The Sorrow of the Hero
Lyrics
What do you say to the boy,
Who holds the weight of the world on his shoulders?
What can you give, or take away?
Didn't ask for his city's burden.
Mary Jane,
Tell me I can stay inside for a while.
Aunt May,
Tell me I can find my way out of the fire.
What would he say?
A hero doesn't back down from the flame.
I promised on his grave.
With great power comes great responsibility.
Public menace! They out cry,
Every camera flash screams tomorrow's front page villainy.
Hide your identity,
Keep the young face under mask, under lock and key.
Mary Jane,
Tell me I won't splinter like cheap wood.
They need me, they say.
Mr. Stark, I don't feel so good.
What would he say?
A hero doesn't back down from the flame.
I promised on his grave.
With great power comes great responsibility.
Let me be a child for the night
The truth is I am scared all the time,
Beneath the snark there is regret, sometimes I fight just to forget,
Goodbye Harry, goodbye Gwen - I'm sorry for all I've done,
Penance repaid, and in the end my day will come.
What would he say?
I will never back down from the flame.
I promised on his grave.
With great power comes great responsibility.
The Story
Peter Parker (and now Miles Morales, and really every version of Spider-Man) is Artem's favorite superhero. His stories are about perseverance, even in the face of overwhelming odds and the tremendous amount of loss that the character has faced.
A recurring theme with Spider-Man (in particular early/origin stories) is that he's a child soldier essentially and never really gets to be a kid - he has to grow up very fast, probably too fast. This is what I imagine his inner monologue to be.