They screwed up my favorite character.

The movie is entertaining, but at the expense of Spider-Man. They made him into a second tier goof. I'm triggered.

I know I sound silly to some but the reason hero myths last for centuries as they do is because like Joseph Campbell theorized, they are the ideal form for us to aim towards. From Jesus to Superman, they aren't supposed to be relatable at all. They're supposed to embody our best aims and virtues. Self sacrifice to that end and using power for betterment not personal gain is central. Lawrence Kohlberg's moral reasoning hierarchy places post conventional Universal ethical principles at the top. That's why the figures are attractive. It's moral virtue played out in fighting for justice with superior character. Changing that just makes it common fantasy story.

That's the reason Superman, Spider-Man, Batman stories work and are retold for over 75 years and dozen maybe hundreds of copycat type hero stories fail. They don't resonate because they focus only on cool powers and not the moral virtue and discipline of the hero. It's like Superman's superior moral compass that sets him apart from other copycat heroes. And Batman has supreme self sacrifice for the greater good he's a billionaire and he could do whatever he wanted and play and leave people behind but he chooses to risk his life and do what he sees as right usually at extreme self sacrifice. To me that type a Superior character is why these three superheroes are at the top level of the franchises and lasting popularity.

They take great risk and overcome physical and emotional pains. All of them lost their parents. Spider-Man lost his uncle too and his girl friend. In spite of that he is not a broken man and is able to joke and be jovial in the face of extreme threats. He is mentally stable and happy regardless of what is thrown at him. That's why he is so awesome. This movie missed that completely and just made him sad afraid and stressed out over fairly petty things. If he doesn't joke at things and maintain happiness then he's not Spider-Man. It's central to his character. (Overcoming darkness is central to his story. That's basically the entire venom angle which feeds on negativity in exchange for strength. Spider-Man is never dark. No matter how much is thrown at him he retains his happiness.)

They made him way too weak and lacked Spidey-Sense. If he could handle Falcon and Bucky at the same time, he could handle Vulture who is less advanced than Falcon. In avengers, he was joking and being a smart ass like in the comics. In home coming he failed at everything he tried to do even stopping the bank robbers. One bike thief is all they gave him. Then he still couldn't find the bike's owner. In the Comics his motivational epiphany, is the death of his uncle which could have been anyone's uncle, it was not trying to join the avengers. He also doesn't play with legos or talk to his suit about girls.

They made him a goof who lost his backpack and at one point he just fell off his webs. There was no spidey-sense for him to land on his feet or roll, he just face planted on a roof. They made him afraid of heights in Washington.

They even made him cry. That writing was bullshit. I know they were taking from Ditko's Amazing Spider-Man 33. But in that he did t have a breakdown or cry for help. It was all thought bubbles. They let a guy know his secret right away. The "writers" obviously never read Spider-man to screw up a character so badly.

Peter Parker is funny and witty, also agile and carefree. And Flash Thompson is a football player not an academic decathlon member on a team with Peter. That's part of the story! For Peter could easily destroy everyone in football and yet he doesn't. It's part of his maturity and not abusing his power. They gave him that line in Captain America Civil War and he explained his reasoning. He didn't play before so it didn't seem right to play now, he said. All his accomplishments in Civil War were undermined in Homecoming including his brawl with Captain America.

Terrible ideas.

MJ is not a moody artist stalker. She's a sought after model and their friend circle includes Harry Osborne. It's kind of important. They screwed up every character in the Spider-Man universe. If they wanted a dark and moody girl at who was crushing on Peter in High School then why not use Jessica Jones since she did have a crush on Peter before meeting Luke Cage. Hopefully Michelle will not turn out to be Mary Jane. Not one person was accurate. Furthermore the vulture's power is making people rapidly age, not stealing tech to build guns. Change is fine if it's done well and Michael Keaton makes anything good. However the ability to age people through touch is terrifying. It puts him above normal criminals. You need a hero he can't even touch aka Spider-Man who has spider-sense. Nothing resembled the Spider-Man stories at all. In a genre where death is at best semi-permanent, rapid aging is a real threat.

They made him into a second tier hero with Iron-man playing a father like figure. Besides Hulk and Thor, Spider-Man can drop all the other Avengers. I took my son to the film saying Spider-Man is strong and funny and cool. But he was none of the above. I can tell he didn't really like it which is heart breaking because we love Spider-Man the real Spider-Man. I was hoping to pass the story on to the next generation. This is a kid who would watch the intro for the cartoon Spider-Man ten times in a row and dance around the house.

