Relate It to Them

In August of 1962, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko introduced one of fiction's most endearing characters to the world of comic books.

In Amazing Fantasy #15, the amazing Spiderman debuted.

What made Spiderman different was that, for the first time, the hero was not an all powerful alien from outer space (Superman), or a millionaire with a seemingly endless amount of time and money with which to train (Batman), but instead it was an outcast, pushed-around, science-loving teenager. Peter Parker had no money, he was adopted by his elderly Uncle Ben and Aunt May, he had no girlfriends, and he was the butt-end of never-ending bullying by all of the high school jocks - particularly Flash Thompson. Then, through a complete accident, he finds himself bestowed with powers beyond anything anyone in high school could imagine - and suddenly, he's the spectacular Spiderman. Except... nobody knows this. Peter Parker is still broke, he still has no girlfriend, and he's still pushed around in high school.

What made Spiderman different is that for the first time, the hero was a character that the average comic book buyer could relate to... here's someone with the same (or worse) problems that they have, but he has all these amazing powers. Through Peter Parker/Spiderman, all of those kids who were getting pushed around in school were given an outlet. Beyond his superhuman strength and ability to cling to walls... this was his real power.

It is actually a common theme in popular children's literature - creating a connection to the audience, and then making the hero out of the everyday person... if you want some other examples, look at Harry Potter (an outcast until he finds his "place" at Hogwarts), or Hatchet (1987) by Gary Paulsen. The success of these stories is in the fact that the main characters all begin with individuals that we can relate to, and then leads them through a journey of development that turns them into heroes... and allows us to put ourselves into the story along the way.

If you want to make a point, or educate, you must relate the story and/or lesson to the audience - if they don't make that connection, then the relevance can be lost even if they understand (at least on a cognitive level) what you're saying.

Personally, I'm still hoping that an owl drops a letter in my lap...

~Guy