I just read the news and I literally jumped up and down with joy (my wife was wondering what was wrong with me, but I regret nothing). Marvel Studios has worked out a deal with Sony to have our favourite Web Slinger appear in the Marvel cinematic universe and vice versa. For many fans this is what we’ve all been waiting for! There’s surely a lot of great things to come so here are my thoughts on what some of those are.
5. Marvel Studios will stop Sony from screwing up future Spider-Man movies
First off, yes, Sony has made huge money making Spider-Man movies and some people even liked the worst of them. But when Sony had emo Spider-Man dancing and pelvic thrusting it was a pretty clear sign they needed someone doing quality control. And the latest, Amazing Spider-Man 2, was for many people (myself included) just as flawed as Spider-Man 3, just in different ways. The horribly cheesy characters of Electro and Rhino are a prime example.
While Sony will keep the final say on creative Marvel’s proven track record of grade A blockbusters that are still true to the comics is exactly what Sony has needed for their films. While the quality of the special effects has always been top notch for the Spidey films I expect the plotting, characterization and dialogue to go way up with this collaboration.
4. Spider-Man will get another (much needed) re-boot
I’m generally not a big fan of reboots, but Sony has screwed up enough things with the Amazing movies that at this point it’s just necessary.
I know what some of you are thinking “No! Not ANOTHER reboot!” But trust me this is great news. In the leaked emails that came out from the Sony hack recently we know that Marvel was insistent on a reboot but that they wouldn’t tell the origin again. That’s great because we get to skip the part we all already know but get to cut out the terrible treatment that many of Spidey’s characters and stories have already received. The convoluted story of Spider-Man’s parents? Gone. Rhino as a terrible cheesy guy in a mech suit? Gone. Norman Osborn dying without ever being Green Goblin or anyone significant? Gone.
The only thing I regret is that Andrew Garfield will be getting replaced as Peter Parker. He was clearly the best part of the “Amazing” movies but in my opinion it’s well worth the sacrifice.
3. Spidey benefits HUGE from being with other Marvel heroes
Iron Man is a fantastic, mega blockbuster movie character. But what made that character even better and made Marvel Studios one of the biggest blockbusters to boot? The Avengers. Many superheroes can really shine when they have other heroes to play off of. Spider-Man is exactly that kind of character that works great as a solo hero, but works great in an entirely different way with other characters. Spidey’s classic witty banter has way more opportunities in the comics when he has other heroes around him.
We’ve seen Spider-Man in five movies by himself already and the profits have been dropping. By partnering him up with a bunch of different heroes that we also already love it will give us something fresh and that fans have been dying to see for years!
2. Other Marvel superheroes benefit HUGE from being with Spidey
Marvel Studios has built the most epic cinematic universe to date and made blockbusters with character after character that general movie viewers had never heard of before. But at the same time there can be no doubt that Spider-Man is different, both financially and as a character. He has always been Marvel’s #1 character.
Financially, Sony has made $4 billion with their Spider-Man movies. As for merchandise there is no other superhero that comes even close to bringing in what Spidey does. Batman is #2 for merchandise money and Spidey brings in over 3 times what Batman does.
While Marvel has a bunch of great characters on film none of them are quite like Spider-Man. From his attitude to the type of action he brings there’s nothing quite like him and no one the fans love more than him.
1. It’s Not Just the Avengers Spider-Man can appear with on film
Sure, Spider-Man will definitely be showing up among the Avengers now (Yes!). But with this partnership many possibilities are now open. Marvel is near releasing their Daredevil series on Netflix. They also have the film rights back to Punisher. Both of those are characters that Spidey has always worked great with in the comics in many classic team ups. And that’s not to mention the many other characters Marvel is making films of in the next few years. He could also swing into or Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, which has already had a few characters from the movies appear.
The possibilities are endless.
There will certainly be more announcements coming soon (Even as I wrote this article Marvel announced that they were pushing back release dates on four of their upcoming films, presumably to make the most of this new Spider-Man partnership). So stay tuned. I have literally never been this excited to see what comes next for Spider-Man.
I do understand the happiness this brings to some but for me honestly I could go for a Spidey break. I still had a bad taste after Emo Spidey, then I had Amazing Spider-Man 2 which was just horrible. If they waited a little while I might be ok, right now I find it really hard to care.
3 years between full-blown Spidey movies are long enough for me. I’m impatient for Marvel to wash the taste of Amazing Spider-Man 2 out of my brain with something actually Spectacular.
I’m most excited about seeing him in a team context. I don’t care if it’s with Avengers or he decides to have a space adventure with Guardians, but he’s be hilarious in a group setting!
That’s pretty much what we’d get if they work him into Civil War.