ABSTRACT
Every superhero has an origin story and Peter Parker's transformation into Spider-Man represents a period of our youth which most of us can identify with: puberty. Morgan notes that adolescents base their decisions about risk on how they are feeling at the moment rather than on the consequences of their actions. This is due to the fact that the teenage brain is a work in progress. The rapid physiological, biological and psychological changes that come about at the start of puberty seem to parallel those of the young fictional superhero as he gains his superpowers and increases in potency. The struggles of these mighty fantasy characters resonate very deeply with many of today's adolescents who find echo in their inner worlds. They mirror their internal conflicts, their illusions of omnipotence and their pursuits of individuation. They attest to their wish to escape into alterity, explore their destructive side, confront their newly developed urges and eventually find the hero within.
