Spider-Man has been chasing the Green Goblin around town and finally tracked him down, but Goblin is ready for him. To enact his escape, he sets up an impossible choice for our hero: save a cable car full of children or save the love of his life, MJ. In economics, every choice entails a cost. In superhero stories, those choices often have life or death consequences. If you can’t save them both, who you save? Whoever you don’t save is an opportunity cost.
