Adam Graham's Blog: Christians and Superheroes - Posts Tagged "amazing-spider-man"

In the sequel to Amazing Spider-man, Peter Parker struggles with keeping his promises to Captain Stacy to keep Gwen out of the dangers entailed in being Spider-man as he continues to be in love with her. At the same time, Spider-man faces new threats with the creation of Electro, and then Harry Osborn ascends to Oscorp believing that only the blood of Spider-man can cure him of the degenerative disease he inherited from his father.

Plus side:

The biggest plus of this movie that makes it work is Andrew Garfield. Garfield portrays the best and most likable Spider-man ever. He's still human, flawed, and struggling, but he's not near as whiny as previous versions.

Spider-man has grown from the brooding teenager to a compassionate and caring hero. The scenes with kids are priceless. Spidey can take on threats and kick tail and take names but that's not the first resort. His efforts to talk down Electro and Green Goblin are great. Peter Parker has some great moments with Aunt May and Gwen Stacy. You never get a feeling that Spidey or Peter's being a jerk.

I also have to applaud the way Spidey's webslinging was portrayed. He's never more graceful and being Spider-man never looked more fun than in this movie.

I think that Garfield could be to Spider-man what Christopher Reeves was to Superman in the 1970s or what David Tennant was to the new Doctor Who.

Emma Stone was also great as Gwen Stacy and Dante DeHaan turned in a muli-faceted performance as Harry Osborn.

Negatives

This is a case where great actors were betrayed by a mediocre and often undisciplined script. Director Marc Webb two scenes featuring Shailene Woodsley as Mary Jane Watson in order to make the film more focused. I don't fault him for that. The problem was that Webb didn't go far enough to produce a film that could be focused. The movie actually begins with long flashback scene featuring Peter's dead father Richard Parker fighting a bad guy to to ensure his file is uploaded. Yes, we have the most expensive Uploading a File Scene in history.

We also have scenes that go nowhere. When Max Dillon is turned into Electro as a result of an Oscorp accident, Emma works for Oscorp becomes suspicious and searches the company directory and finds she's not there which arouses suspicion and she's chased by Oscorp security. She tells this to Peter and theorizes that Electro is Dillon and that Oscorp is covering it up and our heroes do nothing about it and once Ms. Stacy leaves the building , the villains don't seem to care about it either.

The biggest offenses has to do with the two villains. It's not just that the movie has both Electro and Green Goblin, it's how it handled both villains. Electro can be an awesome threat in the comics and could be a great movie villain, but here the character isn't really given a chance to shine. He has one battle with Spidey and is then locked up for most of the film and then has a second battle with Spidey. Both are too short.

The Green Goblin has historically been Spider-man's most destructive foe, one who battled him to the point of death multiple times. In the movie, Harry Osborn stumbles upon Goblin equipment in a place he's been led to for something else and so in a matter of minutes, grabs the suit and glider and flies to battle Spider-man. that makes the battle with Venom in Spider-man 3 look well-designed.

The film also features a key death and this person was helping Spidey fight Electro and after Electro was dealt with, this newly powered Goblin shows up and causes the death in an utterly cheap scene.

With a lesser actor, this movie was absolutely reak, but Andrew Garfield is a joy to watch as Spider-man even though the script is a deadlier foe than either the Green Goblin or Electro.

The movie ends on a cliffhanger and hints of a Sinister Six film. It's a prospect I have mixed feelings on. On the one hand, Spidey v. the Sinister Six is the type of classic battle that can be awesome if done right. However, If Webb bad this much trouble managing a film with two villains, how is he going to do with six?

Rating: 3.0 out of 5.0

The Amazing Spider-Man: The Ultimate Newspaper Comics Collection, Volume 3 by Stan Lee

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book covers both daily and Sunday newspaper strips of the Amazing Spider-man from January 12, 1981-December 31, 1982.

The book features the appearance of two known Supervillains: Doctor Octopus (who is out for revenge and for Aunt May's heart) and Doctor Doom: Who is out to take over the world after a flying saucer crashed in Latveria. Beyond this, the book offers a stream of other plots: There's a man with telekinetic powers who wants to defeat Spidey as the first step on the road to world domination, robots bent on world domination, an assassination plot that Spidey gets involved in because Peter Parker's apartment is going co-op, a group of Spider-man fan vigilantes, an attempt to cash in Spidey's image with Spidey jeans, a wealthy woman who wants to learn Spidey's identity because she's attracted to him, and a thrilling cross-country spy thriller among other plots.

Overall, this was good. No plot overstayed its welcome (a big danger for these sort of strips.) Some were actually quite exception (my favorite probably being the cross country chase.) The important thing to remember about the comic strip is that it's written for a different audience and probably should be viewed as being in a different universe than typical Marvel comic books (as evidenced by Spidey thinking the Sub-mariner was a mere comic book character in the last pages of this book.) It's more goofy and lighter with one plot having the absurd idea that someone would think J. Jonah Jameson was Spider-man. I do think Lee laid politics on a little thick with the overt identification of some groups as conservative and there were a few weaker plot turns, but overall the book is good if you're looking for some fun Spider-man stories with a lighter touch.



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Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, Vol. 1: Brawl in the Family by Gerry Conway

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects Amazing Spider-man: Renew Your Vows #1-5 of the main series. This spins off from a Secret Wars universe where Peter and Mary Jane stayed married and they end up with a precocious daughter named Annie who starts developing Spider powers.

Despite this all technically being one storyline, actually I'd suggest the 5th part is a 1-part story. Issues 1-4 set up our premise: Annie has developing spider powers and thanks to a device seized from the Regent, Mary Jane can tap into Peter's spider-powers. This leads to a battle with the Moleman. The story isn't neatly chronological, but reading it in a trade helps with that as we see the events from each character's perspective. Also Issue 1 has some very fun back up stories featuring amusing tales of Annie interacting with her mom and Dad. Overall, the first story is strong, but not perfect. The family really starts to explorer how this will work as well as beginning to muddle through what role a 9 year old girl would have in this.

Issue 5 them breaking up a bank robbery across from a family fun center based on Chuck E Cheese. This one is fun but light and a tad pointless, although there's hints of the plotline ahead.

Overall, this book is quite enjoyable. It's a great concept and the characters are likable enough. While the story's light-hearted, it doesn't shy away from the serious challenges this presents particularly when it comes to a young child fighting crime. The back up stories are fun and the emergence of Norman Osborne's prepubescent grandson as a villain is hilarious yet intriguing. Overall, this is just a fun comic for all ages. Highly recommended.



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Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows Vol. 3: Eight Years Later by Jody Houser

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book fast forwards eight years to Annie as a teenager. It collects Issues 13-18, with two three issue stories.

The Eight Years Later story is okay, but not great. The art is decent and the story is fine. There's some clunky exposition that's required and the story's nothing special. It features Peter trying to teach Annie a lesson (as if for the first time) that's so basic that it's impossible to imagine he hadn't taught it before.

Fast Times at Midtown High finds Annie in high school and mortified by Peter taking a teaching job When two kids develop superpowers, she lies to her parents, designs her own costume, and takes them under her wing. It's an interesting story that shows the potential of what a teenage Annie can bring to the series as we can explore her character as she tries to find her own way in life and establish her own identity. Overall, a good story.

Despite, some bumps, this was a fun collection. Looking forward to Volume 4.



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