Lets just get this out of the way, I am not a hater. I like Smallville, still on season five and have been too busy to watch more. I love Raimi Spider-Man How can I not? I grew up with it. However I have noticed some people on this site trying to say that TASM is going to be more like Smallville, and be angsty and bad. However, if we go all the way back to 2002 when the first Spider-Man movie came out, you will see more similarites with The Show Smallville than you think.
1. School Loser: Peter and Clark are both at the beginning of there respective stories, considered losers. They mumble around pretty girls and are clumsy and are over all dorks.
2. Love interest dating the bully: Flash Thompson and Whitney Fordman are very similar characters. They both torture the Protagonist and date the girl he is madly in love with. Both Lana and MJ have known Clark and Peter since they were kids, and have kind of been friends, and they have had lifetime crushes on them.
3. Substitute Parents and Wise Father figure: Clark may have "Parents, but they are only adoptive Parents who found him when his ship crashed in Kansas. Peter has his Aunt and Uncle who raised him after his parents died in a car crash. Both Jonathan Kent and Uncle Ben are very important men in there respective franchises. They both make the characters the men and heroes they will soon become.
4. Melodramatic tone: As much as people want to deny it, and say that that is what TASM is doing, well, rewatch the films. Raimi Spider-Man tended to be over the top emotionally with characters acting very melodramatically for the sake of Drama. If Tobey's crying isn't melodramatic then I don't know what is. Smallville has done the same thing. Both could be considered soap opera's with Superpowers.
5. Best friend of the Hero and His Manipulative villainous Dad: While i believe that Smallville pulled it off better, the relationship between Harry and Norman, and the relationship between Lex and Lionel are very similar. Both of the fathers are disappointed that there sons are not "good enough" In Normans case it is the fact that Harry is not smart or driven enough. Lionels case is that Lex isn't ruthless or driven enough.
While these similarities could be chalked up to Superhero stereotypes, it is interesting that Smallville premeiered in 2001 and Spidey Premiered in 2002. Could there have been people working on Spider-Man and Smallville at the same time. We do know that Miles Millar, who helped create Smallville helped in writing the story for Spider-Man 2. Is this mere coincidence? Or is there something deeper, tell me what you think!