Lorendiac
10-03-2005, 08:48 PM
Here's a question that's been nagging at me for a long time. I'll present it in two parts:
1. Suppose that, in the "Silver Age" era of Marvel (titles written in the 1960s), a young and newly empowered Peter Parker had decided he desperately needed somebody older and wiser in the "superhero" business to help him master the use of his scary new powers. And suppose that he had somehow gotten wind of what Charles Xavier was doing in his private school with his handful of mutant students, and had turned up on the doorstep asking for help in training himself to use his powers with complete control and accuracy before he accidentally lost his temper and shattered someone's bones with a single full-strength blow without meaning to.
Would the Professor have enrolled him? Or would he have basically said, "Sorry, lad, but I've got the future of my fellow mutants to worry about. That takes up all my time - I can't help every miscellaneous super-powered Tom, Dick, and Harry at once! I've got to prioritize! You aren't a mutant, so scram!" (Possibly putting it more politely than that, but getting the basic point across.)
I suspect that second option is closer to what would have happened at the time. But I'm interested in hearing your opinions, too!
2. Fast-forward to the "modern" Marvel continuity of the last few years and imagine a similar scenario happening. If a teenage boy developed frightening superhuman powers (not necessarily Spider-themed powers, but still incredibly strong, etc.) and if he felt very worried that he wasn't sure he could teach himself how to keep them under tight control all by himself, would his prospects of finding coaches/mentors/whatever, from within the superhero community, to help him practice using his powers as safely and responsibly as possible, be any better than Spidey's would have been in the Silver Age? Would the X-Men and their affiliates give him the time of day after they confirmed that he was NOT a mutant? Or would they give him a brush-off with a suggestion that he try the Avengers, who might give him a brush-off with a suggestion that he try the Fantastic Four, who might give him a brush-off with a suggestion that he try the X-Men?
1. Suppose that, in the "Silver Age" era of Marvel (titles written in the 1960s), a young and newly empowered Peter Parker had decided he desperately needed somebody older and wiser in the "superhero" business to help him master the use of his scary new powers. And suppose that he had somehow gotten wind of what Charles Xavier was doing in his private school with his handful of mutant students, and had turned up on the doorstep asking for help in training himself to use his powers with complete control and accuracy before he accidentally lost his temper and shattered someone's bones with a single full-strength blow without meaning to.
Would the Professor have enrolled him? Or would he have basically said, "Sorry, lad, but I've got the future of my fellow mutants to worry about. That takes up all my time - I can't help every miscellaneous super-powered Tom, Dick, and Harry at once! I've got to prioritize! You aren't a mutant, so scram!" (Possibly putting it more politely than that, but getting the basic point across.)
I suspect that second option is closer to what would have happened at the time. But I'm interested in hearing your opinions, too!
2. Fast-forward to the "modern" Marvel continuity of the last few years and imagine a similar scenario happening. If a teenage boy developed frightening superhuman powers (not necessarily Spider-themed powers, but still incredibly strong, etc.) and if he felt very worried that he wasn't sure he could teach himself how to keep them under tight control all by himself, would his prospects of finding coaches/mentors/whatever, from within the superhero community, to help him practice using his powers as safely and responsibly as possible, be any better than Spidey's would have been in the Silver Age? Would the X-Men and their affiliates give him the time of day after they confirmed that he was NOT a mutant? Or would they give him a brush-off with a suggestion that he try the Avengers, who might give him a brush-off with a suggestion that he try the Fantastic Four, who might give him a brush-off with a suggestion that he try the X-Men?