Far From Home MCU Spider-Man is very, very inaccurate

[Yowza]

I agree:
I don't see the MCU Spiderman as the same character I remember reading in the comics. Marvel may be able to do a Spiderman and Friends thing similar to the cartoon show which would sort of go with the tone here I think especially with the Fox acquisition but said character still feels different.

At Some Point:
I want a mid-30's married Spider-Man at some point going with the actual classic origin. Where does this character end up when of if he reaches 60? I'm still curious. Peter Parker dealing with life is always the dramatic counterpoint to the friendly neighborhood web slinging.

Misc.:
I'd edit initial post in point by point breakdown with numbering or asterisk (*) next to with perhaps an underlined bolded header. The edit feature can be used at any time especially if not changing the content of message.

That being said, I think a reactionary topic thread is great from time time as most comments around here get passed over amongst many others. A topic header warrants responses to a given reaction hence the reason I disagree about simply posting in a "General Discussion" thread at all times.

 

[Stormborn]

I've never been a big fan of Spider Man...

Yeah, I could kind of tell you weren't as invested. Personally Spider-Man's maybe my favourite Marvel hero (it's a close call between him and Thor) so I was a bit gutted the MCU dropped the ball after they finally got the rights.

I don't think the MCU Spidey's past saving but I hope we get a Ragnarok style soft-reboot from a writing team that understands Peter Parker. Hell, they should bring in the Spider-Verse or Spider-Man PS4 writers if they need to.

I proudly own a collected edition of the Birth of Venom comic - kind of taking the idea of someone being their own worst enemy to the extreme, if the MCU waits a few more years they can redo that story, and if they do it right it'll be great.

I don't know if we'll be seeing Venom in the MCU any time soon, considering Sony have kicked off a Venom solo series and - to my surprise - it didn't bomb.

Norman Osborn's the villain I want to see most. I'd love to see an Ultimate style take on the character in a solo movie

Spoiler

I'd prefer the Ultimate style monstrous transformation to the 616 style halloween mask. More importantly though, I love the dynamic of the Ultimate Goblin. They tie in his transformation to a Nick Fury funded attempt to replicate the Super Soldier Serum, an accident at his lab that gives Peter his powers and then an attempt to recreate it when he discovers Peter's identity. He end up a huge physical threat with an insane "I created you, I own you" attitude towards Peter:

followed by a Dark Reign story involving other Avengers.

I'll get around to the Spider Verse one day, but I'm in no rush.

The film's a bit of a love letter to long time Spidey fans so you might not be as into it as some. All the same, I highly recommend it.

 

[Rorschach2012]

The first two Spider-Man movies are still the best. By a lot IMO.

 

[JOE]

What was Spider-Man doing before Stark recruited him? He was a street-level hero focused on keeping NYC safe.

I don't see the problem. The core Spidey is still there. How many times do we need to see Tobey's version? He was rebooted for the second time for a reason folks.

 

[MahvelBaby!]

It's called adaptation. It's been done plenty of times before and it will be done many times from now.

Gotta switch things up.

 

[Yowza]

I'd like to see a Spider-Man 2099 movie at some point. They could even do it in the year 2099. Some people here might still be around then?

 

[Vic Ryan]

