Controversial Spider-Man Opinions

[Lukmendes]

That's how comic books work. Pretty much all of the beloved characters were bland until someone decided that they liked them. Even Peter for some reason.

While I wouldn't say Peter was bland, MJ herself is an example of this, 'cause while she was fun, she had even less personality than Gwen, then Conway came around and decided to develop her more.

(A) giving a character a personality decades after she died isn’t very organic and seems like fixing things after the fact,
and (B) Peter always had a personality. Ditko infused him with tons of awkward energy and a guilt-driven personality. His characterization has changed over the decades, but even in AF#15 he didn’t come off as “bland” to me.

It's actually funny to look at Ditko's run and realize how Peter isn't that guilt-driven, he didn't change that much after uncle Ben died, he still tried to keep the usual jobs to make money, unlike every adaptation where he gives up on those as soon as uncle Ben died, the only reason he even stopped doing stuff like wrestling was because JJ fucked over his reputation and they wouldn't call him back, and there's even one time he decided to not go help the police solve a crime 'cause he had enough money:



(ASM#34)

Looking at Ditko's run and comparing to how Spidey acts afterwards, the guilt is definitely flanderized since in Ditko's run he barely mentions uncle Ben, if he mentions uncle Ben at all after AF#15, and despite how cartoonish everyone else's personality were, Peter's own felt surprisingly human.

[TheRay]

MJ and Gwen are both bland whenever they’re just Peters love interest

[PCN24454]

MJ and Gwen are both bland whenever they’re just Peters love interest

I feel the same way about Curt Conners whenever they use him as the Lizard as though that's his only notable feature.

[TheRay]

Well, it is quite noteworthy to be fair, but I will say, especially after so much time has passed since their first appearance, there's nothing wrong with fleshing out, maybe even humanizing a bit, some of the rogues, if not all of them.

[Frontier]

Honestly I don't get the appeal of Peter and Miles together.

Like, as their own individual Spider-Men, I get it. Even a novel team-up every now and then. But I don't think being attached to the hip really benefits either of them in the long-run.

Being Spider-Man is inherently about being the one man who can make a difference, and how that ties into personal responsibility...only now there's another man?

Peter being a mentor is neat, but I feel like that has a shelf-life and has to inevitably downplay Peter to some extent to do Miles justice like we saw in Miles' game from Insomniac where they had to write out Peter to basically give Miles his due and skip over the mentor/protege stuff because that's not Miles' story at all. It was the same in ITSV. Ultimately it feels like it's inevitably to service Miles than to do anything with Peter, when Peter's story should be about him and his experiences and not building up a legacy. This is why I get kind of irked when everyone is immediately jumping at getting Miles into the MCU because I know what that might mean for Peter.

And honestly I think two people with the exact same codename without a clear distinction being paired together just sounds kind of silly, especially in practice where they're calling each other Spider-Man. Fine in certain instances, but not on an ongoing basis.

Of course this isn't just an issue I have with Miles, it's a general issue with Peter + Other Spider-Character, because his stories just aren't designed around that. And I hate to see Peter "somebody bail me out" Parker.

[PCN24454]

Honestly I don't get the appeal of Peter and Miles together.

Like, as their own individual Spider-Men, I get it. Even a novel team-up every now and then. But I don't think being attached to the hip really benefits either of them in the long-run.

Being Spider-Man is inherently about being the one man who can make a difference, and how that ties into personal responsibility...only now there's another man?

Peter being a mentor is neat, but I feel like that has a shelf-life and has to inevitably downplay Peter to some extent to do Miles justice like we saw in Miles' game from Insomniac where they had to write out Peter to basically give Miles his due and skip over the mentor/protege stuff because that's not Miles' story at all. It was the same in ITSV. Ultimately it feels like it's inevitably to service Miles than to do anything with Peter, when Peter's story should be about him and his experiences and not building up a legacy. This is why I get kind of irked when everyone is immediately jumping at getting Miles into the MCU because I know what that might mean for Peter.

And honestly I think two people with the exact same codename without a clear distinction being paired together just sounds kind of silly, especially in practice where they're calling each other Spider-Man. Fine in certain instances, but not on an ongoing basis.

Of course this isn't just an issue I have with Miles, it's a general issue with Peter + Other Spider-Character, because his stories just aren't designed around that. And I hate to see Peter "somebody bail me out" Parker.

Because it's less toxic than whatever the hell Peter's been doing up this point.

Peter is a textbook Kafka protagonist. He takes on too much work and crumbles under the pressure because he can't bring himself to trust other people. It's comically bad.

[Frontier]

Because it's less toxic than whatever the hell Peter's been doing up this point.

