Spider-Man: Fight through the fatigue

As Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings past superhero fatigue, Sam Bishton asks what renews and reignites us.

Peter Parker has been forgotten. Following the dramatic events of his previous film, No Way Home, Spider-Man: Brand New Day finds Spider-Man protecting New York City without the companionship of his once-girlfriend MJ and once-best friend Ned, whose memories of him have been erased. Not just that, but he must battle shadowy villains, and a new psychic threat. Plus organic webs, which are disgusting both to think about and see.

Superhero fatigue

Thirty-eight films into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, some – myself included – have found themselves suffering from superhero fatigue: too many characters, spin-offs, sequels, films and TV shows, none distinct enough to feel worth catching, and expanding the franchise at a rate that seems too fast to match or too tedious to bother. To my surprise, then, for the first time in a while, I found myself thinking I might give Spider-Man: Brand New Day a try.

Was it the familiarity of characters I knew I liked, or the actors who portrayed them? Was I drawn in by the premise of a back-to-basics Spidey, or how he might cope without his friends? It was likely a combination of lots of factors – but my interest had been, for the moment, reignited. Funnily enough, I’d recently had a similar experience with my faith – the feeling that God was asking me not to become fatigued with my Christian life, but to find where I might be spiritually reignited.

Living life as a Christian doesn’t always seem like hit after hit, or thrill after thrill – in fact, despite knowing the endless awesomeness of God, we can sometimes make discipleship feel dreary, bogged down in the everyday. God requires of us a constant renewal – a re-inspiration, even reconstruction – of our faith. Part of the challenge – but also excitement! – of living a life for God is in rediscovering devotion within our church, our communities and ourselves.

When is it too late to recommit to God?

In 2 Kings 22:3–11, King Josiah has been reigning for 18 years when he discovers that he and the people of Judah have not been living according to God’s Law. What’s important is his reaction – he changes, re-establishing his covenant to God. ‘The king … renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord – to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul’ (2 Kings 23:3).

After 18 years, it might have been easy to continue as he was, but Josiah knew something had to change – to be renewed. It’s never too late to recommit to God, and there’s no limit to how often we can or should. Often in the very activities to which we’ve become accustomed, God already has in place people to speak to, moments to re-realise an aspect of him we’ve perhaps taken for granted.

In Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Spider-Man battles with his duelling Spider and Peter sides, struggling to reassert what he considers to be his normal self. God wills us to break away from the ‘normal’, to question our motivation and intention so as to renew them, to re-inspire our faith and to rediscover his awesomeness. If we ever find ourselves fatigued by monotony, Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:28 that he is the ultimate way to re-energise. He says: ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’ No matter how long it’s been, how fatigued we might feel, God has the strength to show us something new. Because faith in God isn’t a one-time choice – it’s a promise we renew every (brand new) day.

Reflect and respond

• How might God be encouraging you to change a routine or attitude to be spiritually renewed?
• Isaiah 43:18 and 19 say: ‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?’ What’s exciting about God to you today?
• Listen to a worship song you know well and focus on its lyrics. Is God pointing you towards something new in its meaning?