t have had to go through it, that it was unjustified, that it was a random cruelty of the universe. And that is a tough truth to accept, because that means it didn’t have to be that way. Uncle Ben didn’t have to die for Spiderman to live.

In order to let our stories continue, instead of repeating the past, as well as help our communities Across the Spiderverse asks us to let go of the suffering and the belief we needed it. It is not what makes us heroes. It is not what makes us good. Instead, like Miles and Gwen (by the end of the movie), our heroism is in our love and our loved ones, and in the belief that there is a better way.

#across the spiderverse #Spiderman #spiderman across the spiderverse #miles morales #peter parker #peter b parker #spoilers #across the spiderverse spoilers #whoo this is long #miguel o'hara #jessica drew #gwen stacy #spiderpeople #spiderwoman #spiderman meta #spiderverse #across the spiderverse analysis

[leverage-ot3]

no but the hivemind-like exchange between parker and eliot in the rundown job when they are pinned in the subway car and the bioweapon bomb is about to go off

in the beginning of s4 in the long way down job they went to great lengths to firmly establish that to some extent, parker and eliot think the same way. they are able to make those calculations, take those risks, do what needs to be done to protect the ones they love above all else

it’s what makes them them

and in that moment, the three of them are pinned down under the rage of a psychotic gunman and the bomb is seconds away from going off, which would mean thousands and thousands of people would most likely die and only they are the ones that can stop it.

and more importantly, hardison is there, right beside them, and he would die too if the bomb went off and that was something they couldn’t accept. not now, not ever. there is no plan m.

so eliot gives parker a look and a nod, and she kisses hardison for the luck she’s never needed before and they jump into action. eliot steps into the line of fire to cover parker (always, forever. ‘til his dying day) and she runs off to neutralize the bomb at the very last second.

hardison is horrified and terrified for them but it’s what they do, who they are, it’s what makes them them and parker and eliot have that same deep understanding to know that

#this is so important to me #I was watching a fanvid and I saw the interaction again and I almost fainted lmao #like ??? eliot gave her a look that was so loaded #it said I know you’re going to do this and I’m going to do it too because we have to. we have to do the right thing #more importantly? we have to keep hardison safe #we do what they can’t and right now it’s this #I trust you. I trust you to cover me. I trust you to neutralize the bomb. /I trust you/ #and eliot looks at her and it says kiss this man because I can’t. and she does #no words needed #and that’s beautiful #parker #parker meta #eliot spencer #eliot spencer meta #alec hardison #meta #ot3 meta #parker x eliot #parker x hardison x eliot #leverage ot3 #the rundown job #leverage #leverage season 5 #character dynamics #watch leverage #mine #my meta #meta in the tags #my tags

[littlebigmouse]

Rotating in my head how both Peter B and Jess Drew seem perfectly tailored to be Miles' and Gwen's mentor figures respectively and are also perfectly set up to fail their students.

Jess is cool and badass and detached just as Gwen is trying to be and that detachment is what puts pressure on Gwen and ultimately leads to Jess abandoning her.

Peter is a seasoned and experienced Spiderman with a happy, healthy and loving family. It's that familial love that's his weakness throughout the entire movie. He causes distractions and deflects because he doesn't want to tell Miles the truth and hurt him so badly that his distractions end up distracting him as well. He's seasoned and experienced, which at this point makes him as jaded and traumatized as Miguel, too habituated to grief, too relieved at his own hard earned happiness that he refuses to rebel in fear of risking the family he has left. Which is if course what ends up hurting Miles the most.

#peter why did you bring mayday to gwen's band assembly wtf #spider man: across the spider verse #spiderverse #spiderman #smatsv spoilers #gwen stacy #peter b parker #jessica drew #miles morales #spiderverse meta

[zero-buds]

Everytime someone says bring back Nate, I shiver with dread.

And for someone who's a really big fan of Nate, I really would hate having to see him come back to Redemption. I saw on a Facebook group I'm in where someone asked how Nate would react to the Jackal Job, and I remember thinking that Nate, the Catholic man, would either not be a supporter or simply not be able to empathize or participate in the con without prejudice.

