The Hardships That Spider-Man: Homecoming Faced
Given that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man operates in the wake of two previous versions, Far From Home has to work a lot harder than many other movies. If you’re reading this, then the chances are that you’re an avid follower of pop culture news. But we need to remind ourselves that fandoms on the internet are relatively small and insular. There were a great many moviegoers back in 2016 that weren’t aware of the Sony/Marvel deal, and thus wondered why, suddenly, there was a new actor playing Spider-Man – and in a Captain America film no less.
There’s nothing wrong with not following movie news. Again, different people have different perspectives. But the case of the MCU’s Spider-Man vs. PS4 Spidey underlines a pertinent point. What many fans are searching for is a new, and definitive filmic take on the hero and his mythos. And this is, to be quite frank, an impossibility.
The Conundrum Of Continuities
What do we know about Peter Parker? He’s a put-upon, scientific genius, photographer and a witty, all-round nice guy who always tried to do the right thing.
Every Spider-Man movie has – give or take – portrayed all of these qualities in its protagonist. We may argue that one of the three iterations is more accurate to its source than the other, but it’s only really provable in general terms. This is due to the nature of comics themselves.
Spidey is over half a century old, with hundreds of issues devoted to his adventures. Many of these long-running series are written by various different writers, with stories that cancel or contradict their fellows. Let’s face it; it’s doubtful that Dan Slott would have Peter show such disdain for student protesters as Steve Ditko did, for example. On top of these differing “mainstream” runs, we have alternate realities. The Ultimate Universe, the “What If’s” and Marvel Noir are just several comic book worlds where parallel Spider-Men exist.
In Spider-Man’s movies, it’s a similar tale of seeing different takes on the character. From his bulkier body shape (echoing John Romita Sr.’s art) to the heavy focus on Peter’s days at the Daily Bugle, Sam Raimi’s original trilogy took many of its cues from the wall-crawler’s “classic” 616 canon. For Homecoming, Jon Watts heavily references Ultimate Spider-Man, with his leaner physique and a prolonged focus on a high schooling Spidey in a wilder, grown up world of superheroes. And there’s Mark Webb’s duology which (sometimes uneasily) sat midway between the two canons.
Both the Ultimate – and various modern 616 arcs – are revered for capturing the essence of Spider-Man in their own manner. But does that mean that one is “truer” to the character than the other? And does that ensure that any movie – which defers to either Spider-Man run – is therefore more accurate? Again, it’s not that clean cut.
Published: Sep 23, 2018 12:01 pm