Dear Sony & Marvel, It’s Time You Give Us That 90’s Feel with MCU Spider-Man
With the MCU Spider-Man now having had 2 solo outings as well as being part of some of the best team effort films Marvel Studios has had to offer, folks have had plenty of time to soak up every nuance Holland’s version of the webslinger has to offer.
And, as is the case, the fandom lies split right down the middle in regards to the portrayal of the character, with some being absolutely okay with the direction Spider-Man’s being taken in. Meanwhile, some Spidey aficionados aren’t entirely pleased with the character.
As a Spider-Man fan myself, I thought about what changes they could possibly make that’d end up helping this version of the character in the long run. Turns out I had to look no further than Spider-Man The Animated Series from the 90’s, as that cartoon had a lotta similarities to the MCU’s initial vision of the character, too.
The show starts off without providing an origin story, with Peter already a few years into his career. Of course with Holland’s Spidey being 6 months into his career, that can’t happen. Still, though, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of it all.
1. Make Peter A Student At ESU
A part of the reason why people don’t seem to be into the MCU version of Spider-Man is because he’s back in high school again. While that isn’t wrong by any margin, studios tend to think that in order to do Spidey “right” they need to somehow reboot his whole deal back to his high school days.
Yes, Peter Parker started out as a high school student, and it was done that way so he could have many adventures down the line. To the MCU’s credit, they did say that was the plan with Holland’s take on the character, so we’ll see how that pans out.
That said, John Semper Jr., writer on Spider-Man The Animated Series, grew up with Spider-Man comics from the 70’s and 80’s and so he was introduced to a college going Peter Parker. Having related to that version, it reflected brilliantly in his show. Peter’s life has a slew of great adventures and new supporting characters to accompany the viewers and keep ’em entertained, whilst still having Peter’s story be relatable.
I feel like having Holland’s Peter Parker graduate to college would add a little more urgency and independence to his personal life outside of his superheroics, and give him more of an individual spotlight, not to mention maturity.
2. Hone In On Spidey’s Choices & Consequences
While Captain America: Civil War, Infinity War & Endgame all had dire consequences in the aftermath, some which are being felt even to this day in the MCU, Spidey’s adventures could be considered to be fairly squeaky clean.
Sure, there’s some serious stuff that happens in there a bit, and that’s largely due to the way they write the villains. I like the way they tied both Vulture and Mysterio to Iron Man and added some otherwise missing depth to them in the comic books, but besides that, at no point do you feel the sense of impending doom regarding the situation Pete’s in. It feels more fluff-like. A little too easy.
Since Spider-Man’s victories usually mean Peter Parker’s loss, it would be great to see Spidey go up against some morally tough decisions when fighting bad guys that would require him to pay attention to his heroic lifestyle, but would inevitably result in Peter Parker’s life taking a huge hit.
Spectacular Spider-Man was a great example of this in the episode featuring that show’s version of the Lizard. Sure, Peter took the Lizard photos and published them in the papers to benefit himself, but not at the cost of his entire cohort getting pissed off at him for doing so. It shows the challenges he has to face by leading a double life.
Even the 90’s Spider-Man episode featuring Mysterio’s first appearance tackles the exact same issue. Having turned the city against Spider-Man, Mysterio makes his claim to fame, leaving Peter wondering why he ever bothered being Spider-Man, especially since the city now hates him, and he blew his chance with dating MJ.
Hell, Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 is revered as a classic for this very reason.
3. Consider Investing in Darker Storylines
In the world of comic books, the 80’s are by and large considered to be one of the best (if not the best) decades for the medium.
Spider-Man comic books were no exception. During this magnificent decade Spidey comic books were overflowing with tons of amazing (pun intended) storylines featuring a great no. of characters. Be it the Black Cat teaming up with Spidey to take on the Kingpin or the Alien Costume bonding itself to Peter unbeknownst to him in an attempt to fully take over him.
Holland’s Spidey movies are fun little adventures to sit through and then put down, rarely (in my most humble opinion) having any lasting effect. While there’s undoubtedly good moments in them, the sum isn’t greater than it’s parts.
Investing in some dark stories filled with dire consequences such as the mortality of some characters would be a great way to add some grit to this Spider-Man’s personal world. Stories like The Death of Jean DeWolff, where Police Captain and police contact to Spider-Man, Jean DeWolff, is killed off by a deranged killer named the Sin-Eater, leaving a grief stricken Spidey hot on his trail.
And what is a good Spider-Man story without consequence?
4. Shelf The Green Goblin’s Story For The Moment. Enter….The Hobgoblin!
People are all but tired at this point of the notion of Spider-Man facing the Green Goblin again. That’s pretty understandable, too, given the fact that both other franchises in some way, shape or form featured him. We get it. He’s in many ways Spidey’s biggest foe. He caused a lotta grief for the wall crawler over the course of their many encounters. Heck, the guy actually murdered Gwen Stacy, the love of Peter’s life.
But after Willem Dafoe’s brilliant (and campy) take, followed up by a seemingly lackluster performance by Dane Dehaan, it seems like we might just have Goblin burnout. Yet the character definitely has a sense of allure to him. The pumpkin bombs, the Halloween-esque costume and of course, that infamous glider for him to fly around on as he causes destruction, his maniacal laugh being the only thing people can hear in the aftermath of it all, ya kinda gotta have him in some capacity, right?