Cute video here

For Halloween we were Spider-Man. His birthdays all Spider-Man stuff. He liked the amazing spider man. We were SO excited to see Spider-Man homecoming. Put a gun to my heart that was a let down. They made spider man inept. It was like the whole film was to boost Ironman.

I kept hoping he would tell a joke or win at something so I could turn to my son and smile. But he never did. At one point they just made him fall off his webs and bust ass on a roof for no reason. No spidey-sense present. The joke was making him look bad. He couldn't interrogate a common street thug and showed fear. They were using Spider-Man to create an amateur goofy hero with a lack of confidence and skill.

Casting wasn't the problem. The writing was the problem. Who the heck read that and thought ,OK yeah this makes Spider-Man look good? Fire those writers. Hire Grant Morrison as an advisor for all comic book films. This video was 5 years ago. He was too young to understand the plot for Amazing Spider-man so Homecoming the the first one he saw in theaters. What a let down, they made Spider-man a screw up who collected star wars legos. Give us the Spider-man from Civil War, who took down Giant man and Bucky and Falcon.

What did you expect this is what most of the MCU movies are

@marvelanddcfan24: Usually MCU films do not create a goof out of the Hero. Usually the hero comes off well because they are a Hero. This movie made a comedy out of Spider-Man screwing things up and being saved by Iron-Man twice. When he finally did rescue people in DC, he fell down the elevator shaft immediately afterwards. He knocked himself out and then got himself stuck in the DOD. They just made a mockery of Spider-Man.

Dude. Honestly, I completely agree with your post, since that's just how I felt. Spider-Man deserved better. It's a shame since I really liked MCU Spidey in Civil War, but Watts and his team of bumbling, incompetent writers screwed it all up.

@blackestnight1: 10/10

the difference between the fight in civil war and Homecoming is that spidey wasn't in any fatal danger when fighting the rogue avengers, as opposed to Vulture who was trying to kill Peter.

You're absolutely right, my friend.

Peter is in no way charming, he's a dork. He makes sarcastic quips as Spider-Man because of his nervousness. Until the last few years he was very much a second-tier character despite being Marvel's flagship character. When he first started out as a hero he couldn't make it onto a team, including the X-Men and as he grew he basically spurned any team. Except for the Defendors but that was because he was one of the few people that could see Dr. Strange's astreal form. He was had friends with just about every team but he was always the odd ball loner, and at one point lost his costume and had to make his way home in a spare FF uniform while wearing a bag over his head to hide his identity (also, Torch snuck a "kick me" sign on his back). And The Vulture was very much a tech criminal. He made his wings as a way to prove he wasn't just a old man so I guess this life-sucking thing in new. This version of Spidey was spot on for the teenage Spider-Man.

100% agreed.

Agreed, I can't see how he'll bring anything to the table in Infinity War if he lost to a thug with a powered-glove.

Seconded

Without even reading the blog, I agree. Although it is still one of my Top 3 favorite CBM.

What are the first two?

Mine are:

1. Spider Man (2002)
2. Captain America Winter Soldier
3. Dark Knight
4. Iron Man
5. X-Men Days of Future Past

@ursaber: I have to think about it.

Peter has always been lame, and Marvel has always done this on purpose because has to look like a victim of pity to project on to. Peter's a genius level awkward dork but Reed and freaking Bruce Banner are dorkier and their celebrities, same with his funny ha ha now shut up schtick with everyone else considering Clint Barton and Wade Wilson piss off everyone else even more, and finally his courage and self pity which still he's beaten by Captain America, and Cyclops. Peter is just a second string wannabe compared to them, I think thats his point hes a parody of true heroic/anti heroic archtypes that point out he is a real person(a concept of a real person that still makes people wish they were him) and like real people he's a deconstruction of these characteristics.

