Marc Webb/Andrew Garfield's 2012 Spider-Man movie megathread

[PhilUrich'sFlamingSword]

With all the comments about how this Spider-Man film shows Peter with mechanical webshooters, engages in witty banter and has Gwen Stacy as a love interest--thus implying this film will be more faithful to the comics than Sam Raimi's--there's something the trailer I think reveals should be a concern for die-hard Spider-Man fans.

Notice that the second trailer shows the scene with Peter having dinner with Gwen and her family just like the first trailer does? The dialogue shown in the first trailer that's repeated in the second trailer is as follows:

CAPTAIN STACY: So, tell us a little about yourself, Mr. Parker.
PETER PARKER: Not much to tell, really.
GWEN STACY: Peter lives with his aunt and uncle.

But notice how the dialogue in the second trailer presumably continues in the same scene:

GWEN'S LITTLE BROTHER: Did you catch that spider-guy yet?
CAPTAIN STACY: No, but we will...this guy wears a mask like an outlaw.
PETER PARKER: I think he's trying to do something that maybe the police can't.
CAPTAIN STACY: Can't?!

If what this trailer is presumably revealing, it's that Peter as Spider-Man is already a costumed vigilante before Uncle Ben gets killed. If that's the case, doesn't this essentially undermine Spider-Man's primary moral of "With great power comes greater responsibility?" After all, as every Spidey fan knows, Peter used his powers originally not to become a superhero but to become an entertainer, to use them for his own personal fame, fortune and glory, and in a moment of arrogance, allowed a criminal he could have easily stopped to escape who ended up killing his Uncle Ben. But if Peter is already using his powers to fight crime, to do what the police can't, and thus is already using his powers responsibly while his Uncle Ben is still alive, then it actually takes away one of the the most fundamental aspects of his own origin story and even his primary motivation for becoming a superhero in the first place.

Maybe they're separate dinner scenes? In any case, I cannot WAIT for this movie. I liked the first two Tobey Maguire movies (LOVED the second), thought the third was mediocre, but always thought they lacked...something. Maybe it was all the awkward silences and hammy dialogue between characters, or maybe it was the lack of quips on Spidey's part (something that looks like it may be rectified in this one) or maybe it was both, but either way, I'm in for this one.

[KurtW95]

With all the comments about how this Spider-Man film shows Peter with mechanical webshooters, engages in witty banter and has Gwen Stacy as a love interest--thus implying this film will be more faithful to the comics than Sam Raimi's--there's something the trailer I think reveals should be a concern for die-hard Spider-Man fans.

Notice that the second trailer shows the scene with Peter having dinner with Gwen and her family just like the first trailer does? The dialogue shown in the first trailer that's repeated in the second trailer is as follows:

CAPTAIN STACY: So, tell us a little about yourself, Mr. Parker.
PETER PARKER: Not much to tell, really.
GWEN STACY: Peter lives with his aunt and uncle.

But notice how the dialogue in the second trailer presumably continues in the same scene:

GWEN'S LITTLE BROTHER: Did you catch that spider-guy yet?
CAPTAIN STACY: No, but we will...this guy wears a mask like an outlaw.
PETER PARKER: I think he's trying to do something that maybe the police can't.
CAPTAIN STACY: Can't?!

If what this trailer is presumably revealing, it appears to suggest that Peter as Spider-Man is already a costumed vigilante before Uncle Ben gets killed. If that's the case, doesn't this essentially undermine Spider-Man's primary moral of "With great power comes greater responsibility?" After all, as every Spidey fan knows, Peter used his powers originally not to become a superhero but to become an entertainer, to use them for his own personal fame, fortune and glory, and in a moment of arrogance, allowed a criminal he could have easily stopped to escape who ended up killing his Uncle Ben. But if Peter is already using his powers to fight crime, to do what the police can't, and thus is already using his powers responsibly while his Uncle Ben is still alive, then it actually takes away one of the the most fundamental aspects of his own origin story and even his primary motivation for becoming a superhero in the first place.

Well, I noticed that when the first part was played about Peter living with his aunt an uncle none of the Stacys' lips were moving. I'm guessing (hoping) that they're using sound bytes from a different scene where Pete first meets George.

[GamerSlyRatchet]

Well, I noticed that when the first part was played about Peter living with his aunt an uncle none of the Stacys' lips were moving. I'm guessing (hoping) that they're using sound bytes from a different scene where Pete first meets George.

Yeah, I thought so. Trailers always do that to misdirect scenes.

[David Walton]

Yeah, they're cutting and splicing scenes. It's a voiceover. My best guess is that the "Peter lives with his aunt and uncle" is from a scene where Gwen tells her dad she's got a crush on him, and he naturally responds by asking who his parents are. The dinner scene happens much later, after Uncle Ben has died and Spider-Man has been operating long enough to attract the police's attention.

[Sighphi]

Check out the movie figures with the cool looking Lizard.

RAAAAWWWRRR!!!

[CrazyOldHermit]

Looks like the Gill-Man sans gills in "The Creature Walks Among Us"

[whiteshark]

I thought the new trailer was cool.

Was going to watch the movie anyways but to see that Spider-Man humour is present is good news.

This movie looks like to be more similar to the narrative of the comics that the previous trilogy so thats another element this movie have gotten right.

