It’s now a concrete fact that Spider-Man is coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Earlier this year, it was confirmed that Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures have agreed a deal that will see the Webbed Wonder join the likes of Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and Captain America on screen in the biggest movie franchise of all time – and fans are rightly excited about it.
However, with the character having already been given two cracks at the Hollywood whip, there’s every chance Spider-Man’s inclusion could end up feeling rather repetitive and stale – especially when it comes to his solo movies.
With that in mind, some things will have to be done differently. This article will look at five ways to ensure that this Spider-Man is fresh and differentiated from the versions played by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield (this will not include revealing his secret identity to the world – especially not as early as next year’s Civil War movie, as that is actually a really silly idea).
MCU Spider-Man Has More High School
There’s no doubt that previous Spider-Man movies have touched on Peter Parker’s high school life somewhat (who could forget the dinner tray scene in the cafeteria in the first Spider-Man movie or the basketball scene with Flash Thompson in The Amazing Spider-Man, for example?), but they haven’t been nearly as prominent in focusing on it as the comic books.
High school is an integral part of Peter Parker’s story – it’s indicative of his change from bullied geek to super-powered hero – and his troubles at school parallel his troubles as the Webbed Wonder.
Introducing a younger actor as the hero – which seems to be the intention at the moment – would suggest that Marvel Studios do intend to spend a bit of time dealing with Parker’s school life and that would definitely be interesting to see as a focal point of his first solo outing as a Marvel Cinematic Universe character.
Less Focus On Romance/Relationships
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy and the more recent Amazing Spider-Man franchise quite heavily focused on Peter Parker’s romantic relationships – with Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson and Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy respectively – and there was nothing wrong with that. The respective actors involved in each relationship had great chemistry and the relationships in question were important parts of the stories – but the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Spider-Man should be female-free for the time being.
The younger version being introduced will allow for plenty of time for girls to enter his life and the Marvel Cinematic Universe has its fair share of romances already (some of which have been pretty poor – like Thor and Jane Foster, for example) and audiences would really like to see a kid dealing with kid things while he takes on the mantle and responsibilities of the Webbed Wonder.
Have His Parents Be S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents
As great as Spider-Man is, he’s very different to the other heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – he’s just a kid with a “normal” life, who happens to inadvertently obtain superpowers – so he could feel somewhat removed from the rest of the franchise and the characters within it.
With that in mind, something needs to be done to connect him to the wider universe – and what better way than by giving him a direct connection to the organisation that has dominated it so far?
S.H.I.E.L.D. have been a part of the MCU since its inception and having this version of Peter Parker find out that his parents – Richard Parker and Mary Parker – were killed on duty as agents of the espionage organisation could immediately connect him to a host of existing characters (perhaps they could have known Nick Fury, Howard Stark or Phil Coulson personally).
Moreover, if S.H.I.E.L.D. have anything to do with the Civil War, Spider-Man’s alliance could be determined by which side they are a part of if he blames them for his parents’ deaths.
New Villains
Spider-Man’s rogues gallery is one of the most rich and impressive in comic books. There is, therefore, absolutely no need to revisit the villains that have already been used in his past movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
That being said, Norman Osborn should definitely be introduced to the franchise – he is, after all, to Spider-Man what The Joker is to Batman – but he could be used as the big-bad of the whole franchise from Phase 4 onwards, rather than using him as the Green Goblin as he was when Willem Dafoe portrayed him in Sam Raimi’s trilogy.
The likes of Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio, Chameleon, Carnage, Toxin and Hydro-Man (and many more) all deserve the movie treatment and using the likes of Doctor Octopus and Sandman again so quickly would just be boring.
An exception could possibly be made for Venom, however, as he is just as important in the Spider-Man mythos as Osborn and fans would probably like to see a live action depiction that makes up for the horrendous Topher Grace version in Spider-Man 3.
Fast-Track The Origin Story
As much as the origin of Spider-Man is key to his story, the fact is it’s been done on screen twice in great detail since the turn of the millennium. With that in mind, this new Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the character should get past that stage of Peter Parker’s life as quickly as possible.
It still needs to be shown – there’s no use in having a kid inexplicably demonstrating spider-like abilities – but there’s no need to go into it in great depth. Pretty much everyone gets the gist of how Spider-Man obtained his powers now.
On that note, a post-credits scene in Ant-Man showing a young boy getting bitten by a radioactive spider on a school trip would do the job. Even a Marvel One-Shot short movie depicting the bite scene between now and Spider-Man’s first appearance in Captain America: Civil War would work.
Not only will it help to make this Spider-Man less repetitive, it’s also pretty much essential to do it this way, given that the character is getting thrown into the mix during the Civil War movie – it’s not as if a powerless Peter Parker would be relevant during that event after all.
What do you think? Do you agree with these ideas? What else should be done to differentiate this new Spider-Man from past versions? Have your say below.
