First of all, I wouldn’t title the series “The Amazing Spider-Man,” I’d call them “Spider-Man” with a subtitle. For example, “Spider-Man: Rise of the Lizard,” “Spider-Man: Enter Electro,” or “Spider-Man: Birth of the Goblin.”
So if I was directing a Spider-Man trilogy, it would kind of be heading in the same direction that Marc Webb has been with the ASM movies, but not entirely. It would still be based on the Ultimate Spidey comics, mostly. I prefer the USM’s more than the ASM’s, since… well, I don’t really know why, it’s just a much cooler universe.
Instead of having Peter be in high school, he’d graduate at the beginning of the first movie and be in college with Gwen. That would also be where he meets Harry again. And Dr. Connors would be one of his professors, instead of being Richard Parker’s partner. I’d completely ditch the whole “untold story about my parents” thing. The audience came to see a movie about Spider-Man, not his parents.
For the origin story, I wouldn’t repeat the same thing that we saw just ten years ago, unless I was changing it SIGNIFICANTLY, which TASM1 did not. It would just be summed up in the first 2-3 minutes, in the opening credits, just like Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 (2004). SM2 did it so perfectly, you don’t even need to watch SM1 to see it, the opening credits brings you up to speed right there. Pure genius! The spider bite, Uncle Ben’s death, the costume designing/creating, etc. would all be in the opening credits. The actual movie would begin with Spider-Man at the top of the Empire State Building or something, then he jumps off and starts swinging and the movie starts.
For the spider bite, it would just be a random accident again, NOT something planned or whatever. I think it’s much more interesting when it’s a random twist of fate. And anything Peter had planned for himself and his future pretty much gets thrown out the window, and he has to comply with the responsibility these powers have given him. He doesn’t WANT to be Spider-Man, he just knows he HAS to, due to Uncle Ben’s last words.
For the web-shooters, I would combine the organic with the mechanical. I mean, it would make more sense like that. He got bit by a spider, so he can stick to walls, but can’t make his own webs? Peter would be able to make webs from his wrists, but they don’t come out straight, they just sort of explode and go in different directions. He would make a device to regulate how the webs come out of his wrists, so they’ll go straight.
As for the love interest, it would still be Gwen Stacy, just to differentiate from the Raimi trilogy a little bit. The only thing I would change is that Gwen DOESN’T know Peter is Spider-Man, but they’re still in a relationship. After Captain Stacy gets killed in the first movie, she would blame Spidey for it, like in the comics. Gwen would later put the pieces together and realize that Peter is Spider-Man, in the second movie. She wouldn’t talk to him for a while, then he’d tell her the truth about what happened the night her dad died. Eventually, Gwen gets over it and they get back together. Unfortunately, she would later get killed by the Goblin in the third movie, but I’ll get more into that later in this article.
The Lizard would still be the villain in the first film. I wouldn’t really change much about Dr. Connors from Webb’s TASM1, except he would be Peter’s professor in college and I’d include more about his personal life (ie: his family). That’d make him a more sympathetic villain and the audience would actually feel sorry for him, instead of thinking he’s a dick for trying to turn everyone into lizards. Connors’ transformation into the Lizard would also be a more gradual process; it would take at least a few days, not a few hours, like in TASM1 (I REALLY hated how he turned into the Lizard so fast). And he’d have a snout. His flat face looked stupid. I know they were going for a more “realistic” look for Lizzie, but then why’d he have a tail? Adding the snout wouldn’t be going TOO far. At the end of the movie, Captain Stacy would get killed while saving Billy Connors (Curt’s son) from the Lizard. Dr. Connors would then be placed in Ravencroft.
The second film would feature Electro and Rhino as the villains. Not all the villains would be connected to Oscorp. The Rhino would just be a man in a suit (Soviet-made), similar to the Ultimate Spidey one. He’d just have a quick battle at the beginning of the movie, and Electro would be the main villain. While the Rhino is not connected to Oscorp in any way, he’d be placed in Ravencroft (which is owned by Oscorp) after his battle with Spidey. He would be tested on with different treatments/cures, which would later be used on Norman Osborn. On the other hand, Max Dillon actually would be an Oscorp employee. Electro’s origin would be the same as it is in TASM2, except Oscorp would erase his memory (like Bucky in Cap2), and he’d just be a “hitman for hire” sort of thing. I also really liked how they made Electro blue, but I’d make his skin more transparent and have it be a bit more white/silver-ish. His bones, veins, internal organs, brain, and everything else would be somewhat visible through his skin. He’d look more frightening that way. The final battle between Spidey and Electro would be similar to the one from the “Spider-Man: The New Animated Series” TV show from 2003, where Neil Patrick Harris voiced Spidey.
The third movie would have the Goblin. Norman Osborn would be the guy behind everything, sort of like the “Big Man” from the Spectacular Spidey cartoon. He’d be seen by the public as a good guy trying to help the city, but no one would know who he really is. Now, for Oscorp and Norman’s illness – I’d keep that part the same. I really liked how Oscorp’s top priority was saving Norman’s life, but I would’ve done it a little differently. This is where the cross-species stuff comes in. The Goblin formula would be a combination of the Lizard + Electro + Rhino + spider venom. The “green” part and the ability to re-grow limbs comes from the Lizard, the ability to shoot electric shocks from his fingers (like in the comics) comes from Electro, and the super strength and horns on his head (like Gobbie from the Ultimate SM comics) comes from Rhino. He’d be a hybrid of all three villains. Norman would actually TRANSFORM into the Goblin, like in the Ultimate Spidey comics. He’d be a power-hungry “maniac.” He would also get some sort of suit/armor and a glider. He could also have a much larger arsenal of weapons and gadgets, which might include Vulture’s wings, Doc Ock’s tentacles, Mysterio’s “smoke and mirrors,” and so on. I think it’d be cool if Goblin had all those other stuff. I mean, imagine seeing Goblin with Doc Ock’s arms or Vulture’s wings attached to him. That’d be freakin’ sick!! Then he’d die pretty much the same way he did in Raimi’s SM1 (2002).
As for the death of Gwen, it would happen at the end of the second act of the third movie. It would pretty much be the same thing that I said in my other article, which you can see here:
www.sevenwebheads.com/the-death-of-gwen-stacy-how-it-should-happen-no-spoilers
After her death, Peter would permanently quit being Spider-Man, since he’s putting all of his loved ones in danger because of it. It would play out sort of like the end of “Spider-Man: TNAS” (2003). Then, MJ would be introduced at the very end of the third movie, the same way she was introduced in the ASM comics and the Spectacular Spidey cartoon series. And maybe Peter would become Spider-Man again in a future sequel, which would also be a good time to introduce the symbiote…
For the suit, I would really like to see something similar to the one designed by Alex Ross. I’ve always loved that costume. Don’t get me wrong, I love the classic design too, but the Ross one is just beautiful. I like the red and black, instead of the blue, too. The thing is, in TASM 1 and 2, the blue on the costume is a little too bright for my taste. I’d like it better if it was a much darker blue, otherwise, it looks too goofy. The blue on the SM2 (2004) suit was perfect. It was almost black, but not quite.
So basically, the first movie would have Spidey’s origin, the Lizard, and Captain Stacy’s death. The second would have Electro, Rhino, Gwen finding out Peter’s secret, and the introduction of the Goblin at the end. And the third would have Goblin, Gwen’s death, Peter giving up being Spider-Man, and the introduction of MJ at the very end, which could lead to a fourth movie, but I’ll leave that for another article. MOST IMPORTANTLY: each movie would be self-contained, instead of just being a preview for the next one.
Thanks for reading,
Henry
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