HERO OF THE WEEK: SPIDER-MAN (Marvel)Real Name: Peter Parker
First Appearance: Amazing Fantasy #15 (August, 1962)
Fight Club Ranking: #2
Featured Fights:
- vs WIZARD & MYSTERIO: Amazing Spider-man Annual #4 (1967)
- vs DOCTOR DORCAS & TIGERSHARK: Marvel Team-Up #14 (Oct 1973)
- vs TRAPSTER: Marvel Team-Up #58 (Jun 1977)
- vs HULK: Marvel Treasury Edition #25 (1980)
- vs JUGGERNAUT: Amazing Spider-man #230 (Jul 1982)
- vs BLACKLASH: Marvel Team-Up #145 (Sep 1984)
- vs TRI-SENTINEL: Amazing Spider-man #329 (Feb 1990)
- vs CARNAGE: Spider-man Unlimited #2 (Aug 1993)
- vs SCORPION: Spectacular Spider-man #215 (Aug 1994)
- vs SHOCKER: Spider-man Adventures #9 (Aug 1995)
- vs MANTIS & JUGGERNAUT: Unlimited Access #1 (Dec 1997)
- vs SINISTER TWELVE: Marvel Knights: Spider-man #11 (Apr 2005)
- vs BLADE: Ultimate Spider-man #95 (Jul 2006)
- vs MAN-APE: Black Panther #18 (Sep 2006)
- vs SECRET AVENGERS: Civil War #3 (Sep 2006)
- vs MODOK: Marvel Adventures: The Avengers #9 (Mar 2007)
- vs THE HAND: New Avengers #27 (Apr 2007)
- vs VENOM: Spider-man Family #2 (Jun 2007)
- vs GOMDULLA: Spider-man Family #3 (Aug 2007)
- vs MIGHTY AVENGERS: New Avengers #36 (Jan 2008)
- vs THE HOOD/DORMAMMU: New Avengers #54 (Aug 2009)
- vs LUKE CAGE/AGAMOTTO: New Avengers #2 (Sep 2010)
It was tempting to talk about how horrendous Inhumans looks, but I'm not sure dodgy wardrobe and over-lit teevee is really significant enough to warrant Hero of the Week honors! Especially not when the world is looking ahead to the theatrical return of Spider-man this Friday, July 7th!
I say "solo", but marketing has made it abundantly clear that Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man will play a significant role in the formative years of the Disney-influenced big screen Spidey.
I can't say I've ever really dwelled on the issue, but it seems like every time the web-slinger's origin is brought to the masses, there are questions about how he gets his iconic costume. Tech whiz Tony Stark comes with conveniences that allow for mechanical web-shooters, and (unnecessarily) emotive mask lenses, but also unravels the boy's own adventure of Peter Parker's burgeoning genius.
Despite the relative minority of Spider-man's years in high school, there's a determined creative influence that insists he's at his best when he's still a kid. The contemporary youth of Spider-man; Homecoming may prove to be one of its most distinctive details. Star Tom Holland reads very young, and the crossover of Disney star Zendaya seems unlike anything big screen Spidey has seen before.
I've always been pretty comfortable with an adult Spider-man, but in the last twelve months I've been reconnecting with the old favourite through various sources, including the Spectacular Spider-man animated series. In its two seasons, the cartoon repurposed classic characters and stories from the series of the same name, through the prism of a high school Peter Parker. A compelling case for having savvy super-villain battles and high school character dramas.
Another point of pleasure has been (re)discovering, and enjoying immensely, issues of Spider-man from 1997-98. For one reason or another, I wasn't looking in the right direction when Howard Mackie and John Romita Jr were working to re-centre the web-slinger around issues that felt classic in essence, but modern in tone. I think the return of Green Goblin and death of Ben Reilly were still the big stories that overshadowed a welcome return to business closer to usual.
As it happens, both examples feature an iconic Spider-man/Peter Parker confronting the shifting sands of the world around him. They also boast Shocker in a major villain role. Which is something they also have in common with Homecoming. Something we might talk about more in HOTW soon.
I'm given the impression that Marvel crossovers will be a big part of a three act development for Holland's Spider-man. I don't need him to join The Avengers any time soon, but I definitely look forward to some web-swinging fun in the style of Marvel Team-Up! [Not to be confused with last week's spotlight return Marvel Two-In-One!]
The mind boggles at the possibilities for sequel team-ups. Now that Marvel has a live-action Daredevil in its pantheon, the desire to see Netflix TV series matter more to the cinematic universe only becomes greater. Even if the pairing of DD's Charlie Cox and Tom Holland skews the chemistry of the old Marvel buddies.
Naturally I'm still thinking about the mounting options for a big screen version of Maximum Carnage, too! With Tom Hardy on board to star in a Venom film, the relevant characters are getting more compelling!
Just think about teaming Hardy & Holland with the likes of Captain America (Chris Evans), TV's Cloak & Dagger, Netflix's Iron Fist, and rumored spin-off star Black Cat! The basic framework may be a tad ramshackle, but a refined big screen version could be a crazy and fun way to give the Spider-man films their own build-up to an Avengers type climax -- and finally give fans the cohesion of properties they've long been seeking! Throw in Morbius and it'd be tough to look away!
Edit: July was supposed to be the month we featured a whole lot of fresh new Spider-man battles, but 2017 has had a way of putting the kibosh on the best of plans. Be sure to check out the featured links at the top of this post, dive into the Secret Issue Index for more, and keep an eye out for future updates!
No comments:
Post a Comment