Tag: Spider-Man

  • The Spider-Sense in Infinity War is Cool, But…

    WARNING! INFINITY WAR SPOILERS!

    Okay, so from the moment we saw it in the trailer, we all lost our minds. Peter’s on the bus, and the hairs on his arm stand up. He looks out the window and see’s Ebony Maw’s donut ship hovering over the city. In the distance. Who knows how many miles away. What I’m saying is, while that moment got every Spider-Man fanboy, myself included, dancing with joy, that’s not how his Spider-Sense works!

    Peter’s Spider-Sense is an early warning system for immediate danger. When someone is sneaking up on him, or if he’s about to spin a web to a loose ceiling tile. It doesn’t let him know what’s coming, but it does let him know to watch out or get out of the way. It works in tandem with his reflexes, allowing him to dodge and move at lightning speed, avoiding any sort of damage, and the only time it falters is if Venom is around.

    The Raimi trilogy illustrated the Spider-Sense perfectly in the scene where he fights Flash Thompson. He gets the tingle, and we see a fly, a spitball, and Flash’s fist. Spider-Sense warns him of anything around that could cause potential harm, even if it’s something as small as a fly or a spitball. The thing is, it’s meant to sense things that are dangerous to Peter, and not the rest of the world.

    For instance, in The Amazing Spider-Man, when he’s kissing Gwen on the roof, then his Spider-Sense tingles because Lizard is attacking the bridge. But it’s miles away, across the city, and Peter is in no immediate danger, so it should not have tingled. In that case, if Scorpion or someone is robbing a bank across town at night, Peter’s Spider-Sense would wake him up! Then he’d have to sleep in a tank of water like Daredevil in the ’03 movie!

    In Civil War, we see very subtle references, but it’s demonstrated perfectly. As Ant-Man is about to sneak attack Spidey from Cap’s shield, Spider-Man says “Hey, guys, I think that something-” then gets cut off as Ant-Man attacks. And he cries “Oh God!” when Bucky hurls that sign at him, and chucks it back. That’s because both times, something was directly attacking Peter. His Spider-Sense didn’t tingle when Wanda threw the cars at Tony, or when Vision shot Rhodey down. Because that’s not how it works.

    So, while it was really great to see Spider-Man’s Spider-Sense manifest in a very clear, very cool way in Infinity War, it was not really the most accurate portrayal. That ship was miles away, and no immediate threat to Peter. It didn’t bug me or anything, I’m just being a nerd and pointing things out. Now there is a theory going around that Peter fought off disintegrating so long because his Spider-Sense warned him that it was coming, and while we’ve never seen it work that way either, there’s nothing suggesting that it doesn’t. After all, I’d say turning to dust qualifies as immediate danger! R.I.P. Spidey (sad face emoji).

  • Iron Man is Not a Hero

    WARNING! THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR! YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!

    “You may not be a threat, but you’d better stop pretending to be a hero.”

    -Captain Steve Rogers to Tony Stark, The Avengers, 2012

    Cap called it in The Avengers. Tony Stark is not a hero. And, while he may not have been a threat at that point, he certainly went on to become one. Tony is a billionaire, genius, playboy, philanthropist that got in way over his head and tried to solve problems he was never meant to. Since escaping the cave, Tony made three crucial mistakes that make Iron Man the most tragic Avenger. He revealed his identity, he lost focus of his mission, and he never stopped trying to fix his own mistakes.

    “It is one thing to question the official story and another thing entirely to make wild accusations or insinuate that I’m a superhero […] because that would be outlandish and… fantastic. I-I’m just not the hero type, clearly, with this, uh, laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I’ve made, largely public… The truth is… I am Iron Man.”

