Although Spider-Man is one of Marvel’s most iconic characters, his movies aren’t always completely perfect. In terms of live-action superhero cinema, Spider-Man is one of the most prolific and consistently loved presences on the big screen. Since Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man movie was released in 2002, the hero has been a near-constant presence in cinemas, with multiple incarnations of the character appearing over that time. In the years since, there have been many amazing Spider-Man movie moments, which have only helped cement his status as one of Marvel’s best-loved heroes. The love Spider-Man receives is well-deserved, but that isn’t to say that his movies are completely flawless.
There are many aspects of Spider-Man movies that leave much to be desired. In fact, there are several mistakes that all Spider-Man movies make in regard to the character and his story, though some Marvel fans would rather not acknowledge them. Though the following issues are certainly not enough to ruin Spider-Man’s excellent cinematic outings, they are nagging issues that many fans seem to simply turn a blind eye to.
Across the multiple big-screen adaptations, there have been many Spider-Man movie villains, and some have been better received than others. However, one consistent issue with Spider-Man movies is their handling of these villains — the good and the bad — in wider narrative terms. Over the years, Spider-Man movies have developed an unfortunate habit of killing off villains after a single appearance or otherwise finding a way to end their story for good. It’s a bizarre choice to make considering how rarely it happens in the comics, and it ultimately prevents the movies from feeling truly faithful to the source material.
When it comes to adapting Spider-Man’s well-known story onto the big screen, movies typically try to add an idea that’s new or unique in some way. While this innovation might have led to some excellent Spider-Man movie costumes, it rarely pays off in narrative terms. Tying Spider-Man’s origins to a shady Oscorp conspiracy involving Peter Parker’s parents or connecting him to the Avengers as a teenager doesn’t quite work as well as the more traditional approach, largely because they just can’t pack the same emotional punch.
While it might not be true of the very best Spider-Man action scenes, the fact that many action sequences in Spider-Man movies are pretty uninspiring is often overlooked. Action scenes in existing Spider-Man movies focus more on the hero swinging and using his webs than on any of the acrobatic action that makes him so exciting. There’s also a general deficiency of the kind of sarcastic mid-battle quips that have become characteristic of the hero, though this isn’t often acknowledged by Marvel fans.
Since Spider-Man joined the MCU, most fans have generally accepted that he now belongs in a shared Marvel universe. However, one thing that is repeatedly ignored is that no current movie iteration of Spider-Man has truly found the correct balance regarding his place in a wider Marvel universe. The MCU involves Spider-Man too heavily in the stories of other heroes, while both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men hinted at a wider world without actually establishing it. It’s something that will hopefully be remedied with the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but at present, Spider-Man movies haven’t quite got a handle on the shared universe idea.
Perhaps the worst thing to happen to Spider-Man movies is that they simply feel pretty repetitive. All modern big-screen adaptations have told the story of a young Spider-Man grappling with his dual identity, all losing a beloved family mentor figure along the way. Moreover, all the live-action movies tell a story of Peter Parker struggling to find the balance between his two identities before ultimately accepting his responsibility as a hero. The narrative thrust has always been the same, and many Marvel fans refuse to admit that it’s time for the movies to adapt some different Spider-Man stories.
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