cerealia; app

Applicant Info

◎ Name: Caitlin
◎ Journal: symbolisms
◎ Contact: archetypes

Character Info

◎ Character's Name: Peter Parker
◎ Character's Canon: The Amazing Spider-Man (film series; 2012-present)
◎ Character's Age: 17
◎ Canon Point: post- The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
◎ Background/History: Peter @ Marvel wiki
◎ Is the character a hacker and/or do they have a sixth-sense? Peter has an ability termed "spider-sense," which serves to warn him of oncoming danger. It takes the form of a tingling sensation at the back of his skull, and increases in intensity depending upon the imminence of the threat.

◎ Personality:
"Point is, this is my responsibility. I have to fix it."

Peter Parker is a character who's been through a lot of iterations since his first appearance in Marvel's Amazing Fantasy #15 in 1962; multiple continuities of Spider-Man comic canon exist, as well as animated spin-offs and now two film franchises through Sony, just to name a few things. These iterations have changed through the decades, evolving to meet the demands of relatability to young people at any given point in time, but there are a few key character elements that bind all of them together. The alter ego of Spider-Man is as much classically defined by his sense of responsibility as he is by his status as an outsider, someone who doesn't quite know where he fits or belongs. While being a "nerd" is no longer considered a symbol of social ostracism in the 21st century as much it once was, and this version of Peter Parker has been updated to reflect that, he still possesses many of the core traits of his predecessors.

... Well, okay, let's be real, this Peter is still kind of a nerd. He's highly intelligent, ranked second in his class at Midtown Science High School (behind Gwen Stacy), and spends a good chunk of his time working on one intellectual project or another. He can take on advanced scientific texts with ease, as evidenced by his ability to read the entirety of Dr. Connors's book in what appears to be a fairly short amount of time, and ramble plenty about their contents not long afterward. All joking to try to cover his tracks while sneaking into Oscorp to learn more about his late father's work aside, he really does appear to have a keen interest in science and technology. He has little inventions he's always tinkering with, like a mechanical lock on his door, and after becoming Spider-Man, he develops the tech he uses, like his webbing and webshooters, all by himself. And, to top it all off, the walls of his room are lined with posters of things like Hitchcock movies and Albert Einstein. Guy's a nerd.

Anyway, Peter is fundamentally an outsider who struggles to build connections with other people around him, and a lot of this has roots in his personal history. From an early age, Peter learned that even the people who are closest to him aren't guaranteed to stick around. Around the age of four, Peter was left with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben without explanation, and was only told to "be good" before they disappeared, dying in a plane crash soon afterward. While Uncle Ben and Aunt May have taken over as stable parental figures in his life, and he has loved and appreciated them (even referring to Uncle Ben as a "pretty great dad"), his parents' absences have still weighed on him, creating a sense that he doesn't quite fit in. (It's arguably this sense that drives his desire to search for answers after stumbling across his father's old briefcase at the beginning of the film.) Furthermore, at some point during his childhood, his good friend Harry Osborn also went away without warning, and he wouldn't see him again for another ten years. Such events have created a precedent for loss in his life, and, thus, an interpersonal style that firmly places him on the outside looking in. He has few (read: almost no) friends, and prefers to engage in solitary hobbies that allow him to remain on the outside, namely photography and skateboarding.

When he does engage in interpersonal interaction, Peter is, vastly more often than not, quite awkward. In conversation, he tends to ramble and stammer, with frequent "um"s and "uh"s. He also often tends to fidget and/or make a lot of gestures with his hands, particularly when he's nervous, as evidenced pretty notably when he tries, and actually fails, to ask Gwen Stacy out. He also tends to avoid contact whenever possible, and is frequently hiding under a hoodie, or other layers of clothing. (It's interesting to note that, throughout the film, Peter is almost always dressed in layers. One could postulate that he unconsciously does this as a way to put up a shield between himself and the world, which logically leads to him eventually donning the Spider-Man costume.) This particularly occurs during emotionally weighty conversations, such as when he's trying to hide the bruises on his face from Aunt May. Peter exhibits a clear discomfort with confronting and/or otherwise dealing with his own emotions, and would prefer to avoid them all entirely. Furthermore, Peter also has a tendency to be secretive, often spinning all kinds of lies off the top of his head (with varying degrees of success) to keep loved ones and others out of whatever he's doing. At the beginning of the film, this is mostly seen in his attempts to hide his search for answers about his parents from Uncle Ben and Aunt May, but this existing tendency definitely magnifies as he enters the life of a masked vigilante/superhero.