    -Tony Stark, Iron Man, 2008

    Tony’s speech at the end of Iron Man reveals all. He stated, clearly, in his own words, that he’s not a hero. He wasn’t trying to hide the fact that he was throwing down with Stane the night before, he was telling the truth! He’s got a long list of character defects that immediately disqualify him from being a superhero, let alone trying to lead a team of them. As per Black Widow’s report in Iron Man 2, where it states that he’s compulsive, prone to self-destructive tendencies, and narcissistic, it then proceeds to say that Tony Stark is not recommended for the Avengers Initiative. In that movie alone, he used the Unibeam to blow up a watermelon in an ill-timed house party where he peed the armor and ended up throwing hands with Rhodey! Not very heroic. The only reason Nick Fury came to Stark in The Avengers is because, as Coulson stated, “This isn’t about personality profiles anymore”, and Loki had made him very desperate. So why keep suiting up? Why put on the armor? Because he told the world who he is, and the pressure to be Iron Man will never go away.

    Because he revealed himself, Tony now has no choice but to be Iron Man. Iron Man 2 is basically one big consequence to that decision. Whiplash came after him because he knew who he was. The senate came after him because they wanted the suit and knew who he was (or at least Senator Stern wanted it because he’s HYDRA). Hammer spent the entire movie trying to one up Tony because Iron Man was revealed to be his number one competitor in the weapons industry, and there was no way he could outdo that! Even in Iron Man 3, Tony was dragged into the Mandarin scheme by the media, who expected him to do something after Happy got hurt, as displayed by the “When is somebody gonna kill this guy?” comment from the one reporter. Because everyone knew he was Iron Man. And everyone expected him to fight back.

    The next big mistake Tony made was losing focus of his mission. At one point in Iron Man, he tells Pepper that he finally knows what he has to do. Yinsen told him not to waste his life, and he decided to scrap the weapons development department of Stark Industries, and then use the Iron Man armor to hunt down and destroy his weapons. So here’s what should have happened. After defeating Iron Monger, the Mk III should have been melted down for scrap, and Tony should have read Coulson’s cover story to the press. He fulfilled his promise to Yinsen, and changed for the better. Stark Industries would go on to use the Arc Reactor technology to give the world clean, free energy, and Tony would go down in history a beacon of our time. The end.

    But no, he made the Mark IV. Because Iron Man has to settle East-West relations. Then he’s got to stop Whiplash. Then he’s fighting aliens, which scars him mentally for life. Next thing you know, he’s got 42 suits, and he’s going after the Mandarin, who Rhodey explicitly states is not superhero business. So then he’s tired of being Iron Man. Why? Because he didn’t stop when he should have, so he builds Ultron, to “end the mission, and go home”. But uh-oh, Ultron is a homicidal maniac who can’t tell difference between saving the world and destroying it (where does he get that again?) so he has to go stop him. It’s over right? No, because he didn’t want to stop, as he told Cap in Civil War. Which gets us to Infinity War, where Tony decides to remain aboard Ebony Maw’s ship, headed on a crash course for Titan, despite Pepper begging him to stay, because now he wants to stop Thanos. Wait, he wants to stop a giant purple alien from destroying the universe with Infinity Stones? But his mission was to rid the world of Stark weapons. So how did it go from stopping weapon distribution in his company to fighting freaking THANOS! Because he lost sight of his original mission.

    The last thing Tony did wrong was try, and try, and try, to fix his mistakes. Because he’s a genius, everything he builds works. He’s a ‘mechanic’, he solves problems, he makes everything better. But he feels responsible for Whiplash getting the Arc Reactor technology. Heck, he told him how to improve it by doubling the rotations! So that’s a mistake he has to fix. And leaving Killian on the roof. Whoops, created the Mandarin, fix that mistake. Good. Done. Nope, Ultron literally destroyed a city, which was a mega fail! So okay, stop Ultron. But wait, Charles Spencer died in that fight, so okay, sign the Accords, maybe with some government oversight, so many things won’t go wrong. And… Cap doesn’t agree. Let the government handle him? Nah, go to war with him!