In the comics, Spidey is a street-level hero focused on keeping NYC safe. In the MCU, Spidey is being recruited by Nick Fury for a covert, international mission. In the comics, Spidey is very different from other heroes in the way that he had to make his own suit and web shooters. In the MCU, Tony Stark gives him a "multi- million dollar" super-suit, complete with a parachute, an A.I., over 400 web shooter settings, a surveillance drone, and an instant-kill mode. In the comics, Uncle Ben's death is an INTEGRAL part of what inspires Peter to use his powers for good, even when the consequences outweigh the benefits. In the MCU, one of Peter's biggest motivations for helping people is to impress Tony Stark and earn an Avengers membership. In the comics, Spider-Man is very misunderstood by the public, the majority of which believe he's a menace. In the MCU, Spider-Man is a local celebrity, making appearances at fundraisers and being the subject of school-wide admiration. In the comics, anything that can go wrong for Peter does go wrong, and he often pays the price as Peter Parker for his actions as Spider-Man, even when his actions are well-meaning. In the MCU, Peter gets his suit back, the bodega is rebuilt, no one figures out his secret identity when he shows up at the Washington monument during Peter's apparent absence, and there's no consequence for Ned knowing his identity. In the comics, Flash Thompson is a popular jock that makes fun of Peter's academic interests. In the MCU, Flash has all the same academic interests as Peter, and their classmates seemingly prefer Peter much more than Flash. In the comics, it takes May a while to grieve her longtime husband's untimely death. In the MCU, May has many suiters, and even though her longtime husband only died a few months ago, we see her casually flirting with Tony Stark, a waiter, and seemingly less casually flirting with Happy Hogan. In the comics, Mary Jane "MJ" Watson, a girl who deals with a rough home life and masks it as being a party girl, is the great love of Peter Parker, with their connection further deepening after she learns Peter's secret. In the MCU, Michelle "MJ" Jones has no comic counterpart, as she and Mary Jane Watson have completely different personalities/interests, and the only thing they have in common are their nicknames and their romantic connection to Peter Parker. In the comics, one of the most iconic aspects of Spidey is is non-stop wit, quips, and one-liners he makes when he's nervous. In the MCU, though he does talk a lot when he's nervous, we haven't seen much quipping or one-liners from him yet. In the comics, Ned Leeds is a reporter for the Daily Bugle, whereas Ganke Lee, Miles Morales' best friend, shares the same attributes and appearance as the film version of Ned Leeds. In the MCU, Ganke Lee is just like his comics counterpart except for his name being changed to Ned Leeds and his best friend being changed to Peter Parker. In the comics, Liz Allen and Adrian Toomes are unrelated. In the MCU, Liz Allen is the daughter of Adrian Toomes. In the comics, Peter and May live in a house Forrest Hills. In the MCU, Peter and May live in an apartment building. In the comics, Peter refers to May as "Aunt May". In the MCU, Peter refers to May as "May". In the comics, Jackson Brice is never The Shocker. In the MCU, Jackson Brice is the very first Shocker.

To be honest, this issue has been flogged over and over already. No offence.
I dont care too much for the changes personally. Some of your arguments aren't exactly correct as well but this post is just too long and i'm too lazy to begin a counter argument lol

That being said, PS4 Spider-Man >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> MCU Spider-Man

 

[Vic Ryan]

It's called adaptation. It's been done plenty of times before and it will be done many times from now.

Gotta switch things up.

Thank you!

 

[spideyfan77]

Yeah spidey is my favourite character ever.
The MCU is incredible but its really weird how I love the MCU and hate spidey.

He is literally my least favourite character in both civil war and infinity war. He has the worst solo movie. I kinda wish he wasnt in infinity war or endgame or civil war as those movies would have been much better without him. I like cap, iron man, thor, hulk, guardians, widow, black panther, doctor strange, and freaking hawkeye more than spidey. It feels very weird honestly but I still absolutely love infinity war.

My personal favourite incarnations not including comics:

1) Spectacular Spider-Man tv show
2) Spider-Man PS4 (very close to being number 1)

3) The Amazing Spider-Man movies (yeah go ahead and say “your dumb as ****”)
4) Spider-Man 90’s Animated Series
5) Into the Spider-Verse (only seen it once so far and it was great....could go up)



6) Raimi films
7) MCU films

The spacing represents that the top two wont be touched and that the bottom two are by far the worst.

 

[Gothamsknight]

The first two Spider-Man movies are still the best. By a lot IMO.

This! Raimi NAILED the character better than any other director so far.

 

[Chris B]

For the most part, I really haven't had a huge issue with how Spider-Man has been portrayed in the MCU thus far. There are a few things I would tweak such as emphasizing the everyman nature of the character more, showing the lasting influence of Uncle Ben and not having the suit being laden with so much technology (I really want the whole AI angle to be dropped at the very least) but I've been fine with their take for the most part. Not to mention those are things I feel that the sequels can start to address.

The whole mentor-mentee relationship with Tony Stark has never really bothered me that much, especially as I think Homecoming ended things on a note where Peter can start become more independent. Not to mention that Stark probably will be gone post-Endgame via death or retirement.

With the exception of Aunt May, I do share a few of the complaints about the supporting cast. Zendaya really should've been Mary Jane and Tony Revolori is just miscast as Flash to me. I'm fine with that character being a preppy rich kid instead of a jock, but I just can't buy Revolori as someone who could bully Tom Holland's Peter Parker even pre-spider bite. I've don't really have a strong opinion about Ned one way or another though I certainly get why people were confused as to why they basically co-opted Ganke from Miles. I probably would've used Randy Robertson or even have cast Revolori here instead of as Flash, but I don't have an issue with that character as is.

