Spider-Man:
Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is a nerdy high school senior in New York City. His parents are dead and he lives with his Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) and Aunt May (Rosemary Harris). He has a crush on one of the few classmates who is nice to him, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). Her father is Captain George Stacy (Denis Leary) of the NYPD. Flash Thompson (Joe Manganiello) and his buddies pick on him. Peter's only friend is Harry Osborn (James Franco), who, though rich and good-looking, is similarly an outcast.
Peter's science class takes a field trip to a genetics laboratory at Columbia University, accompanied by their biology teacher, Dr Curt Connors (Dylan Baker). With only one arm, the result of a bombing when he was on duty as a doctor to soldiers in the US Army, Dr Connors’ dream is to find a way in which to grow back a new arm, using cross-species genetics. During a brief discussion with Peter, Connors’ tells Peter he believes is close to finding a cure for his ‘disability’ and that he plans to trail the formula once found with the help of his old friend Norman Osborn, much to Peter’s interest as a fellow scientist. The lab which they visit works on spiders and has even managed to create new species of spiders through genetic manipulation and combination. While Peter is taking photographs of Gwen Stacy for the school newspaper, one of these new spiders lands on his hand and bites him. Peter comes home feeling ill and immediately goes to bed. At the genetic level, the venom injected by the spider bite begins to work strange magic on Peter.
That night, Dr Connors’ is working in his home-lab and begins to see results concerning a formula for limb re-creation and repair on test subject animals.
Peter wakes up the next morning feeling better than ever. He also learns his scrawny physique now ripples with muscles and his eyesight is perfect. At school that day, he learns he can shoot webs out of spinnerettes in his wrists. He demonstrates his own new agility by catching Gwen Stacy and her food tray when she slips at lunch and then beating an enraged Flash in a fistfight. Gwen tends to Peter’s wounds at school and the two flirt casually.
Peter asks his Uncle for money toward buying a car which he believes believes would impress Gwen, but isn’t surprised to hear that they simply can’t afford it.
One night he spies an advertisement in the paper. A local professional wrestling league will pay $3000 to anyone who can survive three minutes in the ring with their champion, Bone Saw (Randy "Macho Man " Savage). Peter designs a suit and heads out to the arena, telling Ben and May he is going to the library. Ben and May are worried about the changes in Peter's personality and Ben insists on driving him to the library. He tries to explain his and May's concerns. He encourages Peter not to get into any more fights; he might have the power to beat the Flash Thompsons of the world, but "with great power comes great responsibility" -- the responsibility to know when and how best to use that power. Peter reacts badly. He tells Ben he is not Peter's father and should not act like he is. Peter not only survives the wrestling match, he defeats Bone Saw in two minutes. But the promoter pays Peter only $100. Angry at being gypped, Peter stands aside as an armed robber (Michael Papajohn) holds up the promoter. However, when he gets out to the street, he discovers the robber fatally wounded Ben and stole his car. In anguish, Peter chases down the robber and beats him. The robber falls out of a window where his body is recovered by the police.
Peter is inspired by Ben's admonition to use his spider powers for the greater good. He designs a new costume and swings around New York, foiling petty robberies and muggings as the Amazing Spider-man, a name he borrows from the announcer at the wrestling match. This does not endear him to J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons), the editor and publisher of the Daily Bugle, New York's leading muckracking tabloid. However, when he learns Spider-man sells newspapers, he puts out a call to photographers for better photos for his front page.
After graduating from high school, Peter, Harry and Gwen move to Manhattan. Peter and Harry get a loft together and attend classes at Empire State, where Gwen is also studying. She also works as an intern scientist at OsCorp. She and Harry also begin seeing one another. Harry apologizes to Peter but points out Peter was always too shy to make a move himself. Peter struggles to hold down a job. Peter sees Jameson's advertisement for good photos of Spider-man and, webbing his camera in convenient places, gets excellent photos of his own heroic actions. Although Jameson doesn't pay well, he agrees to buy more of Peter's photos.
That same night, in a meeting with Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe), Head of OsCorp Industries and father of Harry Osborn, Dr Connors is told that his formula will not be filed for human trials as his results do not show strong enough evidence that human-testing is the next step. Angered by this rejection and the thought that he will never see his formula trialled, Connors risks his safety by testing the formula on himself in his home lab.
After passing out and awakening, he finds his missing arm has regenerated. Learning Osborn is on his way home from OsCorp, Connors, whose skin is growing scaly and green, goes to intercept him. By the time he gets to the traffic-jam in the middle of New York City where Norman’s car is stuck, Connors has become a hybrid of lizard and man, throwing cars at buildings and into the air, including Norman’s. Peter, now calling himself Spider-Man, saves each thrown car with his web-lines.
Spider-Man suspects Connors is the Lizard, and unsuccessfully confronts the creature in the sewers. The Lizard learns Spider-Man's real identity and attacks Peter at college. When he rescues Gwen from the Lizard, Gwen sees him without his mask and learns that Peter is Spider-Man.
The police hunt both Spider-Man and the Lizard, with Captain Stacy also learning Spider-Man's real identity. The Lizard plans to make all humans lizard-like by releasing a chemical cloud from OsCorp's tower. Spider-Man eventually disperses an antidote cloud instead, restoring Connors and earlier victims to normal, but not before the Lizard fatally claws Stacy. The dying Stacy tells Spider-Man he must keep the city safe, apologizing for ever doubting him, and asks him to promise to watch over his only child, Gwen.
Peter goes to visit Uncle Ben's grave after Captain Stacy’s funeral. Gwen finds him there and confesses her love for him. She kisses him passionately but Peter tells her he can never be more than her friend as her life would be put in danger if his enemies ever found out about her. Gwen looks on as Peter walks away, knowing both his blessing and his curse in life: "Who am I? I'm Spider-man."
End Credits Scene:
A news report about the funeral of Captain Stacy is shown, followed by a news report on the rumours that Norman Osborn will be fired as Head of OsCorp after under his ownership, the Lizard nearly poisoned all of New York. Norman sits watching the report in his home and his eyes show menace…
Spider-Man 2 COMING SOON