Columbia's Spider-Man (2002) (2024)

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Plot[]

Peter Benjamin Parker (Tobey Maguire) is a nerdy and shy but intelligent high school senior student at Midtown Secondary College Of Science & Technology in Queens, New York City. His parents are dead and he lives with his Uncle Benjamin Franklin "Ben" Parker (Cliff Robertson) and Aunt Mayabella "May" Parker (Rosemary Harris). He has a crush on his next door neighbor, Mariam "Mary" Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), who is also one of the few classmates who is nice to him. Her boyfriend, a sports player and the school bully, Eugene "Flash" Thompson (Joe Manganiello) and his buddies bully and pick on him. Peter's only friend is Harold Theopolis "Harry" Osborn (James Franco), who, though rich and good-looking, is similarly an outcast. Harry, however, is somewhat jealous of the affection his billionaire scientist father, Professer Norman Virgil Osborn (Willem Dafoe) shows Peter. Norman, the founder, owner and head of weapons contractor of Oscorp Science Industries, appreciates Peter's scientific aptitude and can barely conceal his desire that Peter was his own son.

Peter's science class takes a field trip excursion to a genetics science laboratory at Columbia University. The lab works on spiders and has even managed to create new species of "super-spiders" through genetic DNA manipulation and combination. While Peter is taking photographs of Mary Jane for the school newspaper, one of these new genetically-altered spiders (one which is red and blue) escapes without anyone noticing lands on his hand and hungrily bites him. Peter comes home feeling ill and immediately goes to bed. At the genetic level, the genetically mutated DNA-filled venom injected by the spider bite begins to work strange magic on Peter. Meanwhile, General Slocum (Stanley Anderson) visits Oscorp to see the results of their new super soldier formula. When one of Norman's top scientists, Professor Stromm (Ron Perkins) warns him the formula is unstable, General Slocum threatens to pull all of the military's funding from Oscorp. Later that night, Norman exposes himself to the gas formula. He gains superhuman strength and agility but is driven insane. He kills Stromm and steals two other Oscorp inventions, a green goblin-shaped armoured exoskeleton flight suit and bat-shaped jet glider.

Peter wakes up the next morning feeling better than ever. He also learns his scrawny physique now ripples with muscles and his eyesight is perfect. At school that day, he learns he can shoot webs out of spinnerettes in his wrists. He demonstrates his own new agility by catching Mary Jane and her food tray when she slips at lunch and then beating an enraged Flash in a fistfight. That night, he and Mary Jane casually flirt across the fence separating their backyards, although Flash breaks this up when he arrives with his new car. Peter believes he needs a car to impress Mary Jane but knows neither he nor the cash-strapped and retired Ben and May would be able to afford one.

One night he spies an advertisem*nt in the paper. A local professional wrestling league will pay $3000 to anyone who can survive three minutes in the ring with their wrestling champion, Bonesaw McGraw (Randy "Macho Man" Savage). Peter designs a suit and heads out to the arena, telling Ben and May he is going to the library. Ben and May are worried about the changes in Peter's personality and Ben insists on driving him to the library. He tries to explain his and May's concerns. He encourages Peter not to get into any more fights; he might have the power to beat the Flash Thompsons of the world, but "with great power comes great responsibility" -- the responsibility to know when and how best to use that power. Peter reacts badly. He tells Ben he is not Peter's father and should not act like he is. Peter not only survives the wrestling match, he defeats Bone Saw in two minutes. But the promoter pays Peter only $100. Angry at being gypped, Peter stands aside as an armed robber named Dennis Carradine (Michael Papajohn) steals all the cash and holds up the promoter, escaping through an elevator. However, when he gets out to the street, he discovers horrified that Dennis the criminal fatally wounded Ben with a gun and stole his car. In anguish, Peter chases down Dennis and beats him. The robber falls out of a window where his body is recovered by the police. Peter is heartbroken that night, knowing that if he had stopped Dennis when he had the chance and not acted so selfishly then Uncle Ben would still be alive. That same night, a menacing figure wearing the stolen Oscorp exoskeleton and riding the jet glider attacks a weapons test at Quest Aerospace, Oscorp's chief competitor. Their prototype is destroyed and General Slocum is killed.

