Peter Parker’s inability to stop a group of bullies set a fellow student down a dark path of crime.
Before Peter Parker became Spider-Man, one of Earth’s greatest superheroes, he was a scrawny nerd that was an easy target for bullies at school. After Peter was bitten by a radioactive spider and imbued with an incredible array of superpowers he chose to use his powers for the benefit of the world. But what if Spider-Man had never had his Uncle Ben to help guide and inspire him to be the best person he could be? What if a lifetime of bullying had hardened Peter Parker’s heart beyond repair?
In 2003’s single issue comic Prevent Child Abuse America Presents: Amazing Spider-Man on Bullying Prevention by Brett Lewis, Mark Bright, Scott Elmer, and Rooney Ramos these questions are explored in great detail. It might seem implausible to think that a handful of bad moments in junior high could possibly impact a person so greatly that they would become a full-fledged supervillain, but negativity and pain have an insidious way of burrowing into a person’s heart and consuming them whole. As bullying prevention activist SuEllen Fried so expertly stated, “Stick and stone can break your bones, but words can break your heart.”
The comic begins with a villain known as The Brace fleeing from the police, a suitcase full of gold in hand. Spider-Man is in hot pursuit of The Brace and it isn’t until he begins to confront the villain that he feels something strangely familiar about him. Looking at his exposed face Spider-Man realizes that The Brace is actually someone he had gone to high school with, a young boy named Danny now all grown up. The timid boy Spider-Man remembers has been replaced with a violent and angry man.
Spider-Man remembers vividly how he had watched Danny get bullied by a number of other students. The memories stuck with Spider-Man throughout the years because of his guilt over not having attempted to help Danny. Spider-Man recalls the fear he had felt when he had imagined what the bullies would do to him if he had confronted them; after all, he was skinny little Peter Parker with no powers at the time. What could he have possibly done to help Danny?
Spider-Man and The Brace engage in a fierce battle atop a nearby building. Due to the power of his super-suit, The Brace nearly beats Spider-Man, but help from a police officer gives Spider-Man the edge to incapacitate the villain. The issue ends with The Brace managing to escape Spider-Man, leaving him to contemplate how terrible it was that Danny had chosen a life of crime to cope with the demons gnawing at his heart. The Brace ultimately meets a very unfortunate end at the hands of the other more veteran supervillains that had sent him for the suitcase full of gold, a sad ending for a soul consumed by hate.
The issue is very clearly a PSA for younger readers about the dangers of bullying and how to help prevent it. The Brace was never mentioned before the issue and has never been heard from again. The Brace as a character is a personification of how not to handle trauma and pain in life. He is a cautionary tale both for those who are bullied and for those that bully others. The pain of being bullied isn’t something that only effects children; the bitterness that festers deep within a person follows them well into adulthood and, as The Brace proves, can lead to terrible outcomes if not addressed and treated.
It can be easy to forget what lies at the heart of superhero comics. Through the many decades since their debut, superheroes have grown, evolved, and been deconstructed countless ways. They have enjoyed stories designed both for younger readers and more mature audiences. Strip away the flashy aesthetics and trappings of the medium, however, and what’s left is the core tenet that people should always strive to do what is right and to make the world a better place. Being a bully is not something any hero, super or otherwise, would do.
Reading a comic that’s so forthright with an anti-bullying message might not appeal to older readers, but for children and those experiencing bullying in school themselves, it is vitally important. Life is treacherous and the world unforgiving. We’re all in it together and the very least we can do is be there for one another and treat each other with compassion and respect. We need to focus on expressing positivity to one another rather than misdirecting our negativity. We need to lend a hand when it’s needed and help one another, not put each other down. It’s what Spider-Man would do.
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