A Well Spun Tale: SPIDER MAN

Spider Man (2002) Directed by Sam Riami

"Remember, with great power comes great responsibility." Ben Parker.

DC Comics has Superman as their flagship; Marvel has Spider Man.  Superman was first, he is iconic.  He is larger than life, the best there is, he is...Superman.

In a fight, we all know who wins.  So why is Spider Man a hero to rival the Last Son of Krypton?  Because he is one of us.  I don't just mean human, I mean he is one of US, the targeted comic book reader.  Bright, socially awkward, able to crawl upon walls and leap from rooftops, maybe, but still too scared to talk to a girl.  Man, can we identify.  Superman is always Superman; his costume is Clark Kent.  When he is human, he is hiding.  Spider Man is Peter Parker.  Even in his spandex, he is a very human human being, with the same petty concerns about rent and dates as the rest of us.

The story starts with Peter Parker (Tobey McGuire), orphaned, raised by his Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) and Uncle Ben (Cliff Parker Robertson) a scientific prodigy, and bullies whipping boy; his main friend is Harry Osborn (James Franco) a poor little rich boy who does not feel adequate measured against his titan of industry father, Harry Osborn Sr. (William Defoe).  On a field trip, Peter is bitten by a radioactive genetically engineered spider.  His entire world is changed overnight as his scrawny body is enhanced by the arachnid DNA, giving him the proportionate strength of a spider, plus wrist mounted spinnerets, the ability to crawl walls and a sixth sense that warns him of danger.

While he is getting a grip on his powers, he changes; he deals with his tormentors, personified in the person of Flash Thompson (Joe Manganiello).  These changes are noted; Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) the girl next door approves; his aunt and uncle are more insightful and worried.

Trying to find a way to make these abilities pay, he tries the glamorous world of professional wrestling.  Poor Bonesaw McGraw (Macho Man Randy Savage) as mean as he may be, as hyped on steroids; he is no match for the Human Spider.  Of course, they slam you more way than one, and the promoter stiffs Peter on the prize;
Peter Parker: A hundred bucks? The ad said three thousand.
Wrestling Promoter: Well, check it again, web head. The ad said three grand, for three minutes, and you pinned him in two. For that I give you a hundred, and you're lucky to get that.
Peter Parker: I need that money.
Wrestling Promoter: I missed the part where that's my problem.
Later, a thug robs the box office, and Peter steps obligingly out of his way.

Wrestling Promoter: You coulda taken that guy apart! Now he's gonna get away with *my* money!
Peter Parker: I missed the part where that's my problem.

Ah, but as good as things like that feel, they are poison to karma, and that same thug kills Peter's Uncle Ben.  And that is when Spider Man was born.  With great power comes great responsibility.

Of course, what is a hero without a nemesis?  Harry Osborn Sr., seeing his company's future in jeopardy subjects himself to the Oscorp Super Soldier treatment.  It does not have precisely the effect he anticipated.  A splinter personality, the Green Goblin is born, to personify his heightened feelings of aggression and rage.  Armed with the suit of armour, the glider, and an arsenal of weapons, Green Goblin flies to exact revenge on his traitorous board of directors.  Sadly this puts Harry Jr., and his current girlfriend, Mary Jane, in danger.  But Spider Man is there, and saves the day!

Of course, he is vilified in the press, principally by J. Jonas Jamison (J. K. Simmons, brilliant performance) who happens to be the primary source of Peter's income.  His bread and butter?  Pictures of Spider Man.  Worse, Green Goblin's primary ire switches to Spider Man, even as Harry Sr. grows to feel more and more like a surrogate father to Peter. Peter has the properties that Harry finds lacking in his own son.  And of course, that does not help Harry Jr.  So we have two triangles; Harry Jr. and Peter, both in love with Mary Jane, and Harry Jr. and Peter, the sons of a distant and demanding father figure, Harry Sr. 

This movie is a great superhero movie because it focuses more on the man than the myth.  It is great that Peter got these spider powers, and they are sort of the focus of the events, but it is how he, an average person, copes with these extraordinary circumstances that makes the movie.  The hero of the story in not Spider Man, but Peter Parker.

Of course, the story is only part of a movie; vital, but only a part.  One of the most important secrets of making a superhero movie is the budget.  A big budget does not guarantee success but a small one almost always spells failure.  The special effects are excellent, and really help to sell the story.  The only down side to the Spidey/Goblin war is that neither has a face that can be seen.  Both are masked, which makes sense from an identity point of view, but removes one of the main vehicles of conveying mood and intent.  The battles fall a little flat, until the final confrontation when the masks come off.

I like Spider Man because he teaches us two important lessons.  One, with great power comes great responsibility, and two, just because you can bench press a car, that doesn't mean you don't have to worry about the rent.  It's good when the hero is someone with whom you can relate.

Of course, entered in my I Need a Hero Write Off!

Everyone's Friendly Neighborhood Spider Man!
Spider Man

Spider Man 2

Spider Man 3