Board Thread:News and Announcements/@comment-4651179-20181113132311/@comment-11084328-20181114080313

I remember when I was a kid (like, seven years old, I believe I was?), I used to be a somewhat problematic guy. Basically no friends, no physical aptitude whatsoever, carefree, hooked to videogames, prone to violent behavior, etcetera. I would play Spider-Man 2 all day, but without any knowledge of who Spider-Man was, or why he had his powers, why he did what he did, or anything. Back then, to me, Spider-Man was simply a videogame character. Then, one day, out of nowhere, after school, my mother walked up to me with a book. It was a hardcover compiling of Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1, Issues 143-150, with the first two pages of Issue 151 included as well. I had only seen Spider-Man in the aforementioned videogame before, so this was a surprise. I opened the book to see how it was like and I saw a double-page splash of Spider-Man fighting Tarantula in the streets of New York, using his agility to jump over the villain. The image (which, thanks to this Wiki, I now know is from Issue 147) will forever be etched into my mind. Ever since then, I've been a comic book fan, reading and buying every comic book I could get my eyes and hands on. Over the years, not only did I learn all about Uncle Ben, the robber whom Spider-Man let escape, George and Gwen Stacy, Ben Reilly, etcetera, but seeing Spider-Man use his powers to be responsible motivated me to change myself. I stopped being violent (which took a lot of effort), tried to make friends (that part failed back then, but it's going a bit better now), became somewhat more responsible and so on.

Where am I going with this? Well, basically, if it wasn't for the work Stan Lee did all those decades back, in 1962, I would've never become who I am today. Sure, he didn't write the issues I previously mentioned, but his work ensured someone would. For that, I am truly grateful.

Thank you, Stan Lee. You taught me that with great power comes great responsibility.

Excelsior.