    The biggest atonement for his sins, however, is through his self-appointed role as mentor to Peter Parker. Because in Peter, he sees a young Tony. Bright eyed, brilliant minded kid with so much potential, and he has super powers! So Tony literally intercepts this kid, who’s on his own hero’s journey, and says ‘I don’t want you to screw up as many times as I did, so I’m gonna teach you how to be a superhero, and then maybe you’ll be better than me!’ Which was a mistake, because as revealed in the ferry scene, Peter was trying to imitate him! Tony had no business being Iron Man in the first place, and he’s reached the point where he’s inserted himself into this impressionable young boy’s life, and tried to teach him things he himself has yet to discover. And how did that end? With Peter apologizing, as he faded to dust in Tony’s arms.

    Iron Man is not a hero. He never should have been. Now, Thanos knows who he is, probably because he revealed himself. He’s stuck on an alien planet with nothing but Nebula and a vague hint from Doctor Strange, because he’s ventured so far from his original mission. And now he’s probably going to do something drastic in Avengers 4, because half the universe, including his protégé Spider-Man, is gone, and he has to try and fix his mistakes. This is where his path has led him. A literal worst-case scenario. So if you still think Tony being Iron Man is justified, then that’s your prerogative. But I am wholly unconvinced that, after defeating Iron Monger, he ever should have put that armor on again.

  • Infinity War Super Bowl Spot!

    First, this:

    And now bullet points! Don’t act like you don’t know me by now!

    • Well, Peter is clearly comfortable with Dr. Strange knowing his identity.

    • I wish Wanda would stop messing with the dang Mind Stone.

    • Guardians are rolling like straight up G’s.

    • “It’s all been leading to this.” A little on the nose there, Tony, but that’s fine.

    • Pretty confined space for Rocket, Groot, and Thor! And is Groot on a cellphone? Or is that his video game from the end of Vol. 2?

    • Dang Loki…

    • Peter’s going to space!?! And he’s in the Homecoming suit, not the Iron Spider, look closely!

    • Cap and Widow are ready for battle, but maybe not Vision… Look, he’s holding his side! I guess he got hurt.

    • Yes Thor, we’ve been ready since 2008. Again, on the nose, but that’s fine.

    • Well, it’s not red, white and blue… or even a circle… but Cap’s new shield is at least still made of Vibranium, so… yay! Good to know they got that man a shield.

    • A little Superior Iron Man tech in there…

    • Teen Groot ready to fight!

    • Oh, good to see Nebula… And still not Hawkeye…

    • Outrider Invasion!

    • Black Widow hitching a ride with Okoye and some other Wakandans, no big.

    • Heeeeeere’s Bucky!

    • Science/Magic combo attack!

    • And the money shot again!

    And for that last shot of Thanos, well, I’ll just leave this here…

     

  • Avengers: Infinity War Trailer Breakdown

    So I’m sure we’ve all seen the Avengers: Infinity War trailer (over, and over again). Now let’s go over what exactly we saw (over, and over again)! Bullet point time! You know I love my bullet points! Also, if for some weird reason you haven’t seen it, SPOILERS for Thor: Ragnarok ahead!

    • We open with Nick Fury’s “There was an idea…” speech from The Avengers, with everyone tagging in, and a slow piano riff of the Avengers theme… Yeah, immediate shot for the feels.

    • We see a sad, distraught Tony. Maybe his Age of Ultron nightmare coming true? That’s exactly what I think of when I see him like this.

    • Strange and Wong found Bruce in a hole!

    • Well, no more speculation on that Vision/Scarlet Witch romance. He even made himself a real boy and everything! You know, aside from that glaring Infinity Stone in his forehead. He probably has to wear a hat when they go on dates… And I have officially put too much thought into this. Moving on.

    • What is Thor looking at? Are those windows on the Milano? Or a condensed version of Yggdrasil? We know Asgard is a spaceship now, so they had to take the World Tree with them, right? I know they didn’t necessarily have a lot of time to pack…

    • So that whole “Bruce Banner may never come back” thing was a false alarm. Good, we need Bruce, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to design Hulkbuster 2.0! Just wait, Hasbro Build-A-Figure in development now.

    • How can we change Natasha’s hair this time? Make it blonde! Sold!

    • Okay, well if we direct our attention towards the Sanctum’s staircase, we can find the hole Bruce fell through, more likely as the Hulk. Probably explains why Tony’s there too. People have also pointed out he’s holding the phone Cap gave him, so good eye!

