The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) was met with mixed reactions and reviews when it was first released. Majority of the complaints were in regards to the narrative and how generic The Lizard turned out to be. I myself agree with these complaints. There were other complaints that Andrew Garfield's portrayal of Peter was incorrect and not like the Peter from the comics and that he came across selfish. This however is what I liked about The Amazing Spider-Man and what I think will be an important part of TASM 2. In this article I will discuss Peter's transformation from boy to man and how it will affect the sequel.
Spider-Boy :
Peter in the The Amazing Spider-Man made plenty of selfish mistakes, which cost him dearly. In the comics Peter's uncle is killed and as a result Peter took on the mantle of Spider-Man and becomes a hero. While this works in the comics this does not work in real life from my perspective. We all, at some point in our lives have been selfish. We make mistakes because that is how we learn and sometimes we need to make a few before we can change as an individual. Peter in The Amazing Spider-Man does take up the mantle of being Spider-Man but still has not understood his responsibility as a hero. That is fantastic character development in my eyes because like I said, just because something bad has affected us in our lives does not mean we are going to turn around and save the world. We are human and everyone reacts in different ways. I remember when my grandmother passed away, I was so angry because I felt she had left me. My emotions were all over the place and eventually I began to feel sorry for myself that she was no longer part of my life. It was until a couple of years later that I could let go of that feeling and could move on.
In the original comics, I personally thought it was very one-dimensional for Peter to decide to start fighting crime because of his Uncle. I know that the point of Spider-Man is that he becomes Spider-Man because of the guilt he feels but in my view, I think in real life that is not necessarily what would happen. I think if someone is given power suddenly it can go to their heads exceptionally quickly ( I work in an office happens all the time). They would go out and most likely seek revenge on the person responsible. That is why I like TASM's interpretation of Peter. I feel like his reaction was real and believable to become Spider-Man out of vengeance. It's not until later when Peter goes to the Stacey's, Cpt. Stacey points out his naive views of what it means to help someone. It is not until Peter saves the boy not the bridge that the skeleton of Spider-Man starts to form. I say skeleton because that is what TASM's Spider-Man is. TASM2 will be the fleshing out of the character and in TASM 3 we will hopefully have a fully fledged Spider-Man !
Spider-Man :
Now I know there is controversy over Peter still seeing Gwen after Captain Stacey had specifically said to Peter "leave Gwen out of it" . This again feeds into the fact that Peter still needs time to grow up with the responsibilities he has ben given. Again in my opinion, this feels more natural because it is very easy to say that you will keep a promise, it's another thing to actual honour it. Peter will most likely find out the hard way in TASM2 IF Gwen dies. That is the point of Spider-Man, he is always learning something new and being taught valuable lessons. The core of Spider-Man's relatability is not because of the way he looks or acts but by the lessons he learns. I relate to this because I have made some stupid mistakes in my life and have had to learn the hard way but I am better for it. This is hopefully what they will try to get across in TASM 2 and if so, I think this will bring some fantastic character development with it. Making TASM3 that much more exciting because we will see how Peter has developed after being given a reality slap in TASM2.
Before I finish, I would just like to say that I understand that some people want this Peter to be as comic accurate as possible but to be fair we have been given that in the comics. There have been countless interpretations of Peter and the big screen is no different. I want something new from the character and I believe Sony will deliver with this film, so I hope it is a film we can all mutually enjoy together ! Let me know what you guys think below ! Also if you loved the TAS 90's Spider-Man show like I did, check out this intro I have put together using footage from TASM 1 and TASM 2.
)
ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.