2) The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Peter’s Dad And The Spider Connection
Sometimes good things emerge from the most unlikely of places. The Amazing Spider-Man series was Sony’s attempt at rebooting the Spider-Man franchise following Sam Raimi’s departure from a potential Spider-Man 4. Starring Andrew Garfield as the webslinger, the series lasted two movies before the studio gave up and decided to integrate the character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But The Amazing Spider-Man films do have a lot of merits to them, in spite of their flaws. One of those merits was the subplot involving Peter Parker’s parents, who were tied to a greater conspiracy that made for an interesting mystery. That mystery ended up getting partially resolved in the second entry, wherein Peter’s dad, Richard, leaves a video disclosing the truth about his sudden departure. He and his wife Mary were working with Oscorp on an experiment involving using spiders to create enhanced superhuman features. Unfortunately, Oscorp had plans to turn it into a bioweapon, resulting in the Parkers destroying as much of the work as they could and leaving.
The plot twist, however, came with the video revealing something fascinating: the spiders’ powers could only be accessed if merged with Richard’s DNA. In other words, they were practically useless to anyone that was not Peter, showcasing that the idea of Spider-Man was, in a lot of ways, a legacy of Peter’s parents. While some fans may have been angered at the randomness factor being taken out of the equation, no one can deny that it was a touching moment in the alternate universe of the The Amazing Spider-Man films.
