In jurisprudence, there is a controversial classic case known as the famous Trolley Problem.
A madman has tied five innocent people to a trolley track. A runaway trolley is heading toward them and will crush them in moments. Fortunately, you can pull a lever to send the trolley onto another track.
The problem, however, is that the madman has also tied one person to the other track. Given the situation, should you pull the lever?
Peter Parker in marvel's Spider-Man encountered this very problem, though it was slightly different.
On the track the trolley was about to run over were strangers from all over the city; on the other track was Aunt May, the person he depended on for everything.
Peter Parker could have ignored the trolley and saved Aunt May directly, but at the same time, his sense of responsibility wouldn't allow him to watch the strangers of the entire city die.
Thus, at the end of this dilemma, Peter Parker chose the greater good over personal love.
To save the strangers of the city, he watched with his own eyes as his Aunt May died before him.
To be honest, Xia Yu had never quite understood this. If it were him, he wouldn't even think twice; he would definitely save his family first.
What did the lives of strangers have to do with him? If he fought with all his might and put in every effort, yet couldn't even save his closest kin, then why work so hard?
He could be kind, but that kindness would never be built upon the death of his own family.
Perhaps this is exactly the charm of Spider-Man; he has always lived by Uncle Ben's words.
With great power comes great responsibility.
Spider-Man might be truly foolish, but he also truly carries many responsibilities that aren't his on his shoulders, constantly striving for the city he loves.
Xia Yu knew he could never become someone like Peter Parker, but that didn't stop him from appreciating and liking such a person.
Of course, liking Spider-Man didn't stop him from thinking Spider-Man was a 'Failed-man,' a title marvel's Spider-Man truly deserved.
He's already twenty-three, yet he's still a pauper, so delinquent on his apartment rent that the landlord has to harrass him. Spider-Man is truly poor by his own merit.
"Speaking of which, where is 'Failed-man' now? And where is the plot at?"
Xia Yu stood atop a building, watching J. Jonah Jameson's ceaselessly rattling mouth while recalling the plot of marvel's Spider-Man.
At this point in time, Peter Parker has already resigned from his job as a journalist. He has devoted himself entirely to scientific research, and the scientist he assists and respects is Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius, also known as Doctor Octopus.
Of course, Otto hasn't become Doctor Octopus yet. However, compared to the Dr. Otto in the movies, this Dr. Otto has encountered a crisis every middle-aged man faces: he's balding.
He went from Dr. Otto to Dr. Otbald.
But the Dr. Otbald of this world isn't as paranoid as the one in the movie universe; even after turning dark, he spared Spider-Man on several occasions.
Even his fall to the dark side was a gradual corruption by the mechanical tentacles. Initially, his relationship with Peter Parker could be described as that of a mentor and friend, working together for the sake of humanity.
But truth be told, while the mechanical tentacles were thirty percent responsible for Otto turning into Doctor Octopus, the remaining seventy percent was Norman Osborn's fault.
Originally, Dr. Otto and Peter Parker were quietly researching mechanical prosthetics to help the disabled. But Norman Osborn suddenly appeared, first using the excuse that Dr. Otto had violated safety regulations to haul away all the technological equipment in the lab, and then using his position as mayor to cut off Dr. Otto's government funding, leaving him with no research capital.
Furthermore, in this world, Oscorp was co-founded by Norman and Otto, but Norman later squeezed Otto out of the decision-making level and seized Oscorp for himself.
Although Norman Osborn didn't become the Green Goblin later on, more than half of the villains in marvel's Spider-Man are related to him.
Norman Osborn could practically be called the ultimate shit-stirrer. If Osborn were taken out early, Spider-Man's arch-enemies would be cut by more than half.
"Unfortunately, there's no time left."
Thinking back to this, Xia Yu sighed with regret. Even if he killed Norman Osborn now, it would be useless; at most, he'd prevent the Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus, but the other villains already existed.
Classics like Shocker, Vulture, Rhino, Scorpion, and Electro had appeared long ago, along with the new villain Mr. Negative, also known as Lord Negative.
This Mr. Negative was also Norman Osborn's fault; his emergence was due to a human experiment conducted by Norman Osborn.
"Tsk, Norman Osborn could practically replace Tokiomi," Xia Yu grumbled, curling his lip.
In the future, if two unfamiliar villains wanted to cooperate, they could just say to each other, 'It's all Norman's fault,' and the trust between them would surely skyrocket.
"Forget it, let's see where the plot of this world has progressed to."
After roughly sorting through the plot in his head, Xia Yu took out his phone, connected to the internet, and began searching for recent news.
Naturally, the Daily Bugle was the first choice for news. Coincidentally, the MJ of this world—Mary Jane Watson—was a reporter for the Daily Bugle.
Her identity was the same as the Mary Jane in the Ultimate Spider-Man animation: both were journalists.
"It looks like the early stages of the plot have already passed," Xia Yu muttered to himself as he looked at the news on his phone.
The biggest news recently was that Mayor Norman Osborn had been targeted in a bomb attack, and Officer Davis had been killed.
This part of the plot happened to appear in the game; the one who attacked Norman Osborn was Mr. Negative, Martin Li.
The deceased Officer Davis was no nobody either; he was Miles's father.
That's right, Miles Morales also exists in this world. In the post-credits scene of marvel's Spider-Man, Miles revealed the changes in his body to Peter Parker.
Miles is the second-generation Spider-Man. He's Black, but this has nothing to do with political correctness, as Miles appeared before PC became rampant.
Moreover, Miles's character development was quite good; he took over Peter Parker's responsibility as Spider-Man and became the new Spider-Man.
"Tsk, every Spider-Man loses a close elder. I wonder if this counts as some kind of Spider-Man curse."
Looking at the news of Miles Morales's father's death, Xia Yu grumbled and turned off his phone.
By browsing the Daily Bugle's online news, he had roughly determined the current timeline of the plot.
Mr. Negative hasn't been arrested yet, Dr. Otto hasn't begun his descent into darkness, and those classic villains are all safely locked away.
Hmm... since the plot has only just begun, perhaps he can change the tragedies that follow.
Back then, watching Aunt May die in front of Peter Parker, he had almost been moved to tears; Peter's resolve and the hero's moment of helplessness were perfectly portrayed.
In contrast, Aunt May's death in Spider-Man: No Way Home was baffling, even a bit laughable.
Since he had the power to change the tragedy, he naturally wouldn't remain indifferent. Peter Parker had suffered enough.
Hmm... Dr. Otto's fall could also be considered a second tragedy; it's better to avoid that whole 'falling to the dark side' thing.
With that thought, Xia Yu expanded his divine sense perception.