For this episode of Smirk, Zack takes a listener’s challenge and offers up a story that ultimately leads to an in-depth discussion revolving around childhood dreams and the heroes that live inside our hearts.
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Welcome to Smirk. A podcast that covers society and culture through a storytelling lens. Part creative writing, part discussion, and always interesting. Each week our hosts brings a story to the show, a story they wrote themselves, which is immediately followed by discussion on the author’s moral or theme.
These stories can cover any topic the host wants to discuss, it can be lighthearted or more serious. No one but the author knows if these tales are truth or fiction, and part of the fun is guessing while you’re listening before the reality is made clear.
We want to hear from you! If you want to share YOUR story, join the conversation by writing in to mystory@smirkpodcast.com, and include your moral, or you can let us guess at it. This is the podcast that looks at truth, fiction, and reality. With a Smirk.
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Want to read Zack’s story “There Is A Hero In All Of Us” in full? Think you can identify the moral or theme for this episode? Read it below, and then take a listen to the podcast.
There Is A Hero In All Of Us
James loves Spider-Man. Who doesn’t? It’s a timeless story; the scrappy kid becomes full-fledged hero. And he’s never a jerk about it. He’s the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, after all.
But lately James has become rather disenfranchised with the character. He was among the few people who realized how profoundly disappointing a movie Spider-Man: Homecoming was. The video games have been terrible for years, and let’s not get started on the utter abuse and misuse of the character in the modern storylines of comics. He’s kind of become a joke character, a loveable goofball. Not the Peter Parker James and many others grew up with.
Gone are the relatable concerns of a struggling everyman who wouldn’t even join The Avengers because he wanted to look out for the little guys. In was Peter Parker the techie, who relies on his suite of gadgets like some rent-a-cop Batman. He even had, or maybe still has, a multination corporation in the comics. All that to say, James doesn’t find much to get excited about with Spidey these day.
Then a brand new video game was unveiled. Developed by legendary company Insomniac Games, the studio behind such classics as Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet and Clank, and Sunset Overdrive. Published by Sony themselves for their PlayStation 4 system, putting real money and marketing behind it. James eyes lit up, wide with childlike wonder.
This new story has the hits. Peter Parker is finally allowed to be an adult again, barely makes his rent, and even has a serious, if on and off, relationship with Mary Jane. It’s that classic “weight of the world on his shoulders” take on the character that endeared James to Spidey in the first place.
James is no longer indifferent or angry about the the character. He sees a bright spot ahead in the future. Some slight tinge of happiness in his otherwise dark outlook. Spider-Man is finally getting his homecoming, and this time it’s the right way.
Now, listen to the full episode as we dissect Zack’s story.