Look, OG Leverage has a place in my heart for a reason, but I cannot justify bringing back Nate at all. Nate's story could never fit into Redemption for a variety of reasons.

OG Leverage took the experiences Nate had and made a point in every episode why the man does what he does.

OG Leverage was about revenge first and foremost, then doing the right thing after, then building something more.

You know the reason why the stories never mentioned the disabled, the LGBTQ+, or the plain old voiceless of immigrant communities (this one was touched on but not really)?

It's because it wasn't Nate's story to tell. The original message was, if you are in a position where you have been wronged, then you should have the power to make it right. You deserve a second chance. That's why he always dealt with the scammers, the rich white men, the corporate greed, etc. He always tried to give people a second chance from a dumb or honest mistake, or to right someone's wrong.

That's why the Black Book was so important by the end of OG Leverage. It closed Nate's story with the idea that what has been wronged will be righted even if it meant taking a less than legal approach by others who are willing to bring justice to light.

Redemption is not that story. I mean it is, but it isn't. Redemption is the story where those less fortunate, those who are inherently going to lose no matter what they do, get a voice. They deserve a say in how they are treated, and they, as much as the impoverish and the naive, can have the power given back to them.

It's shown with victims like the elderly, the disabled, the people of color, the young who don't quite fit the social norm, and the LGBTQ+ community.

Through Harry Wilson, Redemption also shows us that those with power, need to take responsibility for their actions.  It is not enough to fight those in power, but that people like Harry - who do have power, are vitally needed to change the system.

Redemption does not need to see Nate to accomplish this story, but the fact remains that the message Nate started is still here, if not more refined and nuanced than ever before.

Nate should not come back to Redemption because his story was told in OG, and now, a new story can begin where the crew can be expanded and fight for what's right as well as give every victim of an injustice, an opportunity to tell their story as well.

#leverage #im just rambling #nate ford #leverage meta #leverage redemption #eliot spencer #sophie devereaux #alec hardison #parker leverage #harry wilson #breanna casey #it annoys me to no end when someone says bring back nate #like no do u not understand the story?

[faorism]

the way it happened was that first they three were crew and then parker and hardison became friends, then hardison and eliot became bros before somewhere along the line eliot and parker quietly became companions. after that, they were so intertwined as partners them three together that one day they look at each other over a meal eliot prepared, in a home hardison built for them, after another successful leverage heist led by parker, and they are just... them. in love and in trust and til dying days.

#leverage #parker leverage #alec hardison #eliot spencer #faorism meta #leverage ot3 #thiefsome

[aberrations-reality]

Just imagine a few years after the end of Leverage, with Parker leading her crew, and building other crews around the world. Nate and Sophie haven’t heard from them in weeks, the three active team members busy with job after job.

Imagine Nate and Sophie come home one day, and there are twelve bottles of orange soda in Nate’s wine fridge, cereal spilled on the counter, and a pot of stew simmering on the stove.

Sophie pretends to be exasperated that her home is now a mess, even though it’s a nice break from Nate’s obsessive tidiness.

Nate is genuinely annoyed, if only because there are ‘muddy footprints on the walls, Parker!’

‘They needed decoration!’ Parker yells back from where’s she’s snooping in Nate’s office, accompanied by the clack of Harrison typing on the keyboard.

‘Yes the do!’ Sophie says. ‘You had better put my Monet back where it belongs!’

Eliot comes into the kitchen, looking exasperated but happy, his cooking bandana tied around his head. ‘Dinner at five thirty,’ Eliot says in greeting.

Nate and Sophie share a look.

The family is home.

#leverage #leverage meta #crime siblings #crime family #Parker the cereal fanatic #Elliot the chef #Hardison and his orange soda #Hardison the snoop #nicki’s archive

[brawltogethernow]

That whole thing about Wade dominating any team up he's in unless they file down his personality, do you think the same can be said for Peter? I mean, he pretty much WAS the main character for Marvel's Team Up series.

