Back in 2008, a five issue series called Spider-Man: With Great Power by David Lapham and Tony Harris was released by Marvel, telling the story of what happenned between the time of the accident that gave Peter Parker superhuman powers and the murder of his Uncle Ben. The series was published under Marvel's Marvel Knights imprint in order to avoid any links to current continuity.
Well, I for one never actually bothered picking this up. However, thanks to some eagle eyed users on the SuperHeroHype Forums and a tip-off from my friend from SpiderMedia, RealIrOnMaN, we have this scan from the series.
As you can see, apart from the spider symbol and eyes, this is almost identical to the suit we've seen in all those recent pictures. (both the official one and the various photos taken during filming) Everything from him having no belt, to the the stripe down the leg is clearly based on this design. This of course leaves us with a few options.
Marc Webb could have spotted this design and just decided he liked it and that it would be a great choice for the reboot, clearly distinguishing his movie from the last three. This is possibly the most likely theory. The reaction to this suit however has been almost unanimously negative from comic book fans, and surely both Sony and Webb realised such a drastic redesign would result in this? I for one happen to think the suit looks ok. I don't understand why they've changed it, but it's not a drastic enough change to have me completely dead againtst it...yet. Oh, and it might also be worth noting that the official image we saw might not be from the end of the movie after his big fight with the Lizard as many have speculated. What if it's really this?
Pretty similar to that official picture above, huh? We have no idea how much of this movie will focus on Peter's origin story. With recent rumours stating that J. Jonah Jameson wont feature, maybe this is due to Spider-Man's public debut not being until right at the end of the movie? Perhaps even more time than in the first film will focus on his early days with his newfound powers. After all, they've cast a big name actor like Martin Sheen for Uncle Ben...surely he'll have more than just a few minutes screentime? While many fans think that another origin story is not needed (and they're right in many ways) it's worth remembering that by the time this untitled reboot is released, it will have been over ten years since Raimi's first. THIS movie might be the first dose of Spider-Man for a whole new generation. Check out the following two pictures to see him experimenting with his powers in the wrestling suit and the stages it goes through during his wrestling career. Just how much of this is Marc Webb using as an influence?
The fact that Peter is running from the police in those recent set pictures/videos also adds to the possibility that this may not be the final suit. He could be leaving the scene after catching his Uncle's killer. Yes, we can see webshooters, but they're pretty in-your-face and obvious looking unlike the comic book version, so perhaps he's run out of web fluid? Hence the need for a belt in the next design! Maybe this is wishful thinking on the part of a slightly disgruntled fan. Perhaps we'll see the original 616 costume as one of Spider-Man's wrestling outfits...a cameo in the same respect as how the original Captain America costume has been turned into a USO suit in his upcoming movie. I'm really not sure. Wouldnt it be something to see him in this suit throughout the movie, with the last few seconds featuring him in the classic 616 version? I do however think there is a real possibility that what we've seen is NOT the final costume. Be sure to share your thoughts in the usual place!