I personally think he's to privileged and written inconsistently because he asks to be sympathsized over being idealised which makes me not preferable to his as Spider-Man, peter is a woobie that never comes off as realistic or even understandable, he's sorta a mary sue because hes basically some sort of avatar for the writter getting a vicarious idea machine to put into Peter's stories and make him more or less the comic geek version of James Bond, and through out his stories he resets to some basic element that makes him a square loser until another new writter writes him as he wishes he was. Marriage to Super Model, having sex with action babes and kissing super heroines, can beat up tons of badasses from heroes to villains with less equipment verses their advance scientific alien equipment(regular tools to add insult to injuries), and is always made a big impression to the newbies, the vets, and even villains make them something of an extended family....................and yet he's a loser that can't handle a hour wage job, has trouble with bills and acts like a absolute man child or youth representation being the hip dude of the senior heroes which makes him eternally doomed to be a "teen cliche" to the square adults. Spidey's a lamearse because Marvel is a company that wants Peter to be their OC fanfiction generator of the everyman, and thus makes him painfully average and lame to hype him up later on, he's a escapist version of Morty from Rick and Morty, he also has Ricks awesomeness too.

He's IMO not that great of a well written character after Early Lee because you start to see writers make him more a self insert which pretty much contradict the traditional aspects of Superhero fiction in some lame attempt to put a character in our shoes with Super Powers and abuse his position as this normal man but releative to the writers wishes, Batman for example is Bruce Wayne but he stays the Bruce Part for the Batman world and setting and plot, Superman is Clark as a testament to being a great hero in both emotional and physical advantages, Peter acts like Spider-Man is a job or a stress reliever not a part of him and he is less than heroic if not admirable when he starts acting like he isn't the Spider that knows he has to help people out, abusing his indentity to be a guy who forgets he has a commitment as a hero and getting people he doesn't know in trouble and it gets more a suspension of disbelief that Peter is smarter, more powerful and more impressive than everyone in his cast but is portrayed as the dude who can't get a break and works lesser jobs to pay for a lifestyle he should dismiss because thats a waste of his talents, responsibilities and power. Petes love life gets more rediculous too, it's tackling drama on a easily non sensical way with secret identities which only work with DC because DC wants readers to let their heroes be human, Marvel wants Peter to be human all the time with excuses to why he has to be a hero and suffer for it, problem with that Peter just has the forsight of a special ed kid and does his romance completely without thinking outside the costume not accounting a plan to think before he does something. This applies to him as a adult and married, he should have gotten over the secret indentity thing because he was inviting himself to destroy his family since he never got over his sense of short sighted pride to take care of everything himself.

But it's justified somehow by fans because he's still allowed to be a immaculate paragon and super badass acrobat fighting the hulk and being a cocky one liner spewing asshole who can out wit anyone and save even the Avengers from some big badass bad guy and make it home for dinner with May and MJ, thats all it's takes to be forgiving with years of inconsistent writting because it's not like Peter being written to have it both ways is a poorly written way to make a plot feel hollow and invested with how very convenient and structured is. It won't last forever if Peter did the effective ways he does things from after the gwen saga stories, he has to repeat his variable characteristics in different ways so he can be a mythos like Superman. But he's not good at being basically consistent because writers make him lamer than he was before to improve on things he never needed or regress to a point he can start looking unrealistically competant. The more lame he gets, writers feel he can do anything when he over comes the odds and look appealing because he a wish fufillment template made to be a classic underdog type. But he used to be a great complex hero with great stories based on his improvement which never went away to emphasize a pattern of new writters fanfiction(he wasn't the best hero that had the best written stories pre marriage and after Lee) but at least he was kinda consistently written to learn from his mistakes), now he's just overrated fanfiction oc.

Theyve officially stated the michelle is not Mary Jane and that the MJ thing was just a joke. Other than that....you're not wrong

They have?....So she's not just going to be the MCU's version of "MJ"?

People can now wipe the sweat from their collective foreheads.

Seems like a lot of needless complaints, imo. Just some random thoughts:

If he was not a "broken man" he wouldn't have been wandering around in a spider-themed costume. Heroes like Spidey and Bats operate as super-heroes because they're exactly that: broken men.

Also, your post reads a lot like "this was not like the source material, so it sucks". Having Peter cry for help was a great moment. Because they didn't choose to have him cry in ASM #33 doesn't mean he shouldn't.

You should stop treating comic books like gospel, really. If the essence of the character is kept intact, you can change other details as much as you want, imo. And Spider-Man in the early days was 100% a second-tier wanna-be hero. It's pretty ironic that you claim the creators of Homecoming didn't read the source material when apparently you show a lack of understanding for his early years.