Peter is inspired by Ben's admonition to use his newly-found spider-like superpowers for the greater good. He designs a new red and blue skintight costume complete with spiderweb pattern and spider symbols and swings around New York, foiling petty robberies and muggings as the Amazing Spider-Man, a name he borrows from the announcer at the wrestling match. This does not endear him to Mr Jonah Jonathan Jameson (J.K. Simmons), the grumpy and cantankerous editor, owner and publisher of the Daily Bugle, New York's leading news company muckracking tabloid. However, when he learns Spider-man sells newspapers, he puts out a call to photographers for better photos for his front page. Peter, Harry and Mary Jane graduate from high school and move to Manhattan. Peter and Harry get a loft together and attend classes at Empire State. Mary Jane works as a waitress and struggles to get acting auditions. She and Harry also begin seeing one another. Harry apologizes to Peter but points out Peter was always too shy to make a move himself. Peter struggles to hold down a job after his scientist teacher boss Professor Curtis C. Connours fires him for always being late. Norman offers to help him find one but respects Peter's desire to make his own way in the world. Peter sees Jameson's advertisem*nt for good photos of Spider-man and, webbing his camera in convenient places, gets excellent photos of his own heroic actions. Although Jameson doesn't pay well, he agrees to buy more of Peter's photos.

Norman is also happy; Quest has to reorganize after the debacle that killed Slocum, Oscorp has more government contracts and the company's stock is soaring. He is crestfallen to learn the Board of Directors has chosen this moment to accept a buyout offer from Quest. His insanity manifests itself in a split personality: the driven yet confused Norman, and the murderous, scheming villain who will soon become known as the Green Goblin. As the Goblin, he attacks Oscorp's annual Unity Day street fair parade and kills the Board of Directors. His attack also endangers Mary Jane. Spider-Man fights off the Goblin and rescues Mary Jane when she nearly falls to her death. Mary Jane finds herself falling in love with Spider-Man, a feeling only reinforced when he saves her from some rapists a few days later during a rainy night. This time, she thanks him with a deep kiss. She doesn't know he is really Peter.

The Goblin decides he and Spider-Man should be partners. He attacks the Bugle office to lure Spider-Man into a trap, using knock-out gas to subdue him, and then gives Spider-Man a few days to think over his offer of partnership. He warns Spider-Man the city will eventually turn against him, and that they should rule it together. A few days later, on Thanksgiving, Goblin stages a fire in an apartment building to get an answer from Spider-Man. Spider-Man refuses to join with Goblin, and the two fight. Spider-Man receives a bad cut on his arm. As Norman and Peter, the Goblin and Spider-Man are due at the loft for Thanksgiving dinner. They each race back separately. When Peter arrives to dinner with fresh blood from the cut on his sleeve, Norman realizes Peter is Spider-Man and hastily leaves. On the way out, he insults Mary Jane and she leaves, hurt that Harry didn't defend her. That night, Goblin attacks Aunt May at home, sending her to the hospital. While visiting her, Mary Jane reveals her crush on Spider-man to Peter but they wind up having an intimate moment themselves. Harry sees this and knows his relationship with Mary Jane is over.

Goblin decides to strike at Spider-man through Mary Jane. He kidnaps her, then sabotages a trolley car full of children along the Mid-Hudson Roosevelt Bridge. When Spider-Man arrives, Goblin gives him the choice of saving Mary Jane or the trolley car, then drops them both from the bridge. Spider-Man manages to save both, with an assist from a passing barge and pedestrians on the bridge who pelt Goblin with debris and delay him from his attempts to kill Spider-man. Goblin instead grabs Spider-Man and throws him into an abandoned building.

