Spider-Man Fights a Web of Lies

by Ted Giese

Following the events of Avengers Endgame and the death of his mentor Iron Man, Peter Parker (Spider-Man) faces uncertainties and personal doubts. While trying to be a normal teenager focused on his crush, MJ, Parker’s high school science trip to Europe is interrupted by an apparent attack of destructive inter-dimensional elemental beings. He’s drawn into a fight against this threat and meets superhero Quentin Beck from an alleged different earth who is working with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to stop the threat. When Spider-Man chooses not to fight, his trip is hijacked by top S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury covertly guiding Parker and his friends into the heart of danger. As events unfold nothing is as it seems. The friendly Quentin Beck, nicknamed Mysterio, in whom Parker placed great trust turns out to be a villainous callous imposter.

On one hand Spider-Man: Far from Home deals with youthful inexperience and gullibility: Parker must learn how to better judge character and not be blindly trusting. On the other hand the film deals with questions of truth versus illusion and lies. After agents Maria Hill and Fury brush off Parker’s enthusiasm amidst the “revelation” of a purported multi-universe, Mysterio ingratiates himself to Parker by defending Parker’s scientific curiosity saying, “Don’t ever apologize for being the smartest one in the room.” Once he’s revealed to be the villain, Mysterio confronts Parker saying, “It’s easy to fool people when they’re already fooling themselves.”

Viewers with a passing interest in Spider-Man will likely have run across the villainous Mysterio before. As in previous depictions of the character, this film Mysterio uses trickery, stunts, and special effects to bamboozle everyone around him. This time the trickery is more sophisticated and is staged on a global scale. It’s up to Spider-Man to save the day.

Christian viewers should note Mysterio’s villainous plot and how he views himself. While clearly unhinged, Quentin Beck appears to have a saviour complex desiring to publicly replace Stark as a trusted international life-saving super hero while secretly having little regard who might die as he pulls off his plot. His delusions of grandeur are further exposed when he spitefully says to Parker, “You are just a scared little kid in a sweatsuit. I created Mysterio to give the world someone to believe in. I control the truth; Mysterio is the truth!” With all of his obvious smoke and mirrors the hypocritical Beck still thinks of Mysterio as a saviour who could be defined as “the truth” even as he is orchestrating massive false-flag events.

Beck’s declaration “Mysterio is the truth” should remind Christian viewers of Jesus on the night in which He was betrayed saying to His disciples, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). But obviously Mysterio is no Jesus; he seeks his own glory. When questioned why he is tricking people into thinking they are in danger and that Mysterio is the one saving them when he is actually the cause, Beck replies, “You’ll see, Peter. People… need to believe. And nowadays, they’ll believe anything.”

This is where audiences wishing to think more deeply about the film will want to focus on the themes of truth and reality versus illusion and lies. Not long after Jesus said “I am the Truth,” He was arrested under false pretences and brought before the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate to whom Jesus said, “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” (John 18:37b-38a).

For Christians Jesus is “the Truth, the Way and the Life.” To non-believers, the question of ultimate truth is up in the air; postmodern thinking would say it’s unknowable and relativism would say ultimate truth is irrelevant or non-existent. Yet there are industries, academic schools of thought, political parties, and individuals whose desire to influence people as to what is true.

Christians don’t rely on a “spidey-sense” to detect what is true from what is false. Rather, they rely on the Word of God because, “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17). And as the Gospel of John says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1)— passage that further supports the Christian understanding that Jesus is the Truth just as He is the Word. By comparison, Mysterio is a huckster bearing false witness about himself to gain something that isn’t rightly his: fame, praise, and public acknowledgment.

Christians don’t rely on a “spidey-sense” to detect what is true from what is false. Rather, they rely on the Word of God because, “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Non-Christians don’t care much for the Christian confession that Jesus is the Truth or that the Scriptures are trustworthy and true. Even so, non-Christians need to think about what is and isn’t truth ever more in this day and age. They, like Christians, will want to be careful consumers of information, especially as propaganda becomes increasingly sophisticated.

Christians claim there is objective truth and that subjectivity is a frailty of the fallen nature of humanity. Spider-Man: Far from Home is a good reminder to everyone that there are people willing to take advantage of this frailty for their own ends and such exploitative efforts may even attempt to take advantage of a person’s good nature as Beck does with Parker. A major turn in the film’s plot hinges on the fact that Iron Man trusted Parker to “do the right thing.” This only works if Parker knows what “the right thing” is. As a result the film can be seen as an encouragement towards discerning right from wrong and acting virtuously in the truth.

Jesus’ words of warning to His disciples seem to fit well into this story of Iron Man passing the torch to Peter Parker, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16).

Spider-Man: Far from Home is a little less crass than Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) while still keeping the awkward teenage vibe. With many humorous moments director John Watts, in his sophomore outing with these characters, provides a welcome light and fun film following the seriousness of Avengers: Endgame.

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Rev. Ted Giese is lead pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada; a contributor to The Canadian Lutheran, Reporter; and movie reviewer for the “Issues, Etc.” radio program. Follow Pastor Giese on Twitter @RevTedGiese.

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