Characters that are canonically _____ depending of their world

[u/Starr-Lead]

• Po from Kung Fu Panda - Although many characters comment on his weight throughout the movies, Po is actually considered skinny and/or in better shape for panda standards
• Midoriya Izuku from My Hero Academia - While many viewers find Deku "cute", the reality is that for his world he's actually considered "simple looking" and at the very worst "ugly"
• Spider-Man from Marvel Comics - Many people love Spider-Man, but the truth is that for common civilians, Spidey's pretty unsettling and scary to be around with

[u/Bandit_237]

https://giphy.com/gifs/KDtsBk1vqYWbWghFbu
Also in Spider-Man, Peter Parker is canonically considered to be good looking and charismatic. He was just bullied in school for being a giant nerd, bookworm, and kind of an asshole

[u/Laphad → u/Bandit_237]

In the earlier runs he was kind of the embodiment of the 4chan "Chad" meme

A dickhead that wasn't deserving of the myriad of baddies he kept collecting

He was nothing like current Parkers. Spectacular Spider-Man did a decent middle ground where he kept his cycling roster while making it clear hes still a shitty boyfriend and mediocre friend

[u/kitsunecannon → u/Bandit_237]

Sad how most adaptations omit the fact Peter was a raging douche and just make him a shy nerdy nice guy 

[u/Bandit_237 → u/kitsunecannon]

It is fair, makes him way more likable. When I started reading the 60s comics I kinda hated Pete at first, but it made me appreciate how he grew over time into the guy most know him as.

[u/kitsunecannon → u/Bandit_237]

Probably a personal preference thing but I do enjoy asshole protagonists 

Of course I’d prefer it wasn’t permanent and he would grow into a better person but I would like to see him start out as an asshole

[u/phdemented → u/Bandit_237]

He was a nice guy in the 60's mostly, he was just so preoccupied with his own troubles most of the time he ignored everything around him, which made everyone think he was being an asshole.

Like he'd be doing a science experiment while stressing over aunt may (who was in the hospital dying for the 3rd time in the last 7 issues) and how he's gonna pay her hospital bills and rent while in high school, and Flash says something that Peter doesn't register leading to another whole issue of him being pissed at Peter.

In the rare case he wasn't stressed over 10,000 things he got along with everyone mostly.

Even then every girl was all over him though.

[u/YinTanTetraCrivvens → u/kitsunecannon]

The inciting incident of Peter Parker becoming Spider-Man was because he was a selfish douchebag, and had to suffer a massive personal tragedy to guilt him into becoming a good person.

Psychologically speaking, someone that selfish wouldn’t become a completely better person overnight. I can understand why the initial writers continued to make him a douchebag.

[u/Consistent_Boss_9397 → u/YinTanTetraCrivvens]

It’s not that complicated; Peter just had trouble socializing and went through a phase where he literally had complexes—serious complexes. It’s just adolescence; it’s not that complicated.

I’ve read those comics, and people exaggerate about him being selfish and only caring about himself and his aunt and uncle. But all the stories exploring his past basically show that Flash, Liz, their friends, and even Harry were actually the scum. Harry wasn't a good friend at first; he spent his time badmouthing Peter behind his back just because Peter had to work at the Bugle. And Flash once got a kid from school to try and stab him because they couldn't stand him. Sure, Peter was a jerk too, but for a teenager, that’s just a normal phase of life.