[stillanerd]

Here's an idea I stumbled across over how Peter can be Spider-Man as a crime-fighter before Uncle Ben gets killed, yet can (sort of) be faithful in the spirit of Spider-Man's origin story--even though it admittedly goes against the idea that the original origin story had in that if somebody actually acquired fantastic, superhuman powers, their initial instinct would not be to put on a costume and go out on patrol looking for bad guys.

Lets say Peter, due to years of being bullied by his peers and feeling abandoned when it came to his parents, ends up taking out his frustrations on criminals; perhaps while he's out testing his powers, he stumbles on a mugging, breaks it up, and thinks "these guys are no different than jerks like Flash. Besides, what better way than to test out my powers?" However, in becoming a vigilante, the police and the public consider him a dangerous menace, making Peter think "Come on! I'm doing the right thing here. I'm doing the job cops can't do so I think I'm entitled to a little g-damn respect." So the next time he sees a crime in progress, say a bank robbery or purse snatching or some such, he deliberately lets the guy get away, and when Spidey gets lip for not stopping the guy, he reacts with "Well, you didn't appreciate me when I was trying to play the hero, so see how you like it without my help." And of course, that criminal he deliberate let escape ends up being the same criminal that kills Uncle Ben, thus Peter tragically learns the lesson of "with great power comes greater responsibility" regardless of what others may say or think about you. Just so long as Uncle Ben is killed by the same guy Peter, as Spider-Man, deliberately chose not to stop when he saw him committing an earlier crime.

However, if the film decides to take a different tact--such as having Uncle Ben die because he was forced to take a later shift at work because he was called to Peter's school after Peter got into a fight with Flash Thompson and the killer of Uncle Ben ends up being Curt Connors in an earlier stage of being the Lizard, and thus Peter feels responsible because he was the one who helped Dr. Connors solve the equation for making the regeneration formula work--then that would be a horrible, HORRIBLE misunderstanding of Spider-Man. Because it is absolutely essential to Peter's evolution as a character that his Uncle Ben is killed by the same criminal Peter allowed to get away when he could have easily stopped him. In fact, it's just as important, if not more so, than Peter getting his powers from a spider bite.

EDIT: And all that being said, the problem with the idea of having Spider-Man being portrayed as a superhero fighting crime before his Uncle Ben gets murdered is that the guy who killed his uncle turning out to be someone he had a chance to stop but choose not to is what motives him to fight crime and be a superhero in the first place.

[derekakadrock]

Uncle Ben definitely dies in this film.

spoilers:

There was a set video that leaked online of Peter finding his body in an alley and begging someone to "Call an ambulance!"

end of spoilers

[David Walton]

I really think people are reading too much into the trailer! There's nothing there to convince me that Uncle Ben's death isn't what motivates Peter to fight crime.

Like I said, Gwen's "he lives with his aunt and uncle" is a voiceover.

Taken in context, it's probably the first conversation she has with her dad about this cute boy she's crushing on. Being the protective father that he is, he wants to know Pete's circumstances. Meet the parents and all that.

"Pete lives with his aunt and uncle."

The actual dinner takes place after Uncle Ben's death.

[stillanerd]

Uncle Ben definitely dies in this film.

spoilers:

There was a set video that leaked online of Peter finding his body in an alley and begging someone to "Call an ambulance!"

end of spoilers

spoilers:

I've seen images of that scene and the leaked set video as well

end of spoilers. But the question is whether Uncle dies before Spider-Man becomes a crime-fighter or after.

I really think people are reading too much into the trailer! There's nothing there to convince me that Uncle Ben's death isn't what motivates Peter to fight crime.

Like I said, Gwen's "he lives with his aunt and uncle" is a voiceover.

Taken in context, it's probably the first conversation she has with her dad about this cute boy she's crushing on. Being the protective father that he is, he wants to know Pete's circumstances. Meet the parents and all that.

"Pete lives with his aunt and uncle."

The actual dinner takes place after Uncle Ben's death.

Oh sure, that's entirely possible, especially considering how trailers are deliberately edited in order to explain what the movie is going to be about and get them excited. However, what makes me doubt that the "Peter lives with his Aunt and Uncle" line comes from an earlier conversation between Gwen and Captain Stacy and not part of the dinner scene is that the first teaser trailer actually shows Gwen at the dinner scene saying "Peter lives with his aunt and uncle." Granted, it cuts to a shot of Peter and Captain Stacy exchanged pointed looks when she says "his aunt and uncle" but still. Just go to the 45 second mark here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XayxMPrUP4

[One More Day]

Does anyone else also think that if this is a trilogy that at the end of it, they should base the plot similar to One More Day to allow for the franchise to be rebooted

[SpiderCrawler]

does anyone else also think that if this is a trilogy that at the end of it, they should base the plot similar to one more day to allow for the franchise to be rebooted

..........

[Kevinroc]

Does anyone else also think that if this is a trilogy that at the end of it, they should base the plot similar to One More Day to allow for the franchise to be rebooted

So Gwen survives and the last movie ends with Peter and Gwen sacrificing their marriage to save Aunt May?

[One More Day]

..........

?

So Gwen survives and the last movie ends with Peter and Gwen sacrificing their marriage to save Aunt May?

No! Anything but saving Aunt May, that old hag needs to meet her maker. She's old as dust. Save anyone! Even Mary Jane, or the Sentry for all I care! But not Aunt May!!!