The two fight, and the Goblin overpowers Spider-Man, even throwing a pumpkin-shaped goblin grenade bomb directly at Spider-Man's face, heavily damaging Spider-Man's mask and wounding him. As the Goblin holds back Spider-Man and is about to kill him with dual blades, he makes the mistake of threatening Mary Jane. Enraged at this, Spider-Man beats Goblin senseless, overpowering him, but stops when the Goblin unmasks to reveal himself to be Norman. Peter is shocked that Norman is the Goblin. Norman then tries to reason to Peter that all of the actions that had occurred were from the influence of the Goblin's persona upon him. As Norman talks to Peter, asking for forgiveness, Goblin's jet glider appears behind Spider-Man, and the Goblin persona takes over Norman. Goblin tries to use his jet glider to kill Spider-Man, but he leaps out of the way just in time; Norman is stabbed, impaled and killed. As he dies, Norman asks Peter not to tell Harry about the Green Goblin. Spider-Man takes Norman's body back to his penthouse apartment. Harry sees them and blames Spider-Man for Norman's death. At the funeral, he vows revenge and thanks Peter for being such a great friend.

Peter goes to visit Uncle Ben's grave. Mary Jane finds him there and confesses her love for him. She kisses him tenderly, passionately. Peter wants to tell her the truth but can't. Instead, he tells her he can never be more than her friend. Mary Jane has an inkling that she might have kissed him before but Peter walks away, knowing both his blessing and his curse in life: "Who am I? I'm Spider-Man."

On a school trip, high-school senior Peter Parker visits a Columbia University genetics laboratory with his friend Harry Osborn and his love interest Mary Jane Watson. There, a genetically engineered "super-spider" bites him, and he falls ill upon returning home. Meanwhile, Harry's father Norman Osborn, a scientist and the founder and owner of Oscorp, tries to secure an important military contract. He experiments on himself with an unstable performance-enhancing chemical and goes insane, killing his assistant.

The next day, Peter finds he is no longer near-sighted and has developed spider-like abilities: he can shoot webs out of his wrists and has quick reflexes, superhuman speed and strength, and a heightened ability to sense danger. Brushing off his Uncle Ben's advice that "with great power comes great responsibility", Peter considers buying a car to impress Mary Jane. He enters an underground wrestling event to win the money for it and wins his first match, but is cheated out of his earnings. After Ben is carjacked and killed moments later, Peter pursues the carjacker, only to find out it was a thief he let escape. The thief attempts to flee but dies after falling out a window. Meanwhile, a crazed Norman interrupts a product test by Oscorp's rival Quest Aerospace and kills several people.

Upon graduating, Peter begins using his abilities to fight injustice, donning a spandex costume and the masked persona of Spider-Man. J. Jonah Jameson, publisher of the Daily Bugle newspaper, hires Peter as a freelance photographer, since he is the only person providing clear images of Spider-Man. Upon discovering that Oscorp's board plans to oust him to sell the company to Quest, Norman assassinates them. Jameson dubs the mysterious killer the "Green Goblin."

The Goblin offers Peter a place at his side, but he refuses. They fight, and Peter is wounded. At Thanksgiving dinner, Peter's Aunt May invites Mary Jane, Harry, and Norman. During the dinner, Norman sees the wound and realizes Peter's identity. Thinking the only way to defeat Peter is to attack those special to him, Norman later attacks May, forcing her to be hospitalized. While visiting Aunt May at the hospital, Mary Jane admits her infatuation with Spider-Man, who has rescued her on two occasions. Harry, who is dating Mary Jane, sees her holding Peter's hand and assumes she has feelings for him. Devastated, Harry tells his father that Peter loves Mary Jane, unknowingly revealing Spider-Man's biggest weakness.

Norman holds Mary Jane and a Roosevelt Island Tram car full of children hostage alongside the Queensboro Bridge. He forces Peter to choose whom he wants to save or drops them both. Peter saves both Mary Jane and the tram car. Norman then throws him into a nearby abandoned building and brutally beats him. Peter gains the upper hand, and Norman reveals himself and begs for forgiveness while subtly getting his glider ready to impale Peter from behind. Warned by his spider-sense, Peter dodges the attack, and the glider impales Norman instead. Norman tells Peter not to reveal his identity as the Goblin to Harry before dying. Peter takes Norman's body to the Osborn house and is confronted by Harry, who pulls a gun on him, but Peter escapes.

At Norman's funeral, Harry swears vengeance on Spider-Man, whom he falsely holds responsible for his father's death. Mary Jane confesses to Peter that she loves him. Peter, however, feels he must protect her from the unwanted attention of his enemies, so he hides his true feelings and tells Mary Jane that they can only be friends. As Peter leaves, he recalls Ben's words and accepts his new responsibility as Spider-Man.

Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), Harry Osborn (James Franco), and Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) visit a genetics laboratory with their high school class. While taking photos in the laboratory, Peter is bitten on the hand by a genetically engineered "super spider", and arrives home and passes out with the bite wound considerably swollen. Meanwhile, Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe), Harry's father, attempts to preserve his company's military contract from a rival firm, personally experimenting with his company's new but unstable performance-enhancing chemical vapor to increase his speed, strength, and stamina. Afterward, he goes into an uncontrollable rage and kills his assistant. The next morning, Peter finds that his previously impaired vision has improved to 20/20 and that his body has metamorphosed into a more muscular physique. When Peter goes to school, he finds himself producing webbing and having the quick reflexes to avoid being injured in a fight with Flash Thompson. Peter escapes from the school and realizes that he has acquired spider-like abilities from the spider bite. Peter quickly learns to scale walls, long jump across building rooftops and swing using webs from his wrists.

Lying to his Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) and Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) about where he is going, Peter decides to enter a wrestling tournament to get money to buy a car and impress Mary Jane. During an argument, Uncle Ben advises Peter, "With great power comes great responsibility." Peter lashes out at his uncle and leaves for the tournament. Peter wins, but is cheated out of the contest money; in retaliation he allows a thief to escape with the promoter's gate money. Afterward, Peter finds his uncle has been carjacked and killed. Peter tracks down the carjacker only to find out it was the same thief he allowed to escape earlier. During the struggle, the carjacker falls out of a window and is killed. Meanwhile, a crazed Norman ruins a military experiment by Oscorp’s corporate rival called “Quest Aerospace”, destroying their prototype, killing several scientists and the military’s General Slogan. Upon graduating, Peter decides to use his abilities to fight injustice, and dons a new costume and the persona of Spider-Man. Peter is hired as a freelance photographer when he arrives in newspaper editor J. Jonah Jameson's office with the only clear images of Spider-Man.

Meanwhile, Norman, upon finding out that Oscorp's board members plan to sell the company, attacks them at the World Unity Fair. Jameson quickly dubs Norman as the Green Goblin. The Goblin offers Spider-Man a place at his side as he sees how the authorities mistrust him, but Spider-Man refuses, knowing that it is the right thing to do. The Goblin commits arson to engage him with a final offer, which Spider-Man refuses, and the Goblin becomes set on killing him. Spider-Man saves Mary Jane in an alleyway from thugs, still unaware of Spider-Man's true identity, shares a passionate kiss with her savior upside down in the rain, Making all her unspoken affection clear,kissing him full on the mouth for several long seconds,Peter (indescribably overjoyed that his life long live was doing this acted likewise), she gave him a deep kiss on the lower lip with some tongue, and then gave his a small sweet kiss on the upper lip and ever so slowly pulled away, putting his mask back up, and he whisks away up the wall. The next day Spider-Man fights Goblin in a burning building and gets punched in the mouth and gets scratched on the arm by one of Goblins weapons. At the Osborn and Parkers' Thanksgiving dinner, Norman notices Peter's wound from the masked confrontation and leaves shortly thereafter. Feeling betrayed by Peter, and having found a personal annoyance with Aunt May, he attacks her. Whilst she recovers in the hospital, Mary Jane admits she has a crush on Spider-Man, who rescued her on numerous occasions, and asks Peter whether he ever asked about her. Peter reflects on his own feelings, during which Harry Osborn enters. Feeling betrayed by his girlfriend, Harry becomes fully loyal to his father, and tells him whom Peter loves the most.