Speaking of that mask, actor Andrew Garfield, who portrays Peter in this particular film series, has stated that the Spider-Man mask can be considered akin to anonymity on the Internet; this allows Peter to leave the awkwardness of his ordinary self behind, and to gain a certain level of confidence. Indeed, Peter has constructed a whole persona with Spider-Man, one that is reckless, cocky, brash, witty, and sarcastic, and doesn't so much stammer for words. When fighting his enemies, Spider-Man never fails to have a joking, mocking quip at the ready to sling right along with his webs. He messes with a car thief before webbing him to a wall, taunts Dr. Connors in lizard form all throughout their fight at the high school, and in the second film, mocks Electro's villainous proclamation of, "I'll be like a god to them" with a quip, "A god named 'Sparkles'?!" Yes, Spider-Man is all about confidence, which even extends to his interactions with the police. Early in his superhero days, he's cocky with them, exclaiming things like, "I just did 80% of your job!", though he eventually comes to work more alongside them as time goes on.

The traits of the Spider-Man persona, however, aren't wholly unique to Spider-Man, per se; they're more an augment of traits that already exist in Peter. Well before he was ever bitten by a genetically-modified spider, much less donned the mask and suit, Peter, like a lot of teenage boys, was fond of things that were "stupid and dangerous." For him, this mostly came in the form of skateboarding. As Spider-Man, it's clear that Peter enjoys the thrills that are associated with swinging from building to building high above New York City. Spider-Man's non-stop sense of humor also has its origins in how Peter conducts himself naturally. Peter often attempts to avoid dealing with the ramifications of a serious situation by making jokes and/or otherwise using humor; in the film, this is particularly evidenced when he tries to joke to Gwen, "You should see the other guy" when he appears in her room, bleeding, after having the crap beaten out of him by Dr. Connors in his lizard form. Some of the brashness also exists in Peter when he's not in costume. For instance, one of his first acts with his new powers is to humiliate Flash Thompson, a classmate who has bullied both him and others in the past, taking a desire to get even way too far.

That's the thing, though; Peter, in general, has a tendency to take things way too far. When he has some kind of puzzle to solve, or he's on some kind of quest for answers, Peter is so determined to find what he's looking for that it often becomes an obsession. This obsession, in turn, can sometimes become unhealthy. Whether it's trying to turn up clues about why his parents disappeared, working out his new powers, or engaging in a desperate, vendetta-laden search for his uncle's killer, there are plenty of examples of this tendency to go around.

But there's plenty that's heroic about Peter, too. "With great power comes great responsibility" is a phrase that's often associated with Spider-Man lore, and while those exact words aren't stated in this universe, the sentiment has had a profound impact on the development of Peter's strong moral compass, as well as his general worldview. Peter feels that he has a responsibility to protect New York City from any weird dangers that befall it, because he has the power to do so; these words were handed down from his father to his uncle, who then handed them down to him. This sense of responsibility is further compounded by the fact that, on the night Uncle Ben was shot, Peter could've done something to stop the man who would soon be his killer, but chose not to do so. Now, his heroism is significantly driven by a desire to prevent other Uncle Bens, to take his lessons about responsibility to heart and grow up into the man his uncle thought he could be. During the first film, Peter particularly feels it's his responsibility to go after Dr. Connors, as he was the one who originally provided the decay-rate algorithm that made his transformation into a lizard possible. This sense of responsibility is, of course, a double-edged sword. Peter can also take this way too far, and often prioritizes his commitment to responsibility and heroism at a detriment to himself. He continues to throw himself into dangerous situations, and won't stop even if he's injured. He lets being Spider-Man take over his life, to the detriment of things like his personal relationships.

The sentiments that drive his heroism, though, are salient to Peter, in part, because he possesses a great deal of trait compassion. While he may not be great at forging individual relationships, he cares a lot about people as a whole, and even before he gains superpowers and puts on the mask, he's seen taking up the mantle to defend the defenseless. This is, for instance, evidenced in one of the first film's opening scenes, in which Peter gets into a fight with Flash, who's bullying one of their peers. The moment he gives up his vendetta against his uncle's killer and really commits to being Spider-Man is after he saves people from being killed by Dr. Connors on the bridge. He knows that, if he hadn't been there, those people would have literally died, and that's the real impetus to shift his focus and grow as a real hero. This large heart also translates to the few personal connections he does have. He took the loss of Uncle Ben very hard, and his blinding grief was powerful enough to temporarily sway his moral compass toward a revenge quest. As of this point in his life, his sphere of devotion mostly revolves around Aunt May and Gwen Stacy, his girlfriend (and basically only friend). He's worried for their safety, and is torn between his desire to have a relationship with Gwen, versus keeping the promise he made to her dying father that he would "keep [her] out of" his life as Spider-Man. While he retracts his initial break-up with her, it's a concern that continues to plague him.

So, yeah, Peter Parker is a work in progress. He has enough issues to fill up a comic book store, and isn't going to be winning any awards in psychological and emotional adjustment anytime soon. But his heart's in the right place, and he'll be there as long as his city needs him.

