Written by: Ibrahim
Edited by: Jessica
Graphics by: Ethan
The superhero genre has been one of the most successful and highly grossing film genres of the century, and the two biggest franchises for these films, DC Comics and Marvel Studios, have collectively earned roughly $50 billion over the last two decades. Additionally, the superhero genre has produced some of the best IMDB ratings such as The Dark Knight (9.0/10) and Avengers: Endgame (8.4/10).
One of the most successful franchises in the world of superheroes, with a total box office revenue of $9.3 billion, is the Spider-Man series. The famous story about a teenage boy, cursed with spider-like abilities, growing up to be the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, has been a popular classic for many generations. This is because the concept of Spider-Man was written by the beloved Stan Lee who wanted to make a superhero that felt more relatable to audiences.
In total, we have witnessed three Spider-Man live-action adaptations, each with a uniquely different narrative to be told. The most recent reiteration of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man shows the hero constantly going through a cycle of pain and sorrow having lost his parents, his uncle Ben, and his father figure and mentor in Tony Stark. The crossover Sony and Marvel films were previously a mere dream for fans as this had only been seen in fanfiction and iconic memes before, however became a reality with this latest collection of Spiderman films.
In Spider-Man: No Way Home, fans get to see Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield reprising their roles as Spider-Man alongside modern-day Tom Holland on the big screen. Such a film was bound to be a success as it brought back two decades of nostalgia, loss, and moral lessons. All three representations of Spider-Man possessed a different storyline, yet in the new film, they were able to bond as a brother-like trio while simultaneously helping Holland by illustrating moments from their past to make him understand the pain and level of acceptance that comes with being Spider-Man.
Spider-Man: No Way Home seems to be loved by many different generations, but with the inclusion of so many characters, there were some plot holes in the film. Sophomore Conor, a long-time fan of both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Spider-Man franchises, mentioned that “even though Spider-Man: No Way Home is a great movie, it’s a bit overrated”. He raised the point that bringing old nostalgic characters back was smart on Marvel’s end to get more viewers. Despite this, viewers noticed certain evident plot holes that reduced the credibility of the storyline. Marvel took a big risk bringing back two prior Spider-Man universes to the main timeline, which led to both positive and negative consequences: although some elements had holes, Marvel succeeded in their overall goal to give audiences what they desperately wanted for years, which was a film featuring all three Spider-Men uniting as one.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe made an innovative move bringing back Andrew Garfield and Tobey Macguire, as it not only appeals to fans greatly but also expands the possibilities of an X-Men Marvel movie, or even a DC Marvel movie if Warner Bros and Disney can come to a consensus. Spider-Man: No Way Home has statistically been one of the most triumphant and anticipated films released in the last few years. This is evident in the fact that the first trailer for the movie received 335.5 million views (1st all-time) and the movie itself grossed $1.6 billion (8th all-time). In addition, Tobey Maguire fans get to see the ‘fairy tale’ ending they’ve wanted for years. Whilst, Andrew Garfield fans finally get to see his redemption and can be optimistic for him to be in a future project. And finally, Tom Holland fans got to see a true Spider-Man in the making, instead of the ‘Iron-Spider’ we saw in the first few movies.