    • Spider-Sense! Yes!!!!!

    • People have pointed out that it looks like Strange, Banner, and Wong are all frozen in time, which at second glance it does look like that. They also stated that Tony’s immune because of the Arc Reactor, which we’ve seen defends against Infinity stones in the past (aka Loki’s performance issues). I mean, the Arc Reactor was based on Howard Stark’s research into the Tesseract, so that’s all well and good. My only problem with this theory is that this scene seems to take place moments after the scene in the Sanctum, where Strange is wearing the Eye of Agamotto, and the only way you can freeze time is with the Eye of Agamotto, so technically he shouldn’t be frozen, right? Curious, guess we’ll have to wait and see.

    • This is why I hate Loki! They just went through all that trouble saving all those Asgardians in Thor: Ragnarok, and because stupid Loki had to grab the stupid Tesseract, now they’re all dead. Way to go. As I said in my Ragnarok review, Thanos is just making good on his promise. The whole “No crevasse, no barren moon we can’t find you” deal. I can only imagine that if Ronan had made off with the Power Stone then we’d be seeing some star ways bathed in his blood.

    • Don’t know why people keep saying Thanos looks like Bruce Willis merged with a purple Homer Simpson, I think he looks cool.

    • Iron Spider! With light up eyes! OMG!!!! Some All-New, All-Different influence in there, I see you Marvel!

    • My friend suggested that looks like a giant forge, and Thor is rebuilding Mjolnir. I don’t think Thor should be going off on side quests in Avengers movies (again), but hey, if Thanos just wrecked what’s left of Asgard and threw me and Hulk across space, I’d want my all powerful magic hammer back too.

    • That’s Proxima Midnight. Hard to see, but it’s her. Throwing her stupid spear.

    • Yeah! Get Captain “Bum-Beard” America a shield!

    • Okay, that thing Black Panther is fighting is that four-armed creepy alien thing from the 2013 Infinity storyline, the one that creeped in on Black Bolt while he was sleeping. Don’t know why I specifically remember that, but I do. I think it’s called an Outrider. Aka Chitauri 2.0.

    • Poor Spider-Man!

    • That’s the foot, tattered cloak, and spear of Corvus Glaive. The one violently tearing the Mind Stone from Vision’s forehead. Poor Vison.

    • So, he’s already been to Xandar and Asgard. At least that’s what I gather from the Power and Space Stones in his gauntlet there.

    • Poor Iron Man. Homeboy just got flat laid out.

    • Sam says: Pew, pew all the Outriders!

    • Cap! Black Panther! War Machine (back on his feet)! Falcon! Black Widow! Winter Soldier! Okoye! The Hulk! And the full might of Wakanda! CHARGE!

    • If you didn’t cry when they played the Avengers theme at literally the perfect moment, it’s confirmed, you have no soul.

    • Hey! There’s the Guardians of the Galaxy!

    So that’s a lot to unpack! Kind of justifies why it took me this long, right? Right? Oh whatever, you try running a blog and living a life! Anyways, I’m excited, I can only assume you guys are excited, so let me know in the comments! Theories, Easter eggs, references, callbacks, anything! We’re all super fans here, so let’s talk. Alright guys, I’ll see in the multiverse!

    Avengers: Infinity War comes out May 4, 2018

  • The City Needs Spider-Man

    Paris has never really done anything for me personally… until now! The PlayStation Paris Game Week Media Showcase has unleashed a new Spider-Man PS4 trailer! Thank you Paris!

    In this trailer, we get a good look at that work/life balance with Peter and Spider-Man that Insomniac’s been talking about so much. He’s taking MJ out to dinner, recruiting Miles to help Aunt May at F.E.A.S.T., getting evicted, all that fun Parker Luck stuff! And as per Parker Luck usual, just when Peter thinks he can have a life outside of Spider-Man, Mr. Negative turns up the heat!

