Chris Wallace
LET'S DO A HEADCOUNT...
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2001
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It seems to me that everything fans have been complaining about can all be tied to one element-an element which, ironically, fans had been clamoring for for years and one that Raimi didn't even want to incorporate in the first place: Venom.
Peter Parker is a genuinely good guy at heart. He's a man of compassion, integrity and morals. He doesn't drink, smoke, curse, cheat on his woman, or lie except to protect his identity. Now a man of such character really doesn't give a parasitic organism that feeds off of-and magnifies-one's dark emotions, much to work with. So several elements were introduced to bring Peter to this place of deadly sins.
First: Public embrace. We've all come to know & love Spidey as an unappreciated hero. He's villified in the press, held in question by police & generally distrusted by the public as a whole. Now truth be told, I think this concept is much easier to sell in a comic book, where there are plenty of other heroes whose good can outshine his. But in a world where he's the only one, how many lives can you really save before public perception of you starts to turn around. And it's somewhat understandable that this might go to your head, especailly after you'd been denied it for two years while puting your ass on the line every day. So enter first sin: Pride. Something he'd not been given to since the night his uncle died. This also contributed to the rift between him & MJ, as he was far too wrapped up in himself to provide the support she so desperately needed from him. Which brings me to the second element:
Sandman. Peter will never forget the death of his beloved Uncle Ben. Nor should he, as it was the catalyst of his entire crusade, it is arguably the most crucial aspect of his storyline. And yet, it was behind him. For two years he thought that chapter of his life closed. He'd even come clean to Aunt May about his own role in the tragedy. So he'd gotten closure. But then he learned that Marko, not Carradine, was the man who'd pulled the trigger. So in comes second deadly sin, wrath. Peter now struggles with feelings of discontent. Vengeful thoughts, which he also hadn't had since that night.
Next element: Gwen. When you've only had eyes for one female since birth, your attention is not easily swayed from her. But we're all human, all vulnerable. And not many men can turn a blind eye to a woman's attention and constant flirtation. So we get the next sin: Lust. Magnified by the fact that MJ was becoming more distant from him while drawing closer to Harry.
Which brings me to the love triangle. From this we get envy, or jealousy. MJ's betrayal was the final match to the powder keg that turned our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man into such a jerk. Someone who was willing to kill, didn't care about other people's wants, needs or feelings, and danced and pranced around because arrogance was so out of character for him, this was the only way he knew to express his newfound hubris. I can only wonder what the movie would have been like if the only focus had been on progressing the relationship between him & MJ, resolving the Goblin Saga and maybe bringing in Sandman, as just a petty crook that needed to be taken down.
Peter Parker is a genuinely good guy at heart. He's a man of compassion, integrity and morals. He doesn't drink, smoke, curse, cheat on his woman, or lie except to protect his identity. Now a man of such character really doesn't give a parasitic organism that feeds off of-and magnifies-one's dark emotions, much to work with. So several elements were introduced to bring Peter to this place of deadly sins.
First: Public embrace. We've all come to know & love Spidey as an unappreciated hero. He's villified in the press, held in question by police & generally distrusted by the public as a whole. Now truth be told, I think this concept is much easier to sell in a comic book, where there are plenty of other heroes whose good can outshine his. But in a world where he's the only one, how many lives can you really save before public perception of you starts to turn around. And it's somewhat understandable that this might go to your head, especailly after you'd been denied it for two years while puting your ass on the line every day. So enter first sin: Pride. Something he'd not been given to since the night his uncle died. This also contributed to the rift between him & MJ, as he was far too wrapped up in himself to provide the support she so desperately needed from him. Which brings me to the second element:
Sandman. Peter will never forget the death of his beloved Uncle Ben. Nor should he, as it was the catalyst of his entire crusade, it is arguably the most crucial aspect of his storyline. And yet, it was behind him. For two years he thought that chapter of his life closed. He'd even come clean to Aunt May about his own role in the tragedy. So he'd gotten closure. But then he learned that Marko, not Carradine, was the man who'd pulled the trigger. So in comes second deadly sin, wrath. Peter now struggles with feelings of discontent. Vengeful thoughts, which he also hadn't had since that night.
Next element: Gwen. When you've only had eyes for one female since birth, your attention is not easily swayed from her. But we're all human, all vulnerable. And not many men can turn a blind eye to a woman's attention and constant flirtation. So we get the next sin: Lust. Magnified by the fact that MJ was becoming more distant from him while drawing closer to Harry.
Which brings me to the love triangle. From this we get envy, or jealousy. MJ's betrayal was the final match to the powder keg that turned our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man into such a jerk. Someone who was willing to kill, didn't care about other people's wants, needs or feelings, and danced and pranced around because arrogance was so out of character for him, this was the only way he knew to express his newfound hubris. I can only wonder what the movie would have been like if the only focus had been on progressing the relationship between him & MJ, resolving the Goblin Saga and maybe bringing in Sandman, as just a petty crook that needed to be taken down.
