Spider-Man is huge business. His story can also teach young people important character traits.

Like many adolescents, Peter Parker (Spider-Man’s true identity) struggles with self-doubt and insecurity.

Far from self-assured, Parker often agonizes over the choices he makes. A recurring theme in the films and comics is Parker’s indecision over continuing as Spider-Man.

Stan Lee said that he created Spider-Man because he wanted to write a hero who was, in his own words, “neurotic.” Indeed, the most inspiring aspect of his stories comes not from his triumphs over his physical foes but from rising above his inner struggles.

Parker is often on the cusp of becoming consumed by his angst to the point of self-absorption, yet he manages to overcome these qualities by acting selflessly and heroically. These victories offer little reward and often come at a great cost. Teenagers, often struggling with their own feelings of alienation, inadequacy or existential anxiety, find in him a relatable figure and a positive role model.

One example of how Parker/Spider-Man overcomes a common adolescent problem is the story of his relationship with his high school antagonist Flash Thompson. Parker is the typical nerd who is consumed by his studies, slight of build, socially awkward, and shy. Flash Thompson, meanwhile, is loud, strong, handsome, and, to Peter, obnoxious and bullying.

On the face of it, Flash Thompson is the stereotypical mean jock and bully of fiction, Parker the unjustly persecuted “nerd.” And yet, by giving access to the private thoughts of both characters, Stan Lee depicts both individuals as more complex than the other realized. In fact,  Thompson regards Parker with unspoken admiration. There are even times when both young men seek to offer olive branches to the other, only for misunderstandings to spoil their attempts. And while Thompson dislikes Parker, he idolizes Spider-Man, even risking his own life to clear Spider-Man’s name at one point and loudly proclaiming his support even when the rest of the world had turned against the webslinger.

More importantly, as the characters develop, they are able to see beyond their teenaged enmity. Both learn to recognize the positive traits in the other — Thompson is able to appreciate Parker’s magnanimity and kindness, and Parker respects Flash’s bravery and loyalty — as well as their own culpability in their  rivalry.

Eventually, a friendship develops between the two. In one issue that featured a high school reunion, Parker’s former classmates warn him of  Thompson’s arrival, only for Parker to inform them that they’d become fast friends in the intervening years. When Parker marries Mary Jane, it is none other than  Thompson who serves as his best man.

This ability to forgive, to recognize the good in your antagonists, and even to recognize his own flaws that might have played a role in past enmities, is perhaps less compelling than Spider-Man’s struggles with self-doubt, provides a positive storyline for young people today. So many young adults seem more prone to demonize their perceived opponents rather than attempt to understand them.

Certainly, there are other very famous literary and historical examples of individuals who forgave their enemies, but Spider-Man’s experience is of specific relevance to teens, given it deals directly with the high school experience. Given his current ubiquity in popular culture, it seems well worth it to make use of the example he provides, not only in his heroism, but in his attitude towards high school rivals.