    Honestly, I think Mr. Negative is gonna be, like, 1/5 of this game, but that’s the only villain they’re showing us for now, so it only seems like he’s a game-wide threat. Yes, we’ve seen Kingpin, but we know he gets busted in the beginning (and from the looks of Willie, it seems like it was a rough fight!). We also caught the most fleeting of glimpses at the Shocker, who’s always fun to throw down with in a Spidey game. But back to what I was saying, Insomniac says that this game has a massive story, so it’s hard to believe that Mr. Negative and his Inner Demons are going to be a threat the entire way through.

    We also get a lot of Mary Jane in this trailer, which is refreshing for me. For those of you who follow the blog, you know I’m a big Spider-Man/Mary Jane fan. Since One More Day they’ve been separated in the comics, then The Amazing Spider-Man franchise made Gwen a hot commodity, Zendaya may or may not be her in the movies, and even in the new Marvel’s Spider-Man cartoon we keep getting references and teases, but no MJ! I really like seeing her, not only as Peter’s emotional support, but it looks like she’s doing field work too! She’s looking into the Devil’s Breath (Mr. Negative’s drug), saving hostages, teaming up with Spider-Man. I swear, that POV at the 1:19 minute mark makes it look like you even get to play as MJ! That should be fun.

    Alright, lastly I’m gonna break down some geek-out moments:

    • Martin Li stating that F.E.A.S.T. is the “best part of me”. You know, because he has two sides, you know?

    • Osborn for Mayor! Yeah, because that always ends well…

    • Kingpin’s dressed in black, not white. So either he they’re favoring the look from Marvel’s Daredevil, or… did he get hit by Mr. Negative!?!? It’s probably the former, but still.

    • Peter’s Spider Sense effect, heart eye emoji!

    • We saw Yuri Watanabe on Peter’s com link in the 9 minute demo, but now we see her in person! Is Wraith far behind?

    • Oscorp merchendise in Grand Central terminal. What’s that about?

    • Crusher Hogan vs. The Spider poster in Peter’s apartment, nice!

    • Speaking of Peter’s apartment, October 15, 2018 is circled on his calendar. Release date confirmed!? Maybe!

    Well, that’s all I’ve got! I can’t wait for this game! How about you guys? Comment below! Spider-Man PS4 drops 2018 (maybe October 15)!

  • New Marvel v.s Capcom Infinite Story Trailer!

    We’ve got another trailer for Marvel v.s Capcom Infinite! All I have to say is… Please add Venom! Please add Venom! Please add Venom!

    Phew, okay, that’s out of my system. I know a lot of people have been complaining about the roster using a lot of recycled MvC3 characters and no X-Men, and sure there’s room for improvement (where’s Ant-Man or Kamala Khan? Or Venom!) But when they drop trailers like this, it makes everything seem alright.

    There’s a lot in here. Dormammu’s back, Spider-Man’s in the black suit (please add Venom), Iron Man’s trying to start another Civil War, and there’s a bunch of Capcom guys making trouble for our heroes. It looks like this game, if anything, will at least have an awesome story! What do you guys think? Still want more in the roster? Have you pre-ordered yet? Let me know below!

  • Marvel’s Spider-Man is Almost Here!

    The new show is nearly here! On the 19th, we can prepare to be amazed once more by everyone’s favorite Wall Crawler, Spider-Man! I will be doing a podcast for members and giving away some cool prizes, so keep an eye out! In the meantime, we’ve got 3, count ’em, 3 new featurettes, and an interview on Marvel.com I’ll link.

    First up we’ve got Patton Oswald going over what it’s like for him to voice Uncle Ben. I thought this was strange casting at first, but now that I can see it, it kind of fits. I don’t think we heard Uncle Ben at all during Ultimate, so I’m sure I’ll really appreciate these flashback scenes. Again, though, perfect time for Uncle Ben would have been in those origin shorts, but hey, I’m not judging.

