Anyone Can Wear the Mask: Our Calling as Followers of Christ

It’s an exciting time to be alive if you are a comic book fan, more so if you are a Spider-Man fan! within the past two years, we have seen Tom Hollard’s Spider-Man recruited to team Iron Man, and fight against team Cap, then we saw Peter in high school trying to navigate his superpowered life and learn what it means to wear the suit, and then the heartbreaking “I don’t feel so good” line as Peter becomes dust in the wind in Avengers: Infinity Wars.

Here in the next few months, we see Spidey in Avengers: Endgame return, and then Spidey goes on a vacation to Europe and goes toe to toe with Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home. In my opinion, all these movies have some really good life lessons to draw from, and I can go on forever about other forms of Spiderman media, but in this post, I want to focus on the awesome gem Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and how it reflects our calling as believers and followers in Christ

First off, I want to mention that I am a big Spider-Man fan, and have boxes of boxes of Spider-Man comics that I’ve collected over the years. One of the things I’ve grown to love about our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is that he truly is an everyman. He has something that everyone can relate to.

Now as a comic reader, I really enjoyed the Spider-Man: Spider-Verse arc, and was even pumped that they included Superior Spider-Man in that run (Dr. Octopus took over Spider-Man’s body, and became Spider-Man) So when I heard that Sony was doing Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, I was more than just pumped. I was AMAZED!

My wife and I took the kids to see it in theaters when it was out, and I will say WOW, go see it if you haven’t already done so. It had action, it was funny, and then it had the moments that just break your heart. As a youth pastor, seeing this movie really got me thinking about my calling as a mentor, and the calling Jesus asked all believers to do.

SPOILER ALERT AHEAD

Now I’m not going to ruin the whole plot, but there will be some spoilers…YOU ARE WARNED. As I mentioned already, people love Spider-Man because he is so relatable. (I couldn’t help but to related to Peter B…you know 30’s, slightly overweight, tired and had a good run on life so far. SEE BELOW) Anyways, There was a lot that I loved about this movie, but one thing that really snagged my attention and seals the deal was a line at the end of the movie

when I feel alone, like no one understands what I’m going through, I remember my friends who get it. I never thought I’d be able to do any of this stuff, but I can. Anyone can wear the mask. You could wear the mask. If you didn’t know that before, I hope you do now. ‘Cause I’m Spider-Man, and I’m not the only one. Not by a long shot. – Miles Morales / Spider-Man

See the scene here

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As a Pastor, I took the call to lead people to Christ, that is my responsibility, but I can’t do it alone. This quote really got me thinking about all of our calling as followers of Christ.  Think about it for a minute, There is always going to be the Spider-Man that sets the first standard, but this movie opened up the concept that many people have a hard time to understand. Anyone can wear the mask?

The Story is about Spiderman….not one….not two, but a multiverse of Spidermen and women. Spiderman had been doing his thing for years now, and then he dies. This is when Miles Morales – A biracial teenager (his father is African American, and his mother is Puerto Rican) comes in. Shortly before he witnesses the death of Spiderman, he is bitten by a radioactive spider, and for a day or so, trying to figure out his powers. He is scared and fails to save Spiderman, but he promises Spidey that he will save the city.

Miles being young took up the call to be the new Spider-Man. There was a Spiderman before him, but due to the circumstances, could not mentor him. Miles could have given up, but he still went to the costume store to put on the mask and try. Miles was not ready yet, but still had the calling to be Spider-Man. Fate ended up putting people on many spidey walks in Miles’ path.

Peter B. Parker / Spider-Man  – Peter B. is an alternate variant of Spider-Man from a currently undesignated universe similar to this universe, he is in his mid 30’s, tired, beaten and weary. Life has caused him to be a little jaded at times.

Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman – Gwen is an alternate variant of Spider-Man, where Gwen is bitten by a radioactive spider and becomes a superheroine instead of Peter Parker becoming Spider-Man. In That universe, she failed to save Peter Parker and has caused her to shut down from making friends.

Peter Parker / Spider-Man Noir – A brooding, black-and-white alternate variant of Peter Parker. He specializes in fighting Nazis, wherever he goes, the wind follows. And the wind… smells like rain.

Peter Porker / Spider-Ham – Porker is a variant of Spider-Man from an alternative universe populated by anthropomorphic versions of Marvel superheroes. He was originally a spider named Peter who was bitten by a radioactive pig. That’s all folks!

Peni Parker / SP//dr – Peni is a variant of Spider-Man from an alternative anime-like universe. She’s a Japanese teen girl who co-pilots a biomechanical suit with a radioactive spider with whom she shares a telepathic link.

All these Spideys are of different walks, different skills, different races, gender, and even species, but they all have the same calling. They put on the spider mantle time and time again, and represent the little guy that was a nobody, but then received a great gift. They know that they have a great responsibility to use that power for good. (Do I hear a motto coming on?)

These chosen people team up with Miles to help quickly mentor him to become the new Spider-Man of his universe and save the multiverse.

Jesus is our hero in the story, though He is not physically here with us, we strive to follow in His footsteps. He sets the standards for us. Sometimes is hard, and we may not think that we can do it. When we feel down, or think that we are alone we trust in Him and join with our brothers and sister of this good fight. Anyone who calls Jesus as Lord and Savior is called to fight. We are all called to mentor and disciple others, even the young and the youth (Matthew. 28:18-20 ….Not just the children or youth minister’s responsibility), and you are never too young to join this team. (1 Timothy 4:12)

Every follower of Christ has the call. If you are a  follower of Christ you have the call. If you didn’t know that before, I hope you do now. ‘Cause I’m a follower of Christ, and I’m not the only one. Not by a long shot.

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If you haven’t seen Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, I’d highly recommend it. My Children love it, it’s clean, and a good watch for the whole family. I give it a 9 out of 10 stars for sure! you can order it from Amazon here