◎ Powers/Abilities: Does whatever a spider can? After being bitten by a genetically altered spider, Peter gained a number of abilities. These include superhuman strength, speed, agility, reflexes, stamina, and senses (which includes enhanced hearing). In addition, Peter has an ability that is termed "superhuman equilibrium," which allows him to perfectly balance on any object. While not explicitly stated in the film, it's arguable that Peter has also gained some kind of regenerative healing ability, as he has fallen from great heights and not needed medical attention, and has been able to keep going with injuries that would've incapacitated a normal human being. (While this could just be "Hollywood healing," other versions of the character in the comics have had regenerative healing, so I would be comfortable stating that this version has it as well.) Peter can also adhere to any surface, including brick, the ceiling, etc., and can crawl up walls this way. Finally, Peter has "spider sense," which takes the form of a tingling at the back of his skull, and warns him of oncoming danger.

It is worth noting that unlike some other versions of the character, this Peter does not shoot webs naturally from inside his wrist. Instead, he has constructed mechanical webshooters, which release a synthesized "webbing" developed from Oscorp "biocable" (comic book science!!).

Outside of his super-abilities, Peter is very intelligent. He's ranked second in his class (behind Gwen Stacy) at Midtown Science High School, a fictional school that is modeled after the specialized high schools in New York City, which require high test scores to be accepted into. As already noted above, Peter builds a lot of his own tech that he uses as Spider-Man, and is constantly testing and reevaluating his designs.

◎ Weapons & Other Special Inventory:
- (1) backpack, containing:

- (1) Spider-Man suit + mask
- (2) mechanical webshooters
- (5) extra cartridges of biocable
- (1) change of clothes

- (1) camera
- (1) skateboard

CEREALIA-Specific

◎ Element: Air. This element traditionally symbolizes "intellect, creativity, and youth," all of which are attributes that fit Peter. Furthermore, it's clear that Peter loves flying through the air as he swings from building to building high above New York City.
◎ Sense: Touch. Peter is very much a hands-on kind of person. His scientific pursuits mostly lie in the physical rather than in the abstract, with efforts focused on inventions that have practical applications (such as his webbing and webshooters). In terms of his personal relationships, while he isn't very open with his affection, it's mostly because he isn't good at it, and he doesn't dislike touching or being touched by others. When physical affection comes from him, in fact, it tends to be meaningful.
◎ Seven Character Traits: + intelligent, compassionate, strong moral code
- secretive, lack of moderation, tendency toward avoidance
+/- sense of responsibility

Samples

◎ First-Person Sample: 1; 2; 3; 4 (ongoing thread)

◎ Third-Person Sample:

Okay, so being on his own without his aunt, and without the convenience store that's, like, two blocks from his house that he always goes to for absolute junk, means he's going to have to start cooking for himself. Which, hey, you know, this day had been inevitable, was going to happen eventually, no way around it, but he'd just thought he would've graduated from high school first. But it's fine, it's cool, he's got this; he hasn't burned down the basement yet, which totally says something, right?

He can cook no problem, no problem at all.

He figures he can start small, you know, with scrambled eggs or something. Maybe he has his reasons for picking up the eggs off the shelf at the food shop, okay, maybe he misses Aunt May like crazy and he kind of just associates these stupid eggs with her, but the carton is tucked under his arm and paid for before he really thinks about what he's doing. So, hey, he's got eggs at his place now, more eggs than he really knows what to do with, but he'll figure that out later.

There's some scrambling, actually, a lot of scrambling, because what does a 17-year-old boy know about pots and pans, before he finds something he thinks might be acceptable? At least, it looks a lot like a pan he's seen his aunt use before so, hey, that works for him. The next part, the cracking, is easy, because he used to be allowed to help with that when he was little; he manages to get not even one tiny piece of eggshell in the pan at all, which is so talent, he's definitely got this. Okay, and then there's turning on the stove... maybe on high? Yeah, he's hungry, so hungry, and that'll get them done faster. And then there's the stirring, you know, the actual scrambling, so he does that for a little bit. But he doesn't have to be standing at this stove literally every second until they're done, he remembers that.

So he wanders off for a minute.

Except it's actually more like ten minutes, because this guy's just absolutely wonderful at keeping track of time. Honestly, he's almost forgotten about anything on the stove at all until he starts to smell something really weird. He runs back to the kitchen at top speed, and -

Whoa, whoa, it's burning. Ohgodohgod it's burning. No, no, no, it's not just burning, there's a literal mushroom cloud of fire spewing from this pan right now, he is honestly so serious. And, like, giant mutant lizards he can handle, that's just the kind of freak territory that comes with being Spider-Man, but kitchen disasters like this are just a whole universe and a half beyond him. There's panic, you know, just a moment of sheer, buzzing-in-brain panic, while he tries to figure out just what in the world he's supposed to do about this completely unprecedented trainwreck. It's such a panic that the literal obvious idea, throwing some water on it and then turning the freaking stove off, occurs to him on a bit of a delay.

But he does that, he does that and eventually gets everything under control. The pan's totally useless now, with this weird gunk, like, permanently stuck to it, but major structures are still intact, okay, no one died, no lasting harm done.

This has gone really well.

◎ Is your character retaining any previous game memories? Nope