Although both the Spider-Man and the Green Lantern/Green Arrow comics did an excellent job in being some of the first comics to tackle the drug crisis, overall, I think Stan Lee’s Spider-Man was more successful in its approach. When Marvel asked Stan Lee to include anti-drug messages in one of his popular comics, Lee was determined to do it right, by explicitly showing just how damaging drugs are, through the eyes of one of his most lovable and relatable heroes, Spider-Man. Because Peter Parker was a teen that many teenagers could relate to, Stan hoped that hearing his opinions on the drug crisis and seeing what those around him (his friend, Randy, as an example) thought of them as well, would really make people stop and think, especially the younger crowd. Because of this appeal to everyone, but more specifically the youth, Stan hoped his comic would provide awareness in a more light-hearted, fun way while still remaining serious about the issue itself.
The second reason I believe the Spider-Man comic was more successful was because of the way they introduced this idea in the comic itself. When Spider-Man sees this man clearly so far out of his mind that he almost kills himself, he immediately saves him from a devastating fall and gets him to the police as quick as he can. He is in utter disbelief after saving the man, thinking how could someone want to be so out of control like that! He then goes on saying that those types of drugs can really mess up your life and do way more damage than good. He even goes on saying that he’d rather fight all the villains he does than have to take any sort of hard drug like that poor man. At the end of the scene, he also wishes to help further spread this message as Spider-Man.