The Goblin strikes, holding Mary Jane and a tram car full of children hostage on top the Queensboro Bridge. The Goblin tells Spider-Man to choose who he wants to save, and when Spider-Man refuses to choose, the Goblin drops his hostages. Spider-Man manages to save both Mary Jane and the tram car, whilst the Goblin is pelted at by civilians, showing loyalty to Spider-Man and proving him wrong by telling the Goblin that if "you mess with him, you mess with New York." The Goblin then grabs Spider-Man and throws him into an abandoned building. Upon the rocky arrival, Green Goblin throws a pumpkin bomb into the building, crossing near Spider-Man and eventually exploding, thus subsequently injuring him and weakening his spider senses. The Goblin then taunts him about how he denied their partnership before brutally beating on Spider-Man. Goblin savagely beats on him despite his efforts to strike back. Goblin gives extremely powerful punches to Spider-Man's mouth and cheek, giving him a jaw-jacking upper cut on the chin that sends him flying into the air and crashing into the ground, followed by more brutal punches to the face and a massive kick on the chest that sends Spider-Man flying into a wall. However, the tables turn as the Goblin boasts of how he will later kill Mary Jane slowly, and an enraged Spider-Man clobbers him to the point of taking off his mask, revealing his true identity. Norman begs for forgiveness, but his Goblin persona attempts to remote-control his glider to impale Spider-Man. The superhero evades the attack, causing the glider to impale Norman instead, and he dies asking Peter not to reveal his secret to Harry. Harry walks in to see Spider-Man standing over his father’s body. Harry seizes a gun, intent on shooting Spider-Man, but he quickly escapes and hides the Green Goblin’s equipment.

At Norman’s funeral, Harry swears vengeance toward Spider-Man, who he believes is responsible for killing his father, and asserts that Peter is all he has left. Mary Jane confesses to Peter that she’s in love with him. After exchanging a passionate kiss, Peter, feeling that he must protect her, hides his true feelings. As Peter leaves the funeral, he recalls Uncle Ben's words, "With great power, comes great responsibility."

High school student Peter Parker visits a genetics laboratory with his best friend Harry Osborn and Peter's love interest, Mary Jane Watson. There, Peter is bitten on the hand by a genetically engineered "super spider". Shortly after arriving home to his Aunt May and Uncle Ben, he is rendered unconscious. Meanwhile, Harry's father, scientist Norman Osborn, owner of Oscorp, is attempting to preserve his company's critically important military contract. He experiments on himself with a new but unstable performance-enhancing chemical vapor that hugely increases his speed, strength, and stamina. However, it also drives him insane and he kills his assistant, Mendel Stromm. The next morning, Peter finds that his previously impaired vision has improved and that his body has meta-morphosized into a more muscular physique. At school, he finds his body producing webbing and that his quickened reflexes let him avoid injury during a confrontation with rival and bully and Mary Jane's ex-boyfriend Flash Thompson. Peter discovers he has developed superhuman speed, strength, the ability to stick to surfaces, and a heightened ability to sense danger.Brushing off Uncle Ben's advice that "With great power comes great responsibility," Peter enters a wrestling tournament to get money to buy a car and impress Mary Jane. He wins his match, but the promoter cheats him out of the contest money. When a thief steals money from the promoter, Peter allows the thief to escape as revenge. He later discovers his Uncle Ben has been carjacked and shot dead. Peter chases down and confronts the carjacker in a warehouse only to realize it was the same thief he let get away. After Peter disarms him, the fleeing carjacker falls out a window to his death. Meanwhile, Norman Osborn kills several scientists and the military's General Slocum.Upon graduating from high school, Peter begins using his abilities to fight injustice, donning a costume and the persona of Spider-Man. Loudmouthed newspaper editor J. Jonah Jameson hires him as a freelance photographer, since Peter is the only person providing clear images of Spider-Man.Norman, upon learning Oscorp's board members plan to sell the company, assassinates them at the World Unity Fair. Jameson quickly dubs the mysterious killer the Green Goblin. The Goblin offers Spider-Man a place at his side, but Spider-Man refuses. At the Osborn and Parkers' Thanksgiving dinner, Norman, unknown to Peter, deduces Spider-Man's true identity; the Green Goblin subsequently attacks and hospitalizes Aunt May.Mary Jane admits she has a crush on Spider-Man, who has rescued her on numerous occasions, and she asks Peter whether Spider-Man ever asked about her. Harry, who loves Mary Jane, arrives and learns she does not feel likewise toward him. Devastated, Harry tells his father that Peter loves Mary Jane, unintentionally revealing Spider-Man's biggest weakness.The Goblin kidnaps and holds Mary Jane and a Roosevelt Island Tram car full of children hostage alongside the Queensboro Bridge. There, he forces Spider-Man to choose who he wants to save, and drops Mary Jane and the children. Spider-Man manages to save both Mary Jane and the tram car, while the Goblin is pelted by civilians on the bridge showing loyalty to Spider-Man and contempt for the Goblin's evil deeds. The Goblin then grabs Spider-Man and throws him into an abandoned building where they battle with the Goblin gaining the upper hand. When the Goblin boasts of how he will later subject Mary Jane to a slow and painful death, an enraged Spider-Man overpowers the Goblin, unmasking him.Norman begs for forgiveness, but his Goblin persona attempts to remote-control his glider to impale Spider-Man. The superhero avoids the attack, causing the glider to impale Norman instead, finally killing him. In his dying breath, Norman tells Peter not to reveal his crimes to Harry. Spider-Man takes Norman's body back to Osborn's house and hides the Green Goblin's equipment. At Norman’s funeral, Harry swears vengeance toward Spider-Man, believing him responsible for killing his father, and asserts that Peter is all he has left. Mary Jane confesses to Peter she is in love with him, but Peter, feeling that he must protect her from the unwanted attentions of Spider-Man's enemies, hides his true feelings and tells her that they can only be friends. As Peter leaves the funeral, he recalls Ben's words about responsibility, and accepts his new life as Spider-Man.

