Will the real Spider-Man please stand up? There is a lot to like about Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man. He is nerdy, he says GIF-able things, he is attractive, he isn’t Tobey Maguire. But he also isn’t Spider-Man – at least, not anymore.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie review: Romantic comedy, superhero edition
The character of Spider-Man was first introduced in Amazing Fantasy #15, in the early 1960s, before being given his own series: The Amazing Spider-Man. As Spider-Man, Peter Parker was a brand new kind of superhero, one who had to struggle alone to navigate his new abilities. And when he wasn’t being Spider-Man, Parker was a poor, nerdy, and tormented teenager.
The problem is, neither Tobey Maguire nor Andrew Garfield represent what Spider-Man stands for, not really, not anymore. Garfield summarised the issue himself last year:
“He represents the everyman, but he represents the underdog and those marginalized who come up against great prejudice which I, as a middle-class straight, white man, don’t really understand so much.
And when Stan Lee first wrote and created this character, the outcast was the computer nerd, was the science nerd, was the guy that couldn’t get the girl. Those guys now run the world. So how much of an outcast is that version of Peter Parker anymore?”
Both Maguire and Garfield would have perfectly fit the role of Spider-Man – if they had played him in the 1960s. But in 2014 they are as far from an underdog as you can get. Spider-Man might have been originally conceived as white, but he is simply a product of the time in which he was created. The fact that he is white is the least important aspect of his character, so why do we cling to it?
The amazing thing about comic books is that nothing is set in stone. You needn’t despair if your favourite characters dies, because chances are they will be brought back to life, or their series will be rebooted, or they will pass their name on to their protégé.
What’s my point? Peter Parker is not the only person to have been Spider-Man over the years.
In the various Spider-Man series, the alias of Spider-Man has been taken up by lots of people who weren’t Peter Parker, including Parker’s clone, and Otto Octavius (yes, this guy). In the Marvel Ultimate Universe (a parallel world of sorts, for non-comic book fans who have made it this far), Peter Parker was recently replaced as Spider-Man by Miles Morales, a half-Latino half-African American teenager.
So what now for ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ franchise?
There are already two confirmed Spider-Man sequels set to follow The Amazing Spider-Man 2, bringing the franchise to a total of four films (and two probable spinoffs). Interestingly, Garfield confirmed last year that he was only signed on for three Spider-Man films, which begs the question: What will happen in The Amazing Spider-Man 4?
This matter has come recently to the fore, as The Amazing Spider-Man 2 producers shot down any chance of a non-Parker Spider-Man appearing on screen. And why? Because changing characters is apparently “the one thing you cannot do, when you have a phenomena that has stood the test of time,” according to producer Avi Arad. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – right?
Wrong. Comic books are known for taking chances and shaking their own foundations. Sure, Peter Parker is safe. But after one Parker-centric trilogy, I don’t need another one. To not even entertain the idea of eventually portraying a different Spider-Man is foolish, and worse, it is poor storytelling. It creates the very real risk that what could be an amazing franchise will quickly go stale. There is a huge wealth of Spider-Man stories out there, but The Amazing Spider-Man producers seem determined to actively ignore them.
What we need is a return to Spider-Man’s roots, and Miles Morales is just the character to do it. He isn’t a black version of Peter Parker, he is his own character with his own reasons for wearing the mask. The Amazing Spider-Man 4 should see Morales take over from Garfield’s Peter Parker. The sharing of a common superhero identity is common place in comic books, but it has not yet been addressed in the film adaptations (although developments in the Captain America franchise indicate that things could be heading that way). Superheroes are always talking about how their identity is more than just one person, and Morales would finally prove that.
Even Garfield is onboard with the idea of Miles taking over from Peter (although that could just be him angling to get out of the franchise). He said:
“Miles Morales was a huge moment in this character’s comic book life. And I do believe that we can do that. It’s something I’m really interested in figuring out; an eloquent way of coexisting, or passing on the torch. I don’t have an answer, but I think it’s actually a really important move. I think it’s a really beautiful and important move.”
We don’t need more Peter Parker. But we do need Spider-Man, a hero who fights for the underdog and values every person. He isn’t a billionaire, or an alien, but a clever guy in a mask attempting to do some good. So why can’t Miles be the one in the suit? The beautiful thing is, anyone can be under the Spider-Man mask. And that is why we love Spider-Man in the first place.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 starring Andrew Garfield is in cinemas now.