Spider-man vs Green Lantern vs Drugs

“Green Lantern/Green Arrow” wasn’t the only comic to embrace Bronze Age “relevance.” But it’s rightly remembered for pushing the envelope relative to its contemporaries. Case in point: the contrasting depiction of drug use in GL/GA vs Amazing Spider-Man. 1/13

The 1971 story arc “Green Goblin Reborn!” features Peter Parker’s friend Harry Osborn (son of Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin) abusing drugs. It was the first mainstream superhero comic to be published without the Comics Code seal of approval since the 1954 inception of the Code. 2/13

Stan Lee said he wrote this anti-drug story in response to a request from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. But the Comics Code had a strict rule against depicting drugs. Marvel published the story anyway, and the positive response influenced a revision of the Code. 3/13

In Amazing Spider-Man #96, drugs initially enter this previously drug-free world when Spidey saves a young man who’s “stoned right out of his mind.” The generic language doesn’t specify which drugs are involved, echoing a common anti-drug tactic of presenting all drugs as equally dangerous. 4/13

This tactic is repeated when we first see Harry Osborn abusing drugs. Peter Parker sees Harry swallowing unnamed pills to calm his “shakes; these could be over-the-counter, prescription, or street drugs. Peter is also decidedly unsympathetic, describing reliance on drugs as a sign of weakness. 5/13

The Spider-Man story does feature some bold (for the time) social commentary, most notably these observations about drugs & systemic oppression. But it’s overall a standard superhero yarn, dominated by fights & melodrama, which just happens to include a quickly resolved drug subplot. 6/13

“Green Lantern/Green Arrow” benefitted from the revision of the Comics Code. And it uses this newfound freedom to be significantly bolder. Where the Spider-Man story implied vague drug abuse, Green Lantern #85 specifically depicts heroin use, with Adams detailing accurate paraphernalia. 7/13

GL/GA also offers a more detailed picture of the social causes & effects of heroin use. Here, the comic uses Hal Jordan’s ignorance to educate the reader on addiction & withdrawal. And where Peter Parker blames Harry’s addiction on personal weakness, Green Arrow blames drug pushers & society. 8/13

And where the Spider-Man story alluded to interconnections between drug use and systemic racism, GL/GA makes these connections explicit. Black and Asian characters directly say they use heroin in part to escape from the daily burden of racism and the hopelessness it engenders. 9/13

Yet showing these Black and Asian characters sharing a drug den with Speedy–a white superhero and ward of the formerly wealthy white superhero Green Arrow–emphasizes that drug abuse is a society-wide problem, affecting people of all races, backgrounds, and incomes. 10/13

The GL/GA story takes the further step of showing the title heroes taking drugs, albeit unwillingly; the baddies shoot up Hal & Oliver in an attempt to frame them. This shows greater willingness to challenge the superheroes’ fundamental goodness & again emphasizes that drugs can touch anyone. 11/13

That said, the GL/GA story is also exaggerated & melodramatic. Big emotions lead to big declarations that risk hitting the reader over the head with the moral. It’s also worth noting that while drugs might affect everyone, only the white superhero ultimately has the moral fiber to get clean. 12/13

Amid all this melodrama, “Green Lantern/Green Arrow” is arguably at its best–and most influential–in its quieter moments, depicting the gritty substance of human drama in the margins of an otherwise fantastic world. In this, the comic remains powerful, memorable, and timeless. 13/13