Perhaps the most exciting part of this specific email, though, is what it mentions about the film’s story. Robinov offers up a few ideas as to where the plot could go and what he would like to see.
I might suggest looking at what is widely thought to be the most beloved Spider-Man storyline of all time – “Kraven’s Last Hunt” – which ran across Amazing Spider-Man #293-294, Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132, and Web of Spider-Man #31-32. (In fact, Comic Book Resources polled their readers in 2012, and this storyline was voted as the single greatest Spider-Man storyline of all time.)
In it, Kraven the Hunter tracks down Spider-Man, shoots him repeatedly, and leaves him for dead, buried underground. He then dons a Spider-Man costume and savagely starts attacking criminals.
What makes this story resonate with fans is that it proves it takes more than just the costume to become “Spider-Man.” No matter what he’s wearing, or what predicament he’s facing, Peter Parker is sensitive, passionate, and connected to those he’s interacting with in a very powerful way. It’s not Peter’s powers that make him special – Kraven, and every other superhuman in the Marvel Universe, all have powers. Peter is special because of his values, because of what drives him, because of the lessons he’s learned from Uncle Ben’s death, and because of his love for Mary Jane. I’ve pasted a few pivotal pages from this book so you can see just how intense this storyline is.
We also get to see how Mary Jane deals with Peter’s disappearance, and how she would react if Peter ever died in action.
Another side of Spider-Man that might be interesting to explore in a reboot is seeing him as an adult. Spidey hasn’t remained a teenager over the 52 years he’s been around. He’s moved in with his girlfriend, gotten married, and in some storylines, even became a science teacher at a high school.
It might feel fresh to see Peter Parker juggling with adult issues. He’s done so in the comics for decades, and kids still found this fun to read.
The important thing to note here is that Sony is potentially looking at featuring an adult Spider-Man, which means that the studio would need an older actor to play the role. Could this mean that they’re going after Ryan Gosling for the part, like we suggested earlier?
However this all turns out, it’s clear that there are some major changes in store for the Spider-Man franchise, and given the mess that was The Amazing Spider-Man 2, that can only be a good thing.
