With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: A 27 Year Long Reader of Spider-Man's Opinion

Forty years ago, legendary comic book writer Stan Lee created a superhero that was a big departure from the norm of super-powerful, almighty strange visitors from other worlds. This hero was different; he was a self conscious, nerdy teenager plagued with all of the problems every teenager faces. That made him more accessible, especially to the legions of kids who made up the bulk of comic book buyers.

The hero in question, of course, is the Amazing Spider-Man, and for his many fans, some of whom have been following his exploits since the very beginning, the long wait for a Big Screen version of their favorite webslinger is finally over.

From the moment the film started, I knew I was going to be in for a treat. As images of spider webs danced across the screen to the unmistakably unique strains of Danny Elfman’s music score, I was a bit reminded of Darkman, a film that Elfman also scored. Spider-Man is directed by Sam Raimi, who also directed and co-wrote Darkman, and for a bit I was worried that he would give the wall crawler a similar dark tone.

My fears were quickly allayed, however, as the story progressed. Bu then with Stan Lee as executive producer, I should have known that Spider-Man would be a winner. The film follows young Peter Parker (Toby Maguire), a high-school student and science freak who is totally ostracized by most of the student body. Parker, an orphan who lives with his aunt and uncle, has but one friend, Harry Osborn (James Franco), son of Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe), founder of the huge conglomerate Osborn, Inc.

Young Parker has a problem. Like many teenage boys, he is in love with a teenage girl, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) who of course is unaware of Peter’s affection. So, when out on a class field trip to a science laboratory, Peter jumps on the chance to take pictures of Mary Jane against a background of genetically engineered spiders, ostensibly to appear in the school paper.

But there’s a problem. One of the spiders has escaped, and while Peter is busy taking pictures, it bites him. In doing so, the spider has given all of its abilities to Parker: disproportional strength, a “spider-sense”, the ability to jump and climb sheer surfaces, and to spin webs. At first, parker is confused by his new powers, but he soon learns how to control them.

Parker’s first real test comes when he decides to make some money with his spider powers. If he can last three minutes in the wrestling ring with the brutal Bonesaw (Randy “Macho Man” Savage), he’ll earn $3000, enough to buy a car he hopes to impress Mary Jane with. He easily defeats the wrestler, but when it comes time to collect his money the promoter pays him a mere $100, explaining that he defeated Bonesaw before the three minutes were up.

Just as Parker leaves the promoters office, the latter is robbed. The burglar flees past Parker while a police officer shouts, “Stop him! Stop him!”, but Peter, who easily could have done so, declines to lift a finger to help the dishonest promoter. As he’s walking back to meet his uncle for a ride home, he notices a crowd on the sidewalk. To his horror, he finds them gathered around his beloved Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson), who has been shot in a carjacking. Peter chases the killer down to an old warehouse where he confronts him and, to his shock and dismay, finds it is the same burglar he could have stopped at the wrestling arena.

Realizing Uncle Ben would still be alive today had he stopped the burglar when he had the chance, Parker dedicates his powers to fighting crime. As Uncle Ben had instilled in him, with great power comes great responsibility. Thus, Spider-Man is born every bit as much from this bitter lesson as from the spider bite that gave Peter Parker his powers.

Unfortunately, Spider-Man is not the only exceptional character to emerge on the New York scene. Norman Osborn, desperately trying to save his company and a contract with the military, tests an Enhanced Human Performance serum upon himself. The experiment gives him super human strength but also drives him insane, and he becomes the Green Goblin, Spider-Man’s ultimate foe. Of course, the two must battle, and their conflict leads to the film’s dramatic climax.

I’ve been a regular reader of Spider-Man comic books since I was about ten years old, and this film did not disappoint. One of Spider-Man’s strengths is that it did not try to reinvent the character, but instead took advantage of his complex origins. There are a few sticking points (Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider in the comic, not a genetically engineered one; he uses his science skills to invent web-shooters instead of gaining that power from the spider bite, etc.) but for the most part this movie is pure Spidey fun, with some nicely done special effects to bring our hero to life.

Macguire makes the perfect Peter Parker. He’s a convincing geek, and I had to laugh at one point when he was on screen and someone in the audience shouted, “What a geek.” Macguire should take that as a compliment to his acting abilities. Dunst does a good job portraying Mary Jane Watson, though she seems a bit dull at times.

Willem Dafoe is a casting coup for Norman Osborn/Green Goblin. He looks every bit the part, and does a great job portraying the character’s split personality, even if at times he does seem to ham it up a bit ala Jack Nicholson’s Joker in Batman. I was disappointed only in Ben and May Parker. Robertson is wishy-washy as Uncle Ben, and Rosemary Harris seems tired as Aunt May. A little comic relief on her part would have added to the film. Perhaps in the sequel.

The real surprise is J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson. Simmons gave a wonderful performance, truly bringing to life the crotchety, cranky newspaperman who wages a personal crusade against Spider-Man in the pages of the Daily Bugle. He’s a lot of fun to watch, and one hopes he’ll have more scenes in the sequel.

And sequel there will be. Spider-Man grossed $114 million in its opening weekend alone, breaking every conceivable record. That shouldn’t surprise considering that two generations have grown up with him. You don’t have to read comic books to enjoy this movie. Like comics, however, Spider-Man delivers moral messages while entertaining and leaving you feeling good. And that’s something increasingly rare these days.