 

[GuestStar2004]

• In the comics humour is a huge part of the Spidey side of the character, he quips more than any other hero, sometimes as a coping mechanism in extreme danger, sometimes to mess with the villain's head and sometimes just for fun. In the MCU there a bunch of characters that quip non-stop but somehow Spidey isn't one of them.

Spidey has a different kind of Humour in the MCU, when he is in a team movie its more naive humor to differentiate him from the grown-ups and when its in his solo (or at least judging by homecoming) he is abit closer to having that witt, but there is still this naivety round him because obviously, he is a kid.

When i think of MCU spidey i have this image of him in a new suit each movie going woah! to each new toy selling gadget he finds and learning to use them while falling on his butt, because its funny

 

[Limonade]

I feel none of the adaptations have followed the comics strictly... like at all.

Which is fine. If you want the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko version just protect your comic book copy and leave it at that. I believe the only way we'll see a true 1 for 1 version is if Marvel puts money into bringing the classic Spider-man line of comics into one of those motion comics as seen in Superman: Red Son

PS4 got some of it right while bending the lore a bit to fit the gameplay and update the feel to modern tastes.

I feel that the MCU is the furthest away from the material. But I see the MCU, as a whole, is not at all representative of the ol' 616 universe... like at all... so the problems I have with it are relatively inconsequential since MCU Iron Man, Cap, Hulk, Thor, Ant-man, BP, Captain Marvel, etc are not at all a direct ripping of the comics.

And after 10 years of this, I've gotten use to the customized approach that Feige has had to work with and make fit with the limits, constraints, and ongoing development of the real life film-industry.

So yeah cut MCU Spidey some slack here and not try to fit him in a fanatical box--where it might actually hurt further development if they kept rehashing the same material over and over again with a fickle American and International audience; Who are already over the retelling of origins and stories done twice now in the big screen.

 

[GuestStar2004]

MCU spider-man is their version of Spider-man. its not comic spidey, its MCU spidey. like any comic book movies, its an alternative adaptation.

 

[shinlyle]

This! Raimi NAILED the character better than any other director so far.

Spider-Man 2 is the best...next to Spider-Verse, which takes the crown for me. As for live action, Spider-Man 2, for sure.

That being said, I still love the MCU version of Spider-Man. It' s a lot of Ultimate Spider-Man with a dash of MCU style thrown in. The ONLY aspects I feel need to improve in FFH are:

1)- Less reliance on tech. He's not Iron man. I thought the suits powers were fairly limited. It didn't make him stronger, and it really didn't allot him much, but they used it as a crutch for Peter. Also, despite my love for Karen, delete her. Peter doesn't need an AI. From the preview, it looks like there isn't any Karen, or at least, not a lot of her.

2)- FLASH. He is the worst version of Flash to ever exist in any way whatsoever. I couldn't see this preppy lil' facebook bully ever becoming Agent Venom, enlisting for the military, or even being a physical threat for Peter Parker. When he told Peter "You're dead', I chuckled. What's he going to do? Internet him to death? Yeesh.

3)- SPIDEY-GROWTH! In Infinity War, Peter catches Cull Obsidian's hook/wrecking ball thing BAREHANDED and quips to Tony without working up a sweat! THAT was awesome! I think the Russos GET Spidey better than the Homecoming peeps did! I loved watching Peter OWN Falcon and Bucky and hold his own against Cap. Let's see some villain fodder! Throw in Boomerang or someone silly so Peter can just humiliate them in the opening credits, showing what he's learned! I would be totally down for that, since we will have been Spider-Man for a year and some change, at this point.

4)- UNCLE. FREAKIN". BEN. He doesn't need to make an appearance, but we need to acknowledge he was there, that he was important to Peter, and WHY. A conversation with Fury would be adequate. Just something where he elaborates on what he began to say to Tony in Civil War. Also, looking at the suitcase, it looks like we may get something.

5)- The Fantastic Four. No reason...I just want a Spidey/Human Torch scene. Please. heck, give us a scene where he breaks into th Baxter Building and attempts to join the FF ala Amazing Spider-Man #1. I'm cool with that.

 

[ironwez20]

I agree. Flash is awful. Why cast a scrawny short kid who looks like he’d lose to peter Parker without the powers is beyond me. If that kid ever said anything to me like that I’d laugh and push him to the side.

Don’t like Ned ganke. Why can’t you just do harry? Yea I know he’s been done but come on. Why not the traditional cast?

