Spider-Man was released all the way back in 2002 and while
X-Men arrived in theaters a couple of years beforehand, Sam Raimi's movie still deserves credit for bringing superheroes to the big screen and helping kicking off an era which has now culminated in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The movie definitely feels dated eighteen years later but it also has something of a timeless quality to it that ensures
Spider-Man will go down as a classic.
Now, we've unearthed some concept art from the movie which shows just how different it might have been. From vastly different takes on the web-slinger's suit to mechanical web-shooters which were clearly considered before Raimi went down the organic route, there are some amazing designs to delve into here with the highlight being comic accurate versions of the Green Goblin.
That iconic villain could have looked a lot different in Spider-Man and a female version (
Norma Osborn?!) was even considered once upon a time. To check out this spectacular concept art, all you guys need to do is click on the "View List"/"Next" button below to take a look through the gallery!
This suit is a lot more textured and both the spider symbol and see-through eyes are a cool touch but the latter could have run the risk of too easily revealing Peter Parker's secret identity.
This is an awesome shot of the web-slinger clearly being pursued by the police and there are quite a few stylistic choices here which might have looked better than what ended up on screen.
This is a classic shot of Spidey and one it would have been great to see in the movie itself. Unfortunately, this would have been an extremely expensive sequence to shoot back in the 2002s.
Marvel Studios has now given Spider-Man a red and black costume but it was actually Raimi who first considered following the early comic books by using that colour scheme for the web-slinger.
This is classic Spider-Man and those eyes are arguably quite a bit cooler than the smaller versions which ended up being used in the film itself (which many fans argued were actually too small).
Was Spidey going to glow in the dark? This artwork may have been used just to distinguish between where the red and blue/black would be but it makes for a cool piece of imagery regardless.
This is a wonderfully atmospheric shot of Spidey leaping into action and one it would have been great to see, especially as it emphasises just how frightening the hero is capable of being.
While you'd think that the movies would just follow the comic books in terms of how Spider-Man's chest symbol is portrayed, it's constantly being redesigned which is something we see here.
The decision was made to give Peter Parker organic webshooters in
Spider-Man, an idea the comic books quickly decided to imitate. It was a little creepy, sure, but it did work in this particular world.
Mechanical web-shooters were considered but clearly thought to be too far-fetched back in the early 2000s. However, it's now 2020 and people still aren't able to swing around with them!
This boasts a real homemade feel to it and it would have been no bad thing for
Spider-Man to devote a few minutes of screentime to Peter Parker sitting down and creating these.
This looks great and definitely would have been a design that worked on the big screen. The way it fits into the design of the rest of Spidey's costume is very clever and a nice little touch.
With the Green Goblin in hot pursuit, Spider-Man leaps through the skies of New York City and avoids what clearly would have been a deadly Pumpkin Bomb last from the nefarious villain.
This is a great action shot but look closely and you'll notice the Green Goblin's trademark satchel and a costume which definitely appears to pay a little more attention to the comic books.
This Green Goblin is near enough 100% comic faithful and it's strange that while Sony decided an accurate Spider-Man suit was fine, this villain had to undergo some pretty drastic changes!
Rumour has it that Willem Dafoe wasn't keen on the comic accurate mask that was created for Spider-Man, hence why the decision was made to make some drastic changes to the character.
A closer look at the shot above, it would have been amazing to see a mask like this in a live-action setting and something you have to hope Marvel Studios will commit to in the near future.
This is obviously more in line with what we saw in the finished product and it does work, even if it isn't hard to see why many fans at the time decided to compare the villain to a Power Ranger!
It's surprising what a difference a little purple can make and it would have been nice to see this included, even if it was just a way to make most of us comic book fans a little happier!
The mask Norman Osborn wore in Spider-Man was a solid helmet but here we see that an earlier design would have essentially opened up to allow the actor to show his face while suited up.
Looking at these designs, it's easy to see how Sony ultimately landed on the version we saw on screen. However, there's a lot here which is definitely better than the finished product.
This may look weird on the surface but it definitely ties into the idea that Norman's mask was part of a collection he had in his home. It's also undeniably frightening!
This was obviously meant to take the Green Goblin in a vastly more realistic direction but it simply doesn't work (even if the goggles and ears are meant to remind us of the comic book version).
This is a little better but still not what comic book fans would want to see on screen. It's just shocking that Sony Pictures didn't learn their lesson when it came to
The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
The glider and pumpkin bombs may be present but this looks far too normal and nit someone fans would have been excited to see square off with Spider-Man during his big screen debut.
This is definitely more like it even if it does seem to be a weird mashup of different ideas. Still, something like this probably wouldn't have ended up looking horrible in a live-action setting!
This looks very 90s inspired and this Green Goblin arguably wouldn't look out of place in a movie like
Blade! Still, taking Norman down that horror route wouldn't have been the worst move.
Was Norman meant to have been left scarred by his exposure to the Goblin serum? That doesn't look much like a mask and it would have been a clever way to justify his hideous appearance!
This is, of course, meant to be the chamber where Norman was exposed to the formula which drove him insane and the sequence where he breaks out remains a memorable part of this movie.
We can't really fault
Spider-Man's Goblin Glider and here we get to see some of the work that went into making that a reality as Oscorp's scientists make a few finishing touches.
So, yeah, this is a very quirky design and one which comic book fans definitely wouldn't have appreciated seeing on screen. Simply put, it's too "realistic" and just not overly exciting.
Again, this is all well and good but not exactly the Green Goblin we know and love to hate from the comic books. That Goblin design is interesting, though, and definitely unique.
Again, the costume doesn't work but the glider does (in some ways) and elements of it definitely appear to have found their way into the finished product.
This is terrifying and an appearance which would have given the Green Goblin a drastically different appearance in the movie. However, it might have been a tad too frightening for younger viewers.
This is awesome, though, and given Raimi's horror background, it's a great shame that the filmmaker decided against going down this route and instead went for a slightly more generic armour.
We know that Sam Raimi was going to give us a female Vulture and it seems he considered a female Green Goblin at one point as well! That costume is...well, pretty damn revealing!