Spider-Man Homecoming: Why We Need Another Spider-Man Film

Spider-Man has been one of the most portrayed characters in modern-day motion pictures. Here, our own David Hernandez make the case that Spidey's best days at the cinema are still ahead of him.

Why We Need Another Spider-Man Movie

I am writing this article in defense of yet another Spider-Man reboot.  As usual, the world wide web (no pun intended) is already ablaze with condemnation and criticism for a film that has not even been released.

For me, it all started when I was a little kid; Spider-Man was just beginning to invade global pop-culture and the mainstream had never even heard of guys like Iron Man or Hawkeye - they were practically unknown.  After spending a weekend at the local comic book convention, buying poorly conditioned, Silver-Aged issues of our favourite titles (to complete our collections) my friends and I would read our books; hardly communicating to each other as we experienced the legendary exploits of our heroes. Of course, sometimes one of us would yell out in wonder when we discovered something that just had to be shared, like "Holy cow! Hank Pym isn't Ant-Man anymore, he learned how to grow so now he's called Giant-man!"

Personal side note: I always had a strange fascination with what a flibbertigibbet Hank Pym was. "I am Ant-man, but I learned how to grow so call me Giant-man! No, wait a minute, my name is Goliath... um, make that Yellow Jacket, do you like my new suit?"

But I digress.

Back to the reason for this article - The latest Spider-Man movie.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is slated to debut July 7, 2017.  As many of you know, this new Spidey's actual debut was in Captain America: Civil War.  As I stated earlier, some fans have issues with another Spidey reboot so soon.  But I want to help the general audience understand the importance of Spider-Man, (and his alter ego Peter Parker's) presence within the Marvel Universe!  The next two points I plan to make is that Spider-Man makes sense, and Spider-Man makes Cent$. (See what I did there?)

Why Spidey Makes "Cents":

He is one of the most iconic and most recognized characters in the world. From lunchboxes to action-figures and from books to high-end quality statues, The Spider-Man brand is alive and well.  You could pretty much slap his masked face on diapers and dads will cough up the extra seven dollars that it cost over the other brand. (Guilty!)

So of course, Sony and Marvel would want to keep this intellectual property present within the current cinematic universe. Spider-Man makes money.  By inserting him in with Captain America and Iron Man, he immediately validates that this is truly the "Marvel Universe" we all know and love.

Also, one of the greatest achievements of Stan Lee and Marvel was that all of these heroes and villains constantly ran into each other.

New York wasn't just a backdrop, New York IS a Marvel Character!

I would still love to see a movie scene where Peter Parker is running to the subway, passing the Baxter Building and a blind attorney, and then bumps into Old Man Logan, who immediately recognizes the teenager's passing scent! "Marvel Fanboy Gold!"

That is why Marvel needed Sony to let Spider-Man play in their sandbox - he makes money.

Why Spider-Man Just Makes "Sense":

The Marvel world is full of great and powerful, god-like beings as well as some pretty talented agents and strange mutants, but Peter Parker is an enigma; he is a teenage boy caught up in the endless guilt for his Uncle's murder.  The uncle who raised him, who loved him, and no matter his short comings, always made Peter feel special.  (As a child, that spoke volumes to me. Something happens when you read Marvel comic books; Peter Parker affected us in more ways than I knew at that age.  I hungered to be the good guy!  We starved for education, we needed to be smart, just like Peter.  His conscience became our conscience.  You could say that Stan Lee inadvertently became our Jiminy Cricket!  As I meet more and more comic fans around the world, this seems to be a common phenomenon.

That's why Spidey is so important - Peter Parker's influence on the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has the same effect!

Parker looks up to the Avengers as if they were gods. Tony Stark, the scientist / engineer inventor, who's achievements Peter can only hope to emulate one day. And Captain America, the ultimate Hero, and the most honest man Peter Parker will ever meet. A man who helped defeat the Axis in WWII yet walks among us today.

But here is the clincher, in the Civil War comics, while Peter struggles with his inner emotions to decide which hero to follow, the heroes... these greatest of men among men, look to Parker, with his integrity and sense of great responsibility, witnessing the true humanity within all of us; the need to be good. We will always need a Spider-Man.

Let's get deeper into the philosophy of the character, and assume that most of you reading this article are already familiar with the infamous quote: "With great power comes great responsibility."

There is so much more to that statement than most people realize - as that iconic phrase pretty much becomes Peter Parker's reason for existence.  In the original mythology of our hero, we find a fragile, nerdy, little teenager who is constantly intimidated by bulky school bullies and pretty, yet petty girls. Not only has this kid never really known his own parents but he is overly loved-on and spoiled by an adoring Aunt and Uncle.  (In today's world, they would have locked this poor kid away and pumped him up with Ritalin and Prozac.)

It's easy to see why Parker's first thoughts after the discovery of his new-found powers was fame and fortune - He had been a social outcast his entire life.  So he enters the wrestling ring with dreams of appearing on the Ed Sullivan show, just as teens today hope for overnight fame by auditioning on American Idol.  Of course all of those delusions of grandeur come to an abrupt end that night, when his uncle is murdered by a petty thief - the same thief he allowed to slip right past him a few minutes earlier!

So just as Batman before him, Peter must now confront guilt, fear, anger, and hatred all in one moment - and I don't have to quote Master Yoda to let you know where all that leads.  But young Peter Parker handles this situation differently than most of us. He embraces his uncle's words. At that pivotal moment in his life, he does not get dark or gritty like the bi-polar Bruce Wayne. No, in fact he accepts his destiny, realizing that his powers are a gift. A gift that comes with the responsibility of helping those in need and stopping those who would harm others!

And that is what makes sense; we all want to be the savior, to set things right, to stop someone form hurting another.

We can all relate to the meek little person who wants to protect the ones we love. We all would like to be a hero like Peter Parker!

Spider-Man makes spider-sense.

 

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David Hernandez is a Contributor to ComiConverse. Follow him on Twitter: @DavdezHernandez