The Rest of Us Just Live Here Vs. Spiderman Homecoming: Similarity of the Main Characters

High school. 

A time period common for many people where lessons are learned as people grow. The story of Mike Mitchell, a teenage boy in a unique world of super-powered kids who fight vampires, gods, and immortals is told in the novel written by Patrick Ness called ‘The Rest Of Us Just Live Here’. The story of Peter Parker in the award-winning movie ‘Spiderman Homecoming’ directed by Jon Watts follows the life of a teenage superhero who helps his community with his powers. Both the Rest of Us Just Live Here and Spiderman Homecoming tells the story of two unique but alike teenage boys in high school. Their perspective on romantic relationships, friendships, and identity prove their resemblance. Their similarities show the audience about common high school lessons that teach students about growing up.

The Rest Of Us Just Live Here and Spiderman Homecoming has protagonists who both experience the same events when it comes to their romantic relationships. First of all, Mike Mitchell admits he has a long-time crush on his friend Henna but has never made a move. Mike has known her for many years but said “I told Henna about my mad, desperate feelings for her exactly zero times”. The confession of his feelings that he keeps a secret provides parallelism to both stories and shows the common high school issue of being too scared to take risks. The lesson Mike learns from this situation which helps with growing up is that a person will never get anything in life unless they try. However, in some cases, attempting to get what one wants will result in success. Although Mike hides his feelings for many years, he finally decides to confess them to Henna before she leaves the country forever. This results in “kissing in the name of exploration” and Mike hooking up with Henna. Mike’s ability to reach his goal romantically draws similarities to Peter Parker’s romantic life while teaching the audience about the common high school lesson of taking chances. Mike taking his chance and being successful is evidence of this idea that risk-taking is needed as one grows up. As for Peter Parker, he follows the same pathway as Mike romantically due to his constant talks with his friend Ned about how good-looking his crush Liz looks, although he never makes a move. This similarity between the characters acts as evidence to the idea that students face alike issues in high school but learn from them. Through this situation, Peter gains the knowledge of not taking risks leads to no rewards. Although Peter conceals his emotions for a few years, he eventually builds the courage to ask Liz “Do you want to go to homecoming with me”. This results in reaching his goal romantically (like Mike). Peter taking a risk and being successful teaches the lesson of always trying even when there is a chance of failure. In conclusion, the parallelism found between the two characters when it comes to their romantic relationships proves that students learn lessons during their time in high school which results in growth.

Friendships are highly valued by Mike Mitchell and Peter Parker in both stories as they rely on their friends for emotional support and entertainment. Mike is supported emotionally by his best friend Jared through their frequent car talks about Henna and when Jared says “If you ever need a place, Mikey. I don’t care how mad they get”. Having somebody to vent feelings to is healthy for a person emotionally and mentally. This action is provided by Jared being a good friend and listening to Mike’s problems. Jared also provides support when he offers his place to stay when times are rough for Mike at home. This type of supportive relationship is found in both pieces of media while also teaching students to surround themselves with good friends in order to have a healthy lifestyle. In order for Mike to have a bearable time in high school, he also uses his friends as a source of entertainment. Going out to golf and sleeping over at Jared’s cabin to hang out were all forms of amusement for Mike. Having the knowledge to balance out life with work and entertainment is important in a healthy lifestyle which is the lesson Mike’s friendships taught. As he grows up, he understands that he will need to have a good balance to stay happy. Likewise to Mike, Peter also deals with the same situations in regards to his friendship with Ned and the debate team. For emotional support, it mostly consists of sitting at the lunch table and talking about Liz (Watts). Ned being supportive and listening to Peter’s issues romantically help keep him in check so he doesn’t have to bottle up his feelings. This would result in an unhealthy lifestyle. The audience is able to take away the importance of having supportive friends to assist with emotions and rants. As for entertainment, Peter enjoys creating lego sets with Ned while also participating in the debate team. This balance makes his hectic lifestyle more bearable and also grounds him as a teenager so he can look forward to certain activities to participate in every day. This helps him grow as a person since learning to balance one's life is a part of growing up. To conclude, having supportive and entertaining friends helps both characters go through high school easily which teaches the lessons on growing up.

Identity plays a major factor in both of these teenage boys’ lives as it is what they struggle with during their high school time. Mike’s world and school are full of ‘Indie’ kids who are gifted students who fight off zombies and ghosts but since he isn’t special in that way, Mike finds his identity through being an average high school student who wants to graduate. Mike proves his growth as a person when the book states “What if you aren’t the chosen one? What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom?”. Mike shows his acceptance of his character. The lesson taught through Mike’s discovery of his identity is that even though other people have different pathways, a person should always follow their own, even if it isn’t special. This case also applies to Peter Parker as he is the opposite of Mike and is gifted with powers while his schoolmates aren’t. Although the people around Peter have goals like finishing high school, he understands his purpose in society and follows his own pathway by “...just trying to save the world”. Peter was able to find his identity and purpose which was different from the people around him, following the lesson of creating your own pathway. Both stories contain characters who learn to follow their own pathway in life, separating themselves from people around them which happens as one grows up.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here and Spiderman Homecoming both draw similarities in the main characters which taught lessons about growing up. Romantic relationships for Peter and Mike taught them to always take risks and chances as it could end up successful. The friendships of both characters were evidence of how that type of supportive relationship was healthy for support and amusement. Their journey and acceptance of their identity taught the lesson of following their unique pathway even though other people may be different. Ultimately, both pieces of media provided many cases of parallelism that taught the audience the importance of going through high school and learning to grow as a better person.