Protagonist Peter Parker is an intellectually precocious but socially inept teenager, too shy to approach Mary Jane Watson (M.J.), the girl-next-door with whom he is smitten. His only friend is Harry Osborn, and even their friendship is tainted with jealousy by the fact that Harry's successful industrialist and scientist father, Norman Osborn, favors the brilliant Peter over Harry himself. The orphaned Parker lives in New York City, in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens with his loving and elderly Aunt May and Uncle Ben.

On a student tour of a college's genetics laboratory (with exterior scenes shot at New York City's Columbia University), Peter is bitten by an escaped experimental spider that has been bioengineered with various extraordinary and enhanced traits (i.e. jumping, webbing, and reflexes). The spider's venom causes him to fall ill and he barely arrives home before collapsing into bed. After a difficult night's sleep, while the venom alters his genetic makeup, he wakes up seemingly unharmed. However, he learns to his surprise that his body has changed dramatically and literally overnight. Over the course of that amazing first day, Peter learns that not only has he acquired perfect vision and muscle tone, but he has also gained greatly increased strength and agility, the ability to fire strands of strong webbing from his wrists, a "spider-sense" that gives him a psychic warning of danger, and the ability to extend a mass of minute barbs from his skin that allow him to adhere to surfaces. While he glories in these new abilities, which allow him to fend off bullies like Eugene "Flash" Thompson and jump from rooftop to rooftop with ease, Aunt May and Uncle Ben become concerned for their nephew's new strange and secretive behavior.

On a trip to the library, Uncle Ben confronts Peter about it and stresses to him that he's afraid that he's losing Peter through his maturity (which in reality, is Peter trying to secretly deal with his new abilities), and that with great power comes great responsibility. Peter snaps at him and secretly heads off to his true destination, a sports arena that promises a $3000 prize to any man who can last three minutes in the ring with the wrestler Bonesaw McGraw (played by Randy Savage). Those earnings would allow him to buy a car and impress Mary Jane. With some difficulty, Peter defeats the wrestler and is cheered as the "amazing Spider-Man." However, Peter is cheated by the fight promoter and, in retaliation, does not stop a criminal who has stolen the gate money.

Walking to the library with some satisfaction, he finds that his uncle has been shot by a carjacker in the street. Old Ben dies in front of him. Enraged, Peter dons his spider costume to pursue the murderer using his webs for transportation for the first time. He confronts the killer in an abandoned warehouse only to learn to his horror that the killer is the same criminal he could have stopped earlier. The terrified murderer falls out of a window to his death. Peter is wracked with guilt and grief over the death of his uncle.

Months later, after graduation from high school, Peter decides to live up to his uncle's words, "with great power, comes great responsibility," by becoming a superhero fighting crime all over the city. He eventually learns a way to make it pay by supplying photographs of his alter-ego to the curmudgeonly Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson, who has a continual need for Spider-Man photos though he vilifies the vigilante in his paper.

