Past Selves, the Spider-Verse, and Uncommon Acts of Resistance
i refuse to hate anyone
Friends.
My favorite superhero story is Spider-Man. Ohhh, I love it so much. And within the storyline of Spider-Man is what’s called “The Spider-Verse”. Have you heard of this?
Probably not, I know.
Unless, that is - you’re a huge Spider-Man nerd like me.
Anyways.
(Follow me here.)
In the latest Spider-Man movie (Spider-Man: No Way Home) the various universes of the Spider-Man franchise collide.
Spider-Man universes?!
Franchises?
Colliding?!
What?!
Again, follow me (I promise this will make sense): in each universe / movie franchise, the storyline is different but the same plot points are always there - (1) Peter Parker is Spider-Man, (2) he is raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben, (3) he has a girlfriend, (4) he battles various enemies.
AND.
We’ll add a fifth - (5) he always experiences incredible loss where he loses people he becomes close to (family, friends, etc).
That said …
(1) First we had Spider-Man 1, 2, and 3 where Peter Parker / Spider-Man was played by Tobey Maguire. This was the first set of movies in the Spider-Man franchise.
(2) Then we got The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2 where Peter Parker / Spider-Man was played by Andrew Garfield. This was the second set of movies in the Spider-Man franchise.
(3) Lastly (and more presently), we have (1) Spider-Man: Homecoming; (2) Spider-Man: Far From Home; and (3) Spider-Man: No Way Home where Peter Parker / Spider-Man is played by Tom Holland. This is the third set of movies in the Spider-Man franchise (another movie in this franchise is rumored to be releasing this Summer).
… and so we have these 3 movie franchises, each one being it’s own “Spider-Man Universe” where (to reiterate) in each universe there is a (1) Peter Parker / Spider-Man who is (2) raised by his Uncle Ben and Aunt May, (3) has a girlfriend (typically MJ or Gwen Stacy), and (4) needs to keep New York City / the world safe from various villians (ex. The Green Goblin, The Sandman, Electro, Doc Oc, etc.)
Still with me?
So in the latest movie (Spider-Man: No Way Home where Spider-Man is played by Tom Holland) there’s a moment at the end of the movie where Peter Parker / Spider-Man comes face to face with a villian named The Green Goblin who had just murdered Peter’s Aunt May.
And Peter / Spider-Man (Tom Holland)?
He has the choice to either (1) give The Green Goblin an antidote / serum that will strip him of his menacing / schizophrenic personality and put him back in his normal, right mind or (2) kill him, getting revenge for murdering his Aunt May.
But.
For Peter (Tom Holland)? There is no choice: he is ticked off and he is ready to KILL, to spill the blood of The Green Goblin who just spilled the blood of his Aunt May a few scenes earlier.
However.
Just as he’s about to kill The Green Goblin by smashing the blades of a futuristic glider into his chest, the Spider-Man (Toby Maguire) from Spider-Man 1, 2, and 3 steps between Spider-Man (Tom Holland) and The Green Goblin. This Spider-Man (the one who stepped in, played by Toby Maguire) faced this same villian all the way back in Spider-Man 1 where he faced his own “demons” of anger, rage, and a desire for revenge. In that movie (Spider-Man 1) Peter’s (Toby Maguire) Uncle Ben was murdered and Peter had to wrestle with his desire for revenge and learn to control his anger; and now in this movie (Spider-Man: No Way Home) Peter (played by Tom Holland) is wrestling with his own “demons” of anger, rage, and a desire for revenge.
So.
Spider-Man from Spider-Man 1 (Toby Maguire) steps in front of Spider-Man from Spider-Man: No Way Home (Tom Holland), holds his arms in place so that he can’t stab The Green Goblin with the glider, and stares at him with compassion in his eyes until he puts down his weapon because (as was stated earlier in the movie) Spider-Man (from Spider-Man 1 - Toby Maguire) wanted to help Spider-Man (from Spider-Man: No Way Home - Tom Holland) be “better” and “different” than he was. In other words, the Spider-Man from Spider-Man 1 (Toby Maguire) crossed over mutliple universes to arrive in the universe of Spider-Man: No Way Home so that THAT Spider-Man (Tom Holland) could learn to control his anger, rage, and desire for revenge and not make the same mistakes that Spider-Man from Spider-Man 1 (Toby Maguire) made.
Did you follow that?
It’s almost like the older and wiser version of Spider-Man (Toby Maguire) showed up to help Spider-Man (Tom Holland) be a better hero. Rather than kill The Green Goblin, Spider-Man (Toby Maguire) wanted Spider-Man (Tom Holland) to give him an antidote that would help him become human again. The Green Goblin was battling “demons” of his own and even though he might have “deserved to die” because of what he did to Peter’s (Tom Holland) Aunt May, Peter (Toby Maguire) knew the backstory from Spider-Man 1 that The Green Goblin was wrestling with extreme grief, sadness, loss, failure, and wasn’t in his “right” mind … all of which bled into making him a super villain. Peter (Toby Maguire) didn’t want to see Peter (Tom Holland) make the same mistakes that he did with his own anger and rage all the way back in Spider-Man 1.
