Former Marvel Spider-Man to teach Villain Crusher course at Chula Vista Christian University

Chula Vista Christian University will launch a 15-week online certification course on Sept. 15 led by Professor Tom Schenck, the first actor to portray Spider-Man in Marvel Comics promotional appearances. The class is designed for learners age 16 and older worldwide and focuses on resilience, responsibility and overcoming mental barriers.

Why it matters: - Chula Vista Christian University is adding a personal-development course aimed at helping students tackle fear, self-doubt and other internal barriers that can affect performance and growth. - The class reaches learners age 16 and older worldwide, expanding CVCU’s education model beyond a traditional campus audience. - The course blends leadership, performance science and reflective practice into a certification format, giving the program an academic framing rather than a motivational-seminar feel.

What happened: - Chula Vista Christian University will begin offering Villain Crusher Foundations™ on Sept. 15, 2026. - Professor Tom Schenck created and will teach the 15-week synchronous online course. - Schenck is an educator, author, leadership strategist and the first actor to portray Spider-Man in Marvel Comics promotional appearances in New York City. - CVCU says the course is open to participants worldwide who are age 16 and older. - Register at CVCU’s Villain Crusher page.

The details: - The course is built around identifying and overcoming internal obstacles that interfere with achievement, resilience, purpose and contribution. - Schenck describes those obstacles as fear, distraction, self-doubt, procrastination, limiting beliefs and self-defeating stories. - A core concept in the course is IATOR™, short for “I Am The One Responsible.” - Schenck says the idea comes from his mother, longtime educator Mary Elizabeth Schenck, who wrote “I am the one responsible for the consequences of my actions” on the blackboard for 27 years. - The curriculum includes self-assessment, Socratic discussion, leadership development, performance science, reflective practice and community engagement. - Students will also study Schenck’s Super Six™ foundations of sustainable personal performance: Gratitude, Passion, Focus, Sleep, Nutrition and Movement. - Schenck says the course is meant to support daily transformation rather than temporary motivation.

Between the lines: - The Spider-Man connection gives the course a built-in cultural hook, but the program’s real focus is responsibility, habit-building and personal agency. - CVCU is signaling interest in affordable, innovative and whole-person education by pairing spiritual or character development with practical self-management tools. - The responsibility framework avoids a simplistic blame-yourself message and instead emphasizes control over next actions. - Schenck’s background in athletics, coaching, entrepreneurship and mentoring helps position the course as leadership training as much as self-help.

What's next: - The first session begins Sept. 15, 2026. - Participants will go through the certification course online over 15 weeks. - CVCU President Dr. Lisa Dunne says the university wants to keep serving learners of all ages through positive and encouraging educational offerings. - The course may serve as a template for more nontraditional, skills-based programs aimed at personal development.

The bottom line: - CVCU is turning a former Marvel Spider-Man performer’s life story into a course about resilience, responsibility and practical personal growth.