The Amazing Spider-Man Thoughts

Spider-Man is my all time favorite super hero, and for many reasons. The character of Peter Parker is just your average ordinary youngster that goes through a lot of what teens go through these days, such as girls, couping with the death of loved ones, handling a job, and caring for the elderly, in his case, his widowed Aunt May. He also struggles with what most heroes go through, keeping their secret identity safe from the public domain and brining certain adversaries to justice, sending them to the asylum of Ravencroft where they would one way or another break out and reign havoc once again. And I personally can't help but compare Peter Parker to myself, a smart, yet confident head strong figure that never gives up, even when boneheads like Flash Thompson try and bring him down.

The Spider-Man film series by Sam Raimi did a pretty good job of tackling the wall-crawler's comic book essence, even if there were some elements that just came of a bit lacking and repetitive. Spider-Man was okay, and for the first motion picture take on such an iconic comic book hero, it got the job done quite well, leaving a similar impact as the first Batman film by Tim Burton, establishing how the character would be portrayed throughout the rest of the series and what customs he would be using that differentiated him from his comic book counterpart. For example, in the films, Spider-Man's web shooting abilities were more of hard science rather than a physical invention Peter Parker invented himself. I think a lot of people were unhappy with some of the things that were done in this film, like the emerald armored suit William Dafoe wore as the Green Goblin, but it was quite good and would have a critical impact on how super hero flicks would be made in the not so distant future. It also featured an amazing score by Danny Elfman which I still enjoy to this very day. Now Spider-Man 2 is more of my pot of gold. I can't exaggerate enough how much I love this film, and sure there were a lot of things that were corny and just plain uncalled for, but it still remains to this day not only my favorite Spider-Man film, but my favorite super hero film in general. That's right folks, I like it better than The Dark Knight, which nearly tackles it at the finish line.

Spider-Man 3 was okay, and I'd be a darn fool to say that it's complete and utter garbage. As with many films I have seen in recent years, there were somethings I liked, somethings I didn't like, but I think everyone will agree with me when I say THERE IS TOO MUCH GOING ON IN THIS FILM. And of course, I could go on for hours on why I didn't like that Venom was thrown in at the last minute and debate how the Sandman could cry while he is made entirely of sand, but I won't waste my time, for I still enjoy watching this film sometimes and though some people think this is one of the worst comic book films ever made, I think it is far from terrible. There were just as many critical elements in this film as there were in the previous films, and I still has a satisfied feeling at the end of this film, to see the entire Spider-Man trilogy and story come together. But ever Spider-Man 3, I often debated whether a Spider-Man 4 was on the way, or if we would never again see a Spider-Man film hit the silver screen again. I did hear rumors of Dylan Baker's character, Dr. Curt Connors becoming the Lizard in the fourth film, and that Venom would be returning, and he would spawn his red and black symbiotic offspring, Carnage, which would bond with the psychotic maniac, Cletus Kasady, who many people, including myself, thought would be played by Jim Carrey. I didn't know how to respond to that, but all I could say is that if he did play the character, I would have surely hope he would not make Kasady as goofy and cheese ball like as he did with Edward Nygma, the Riddler in Batman Forever.

Than I heard of Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire departure from the Spider-Man franchise, and that the series would be rebooted, starting Peter Parker off in high school in a similar way to the Ultimate Spider-Man comics. At first, I was a bit hesitate, as I was unsure how the Ultimate Spider-Man story would bare on film, but of course, as we all would learn months later, the film would go by the name The Amazing Spider-Man, like the original comic book series, and star Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker in a more, dark, contemporary version of the epic tale of the web slinger. And I personally am very excited to see what goes on in this film, for I have wanted a Spider-Man film like this from the very start, and I am very curious as to what the plot of the film will be like, and how they will make the character of Spider-Man more character driven and have an emotional impact on the audience, similar to Christian Bale's take on Batman in Christopher Nolan's series. What will the atmosphere of the film be like and how will Peter Parker develop over the course of the film, eventually becoming the radioactive blooded superhero that has become a favorite to many? What will his relationship with the main antagonists be like? Who will be the love interest Parker gets in the end? These were all questions that unwillingly loomed within my cranium.