    This one goes over the cast of the show, and I like that they’re widening Peter’s friend pool to include all of the would-be Spiders (although we glimpse Miles in costume here! Yay!) I don’t know if he and Gwen are going to have a relationship, but the interview says they’re focusing less on romance and more on friendship, so I guess it’ll take some time if they do go that route. I really want to see Mary Jane though! Where is she! The main takeaway from this, however, is that Josh freaking Keaton is back! And playing Norman Osborn (no doubt using his evil CEO voice from Spider-Man: Edge of Time)! It must be weird for him, being in a Spider-Man show again and not being Spider-Man, but I’m sure he’ll be fine. Also, that looked like Tony Stark talking to Max Modell (thinking emoji). And did I already mention Miles in costume? Yay!

    I don’t think Joe Quesada’s said Peter Parker more in his life. This video is basically saying “Hey, did you not like Ultimate Spider-Man because there was no Peter Parker narrative? Well here, now shut up.” I like that we’re gonna focus back up on Peter, it’s refreshing and honestly, just what everyone has been wanting since Spectacular kicked it.

    Lastly, there’s this interview: https://news.marvel.com/tv/71599/marvels-spider-man-will-offer-plenty-spidey-fans-enjoy/

    It offers up a lot of good info, but I think the key point to pull from here is the bit about story arcs, and how they’re going to set up things to pay off later down the line. That’s something we’ve been missing for the past five years in Ultimate. Story arcs were usually the first and last two episodes of the season, the Spider-Verse events aside, and it really made it so that the gravity of the consequences in each episode lost their weight by the end. So hearing that we’re going to be getting arcs, you know, like in an actual comic book, makes me pretty happy.

    What do you guys think? Are you excited for this show? Let me know in the comments! And make sure to tune in Saturday, August 19th (7:00-8:00 AM EDT), on Disney XD.

  • Marvel’s Spider-Man, Origin Part 2-6 Breakdown

    I said I’d be back when all 6 parts of Spider-Man’s origin were out, and here we are! Let’s break this thing down, piece by piece, and see what we’re in for with this new show! I’m starting on Part 2, if you missed my breakdown of Part 1, click here. Alright, here we go!

    So we pick up right after Peter got bit in part one, and he’s discovering his powers. It’s kind of refreshing to see the power discovery/origin phase again, since all the animated series to this point have glossed over it if you really think about it. They all had flashback episodes, but for the first time in a Spider-Man cartoon, I feel like we’re starting from the beginning with Peter and following him on his journey. I also like that Peter’s processing his powers with the 5 steps of the scientific method (that I’m sure we all learned in middle school). This keeps true to his scientific nature and gives this version of Peter almost an endearing personality about him.

    This episode is the Observation phase, and it’s a nice touch to have Peter recording his thoughts; talking to himself has always been a Spider-Man staple. I like the Raimi-trilogy moment where he’s hiding from an Osborn on the ceiling, and let’s not forget that part straight out of the comics where he flips to avoid a car and lands on the wall. And that Spider-Sense effect is awesome, be it a bit intrusive. It was subtler in previous iterations, but at least we’re clear on when it goes off.

    Next we get to the Hypothesis stage. Again, this recording his thoughts shtick they’ve got going is great, and the parkour/Parker bit was a nice face palm nerd joke only Peter would make (along with his baseball touchdown). I would, however, like to take a moment to point out the quip about his web shooters, how if they told time and played music he’d make a fortune. Not only is that legitimately funny, but it’s subtle, which is something we haven’t had in a while from the Disney XD Marvel shows. It’s smart humor, not fart humor, and with that, I think this show can go far. The rest is Peter making shapes and objects with his web shooters, a bit Amazing Spider-Man world in Shattered Dimensions if you ask me, but I guess it takes Peter’s ingenuity a step further, so I won’t complain. And the web slinging bit at the end, pure heart eye emoji joy.

    We now reach Prediction (smart throwing the psychic in there, though I wish it was Madame Web!) This is mainly Peter coming up with a name and a costume, which totally brought me back to me trying to (unsuccessfully) make my own homemade Spider-Man costume! That little Ben Reilly nod was cool, and hey, we hear Aunt May! Still haven’t seen her, or Uncle Ben, which is a bit strange, but they’re choosing to focus on Peter, so I guess it’s fine.

