Spider-Man principle n.

What the administration fails to appreciate is the Spider-Man principle: ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’

In popular culture, it is sometimes called the Spider-Man principle, the name inspired by a scene in the film Spider-Man when Peter Parker’s (Spider-Man’s) uncle declares just before he dies, ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’ As a Christian, I prefer the earlier version of this moral maxim: ‘From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required’ (Luke 12:48, NRSV).

Thus communities can organize and successful advocacy can be framed around a much simpler ‘guiding principle’ for corporate behavior, often referred to as the Spiderman principle (although sometimes also attributed to Voltaire): ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’

We have to create, you know, with—it is not the Peter Principle, it is the Peter Parker Principle: With great power comes great responsibility. We have a responsibility to be able to ensure that everybody within the system is going to succeed.

This is likewise the standpoint of the Peter Parker principle ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’

In order to justify vigilantism (it seems), Stan Lee, the founder and editor of Marvel Comics, put in the mouth of Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben the famous ‘Spider-Man Moral Principle’: with power comes responsibility, with great power comes great responsibility. [Ibid. vii. 72] I bring up the Spider-Man Principle because I think there is a corollary that is actually very important: that if I have responsibility, I need to acquire the power to exercise it and arrive at good order.

Bivens [v. Six Unknown Named Agents], in other words, rests on something comic book fans will recognize as the Spider-Man rule—with great power comes great responsibility. If the federal government gives someone a badge and a gun, and that person unconstitutionally abuses that power, then they may be held accountable for their actions and can be ordered by a court to compensate their victim.

As for Facebook, I know it’s unreasonable to expect the company to monitor its nearly 3 billion accounts. But the Spider-Man rule still applies: With great power comes great responsibility.

Holland acknowledges that with a great role like Spider-Man comes great responsibility [...] Holland announced that he is prepared to mentor and give some valuable advice to whoever plays Spider-Man after his tenure is done. In the interview, he explained that ‘whether it’s next year or in 5 years, I’ll take it upon myself to teach them about the responsibilities of being Spider-Man.’ The fact that Holland takes the Peter Parker principle to heart is yet another sign that he is truly dedicated to the role.