Attorney General Patrick Lynch says the words "With great power comes great responsibility," from comic book pioneer Stan Lee, are an inspiration.

11:33 AM EST on Wednesday, March 31, 2004

BY EDWARD FITZPATRICK
Journal Staff Writer

Journal photo / Sandor Bodo Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch displays the plaque he intends to hang outside his state office building, with a quotation from comic-book creator Stan Lee.

PROVIDENCE -- Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said his press secretary was a little worried when he first proposed putting a Spider-Man quote on the building.

When the former attorney general, Sheldon Whitehouse, took office in 1999, he installed a bronze plaque outside 150 S. Main St. declaring: "I will not cease from mental fight. Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand. . . ."

The words are from one of Whitehouse's favorite poems -- written by the noted early 19th-century English poet William Blake.

Lynch, who took office last year, is now preparing to install a new plaque that declares: "With great power comes great responsibility." The words are from Stan Lee, the 20th-century American comic book pioneer who created Spider-Man.

Lynch said he was inspired by his 6-year-old son, Graham -- an avid Spider-Man fan who tugged on his father's pants and said those words moments before Lynch's inauguration in January 2003.

While the quote has personal meaning, Lynch said his press secretary, Michael J. Healey, and his chief of staff, Leonard I. Lopes, wondered if the plaque was such a good idea.

Lynch, 39, said that during his 2002 campaign some people commented on how young he seemed, and he said, "[Healey] hoped that a general officer of the state of Rhode Island wouldn't use a quote from a comic book hero. He held out hope that it was from Shakespeare or the Bible -- that Spider-Man had taken it."

"I was hoping it would be some cat like Thucydides," Healey said, referring to the ancient Greek historian.

But Healey said he did the research and found that the words were, in fact, attributable to comic book character Peter Parker's beloved Uncle Ben.

"He was dejected," Lynch recalled. "He said, 'You win, but you aren't going to use it are you?' I said, 'Let's put the sign up.' It's the right thing when you talk about this office: We are entrusted with enormous responsibilities."

Lynch isn't stopping there. Not only does Lynch want to put the plaque on the building, he wants to get Stan Lee to come here for the installation. He's talking about going to California to meet in person with Lee, who is 86. He hopes that Tobey Maguire, who played Spider-Man in the movie, will also come. And he pictures a big block party at the unveiling, with schoolchildren and hot dogs and a Spider-Man character clinging to the building.

Meanwhile, Lynch's office has become a miniature Spider-Man museum. In one corner is a Spider-Man pillow -- for when his children visit. In another corner hangs a "bad Hawaiian shirt" bearing a Spider-Man logo -- a present from his criminal division. And on one wall hangs a gift from Lt. Gov. Charles J. Fogarty -- a framed print that portrays Spider-Man swinging on a web, with a silhouette of the State House in the background and the words "Remember, Patrick . . . with great power comes great responsibility."

"Now it's a running joke," Lynch said, "because everyone knows I use this."

Lynch weaves the story into many of his speeches, and he said he mentions the Spider-Man credo at just about every school and home for the elderly he visits. Last week, Lynch spoke at Providence's Windmill Street Elementary School one day and at the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce the next; both the second-graders and the business leaders heard about Spider-Man.

Lynch said, "The response is incredible -- the smile and the recognition when they connect the message with the challenges of this office."

The state bought the office building at 150 S. Main St. from the former Old Stone Bank in 1996. The attorney general at the time didn't put a quote on the building -- just a plaque saying "Department of Attorney General, Jeffrey B. Pine."

Whitehouse, who succeeded Pine, said he thought that putting his name on the building would have been "a bit much," so he picked the two lines of the Blake poem. He has the poem scribbled in a small book of his favorite quotations.

Whitehouse said he first learned the poem while attending St. Paul's, an elite New Hampshire prep school. "It's actually set to music," he said. "We'd sing it in the choir."

Later in life, he sang it to his children to lull them to sleep. And Whitehouse said he thought it provided an inspirational message for the attorney general's office.

When asked to recite other lines from the poem, Whitehouse hesitated only a moment before saying: "Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold!/Bring me my chariot of fire!"

By contrast, Whitehouse seemed unfamiliar with the quote on Lynch's plaque. "I'm told it's by Spider-Man or the author," he said. Is Whitehouse a Spider-Man fan? "Not particularly," he said.

But Whitehouse said he considers the Spider-Man quote appropriate for the attorney general's office. "The office certainly has great powers and, from my experience, the men and women of the office certainly recognize that sense of responsibility," he said. "It's a good plaque for outside the building. It reflects what you find inside the building."

Lynch said he's not going to get rid of Whitehouse's plaque. Rather, it will go on display in a boardroom that Lynch is dedicating to the history of the attorney general's office.

When asked to recite lines from Blake's poem, Lynch just shook his head. "I went to Brown [University]," he said. "I may have read Blake, but I can't recall if I did." Then he added, jokingly, "It might have been a morning after a frat party."

During a "Celebration of Justice" to honor the living former attorneys general, Lynch gave a speech that included quotes from Abraham Lincoln and Jimmy Carter, as well as a Spider-Man reference and some James Taylor lyrics. "Maybe I'm just a product of my generation," he said. "I'm not going to pretend to be somebody I'm not."

Lynch said he talks about his son and the Spider-Man quote "because it's genuine -- it's real to me." He said, "I continue to talk about Spider-Man until people want to shoot me with a web because of the point it makes of making sure our eye is on the ball -- maintaining in an unwavering way our commitment to justice in this state."

After deciding to go ahead with the Spider-Man plaque, Lynch hit the speakerphone, and as Healey and Lopes looked on, he called Marvel Comics. He said the discussion went something like this:

"Hi, I'm Patrick Lynch. I'm the attorney general of Rhode Island, and I have two questions probably best suited for your legal department."

"OK, hold a minute." Over the next 20 minutes, he said, he talked to six people before reaching a top lawyer in the company.

"Attorney General Lynch?"

"Yes."

"You really are the attorney general of Rhode Island?"

"Yes."

"Sir, I'm sorry but we have people call all day long saying they're the mayor of Metropolis or Gotham City." She said she'd done some checking while he was on hold to confirm his identity.

Lynch explained about his son and the challenges of his office and said he was hoping to get Marvel Comics' permission to use the quote. "To be candid," he said, "I'm going to do it anyway."

"Hold on, I'll check with Mr. Lee." When she came back on, she said, "Mr. Lee said that would be great."

Lynch's second question was who he should attribute the quote to -- Spider-Man? Stan Lee? Uncle Ben?

"Mr. Lee would like 'Stan Lee.' "

"Tell him 'Thank you' and, absolutely, that's what we'll put on the sign."

The plaque rests against a chair in Lynch's office. He said he hopes to unveil it in June. That's when Spider-Man 2 will be opening.