It was while I was speaking to some awesome Senior High teens at Covenant Hills Camp that this came to mind. I opened the morning session with Q&A, which is typically riddled with questions mundane (do you like cake?) and deep (what is the meaning of life? Answer: cake).
One teen asked me who’s better: Spiderman or Batman?
Hm.
I think Batman is better, and here’s why:
– Batman works within the limitations of his humanity, whereas Spiderman has, genetically speaking, the upper hand.
– Batman is humble enough to admit that he needs help and hires Robin. Spiderman has no staff to speak of.
– Batman has been played by about 71 different actors in the last 20 years. Spider man? Just Tobey.
and here’s where it got theological:
– Spiderman was forced by a spider-bite that could’ve happened to anyone but Batman chose to use his fortune for hero-work.
Therefore: Spiderman represents predestination and Batman represents free-will. Spidey? Heroism chose Spidey. Batman chose heroism.
I had to get it written down (blogged) before I forgot.
Thanks for listening.
(R) Adam Davidson 
Actually. .. nerd moment there are a few actor’s that have played Spider-Man. ..
And Spider-Man could have chosen to be a villain if we want to walk that path… had it not been for his guilty concious (?spelling I am not great at this stuff ) reminding him of his Uncle Ben’s words “with great power comes great responsibility”… in the comics Spidey had to make several choices that were questionable.
If you want to go down the Shield universe he worked with a team of about five including (in the cartoon ) Iron Fist, Venom, Powerman, Wildcat, and a few others.
Now for Batman… this is where I beecome discriminating (my husband is a fan and so I have loyalty to the name only). Batman in a sense is a straight vigilante. The only reson he is a hero is because he did what no one else was willing to do. He did things that were questionable and wrong. Hurt those who he questioned with out cause because they were a know associate. Now come on…. really lets look at how the scarecrow, joker, and several other villains were created…. all because of Batman seeking revenge in his early stages. It wasn’t till after Dick Grason laeft (original Robin) and became Nightwing, Bane broke his back, found out he had a son, and basically started all over did he realize that he needed to lighten up. Even in the Justice League universe he was a man with a plan but always a lone dog… but because of the Man Hunter and a few others including Wonder Woman did he ever work willingly with others. However, he had contingency plans to take them out should they ever become an issue.
Ok, ok, enjoy the nerd rant. I really enjiy your blog. I just discovered it through Emily along with your Twitter feed. Excited to follow along!