    The Experimentation part is my favorite of these origin bits. It’s basically a love letter to Raimi’s first Spider-Man movie (I mean, Bonesaw Mcgee! Come on!), and I’m all for it! It’s formatted like an episode of the show they made up “So You Want to be a Wrestler”, with backstage interviews, an announcer, and the video intros, which is unique and different. This version of Peter continues to win me over with his lack of sports knowledge and insistence on being a nerd no matter his situation. And the actual match with Bonesaw was cool peek at what the action in this show is going to be like. Peter throwing quips while coming up with creative and agile ways to take down his enemies. It’s perfect, it’s Spider-Man. Now of course, Peter lets the burglar go, and we know that won’t end well, but like I said, this was a 5 minute flashback to Spider-Man 1, and made me almost nostalgic in a way. And hey, let’s not forget about good old Stan Lee’s cameo!

    The last part, appropriately titled Conclusion, is the Uncle Ben portion. Strange, since, again, we haven’t seen Uncle to this point, so the emotional impact isn’t as strong, but kids will be watching, so I don’t expect them to pack it on. And Peter’s reaction is more than enough to sell it. I can’t understate, however, how much I love, love, love the opening to this. Peter stating that the trophy is made of three kinds of metal, then asking “You know else is made up of three different kinds of metal?” And boom! It’s an inspired moment, and one that  drives home the point while punching you in the gut. The rest is by the numbers, Peter corners Uncle Ben’s killer, full of rage, discovers it’s his fault, and accepts that with great power comes great responsibility. Peter’s anger and then anguish at what he did is well represented, and helps me really connect to Peter. I actually believe why he wants to be Spider-Man in the end.

    I think that this six-part origin was necessary, so that when we’re thrown into Peter’s adventures as the wall crawler, we now care about who he is underneath. I find that the best Spider-Man stories are when I’m rooting for Peter, even when he’s wearing the mask. Ultimate took a step back from the Peter Parker aspect, which I think cost the show dearly, and is the reason no one really got into it. But this show seems to be getting back to basics, the reason we all love Spider-Man in the first place, and that’s because when he’s plain old Peter Parker, he one of us. I’m really excited, and everything I’ve seen of this show only gives me more hope. Fingers crossed that this is the Spider-Man show that’ll go down in history as the best!

  • Spider-Man Confirmed on Marvel v.s Capcom Infinite #SDCC

    Now I can pre-order the game in good faith knowing that Spider-Man is confirmed! Comic Con kept the hits coming with the reveal that Spider-Man, Frank West, and Nemisis (you know, that big immovable tank character) are in the game and a new creative stage combining A.I.M and Umbrella! Get ready for some Crawler Assault and Maximum Spider! Also there’s a new special with cameo from a longtime Spidey villain! And we got a first look at the Mind Stone, which apparently maxes out your special meter. Very helpful I’d say! Marvel v.s Capcom Infinite launches September 19!

  • Spider-Man Homecoming Easter Eggs

    Alright, Spider-Man: Homecoming is out, and you’d better bring an Easter basket because the Easter Bunny was hopping all up through this movie! So, strap up, and let’s jump in! Oh yeah, and SPOILER ALERT!!!

    Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

    Wealth and fame, he’s ignored, action is his reward. Look out! Here comes the Spider-Man! Not only did we get an awesome Michael Giacchino orchestreal version of the classic theme in the beginning, but Spider-Man left notes on the criminals he caught just like a good Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man would!

    The Scorpion

    Mac Gargan, aka the Scorpion, played a small role in this movie, but I think he’s more there as a token for what’s to come. I like the fact that for those who didn’t catch the name Mac Gargan, they basically telegraphed it by giving him a scorpion tattoo on his neck (and the scarring on his face more reminiscent of Ultimate Scorpion). Even with his small amount of screen time, Gargan came across as menacing and a bit scary (talking about slitting poor Spider-Man’s throat!) I’m excited to finally see Scorpion on the big screen, and I’m ready to meet his ‘friends on the outside’. *Cough, Sinister Six, cough*.