Long story short - Spider-Man (Tom Holland) ended up putting his weapon down at which time The Green Goblin stapped Spider-Man (Toby Maguire) who was standing between them. He was injured, but didn’t die, and Spider-Man (Tom Holland) ended up giving The Green Goblin an antidote (by pushing a needle into his neck, that was thrown to him by another Spider-Man [Andrew Garfield]) that put The Green Goblin back into his regular, human mind - helping him overcome his own “demons”.
Phew.
Did you follow that?
The story reminds us of many things …
That our past selves have much to teach us.
That people who seem to be horrible humans and do despicable things are actually wresting with demons that we know nothing about … just as we are wrestling with demons that they know nothing about.
Revenge doesn’t solve any problems and often hurts no one but ourselves.
Anger is like a drug - it can become so addicting and so loud that we hear nothing else over it’s shouts.
We always have a choice - to react in anger and do things we might regret later or take a breath, put down our weapons, and choose to move forward in grace and compassion … recognizing that there is often more going on than meets the eye in the lives of the people we struggle to love.
… Just to name a few.
Here’s the clip (I encourage you watch it before reading further):
I love this because it reminds me of my own journey.
I’m in this place where I have 2 of my own past selves that are working to help my present self become a better version of myself. Both of these past selves have wrestled with their own “demons” and (at one time) held much judgment and even hatred for their perceived “enemies”.
Conservative Evangelical Glenn wasn’t a big fan of Progressive-minded people or Progressive values.
He would argue with people online who believed different things than he did about God, politics, life, etc. - sometimes into the wee hours of the morning! He thought that democrats were the problem with America (this is what he was taught, after all). He believed in a literal hell, an eventual Rapture, and the inerrency of the Bible. He thought all of the above were “Gospel”. Although he always tried to be cordial to people who saw things differently than him, he held a sense of arrogance that he was right and others were wrong. He demonized. He “othered” people. He saw himself and his beliefs as superior to non-Christians or even Christians who had “poor theology” and things like that. He made a lot of mistakes handling his thoughts, his words, and his actions.
And then Progressive Glenn wasn’t a big fan of Conservative-minded people or Conservative values.
He would argue with people online who believed different things than he did about God, politics, life, etc. - sometimes into the wee hours of the morning! He thought Republicans, MAGA, and Christian Nationalism were the problem with America (this is what everyone else on the “progressive side” said, after all!). He didn’t believe in a literal hell, an eventual Rapture, or the inerrency of the Bible. He thought all of the above were ridiculous! Although he always tried to be cordial to people who saw things differently than him, he held a sense of arrogance that he was right and others were wrong. He demonized. He “othered” people. He saw himself and his beliefs as superior to non-Christians, but especially Christians who had “poor theology” and things like that. He made a lot of mistakes handling his thoughts, his words, and his actions.
Hm.
Yeah.
Both Glenns were wrestling with the same demons, you see? The scenery might have changed, but the demons were they same for both Glenns were wrestling with the same negative energies - they were just directing those energies at different sides or different people all the while supporting different sets of values.
AND.
Much like the Spider-Verse, both of those Glenns have crossed over universes to come and meet me in my present time in the form of my intution (the still, small voice inside) to tell me that, “there’s a different way to be, a different way to exist, a different way to hold the values and beliefs that important to me.”
Yes.
In a world that EXPECTS me to hate someone, my intution has told me that it’s possible and OK to hate no one, that refusing to hate and shame and judge and other and outcast and cancel is an act of resistance in and of itself.
To be honest and real, there have been times when I’ve wanted to use my words to assualt someone in the same way that Spider-Man (Tom Holland) wanted to assault, hurt, and kill The Green Goblin.
For me …
Donald Trump is The Green Goblin and there have been countless times I’ve wanted to (and very well could have!) obliterate a Trump supporter in the comment section of Facebook, Instagram, etc. I love to write, I love words - and I can craft them in ways that bring life and in ways that bring pain.
People who support Anti-LGBTQ policies, rhetoric, etc. are The Green Goblin and there have been countless times I’ve wanted to shout, ridicule, and shame people who have hurt (with their words and actions) people that I care about just as The Green Goblin hurt Peter’s Aunt May in Spider-Man.
People who use the threat of hell to shame and scare people are The Green Goblin and I get an immense amount of satisfaction by putting people in their place when they try to use their theology to beat someone’s heart into the ground.
ICE is The Green Goblin and … man. There are a lot of things I would like to do to some of these agents who have hurt, wounded, and even mudered innocent people.
But.
Just as I’m about to weaponize my words or wield my anger in a way that will hurt, wound, or stir up more division - the whisper of my past selves come in and remind me that …
“We want you to be better than we’ve been. This sort of response (however justified it may be) hasn’t really done anyone any good in our experience and so perhaps there is another way to be, another way to exist, another way hold our strong beliefs and values? Are you willing to give it a try? Are you willing to believe that there is another way to be? Another way to exist in these explosive days? How about you put down the weapon? How about you tone down your words. How about you take a deep breath? How about you log off of social media for a bit? And instead of using your words as weapons to hurt and wound, perhaps there’s a way to use your words as an antidote or serum that will (1) sometimes bring immediate healing OR (2) get mixed into the Divine serum that will continue to expand and grow over time and generations so that (hopefully) one day it can pour through all of us and heal the world?”
And so that’s where I am today, friends. I don’t know what it all means. I don’t know what it all looks like. But, I think my intution is on to something and so I continue to follow.
I refuse to hate anyone and I put down my weapons.
Much love.
Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO