I think Marvel takes Spider-Man way to seriously(or treats him like crap only useful for the money despite hit and misses of media) and doesn't want to seperate his loser status from his iconic symbol status, I think this is wrong because Spidey is Marvel and when ever Marvel tries to keep making Captain America, Ironman and Thor the epicenter of Marvel's star line up, it feels so wrong. It should be Spidey, the guy who made himself beyond a concept for superheroes and a embodiment of Marvel's pride and ambition since he is a symbol of american and world wide fictional history. MVC3 and Super MVC3 is the main example, they didn't bother with Spider-Man as a big deal compared to an arguably equal famous hero named Wolverine, and it reflected it on how they depicted the tone of the game as Wolverine being the main star of Marvel along with Ironman, edgy, gritty, and completely taking itself to realistically with the main draw of the game was not the family friendly heroes but the teen catered cool ones like Deadpool, Zero, Dante etc. I feel that game was an insult to not only the Spider-Man franchise but Marvel's merit in treating their mascot as a mere playable casual instead of the true face of Marvel and it's favored son. It's like Pikachu getting shafted in covers in the long run to make Charizard the main face to lock on to a fellow badass pokemon because it's cool and hardcore, but Pokemon loves Pikachu and it's cute and friendly appearance doesn't matter if it defines what Pokemon is about on a meta aware level and has every right to be the leading star and idol of the Pokemon franchise.

Spider-Man has been taking a back seat to characters that just freaking have no long lasting appeal and been a tack on to b listers like Ironman and Wolverine since the 90s, it's degrading to let someone as timeless and supreme in american culture to allow characters like Deadpool and Ironman and even Captain Old Fashioned to steal Spidey's relevance and status because he isn't badass in attitude enough or he simply is too childish looking. The reason writers like Spider-Man as a manboy, because he has a manboy pedestal in the eyes of the editors and writers and stays lower end of the heroic merit spectrum when advertising the heroes who are stronger, tougher, cooler and more mature than him. Spidey won't grow up because that would mean he would have to be in the forfront yelling avengers assemble or being expected to lead heroes or hold a key level of integrity and pride which he should be projecting as the freakin mascot in real life!

Spidey sells more than any comicbook hero, is the gateway for newbies and is always reaching top ten lists in revenue, his movies sell in billions of dollars, his name is known through the world with Batman and has been used in countries like Japan and china to incorperate more into the lore of the series, And he hasn't been his company ace star, hasn't been his company's Pikachu, or Superman, or Optimus Prime, or Mario, or Spongebob Squarepants, or James Bond or even ever truly been his own Spider-Man.

If Marvel wants Spidey to be taken seriously and please polarized fans, they have to treat him like a winner not a loser.

If Marvel wants Spidey to be taken seriously and please polarized fans, then everything they release for him should not be total garbage.

@the_waffle:

I can't wait for Marvel Studios to eventually get past the teenage phase in the MCU and for the comics to drop the silly manboy crap.

I don't get why some people are willingly ignorant of the fact that in ASM, PPSS, WOS and other titles, Peter Parker has been a mature adult super hero since the late 60's / early 70's right through to today.

It's only since the OMD fiasco and Slott's wacky Spider-Man world using deconstructive methods and silly cliche cartoon dialogue that has really turned this franchise into a bordello.

Putting on a Spider-Man mask doesn't automatically make you hilarious either. Parkers' core character under the mask uses clever wit and sarcastic banter, not toilet humor and silly pop culture references.

@magnetic_eye: I agree with everything you said except past the teenage phase in the MCU, I so very excited that we'll be able to see Peter grow and mature in the mature adult superhero. I think it going to be a awesome and beautiful experience.

@jimishim12: His movies sell in billions? Unless I'm misreading, not one Spider-man film has actually reached the billion dollar mark...

The last 2 have each made less than the lowest of the original trilogy, SM2, IIRC

@theheaven_guardian10:

By all means I agree. That's why I said that "eventually" I would like to see them move beyond the teenage phase. I think under the Marvel Studios / Sony merge they will probably make a trilogy of high school films, but after that they really need to move Spider-Man into adulthood.

Spider-Mans seems to attract more young fans than the opposite though, this is because compared to any other hero he's not as casually known as serious as the other marvel hero franchises and keeps a level of lightheartedness that other heroes are too mature for. Marvel treats Spider-Man as a way to attract more casuals that are younger than 16 since that is where the real money hits, so don't see Peter reaching Daredevil level's of mature any time soon.

Reason why Spidey even in the past was not a equal in the eyes of other heroes like Cap or Cyclops and was always the unsung hero who looked up to them. He was steeped in a audience surrogate level of status because he was too much of a kid friendly image and no one is gonna buy his maturity as the forefront of his appeal, he was too goofy and unprofessional in the eyes of the seasoned heroes and this is what writers shared and kept as a staple of him ever since.

To take Parker seriously or to mature to a level he can no longer be underappreciated is to kill his primary charm as the everyman or in this case the self insert that anyone could be, especially since he will always be second banana to the avengers and based off of young culture.

This is my opinion though and it boils down to how relevant Marvel treats Spidey as a mascot. Do they want the best for him and is he their golden boy or do they use his is immeasurable iconic image to push others and milk him dry since he really doesn't need quality effort to stay popular as long as he sells toys. It's sad really, he's like the barbie of Marvel comicbook heroes, just there to sell toys and be a material girl in a material world.

@magnetic_eye: Oh I totally agree with you sir, a trilogy of high school films. Is more than enough of coverage for teenage Peter.

I agree but I don't see that happening as long as this new live action version is Tony's bitch.

@jimishim12:

Yeah, I agree with most of what you said, except the part about Spider-Man looking up to the older heroes. He should respect them, but his role model should always be Uncle Ben and he should be the maker of his own moral compass.

Though you've nailed it on the head when you say they just wanna milk him for toys. It's sad we can't get anything nice for Spider-Man. DC at least still tries with Batman.

@Pokeysteve:

It's a little early to say if he's going to be Tony's bitch, but I'm really worried that it might devolve into Ultimate Spider-Man levels of boot licking idol worship. Spider-Man's supposed to be a hero not a cheerleader after all.

But...Pikachu is garbage compared to Raichu.

He already is. Tony funded and built his suit. Pete never asked any questions or thought twice about if he was on the right side or not. Spidey is supposed to be independent. I see him as an equal to all of the Avengers except for Thor and maybe Cap. They've already painted him as Tony's awestruck fanboy.

@Pokeysteve:

The costume was because he was too poor to make something really good at home. It was kind of a bummer, but I was able to accept it because of in universe justification.

But, you are right about Spider-Man's characterization. I hadn't thought about it like that. You're right. He just let himself be turned into a child soldier and fell in line like a good little pawn. That's down right insulting, considering Spider-Man was created during the 60's and "the trust no one over 30 era." Maybe Peter before Uncle Ben's death might have worked without asking questions for money, but not a post-Uncle Ben's death Peter.

I hope he grows out of this soon, but there's a good chance he won't.

They want Spidey to be subservient to the adults and Ironman and Captain America the Batman and Superman of their cannons pecking order as well as leading franchisers with the Avengers brand. Spider-Man is no longer the golden boy or the top of the food chain as a Marvel Ace franchise.

@jimishim12:

Yeah these days, even Deadpool is consistently better.

Spider-Man is just a sidekick now. The opposite of how he started. Move aside 70's Robin, Spider-Man is gonna be the new "lame sidekick" everyone makes fun of.

@clonesaga2099: @jimishim12:

If they leave Tony completely out of Spider-Man's movie it'll be a good first step. We'll see.

Hopefully Peter turns the tables on Tony in Homecoming. I can't see Peter not being outraged with Tony once he realizes what Cap was fighting for, and how it is basically the same thing as what motivates him.

As for the comics, I just want to see him doing more science in ASM. Peter is so badass when he invents stuff!

He cant until they get the rights back from Sony, look at fantastic 4 they no longer have a comic or sell anything related to fantastic 4 ie toys etc. Obviously Marvel cant do that with Spider-Man cause cause of the fan outrage but you wont see Spider-Man as the face of Marvel until they own 100% of him.

I find it pretty stupid Spidey and Wolvie don't get forefront status in this companies leading company heroes up in universe despite them being them being superman and Batman level of famous in the real world, I hated that marvel wants Spidey taking a backseat to avengers despite his company and cultural impact plus the fact he has actual super powers and more a dc hero mindset in being ideal as a hero, while Batman despite being a street level person and less likely to be associate with super human branding is the face of dc with supeman.

Marvel has screwed up idiotic sales pitch when regarding Spiderman, if he's so beloved, marvel should focus mostly on him as a main driving force behind all hero stories like Superman and should have a sense of being a key element that matches his entire life as a hero reflecting him from his mainstream iconic popularity like Batman.