    Jim Morita

    Midtown High’s principal is Mr. Morita (I heard it in a voicemail  from Michelle in the Spider-Man Homecoming app… I have no life). We know that Captain America had an old war buddy named Jim Morita, a member of the Howling Commandos! Jim Morita and Principal Morita are both played by the same actor. Which probably explains the black and white photo and war medals for old Jimmy posted up in Principal Morita’s office. It’s quick, so make sure you catch it!

    Women of Spider-Man

    We had Betty Brant reporting the news Daily Bugle style, although she looked a lot like Gwen Stacy. We had Liz Allen, with a surprising twist, although she married Harry Osborn at one point in the comics, so having a villain as a father isn’t a far stretch. And we also had Michelle come out as MJ. Not Mary Jane, but MJ. I don’t know, we’ll see what they do with her, but I really do want the classic Spider-Man and Mary Jane relationship. So maybe, now that she has friends, MJ will come out of her shell a bit more and grow into the party girl we all know and love! Oh, and the Asian girl on the Decathlon team is listed as ‘Cindy’. Hm… *Cough, Silk, cough!*

    Ned Leeds

    Another one of Peter’s friends that had the unfortunate disposition of becoming a Goblin, and paying the price. Well, let’s hope that never happens, because Ned is a great guy in the chair!

    Forehead of Security

    This isn’t really an Easter egg more so than a callback, but in the car when Tony and Happy are dropping Peter off at home, Tony states that Happy used to be the Forehead of Security, which was the joke he made in Iron Man 3 when Happy, not knowing how to work an iPad, was holding the camera up to his forehead.

    Homemade Suit

    This suit just screams Ben Reilly. We’re all thinking it! Might as well just say it!

    Iron Spider

    It looked a lot different, but the suit Tony presents Peter with in the end of the movie, along with an offer to become an Avenger, is indeed the Iron Spider. I have a feeling Peter will be donning that suit when Infinity War rolls around, but until then, he’s gonna just go ahead and be a Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.

    Uncle Aaron/ The Prowler

    I’m going to write an entire article on Donald Glover and his relation to Miles Morales, but it’s good to see that they cast him as Mile’s Uncle Aaron Davis, who is also the villain known as the Prowler in the Ultimate comics. I’m also glad he mentioned his nephew, more or less confirming Miles’s existance in the MCU!

    Spidey Tracers

    When Shocker comes to Midtown looking for the Chitauri power source Spidey swiped, Peter narrowly avoids them, and tags Shultz with a tiny little mechanic spider that allows him to track them to Maryland. These are classic Spidey Tracers, used often in the comics and 90’s series but never in the movies… until now!

    Damage Control

    Dwayne McDuffie, a minority comic creator and huge inspiration to me, created Damage Control, the guys who clean up the messes superheroes tend to make. It’s good to see it get some love in an MCU movie since the TV show is apparently MIA. There was a passing mention of it in Iron Man 1, but here it is in full force! All they’re missing is the bulldog logo!

    MCU Here and There

    Just a bunch of little sprinkled MCU bits cementing Spider-Man into the Universe, here’s a few of them:

    • Avengers Tower (duh)
    • Road sign in DC warning about ‘Triskelion cleanup’
    • Pictures of Howard Stark and Bruce Banner at Midtown, and hey, I even hear ‘ol Dr. Erskine is up there!
    • History lesson on the Sokovia Accords
    • A gun assembled from ‘Sub-Ultron’ parts
    • Cap being a war criminal (sad face emoji)
    • Speaking of Cap, notice he’s in his Avengers (2012) uniform, so I guess these were filmed right after he was thawed out
    • The first 15 minutes of the film, right after the Battle of New York and during Civil War

    Now, there’s a big one, right at the end where where Spider-Man is trapped under the rubble, but I can’t tell you yhat because it would spoil the trivia question for my Spider-Man Homecoming Podcast, so… I guess we’ll end here! Were there any I missed? Let me know in the comments below, and stay tuned for more from Spider-Man Homecoming!