"With great power, comes great responsibility"
These are the words spoken by the late Ben Parker shortly before dying at the hands of an armed criminal. This sentence alone has helped shape the entire 50 year history of one of the greatest superheroes ever created. It doesn't take a literary genius to decipher what Marvel meant when they printed those words on the last panel of Amazing Fantasy #15. Individuals bestowed with extraordinary abilities have an obligation to help those in need. When he takes to streets of New York, Peter Parker helps to save numerous lives from the thralls of costumed villainy. But the fight doesn't have to end there. Peter can still save the world when he's not wearing spandex. "How so?" you might ask. It's simple...
By making mild-mannered Peter Parker into a public school teacher.
The idea was visited briefly just before Civil War hit the stands. The writers of Spider-Man had a great idea of nurturing Peter Parker into the responsible adult we all knew that he was. That rubbed Joe Quesada the wrong way, and he decided that Marvel needed to change the status quo. Since then, Peter's had a gig at a science laboratory where he invents new gadgets that supposedly "change" the world. And that's all fine and dandy. After all, what's one more tinkerer in a world already inhabited by Reed Richards, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Hank Pym.... ect.
But what if Peter used his aptitute for science and mathematics in a classroom setting? What if every day Peter put on a shirt and tie and headed off to work at a stressful job with long hours, low pay, and continual disrespect? It's a thankless job that requires the utmost compassion for students and a burning desire to see them achieve. That's exactly why Peter should do it.
In many ways, Peter's life is defined by personal sacrifice. It's not a story about fame or fortune, but instead the humble journey of a boy becoming a man who doesn't get discouraged every time mud is thrown in his face for doing the right thing. As Spider-Man, he's constantly hounded by the police and slandered by the media. He has to put aside a lot of his personal life in order to protect the anonymous masses. It's a wonderful analogy for teaching. Teachers get mud thrown in their face by administration, politicians, parents, and society as a whole because they want their students to be successful. The life of a teacher involves long hours and sacrificing alot of personal freedom. And at the end of the day, nobody thanks them for it. Nobody tells them they're doing a good job. The satisfaction has to come from within.
If Peter Parker were a teacher, he'd be returning full circle to the place that started it all: high school. A lot of the same elements we saw in the early years would still be present today, only this time they would be told from a totally different perspective and updated for a more modern setting. Instead of a young Peter Parker trying to figure how he's going to ask that girl to prom, we get see Peter resolving issues in school like bullying, sexual orientation, troublesome homelife, ect. And with that comes a whole new cast of characters and relationships.
"But Smokin Indo, Peter's already teaching at Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters!" While this is a step in the right direction for the character, I think a lot more can be done to impove on the idea. Quite frankly, Xavier's Institute is a private school housed by the greatest staff known to man. Many of the kids at the school are going to have far greater opportunities gifted to them than say.... a low income inner-city school district. Peter's gifts belong in a classroom with underprivileged kids stricken by the public education system. I also happen to know damn well that the pay and benefits recieved at the institute are light years above anything offered at a New York City public school.
And last, but certainly not least, if Peter Parker were a teacher, the PR for this would be HUGE. Marvel is no stranger to public relations. The direction they've taken with Captain America as not also a superhero, but as a military veteran, has been nothing short of inspiring. I believe that if Spider-Man was made into a public school teacher, it would provide a voice for the underappreciated educators all over the nation and perhaps call some attention to this important yet underappreciated career field.