I think what bothers me the most is the school. The science school itself. It takes away the outcast side of peter. If everyone is a genius then peter is amount people like him and doesn’t stand out.

I hate the tech as well. It defeats the purpose that Spider-Man should learn from his mistakes and he never gets help even tho he’s in over his head. I don’t know. Just me I suppose

 

[JOE]

It's more about verbal than physical bullying, as todays kids usually are. Nobody gets stuffed in lockers or trash cans in 2019.

 

[UltimateWebhead]

If they were tired of Harry there's always Ned Leeds or Randy Robertson. Both good choices and you know they're actually characters in Peter Parker's canon.

I get the whole abuse is verbal and not physical anymore idea however...physical abuse still exists.

They don't want to go that direction, that's fine, but where was this verbal abuse? I didn't see it. At no time did I feel like Peter was being burdened by Flash. All he did was make some snarky comments and give Peter a nickname--one that no one else called Peter btw. If anything anytime Flash was making comments the other characters were either rolling their eyes at him or not even responding to his remarks. And Flash was upstaged by Peter multiple times. Imo this is a poor adaptation of Flash.

 

[ironwez20]

It's more about verbal than physical bullying, as todays kids usually are. Nobody gets stuffed in lockers or trash cans in 2019.

But they are still fights. If someone smaller than you said crap about you then it’d likely be behind a computer and not in person since they would fear getting beat up.

 

[ironwez20]

If they were tired of Harry there's always Ned Leeds or Randy Robertson. Both good choices and you know they're actually characters in Peter Parker's canon.

I get the whole abuse is verbal and not physical anymore idea however...physical abuse still exists.

They don't want to go that direction, that's fine, but where was this verbal abuse? I didn't see it. At no time did I feel like Peter was being burdened by Flash. All he did was make some snarky comments and give Peter a nickname--one that no one else called Peter btw. If anything anytime Flash was making comments the other characters were either rolling their eyes at him or not even responding to his remarks. And Flash was upstaged by Peter multiple times. Imo this is a poor adaptation of Flash.

Right? He just seemed like some nerdy kid who talks big but if you got in his face he’d freeze up. Flash is supposed to be the winner and the guy people could see as Spider-Man more than peter.

 

[Leo Zelinsky]

MCU Spider-Man is the best imo. I hate the other movies.

 

[GuestStar2004]

Right? He just seemed like some nerdy kid who talks big but if you got in his face he’d freeze up. Flash is supposed to be the winner and the guy people could see as Spider-Man more than peter.

Well thats why he is comedy relief.

 

[shinlyle]

Right? He just seemed like some nerdy kid who talks big but if you got in his face he’d freeze up. Flash is supposed to be the winner and the guy people could see as Spider-Man more than peter.

Also, by losing the physically imposing bully he can be, the ladies man and football star who has it all, we lose out on the TRUE depth of Flash Thompson. The guy who ended up getting knocked out by Peter, becoming his "fre-nemy" of sorts, and then becoming one of his best friends and a true stand-up guy based on Spider-Man's example.

Heck, Flash was given SO MUCH MORE in the first Amazing Spider-Man film than he did here. Flash going up to Parker and willing to get a punch to the face to make him feel better...and actually turning a corner. Also, I know this comes up a lot, but look at The Spectacular Spider-man if you want to see the best way to do Flash Thompson! He has a moral compass that just needs a little fine-tuning, and Spidey's example does that.

I also notice that no one is rushing in an defending this Flash as their favorite, or even a necessary character.

 

[TheWallCrawler]

Using his gifts responsibly to help people doesn't seem to be MCU Peter's guiding motivation, instead he obsesses over proving himself in Civil War/Homecoming and he joins Team Stark without even questioning what the Civil War is over.

Exactly!

In Peter's first scene he pays lip-service to the With Great Power-lesson, but then he proceeds with going to Germany without proper knowledge of why he's there and what he's doing ("nobody has actually told me why I'm in Germany. Or what I'm doing"). And not only that he stops mid-battle to shoot a v-log. He is being really irresponsible. Can anyone say that this is comicbook accurate or even respectful of what the core idea in Peter Parker's character is? I hear a lot that MCU Peter is great because he's relatable, but there are many ways to be relatable and this is the wrong approach.