(x) Sort of. Peter's a great one-off team-up character! That's why MTU ended up with the formula of "Spider-Man meets a different crossover character for five minutes every month and they do weird shit" even though that was not the original plan. His magnetism Imfao. He's got a snappy personality and general milieu to bounce off of, he's a middleweight hitter who can slot into a broad variety of superscenarios, and it's pretty easy to justify why he's popping up somewhere deciding things are his business. There are literally hundreds of great team-up issues with this man, lowball estimate. He is frequently the showpiece but not usually to the detriment of showing off the other characters, I think.

The issue arises when you want Spider-Man to be recurring member of your team book. The allure of this is he can crouch on the ceiling to make your group shots look more dynamic, draw in readers, and will theoretically generate quips. The problem is that if his personality is toggled on and he doesn't have an extremely compelling reason to be there he will pick a fight and leave. Like it's not a coincidence he guest starred all over the Marvel universe while essentially never being associated with a team for forty years, even though the concept came up semiregularly in multiple titles. This was not because Marvel didn't like the money generated by putting Spider-Man on more comic covers, it was just that they gave a shit about avoiding "he would not fucking say that" scenarios at the time.

Come the current century this became less of a priority in stages, and they finally started lobotomizing him so he would crouch on the ceiling and quip for them. My talking about filing Wade down to keep him on the X-Men roster without making it a meta book was a hypothetical, but this is just day to day business. Very occasionally enough of Peter's personality creeps back up through a crack in the asphalt for him to attack one of his own team members or refuse to be in a book.

The like...three......times they put the effort in to herd him into a team book properly, though, he's slotted in fine I think? Like yes he's the only thing a lot of people remember about Secret Wars (compelled him to be in all 12 issues by teleporting everyone to space and stranding them, mollified him with F4 members, he still attacked the X-Men) but it's not his fault he's the fanciest dog in the show that's a later storyline rippleback thing.

#peter parker #spidey #marvel #asks answered #anonymous #spiderman #meta

[splendidnothings]

Is it in your opinion that Peter would be able to manage suddenly coming into tens of millions of dollars?

We've actually seen exactly what happens when he comes into tens of millions of dollars (and his own company) post-Superior Spider-Man. And let’s just say it did not end well--

("Now, let's tear it down!" Amazing Spider-Man #31 (2015))

Truly, the man did not last more than a couple months, in-universe, before force-ejecting from the entire enterprise, super-villain plot notwithstanding. Even without Otto forcing his hand Peter was routinely giving his money away or using exorbitant amounts for the benefit of his family and friends. His philanthropic work with the Uncle Ben Foundation. Helping out May, Flash, and Carlie. Generally, giving his money away at any opportunity. He bought the Baxter Building for Johnny!

("Everyone was trying to buy this place...and I outbid 'em all..." Amazing Spider-Man #3 (2015))

Peter during Parker Industries didn’t “manage” this money at all. He spent and spent and the only reason he didn’t eventually run out was because his corporation imploded first.

So, I think the easiest answer is if he suddenly came into a lot of money, like for example, if he won the lottery, he would not so much manage the money but just use it until it ran dry and then find a gig to pay next month’s rent. 

Now, Parker Industries is a pretty on the nose example so if we disregard that run I still think it's clear that Peter would manage a million dollars just as well as he would ten dollars and that is to say quickly and/or probably for the benefit of someone else. Peter genuinely just does not care about having money just to acquire wealth. 

(“I don’t value it.” Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #10 (2019) I personally think this is a clunky panel because it’s telling us instead of actually showing us he doesn’t value money but alas it suits my purposes for this post.)

This is obviously not to say he doesn't know the value of money or that he is oblivious to the fact that he needs money for rent or that having money makes life easier. Most of his struggles come from a lack of money. But he doesn’t view money in the long term, he’s not thinking of it as a potential investment but merely a tool to solve immediate problems. Even when he comes into a bit of surprise money he needs it all just to cover bills (Thanks Robbie!)--

(“I have [a savings plan]?! You mean when Robbie made me sign all those forms last year?... That’s just enough for my back rent and a pizza!” Spectacular Spider-Man #126) 

Peter and his relationship with money is established early as core to his character and in connection with his economic status. When you are poor any money you earn is for immediate necessities, not something to be saved and managed. 