Peter is a textbook Kafka protagonist. He takes on too much work and crumbles under the pressure because he can't bring himself to trust other people. It's comically bad.

The point is he doesn't crumble though, at least where it counts. Hence the whole iconic lifting weight moment.

[Blind Wedjat]

'Bully Maguire' is just a defence mechanism used by Raimi fanboys who don't realise or refuse to admit that Tobey Maguire's actual performance as Spider-Man isn't really all that great, and downright cringey at times.

I also don't think he gets overpraised as Spider-Man because he was surrounded by a great cast and great writing and directing. Tobey Maguire himself has never been considered a great actor.

Likewise, they entire "Andrew Garfield is a better Spider-Man than Peter Parker, and Tobey Maguire is a better Peter Parker than Spider-Man" talking point has become so overused and regurgitated that I don't even think it makes much sense. Not only was/is Andrew Garfield a great Peter AND Spidey (who unlike Tobey, shined on his own but didn't have that stellar writing all the time), but his interpretation of the character makes sense depending on the comic run inspiration was pulled from and also makes sense for the time those movies were made. Same goes for Tobey whose Peter was heavily inspired by Christopher Reeve's Superman and how nerd/geek culture was depicted at the time.

The only real difference is that Andrew Garfield is a far more talented actor than Tobey.

[Agent Z]

'Bully Maguire' is just a defence mechanism used by Raimi fanboys who don't realise or refuse to admit that Tobey Maguire's actual performance as Spider-Man isn't really all that great, and downright cringey at times.

I also don't think he gets overpraised as Spider-Man because he was surrounded by a great cast and great writing and directing. Tobey Maguire himself has never been considered a great actor.

Likewise, they entire "Andrew Garfield is a better Spider-Man than Peter Parker, and Tobey Maguire is a better Peter Parker than Spider-Man" talking point has become so overused and regurgitated that I don't even think it makes much sense. Not only was/is Andrew Garfield a great Peter AND Spidey (who unlike Tobey, shined on his own but didn't have that stellar writing all the time), but his interpretation of the character makes sense depending on the comic run inspiration was pulled from and also makes sense for the time those movies were made. Same goes for Tobey whose Peter was heavily inspired by Christopher Reeve's Superman and how nerd/geek culture was depicted at the time.

The only real difference is that Andrew Garfield is a far more talented actor than Tobey.

I don't see what Bully Maguire has to do with Raimi fans defending Maguire's Peter. It's just a joke. Maybe not a funny one, but it doesn't have anything to do with defending Maguire's Peter.

[HypnoHustler]

I don't see what Bully Maguire has to do with Raimi fans defending Maguire's Peter. It's just a joke. Maybe not a funny one, but it doesn't have anything to do with defending Maguire's Peter.

Isn’t “Bully Maguire” supposed to be ironic, the same way the prequel memes are? Maybe some Raimi fans have latched on to it, but I think the Raimi trilogy is HIGHLY overrated and yet I still laugh at some of the Bully Maguire crap I see on YouTube.

[Lukmendes]

Isn’t “Bully Maguire” supposed to be ironic, the same way the prequel memes are? Maybe some Raimi fans have latched on to it, but I think the Raimi trilogy is HIGHLY overrated and yet I still laugh at some of the Bully Maguire crap I see on YouTube.

It's a bit of both, we have the ones who meme the crap out of Raimi's Spidey because there are plenty of bad scenes (And bully Maguire is te most infamous one), but we also have scenes memed just to have more memes.

I'd say that prequel triology have more fans mocking stuff, while Raimi's Spidey get more fans who'd defend its more questionable moments, but even then, I doubt it'd be that many who'd do so.

[PCN24454]

The point is he doesn't crumble though, at least where it counts. Hence the whole iconic lifting weight moment.

That’s like saying that it’s ok to be an alcoholic so long as you’re high-functioning.

His martyrdom is not an endearing quality nor something that he should keep. It just emphasizes his immaturity.

[Frontier]

That’s like saying that it’s ok to be an alcoholic so long as you’re high-functioning.

His martyrdom is not an endearing quality nor something that he should keep. It just emphasizes his immaturity.

Well, no more immature than most Superheroes who take on stuff beyond themselves for the sake of others even when it comes at a cost.

[PCN24454]

Well, no more immature than most Superheroes who take on stuff beyond themselves for the sake of others even when it comes at a cost.

That's not a rebuttal; it's an excuse.

[90'sCartoonMan]

One, Peter tries selling pictures of Jameson BEFORE he even becomes Spider-man, and gets firmly rejected.

No surprise there. Who wants to pay money for pictures of Jameson?

Is the microscope ever adapted? I'm not sure if even Spectacular had it.

Didn't Byrne update it to a laptop at one point?