2017 marks the 15th anniversary of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man (2002), as well as the 10th anniversary of the trilogy’s conclusion. And with Spider-Man: Homecoming opening in theatres this weekend, now seems like a good time to look back at the wall crawler’s first cinematic outing. My knowledge of Spider-Man comics is fairly decent, but by no means expert. So I’m relying on others better informed than myself to pitch in wherever I’ve missed something.
Director Sam Raimi is a lifelong Spider-Man fan and supposedly owns a collection of over 25,000 comics. He discussed the source material’s influence on the film during a panel at the 2002 LA Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention:
I think the biggest influence was the forty years of great Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and all those great Marvel artists and writers that have written the books. That really was 90% of what we tried to put on the screen. David Koepp the writer, contributed a great deal. So did Alan Sergeant who did a great polish for us. Everybody from the story board artists to the actors all came up with material. Everything that even Avi or Laura came up with was all about trying to bring to life the vision of the Marvel comics. So I think the biggest influence was just those books, those same books we all grew up reading.
http://fakeshemps.com/samconmay/index.htmlThe movie draws most heavily from the Silver Age Stan Lee/Steve Ditko stories of the 1960s, but also incorporates more contemporary elements from the Ultimate Spider-Man series.
Let’s start at the beginning.
The first character we meet in the film is Peter Parker. Peter is initially depicted as a scrawny nerd who gets picked on by his classmates. This is consistent with how he was portrayed in his debut story, ‘Spider-Man!’ (Amazing Fantasy Vol 1 #15, August 1962).
When we first see Peter in the movie he’s racing to catch a school bus. Amongst the other passengers are his classmates Mary Jane Watson and Flash Thompson. Mary Jane first appeared in ‘Captured by J. Jonah Jameson!’ (Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 #25, June 1965), though her features weren’t revealed until ‘The Birth of a Super-Hero!’ (The Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 #42, November 1966).
Flash Thompson first appeared in Amazing Fantasy Vol 1 #15.
The idea of Peter and Mary Jane being childhood neighbours originated in Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 1 (2000). The scenes of Peter admiring Mary Jane from afar are reminiscent of ‘Powerless’ (Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 1 #1, October 2000).
In the film Peter’s class goes on a school trip to a genetics laboratory. In Amazing Fantasy Vol 1 #15 Peter goes to a laboratory on his own, while in Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 1 #1 he visits an Osborn Industries lab as part of a class trip.
It’s outside the lab that Peter meets up with his best friend, Harry Osborn. Harry first appeared in ‘If This Be My Destiny...!’ (The Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 #31, December 1965) and was originally depicted as a friend of Flash Thompson who helped bully Peter. Harry and Peter eventually became friends in the comics, while in the movie they’re depicted as friends from the get go.
Harry is dropped off at the museum by his father, Norman. Norman Osborn made his debut in ‘The Goblin and the Gangsters’ (Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 #23, April 1965), though in the comics he wasn’t revealed to be Harry’s father until ‘Once Upon a Time, a Robot...!’ (Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 #37, June 1966). The idea of Norman Osborn being the first major villain Spider-Man faces comes from Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 1.
Harry stands up for Peter when the other kids are bullying him. The following panel is from Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 1 #1.
It’s during the lab visit that Peter is bitten on the hand by a radioactive spider.
He begins to feel queasy and heads for home.
Peter lives with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May, both of whom debuted in Amazing Fantasy Vol 1 #15.
While this is happening, Norman Osborn undergoes his transformation into the Green Goblin. Green Goblin’s origins were first depicted in ‘Spidey Saves the Day!’ (Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 #40, September 1966). Corporate backstabbing plays a role in both the comic and movie versions of his back story. In the comic Norman had ousted his business partner, Professor Stromm (aka Robot Master), in order to assume complete control over Oscorp. In the movie it is Norman himself who is forced out of the business.
Professor Mendel Stromm appears in the film as one of Norman’s researchers. Stromm developed the Green Goblin formula in the comics, while in the movie he and Norman apparently created it together. In the comic Norman has Stromm booted out of his company, while in the film he murders him.
In both the comic and the film, Norman’s transformation occurs while he is testing a mysterious green formula in his laboratory late at night.