("Without Uncle Ben, we've no money to pay our bills." Amazing Spider-Man #1) 

He just needs to make enough to pay rent, for May's medical bills, for food. Maybe he wants to get something nice for May or Betty, Gwen, or MJ. Later on, his money worries are in relation to being able to support a wife (this occurs with both Gwen and MJ). But it's all short-term and a means to an end. Past the immediate obstacle where the money is needed, he doesn't care about money at all.

His very first superhero team-up was less of a team-up and more of Peter thinking he could make money by joining the Fantastic Four!

("There's the way I can make some money--by joining the Fantastic Four!" Amazing Spider-Man #1) 

I’ve been using multiple panels from Amazing Spider-Man #1 so far because I think it’s important in showing how ingrained Peter’s overall views on money are to the character. This is his second appearance ever (after Amazing Fantasy #15) and not only is his socio-economic class crystal clear but so is how he handles and thinks about money. 

Canonically, almost every time Peter does come into a little extra money he gives it away. This is also a pretty consistent trait of his. He's just not one to keep extra cash around unless he's specifically saving for something. Why would he hoard money when he can help someone he loves or give it to a New Yorker who needs it more than him at that moment. 

(...other people need it more than me, right?) 

Further, he doesn’t view Spider-Man as something that holds monetary value. 

(Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1(2019))

And he knows how important money is for the average person-- 

(“If that money isn’t recovered, what happens to relief payments this month?”)

And--let’s be clear here--Peter could very easily make all the money he wants. He could easily make loads of money. Whether it be because he is a certified genius. Or because he has superpowers and could employ them in a variety of different ways to get money...and he knows this.

("If money's a problem, then I'll just get money." Amazing Spider-Man #542)

(“I can go anywhere! No one, nothing can stop me! Any amount of money could be mine...” Amazing Spider-Man #1 (ASM #1 really doing the most work in hammering home so many core character traits huh!)) 

But, Peter is just not a character who aspires to be wealthy. He wants to be comfortable. He wants an apartment with a tiny skylight so he can easily sneak out and be Spider-Man. He wants enough money to take care of the people he loves. But that's it.

In fact, the jobs that have made him money usually become a problem because they get in the way of him being Spider-Man. He values being Spider-Man over making a name for himself, finishing grad school, making big science lab money, etc., etc. or he wouldn’t be dropping these pathways to a better economic status. He's had many well-paying science jobs throughout canon and he doesn't keep them because he eventually stops showing up. He's a flake who at the end of the day doesn't value that work or that money more than being Spider-Man and helping people Grad school meant so little to him at one point that he full-on dropped out, in part, because he thought he needed to make money to pay for Felicia's medical bills--

(“I might not have quit school to devote more time to making a living...OH WELL...”)

Pulling back a bit we also have to look at Peter and his purpose as a fictional character that requires thought and consistent theme-work. A Peter who acquires wealth. Who hoards such a valuable resource is kind of antithetical to his whole deal. Arguably, his most well-known villain is Norman Osborn the literal embodiment of what an evil man with lots of money and no responsibility can do. So, it really doesn’t make for a character like Peter so rooted in the lower class, so known for helping the ones who truly need him for him in his civilian life to be a well-off guy. Spider-Man is THE street-level hero dealing with street-level crime. At his best he is stopping muggings, beating up unfair landlords, or wealthy people taking advantage of the unfortunate. He's a man of the people and doesn't like when people misuse power and what gives people power more than money?

("...I had the most money!" "Oh, give it a rest." Spectacular Spider-Man #145) 

Wrapping this up, I also think a big reason Peter never feels so beholden to money is because he knows how self-sufficient he is. He invents his own webbing, web-shooters, is shown to be extremely handy, and is a genius. Why should he care about money beyond his basic needs? He can figure things out as the situation calls for it even if all he has is $23.50 in his bank account :p 

#peter parker #marvel comics #marvel #marvel meta #long post/