Spider-Man has recently been in the news again and, no, Peter Parker did not write the articles. It was announced that Sony and Marvel Studios had made a deal that would place Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, on the big screen with other A-list superheroes such as Iron Man, Captain America and the rest of the Avengers. Additionally, Sony announced there is to be another Spider-Man movie reboot to be released in theaters in 2017.
The news that normally would have had me jumping for joy was instead overshadowed by the annoyance of having to deal with yet another reboot of Spider-Man’s origin story. I get it, “With great power comes great responsibility.” I don’t think I’m going to forget that lesson anytime soon. However, instead of remembering it with sadness and in conjugation with beloved Uncle Ben passing away, I am more likely to gloss over his death and the iconic line as I grumble about seeing the same scene played out yet again.
I cannot think of a single reason to start with a clean slate for a third time. The rebooted movie released will have the same storyline as two others before it and the audience already knows what’s going to happen; at this point they can probably write it themselves. Parker will fail to stop the robber, his Uncle Ben will get shot by the same criminal and Parker will hold his uncle in his arms as those fateful words are whispered, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Perhaps I can get a job writing the script, as I seem to know the important scenes by memory.
Following the recent movies, “The Amazing Spider-Man” and “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” audiences were exposed to Gwen Stacy and the impact her death had on Parker. These two movies had much more potential in moving forward and in introducing other important storylines and villains from the comics, including Mary Jane Watson. Complex character development cannot happen in a single movie, and scrapping all of the past few cinematic years would do nothing but hurt the future of Parker.
Spider-Man is supposed to be joining the Avengers in the “Infinity War” installations of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, set to release in a few years. It would be so much better for the young superhero to already have a developed backstory that the audience was familiar with when throwing him into a larger cast of characters, some of whom will be introduced to the audience for the first time, instead of being just another new face.
“The Avengers” is already a balancing act of power and screen time between popular superheroes, which is trouble on its own, without mixing in a healthy dose of new players. Don’t get me wrong, I am excited for Spider-Man to be on screen with the Avengers, and I’m interested to see how “Infinity War” is played out. However, I just worry that his role will be diminished or overshadowed by the reboot. The reconciling of a character that audiences are familiar with to a Spider-Man with a new, different portrayal can distract from the overall arc of the story “Infinity War” is trying to tell.
I look forward to seeing Spider-Man interacting with the other Marvel superheroes, and I’ll eagerly await that movie. However, the new reboot is not at the top of my anticipation list. After all, with the great power that I have to choose what I want to see, I doubt I’ll be blown away by the movie. I have plenty of other things to keep me occupied and a responsibility to myself to be happy after all.
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