Well, yes. Enter The Hobgoblin. During the 80’s Spider-Man comic books played up a huge mystery behind this new moniker. Someone who happened upon the various hideouts of the Green Goblin and stole his equipment for his own twisted crimes.
In the 90’s cartoon, however, our very own Norman Osborn was providing him with all of this tech, as they were sowing the seeds to the Green Goblin later on down the line. Since the MCU Spidey hasn’t yet fought off his own version of the Green Goblin, this would be a fantastic way to go, while also having a Goblin-like supervillain to raise hell and send Spidey swinging in after him.
He was a hilariously deviant, dangerous and mischievous character that was a delight to watch on screen. Of course, that could just be because he was played by Mark Hamill on the show, so.
5. Maybe Stop Changing His Outfit with Every Movie
Alright. I’mma just come out and say it. The MCU version of Spider-Man — at least in his Civil War and Homecoming appearances — has the most authentic costume to the comic books.
That’s just facts. I mean, they even used the Deadpool-inspired eye lens movements, which, while makes no sense, is great effort on their part.
The suit seriously comes packed to the brim with small comic accuracies including the shape and types of Spider-Symbols they used. I’m especially a fan of the oval fat spider on the back of the costume, since that’s the one I’ve been used to in the classic comic book and of course, the 90’s cartoon.
The fact that they changed it up in Far From Home made me fret a bit, I’m not gonna lie. Seriously, this suit is gorgeous to look at and aesthetically pleasing. Why mess with perfection? If you want fans to look at Holland’s Spidey and think authentic Spider-Man from various media and the comic books, I think it’s within your best interest to keep the outfit the same.
Your welcome, MCU. (Seriously, they’re not reading this. Who am I kidding?)
6. Change up The Team Up Dynamics With Other MCU Characters
Some fans were up in arms about Tony Stark’s underlying influence on this version of Spider-Man. You can only imagine how they felt when it was reported that Doctor Strange would act as a mentor and guiding hand to Peter in the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Fan speculation though, is one thing. But when you have one of the directors of Into The Spider-Verse respond negatively to this news, you know fans’ criticisms are justified.
It’s hard to ignore that, though. Going back to even some of Spidey’s earliest adventures, he was always painted as a loner despite having a cameo in other comic book character’s stories and vice versa. I mean, he took on Doctor Doom and managed to hold his own all by his lonesome till the Fantastic Four actually got there to help him during his earliest adventures. The kid was just in high school at the time, too!
While he may be green and inexperienced compared to the Avengers and co. in the MCU at the moment, perhaps a focus on what he can do and do remarkably well on his own would return some good faith in this version on fans’ parts.
Segueing into the 90’s animated series, the same concept applies. Be it The Punisher, Daredevil, Blade or Doctor Strange making a cameo on Spidey’s show, there was never any doubt that he was still his own person capable of holding his own when in a scrap.
The key to balancing this is to portray it as though he’s fighting alongside them almost as — dare I say it — equals despite his age, instead of under them, like a ward or a sidekick. If there’s one thing Spidey is not, it’s a sidekick. That was the very basis of his foundation as a character. he was meant to get the younger heroic figures outta the shadow, as he was the star of his own show, for better or worse.
7. Spidey’s Mission Should Be Balancing a Superhero Lifestyle, Not Joining The Avengers
Building off of my previous point about Spidey being a loner, a simple fix in Spidey’s motivation could solve so much of the fan groaning in those message boards and forums.
A common complaint at the time of Homecoming’s release was that they felt Spidey’s motivation the entire time was getting on Tony Stark’s good side, so that he’d let him into the Avengers. While it makes sense for the MCU to wanna play around with their established universe by having a Spidey influenced by the big team that encapsulates it, and, yes, while Spidey turns down the offer at the end of Homecoming, it still does feel that the influence of him joining up to bigger and better things kinda overshadows the feel of the usual Spider-Man stories we’re used to consuming in various media.
Spider-Man’s life in the comics or otherwise any other adaptation outside of it is usually sticking up for the little guy, trying to keep his own personal world from falling apart, and getting involved into some otherwise pretty sick superhero shenanigans along the way.
It’s a good formula that works well. Let’s not mess with that. Reducing Spidey’s other concerns and amping up the problems in his own life, leaving him to mircomanage it would introduce some much needed individuality and urgency into the character’s life. Me and so many other Spider-Man fans would appreciate that!
8. The Iron Boy Jr. Dilemma…
Hearkening back to the Iron Man influence that fans didn’t seem to like a lot, a good way to fix this would be to show Peter, ever the science whiz, to tinker and toy with the tech in his Spider-Man suit and make some simple yet effective changes to them. Something menial like an entirely new outfit with some ideas bounced off of the Stark Suit, but with his own twist.
They could also take yet another cue from the 90’s cartoon, and show him develop some slightly different versions of his webfluid. In the show, Peter has on quite a few occasions made some tweaks to the usual formula, especially when fighting foes like this iteration of Hydro Man.
Having already shown us Peter’s ability to concoct his own webbing in Homecoming, a simple expansion on his genius like that could lessen the implied influence of Tony, and bring the spotlight right back on to good ol’ Peter.
Ah, Spider-Man and his brain.
And that’s pretty much it, folks. Trust me, when it comes to Spider-Man, I could go on and on, but this here article’s already overstayed it’s welcome. As such, I do thank you all for reading (and by all of you, I mean my Mom. Hi, Mom!) Until next time, my friends! Keep on’ Thwippin’!