COLUMN: A spider web of expectations, hope
As a '90s kid who grew up on numerous Marvel characters, I have my own version of Spider-Man and Tobey McGuire wasn’t it.
With “The Amazing Spider-Man” hitting theaters on July 3, I hope to find less flaws than I did in the previous Spider-Man trilogy.
In the televised “Spider-Man: The Animated Series,” which ran from 1994 to 1998, Peter Parker is portrayed as a hard-luck, yet good-humored young man.
McGuire managed to turn the superhero into a whiny, love-sick guy with identity issues, while also neglecting to address the character’s alter ego.
We saw some of that briefly in the third movie, but apparently Parker had to turn to the dark side in order to be funny and cunning.
To me, it seems to say that good guys can’t be mocking, and in my opinion, McGuire wasn’t the “friendly neighborhood spider-man.” He was depressing and made me want to yell for my money back.
I hope the new Spider-Man portrayed by Andrew Garfield realizes this is a great opportunity to make us laugh as he fights a villain, like when the cartoon superhero taunted his enemies.
Based on the trailers, I can tell they are staying a little closer to the comic books, as Parker will be using mechanical web-shooters in the movie.
In the McGuire-starred movies, his body created the web, and he could shoot it from his wrist, which really happens in only a few comic versions.
Adding the mechanical web-shooters indicates they're planning to make Parker possess a genius level of intelligence, as he applies science in constructing helpful devices like in most comics.
Another good thing about the film is the appearance of Dr. Curt Connor, played by Rhys Ifans.
In the second and third movie, they show Connor as a professor with witty comments instead of his comic version: Spider-Man’s confidant and personal doctor.
In this movie, it appears Connor will be both Peter Parker’s friend and Spider-Man’s enemy, which should add an interesting twist to the plot.
When it comes to the romance department, I’m glad to be rid of Mary Jane. All she seemed to accomplish was messing with our superhero’s head.
Besides, her constant need to be saved in every single movie was irritating.
I’m not sure what to expect from high school crush Gwen Stacy played by Emma Stone other than her setting up a storyline for her police officer father, George Stacy, who is played by Denis Leary.
Stacy will replace The Daily Bugle’s editor-in-chief J. Jonah Jameson as the one with the campaign against Spiderman.
It seems rather strange, since George Stacy is a Spider-Man supporter in the comic books, but I guess it adds drama if the father of the love interest goes against the superhero.
Maybe I'm being too harsh on McGuire, but getting the story straight and showing us defiance instead of desperation isn't much to ask for by a geeky fan.