The whole being hyped about superhero stuff-angle in itself isn't a totally rotten idea. It's their execution that really makes it bad. Simply commenting that something is awesome or cool every time isn't charming. It wouldn't be quite as bad if he had some actual commentary to say. Some clever dialogue/joke in reference to the thing that is "awesome". Wouldn't that be fun? There are rare "quips" but they are so obviously lazy, insincere and probably studio mandated. ("The illegal weapons deal ferry was at 10:30. You missed it".)

And finally the scene where Peter gets out of the heavy rubble: Peter's arc flat out doesn't make sense. He realizes the true value of himself without Tony's fancy suit, and this gives him the strength to prevail. But even without the suit he has amazing superpowers. Super strength, super agility, senses dialed up to 11, not to mention he is academically brilliant for his age. Even if he is insecure in himself as Peter Parker, it should be obvious that the bulk of his value as Spider-man is already there without the suit

The real message of "Spider-man always gets up" is inspiration for people who are beaten by life and can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. If you get up and keep fighting, there's a good chance that someday you will arrive to a brighter tomorrow

end of rant.

 

[Dark Raven]

I agree. Flash is awful. Why cast a scrawny short kid who looks like he’d lose to peter Parker without the powers is beyond me. If that kid ever said anything to me like that I’d laugh and push him to the side.

Don’t like Ned ganke. Why can’t you just do harry? Yea I know he’s been done but come on. Why not the traditional cast?

I think what bothers me the most is the school. The science school itself. It takes away the outcast side of peter. If everyone is a genius then peter is amount people like him and doesn’t stand out.

I hate the tech as well. It defeats the purpose that Spider-Man should learn from his mistakes and he never gets help even tho he’s in over his head. I don’t know. Just me I suppose

If they were tired of Harry there's always Ned Leeds or Randy Robertson. Both good choices and you know they're actually characters in Peter Parker's canon.

I get the whole abuse is verbal and not physical anymore idea however...physical abuse still exists.

They don't want to go that direction, that's fine, but where was this verbal abuse? I didn't see it. At no time did I feel like Peter was being burdened by Flash. All he did was make some snarky comments and give Peter a nickname--one that no one else called Peter btw. If anything anytime Flash was making comments the other characters were either rolling their eyes at him or not even responding to his remarks. And Flash was upstaged by Peter multiple times. Imo this is a poor adaptation of Flash.

Also, by losing the physically imposing bully he can be, the ladies man and football star who has it all, we lose out on the TRUE depth of Flash Thompson. The guy who ended up getting knocked out by Peter, becoming his "fre-nemy" of sorts, and then becoming one of his best friends and a true stand-up guy based on Spider-Man's example.

Heck, Flash was given SO MUCH MORE in the first Amazing Spider-Man film than he did here. Flash going up to Parker and willing to get a punch to the face to make him feel better...and actually turning a corner. Also, I know this comes up a lot, but look at The Spectacular Spider-man if you want to see the best way to do Flash Thompson! He has a moral compass that just needs a little fine-tuning, and Spidey's example does that.

I also notice that no one is rushing in an defending this Flash as their favorite, or even a necessary character.

Agree about all of the above about Flash. He is terribly miscast and a joke.

Since Peter was already a techie geek in a school full of science geeks, it makes little difference even with Flash bullying Peter on social media. What's he going to call him? A geek or nerd who is a loser? Flash is even more of one than Peter and even looks it.

If the comic book Flash was just as tech savvy (and he doesn't even need to be), he could use social media to his advantage to bully Peter even more effectively. First off, his life would look even more perfect and put together than Peter's, because you can create the perfect life for yourself on Instagram. It would make it look like he has everything going for him while Peter has nothing.

And second, social media isn't completely divorced from real life. If Flash really is getting all the girls and having the best life in real life while Peter is a loner and social outcast, then that will rub it in even more. It won't just be something on social media. It would have a very real ring of truth to all of it. And Flash could then say "look at how much of a loser Parker is. You can see it both in real life and on social media." And everyone would believe him.

But Revelori's Flash doesn't look like he has such a fantastic life on social media. He looks like he'd have even more geeky pursuits than Peter and can only hide behind a computer. He seems more like a joke that others would laugh at and not take seriously.

In a school populated by science nerds, Peter is not going to exactly stand out as having too geeky pursuits and being an outcast, because everyone else is like that.

If they really wanted Revelori as some kind of internet bully, they should've had him as a different character alongside classic Flash. They could even have made them strange bedfellows and had them team up to torment Peter. Then Peter would've had to put up with a physical bully in real life who has everything going for him and someone else who constantly trolls him on social media about how the real Flash beats him up and makes his life hell.