Warning! Spoilers for The Amazing Spider-Man #2 ahead!
While Sentry is often referred to as “Marvel’s Superman,” due to their similar powers, that title really should belong to the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Superman has a lot of copycats in comics from Marvel and other publishers, but the latest issue of The Amazing Spider-Man proves that when characterization, story, and morals are taken into account, it’s the Wall-Crawler who truly has the most in common with the Man of Steel.
It’s really only at a cursory level that Sentry fits the bill. He has some of the same powers—flight, invulnerability, and superhuman physicality to name a few. But a lot of superheroes have this same power set, even if at a relatively diminished capacity. Besides, if that’s the only deciding factor, there are figures like Ikaris, Hyperion Blue Marvel, and Gladiator who can all be rotated into Sentry’s slot. Truthfully, most of the comparisons are simply concerned with which Marvel character can beat Superman in a fight. No rational comic fan would submit Spider-Man as an answer. Yet if considered from a holistic perspective, Peter Parker comes closer to Superman than any of those names.
The Amazing Spider-Man #2 by Zeb Wells and John Romita, Jr. opens with Norman Osborn arriving at Peter’s apartment, making the hero understandably uneasy. But the former Green Goblin has turned a new leaf, and now he is genuinely attempting to right his wrongs, starting by giving Peter something he desperately needs: a job. Some readers might be surprised at Peter’s quick willingness to accept Norman’s change of heart, but it shouldn’t be that shocking when taking into account the kind of man Peter is. Spider-Man almost always tries to show some compassion to his massive rogues gallery, a trait that’s evident before even accounting for how many of Peter’s enemies are people he knows. This kindness towards his enemies is the characteristic that aligns Superman and Spider-Man the most.
Peter has developed almost probationary relationships with some of his foes, talking with them throughout and after their encounters as he attempts to get through to them. He is always attempting to help them see their better nature. Most heroes lose any and all empathy when it comes to their archenemies, but that isn’t the case for Peter, or for the Man of Tomorrow. In the acclaimed All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, Clark visits Lex Luthor on death row and charges his nemesis to use his intellect to make the world a better place before they both die. “I know there’s good in you,” he says to a man who has despised him and actively tried to ruin his reputation multiple times.
Despite Marvel’s many reboots and sliding timescales, Norman is still the man who killed Gwen Stacy in most iterations of the universe. For Peter to have any modicum of goodwill left for someone like that is part of what makes him such an exemplary character. It is this unfathomable depth of empathy and belief in the potential for redemption—not a simple power set—that is truly evocative of what the Man of Tomorrow represents. While Sentry is certainly a hero in his own right and can also leap tall buildings in a single bound, Spider-Man will always be Marvel’s true Superman (although, the red and blue costume helps too).
