As Spiderman once said, "With great power comes great responsibility." Part of what makes Spiderman a superhero instead of a supervillain is that he (oh so responsibly) chooses to use his power for good.

Tom, a.k.a. the Great Brain, is super smart, and therefore powerful, but unlike Spidey, he typically uses his powers to swindle his friends and family, all while pretending he's doing them great favors. Class act, this guy. He changes his tune, though, when he realizes that doing good makes him feel good. Go figure, right? Helping someone who needs help doesn't just benefit someone else, it helps the helper feel good, too. (Apologies if that sentence twisted your brain a bit—take a moment to detangle before moving on.)

Because of this, Tom's shenanigans aside, The Great Brain asks us to think about the power we possess and how we use it. The book forces us to consider what we're good at and how we can use our skills to help others—and why we should do so even if there's no direct benefit to us.