     

Hands down the greatest question that stuck out in my brain was what would the costume in the Spidey reboot look like? They obviously couldn't make it the exact same costume as the one used in the Raimi films, if that happened, they might as well just make a fourth Spider-Man film. I personally thought it was going to be sort of an armory type bodysuit, similar to Bale's Batman, fit with many gizmos and gadgets to help Spidey take out New York's most lethal of enemies. But then came the first image of the suit, and for some reason that even I can't explain, I fell head over heals for it. Surely, several people despised the look of the new suit and liked the suit in Raimi's films better, but there was just something about the look of this suit that just made it "ZING" right before my eyes. I think it's the overall symmetric styling in the webbing and the unique Spider Symbol, which, if you look very closely, it's legs go right down to Parker's waist area. I also like the fact that the suit blends in both the red and the blue of Spider-Man's costume, the red streaks going up Spidey's arms and the blue streaks blending into his wrists and fingers. And the fact that they still kept the webbing texture on his costume makes it all the more badass. Just look at it! It certainly looked different, but still very awesome indeed, and I personally can't wait to see Spider-Man kick butt in this certainly sensational overcoat.

I also like the fact that they are returning to Spidey's comic roots and brining his mechanical web shooter back to existence. I thought it was interesting that Raimi's take on Spider-Man made his web shooting ability a medical trait he developed when he was bitten by the radioactive spider, and that his webs came from a gland on his wrists, but I think it's truly grandiose that Spider is back to the way he was in the comics. Perhaps in the movie we will see him try out his web slingers, trying to find the right way to produce the perfect webs to help him sling from one area to the next. That would play a critical part in the character development of Garfield's Peter Parker, and really make this take on Spidey very interesting, for we can see how he was able to develop the common traits and characters that today make the character most prominent, something briefly touched upon in the first of Raimi's film. And for a love interest in the film, Spidey is hooking up with his first major love in the comics, Gwen Stacey, played by Emma Stone. If you are a major comic historian, you will know the horrible fate of Stacey in Amazing Spider-Man #121. The Green Goblin captures Stacey and brings her to the Washington Bridge, where he and Spider-Man fight, and in turn, the Goblin drops Stacey from the top of the bridge. In all attempts to save her, Spidey tries to catch her with one of his webs, but the jilt of the web snapped Stacey's neck, killing her instantly. It is unknown whether Gwen will die in the movie, or suffer a serious injury during one of the climatic battles, but since this film is going in a more darker, more sophisticated manner, I wouldn't be surprised if she meets her demise at the end of the film, after all, it would play a crucial role in Garfield Spidey's character development and set up many opportunities and plot points in the sequels.

With villains on the mind, we finally get to see one of the most highly anticipated Spider foes in a Spider film, Dr. Curt Connors, aka the Lizard, played by Rhys Ifans, who has recently acclaimed glory for his portrayal as Xenophilius Lovegood in the final two Harry Potter films. I think it's going to be a blast to see his portrayal of the character in the film, to see him inject himself with the serums that not only regenerate his arm, but make him grow scales and a tale, and turn him into a human Godzilla. I often think that his transformation into the Lizard will be one of the most groundbreaking transformation sequences ever shot on film, just look at his transformation on The Animated Series and The Spectacular Spider-Man. And come on, we've seen people turn into werewolves, demons, even giant green monsters, so why not a Lizard? It will surely make Barney the Dinosaur run and hide in terror! Another rumored villain I'm surprised is making an appearance is Nels Van Adder, a minor, yet crucial character in the amazing universe, who is known for taking Norman Osborn's goblin serum and transforming into the vicious Proto-Goblin. Not a common villain that everyone is familiar with, but if the rumors are true and he appears as a primary villain in the film, his popularity will surely take off from there. Plus, they say he's played by Irrfan Khan of Slumdog Millionaire fame. You certainly can't go wrong with that. In the end, it looks like Spidey is going up against some pretty "buff" foes, but I can almost guarantee that the fight scenes involving these villains will be worth the full admission of a movie ticket.

In conclusion, I am really looking forward to the 2012 Spider-Man reboot, set to hit theaters next summer, July 3rd, coincidently 2 weeks before the release of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises on July 20th. Talk about some serious competition in movie ticket sales! And there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I will be blown away by this movie, for it is a fresh new take on my favorite hero and I am looking forward to seeing how the darker, toned down Spider-Man series takes off after the first film's release. Heck, a sequel is already in the works as we speak, and I am already wondering in curiosity as to which villains will be appearing in the film. Maybe Electro, or Shocker, or Kraven the Hunter, or if we are lucky, maybe the Green Goblin, Doc Ock, or maybe a more developed version of Venom, making him much bigger and ghastly as he was in the comics. Anything is possible, and the skies are the limit, and The Amazing Spider-Man will still intrigue us even after it's release next summer. But the film is in good hands, for the writer of Zodiac is in charge of the story of this film, and it is being directed by 500 Days of Summer Director Marc Webb. Just by his last name, you can tell that he is in a Spidey state of mind, and ready to make a kick ass Spider-Man film that critics, comic book lovers, and movie goers alike will rave about, holding true to the comic literature and turning the character of Peter Parker/Spider-Man into a diverse individual each and everyone of us can relate too.