In the original comic there is an explosion in the lab which results in Norman being accidentally exposed to the green formula, while in the film he intentionally tests the substance on himself. This reflects the Ultimate Spider-Man version of his origins, which also showed Norman testing the formula on himself. The formula grants him superhuman strength, but also drives him insane.
Peter wakes the next morning to find he has undergone a physical transformation of his own. The following panel is from ‘Growing Pains’ (Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 1 #2, December 2000).
The scene where Peter fights and humiliates Flash in front of his classmates is also taken from Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 1 #2.
Peter now has enhanced strength, agility and reflexes and can climb walls with his bare hands.
He also has the ability to shoot webs out of his wrists. In the comics Peter built special web shooters to achieve this, but in the movie his web-shooting powers are purely organic.
Raimi cited James Cameron’s unproduced Spider-Man movie treatment as the origin of the organic web shooter concept. A similar idea was explored in the comics during the ‘Changes’ storyline (Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 2 #17-20, September-December 2004) where Peter developed organic web shooters after being kissed by Queen in ‘Under My Skin: Part II’ (Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 2 #16, August 2004). This story was published the same year as Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 was released.
The first time Peter swings on his web in the movie, he references the catchphrases of two DC Comics characters. First he says “Up, up and away, web!” in allusion to Superman, then “Shazam!” in reference to Captain Marvel.
The sketches Peter creates when designing concepts for his costume were drawn by comic artist Phil Jimenez. One of the designs is redolent of his black outfit from the comics, only with the white areas coloured red. The black suit would appear in Raimi’s third Spider-Man film.
Conscious of certain changes in his nephew’s attitude, Uncle Ben tries talking to Peter about the importance of responsibility. The line “With great power comes great responsibility” is repeated throughout the film. It is taken from Amazing Fantasy Vol 1 #15.
The idea of having Uncle Ben speak this line to Peter has its basis in ‘With Great Power’ (Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 1 #4, February 2001).
Looking for a way to make money from his new gifts, Peter decides to try his hand at wrestling.
The wrestling commentator introduces him as ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’, thereby referencing the title of the character’s first solo comic. This detail is taken from ‘Wannabe’ (Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 1 #3, January 2001)..
Donning an early prototype costume, Peter enters the ring with the wrestling champion.
Using his enhanced agility and strength he is able to dodge the wrestler’s attacks and win the fight.
During the match, Peter taunts the wrestler with wiseass remarks: “That’s a cute outfit. Did you husband give it to you?” Taunting enemies during combat is one of his signature traits in the comics.
After triumphing in the ring, Peter goes to collect his winnings from the promoter. However the promoter refuses to pay him the full amount on the basis that he pinned his opponent too quickly. In the comic Peter received his full winnings and went on to earn more money making numerous media appearances. A fateful incident occurs in both the film and the comic where Peter sees a robber making a getaway with some stolen loot. In the comic this scene takes place in a TV studio after one of Spider-Man’s demonstrations. In the movie it happens outside the wrestling promoter’s office immediately after he refuses to pay Peter his winnings.
The security guard chasing the criminal calls out for Peter to stop the thief. But Peter steps aside and allows the criminal to make his getaway in a nearby elevator.
The security guard then reprimands Peter for letting the thief go free. Peter responds that it’s not his concern.
On his way home, Peter makes the horrifying discovery that Uncle Ben has been shot and killed. In the comic Ben was shot at home by a burglar, while in the film he is shot by a carjacker while waiting for Peter.
This is one aspect of the film that I would argue improves on the source material. In the comic we’re expected to believe that the same criminal who robbed the TV studio just happened to burgle Uncle Ben’s house soon afterwards. The movie makes this more plausible by having Ben get shot during a carjacking incident while he was waiting for Peter. This gives Ben a logical reason for being in the vicinity of the first robbery, as well as amplifying Peter’s guilt over his uncle’s death.
Peter’s grief gives way to anger and he embarks on the trail of the gunman.
This marks the first time he properly web swings through the city in both the comic and the film.
The police pursue the criminal to an abandoned building and corner him inside.
Peter ventures into the building to apprehend the killer.
A brief fight takes place, during which Peter disarms and subdues his opponent. The criminal’s hat comes off during the scuffle and Peter gets a good look at him, only to discover it is the same robber that he allowed to escape earlier in the story.
In the comic Spider-Man hands the robber over to the police, but in the movie the criminal stumbles backwards through a window and plummets to his death.
