Do we like Peter Parker (Spider-Man)?
A character from Amazing Fantasy #15 / The Amazing Spider-Man (1962)
Our score: 9 out of 10. Yes, easily. He's kind, funny and brave, and he keeps showing up for people even when it costs him. Mostly he just wants to help, and he's usually broke and tired.
Peter Parker is a shy, brainy teenager from Queens who lives with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko introduced him in Amazing Fantasy #15 in 1962. A radioactive spider bite gives him superhuman strength, speed and agility, and the ability to cling to walls. He also gets a danger-warning "spider-sense". He then has to work out what to do with those powers.
What makes Peter lovable is how ordinary his problems are. He has constant personal and financial troubles, including the need to pay for Aunt May's medical bills. He's a joker who covers his nerves with quips. He's also loyal to his friends and loves his family. Many versions of him in comics, film and animation have been the heart of their stories.
He scores high because he keeps choosing responsibility when it's hard. Spider-Man's appeal rests on a hero who is relatable and who fails, gets back up and tries again. Our one small knock is that he's a bit self-sacrificing, and his secret keeps hurting the people close to him.
His origin has a hard lesson in it. Early on he lets a fleeing thief run past him because it isn't his problem. That thief later kills Uncle Ben. Peter's guilt over this drives him to become a full-time hero, and it's where the idea that power brings responsibility comes from.