Norman Osborn experiences his own dramatic transformation. To save his company from losing a vital military contract, he subjects himself to a dangerous test of an experimental treatment. It increases his strength and intelligence, but also drives him insane, creating a new, malevolent personality that attacks and murders anyone standing in his way. Using his company's prototype armor — a personal flight device called a glider and a green facemask from his collection — Norman lashes out as a figure later dubbed "the Green Goblin".

Spider-Man and the Goblin eventually battle at the World Unity Festival held at Times Square, where the Goblin murders the company board of directors that were planning to fire Osborn. Spider-Man drives the Goblin off and saves Mary Jane as well.

While Peter mourns the fact that he seems to have lost M.J. to Harry, the Goblin tempts him, after abducting him as Spider-Man, to join with him against an ungrateful world that hates him. Spider-Man refuses and the insulted Goblin vows revenge. Norman deduces that Peter is Spider-Man and begins to strike at his loved ones — first attacking Aunt May, who ends up hospitalized, and Mary Jane. Later, Harry discovers that Mary Jane has fallen for Peter, and grows bitter.

In a climax on the Queensboro Bridge, the Goblin tells Spider-Man to choose whether to save the kidnapped M.J. or a tram car full of children. Spider-Man, with some help from New York City by-standers, manages to save both. The Goblin, enraged at being thwarted, brings Spider-Man to an abandoned building on Roosevelt Island, below the bridge.

The Goblin promises to torture and kill Mary Jane, and then duels with Spider-Man in hand to hand combat. Spider-Man defeats him, only to see the Norman personality regain control and beg Peter to stop his attack and help him control his mental problem. Yet the Goblin personality, manipulating Norman subconsciously, sets a sneak attack on Spider-Man, using the Goblin-glider's remote control. Peter barely avoids the charging glider hurtling in to spear him in the back. When he dodges, it fatally impales Norman, killing him quickly.

Honoring Norman's request not to tell Harry the truth, Spider-Man brings Norman's body home and Harry becomes convinced that Spider-Man murdered his father. At the funeral, Harry swears revenge on Spider-Man while reaffirming his friendship with Peter. Dismayed at the tragedy he seems to cause to all those close to him, he rejects Mary Jane's words of love to keep her from again becoming a potential target of his enemies. The film ends with Peter walking away from MJ, while trying to make the best of the situation with a victory lap as he swings around the city with ease. Spider-Man then swings from a flagpole off into the sunset for further adventures, ending the film.

Peter Parker, Harry Osborn, and Mary Jane Watson visit a genetics laboratory with their high school class. While taking photos in the laboratory, Peter is bitten on the hand by a genetically engineered "super spider", and arrives home and passes out with the bite wound considerably swollen. Meanwhile, Norman Osborn, Harry's father, attempts to preserve his company's military contract from a rival firm, personally experimenting with his company's new but unstable performance-enhancing chemical vapor to increase his speed, strength, and stamina. Afterward, he goes into an uncontrollable rage and kills his assistant. The next morning, Peter finds that his previously impaired vision has improved to 20/20 and that his body has metamorphosed into a more muscular physique. When Peter goes to school, he finds himself producing webbing and having the quick reflexes to avoid being injured in a fight with Flash Thompson. Peter escapes from the school and realizes that he has acquired spider-like abilities from the spider bite. Peter quickly learns to scale walls, long jump across building rooftops and swing using webs from his wrists.Lying to his aunt and uncle about where he is going, Peter decides to enter a wrestling tournament to get money to buy a car and impress Mary Jane. During an argument, Uncle Ben advises Peter, "With great power comes great responsibility." Peter lashes out at his uncle and leaves for the tournament. Peter wins, but is cheated out of the contest money; in retaliation he allows a thief to escape with the promoter's gate money. Afterward, Peter finds his uncle has been carjacked and killed. Peter tracks down the carjacker only to find out it was the same thief he allowed to escape earlier. During the struggle, the carjacker falls out of a window and is killed. Upon graduating, Peter decides to use his abilities to fight injustice, and dons a new costume and the persona of Spider-Man. Peter is hired as a freelance photographer when he arrives in newspaper editor J. Jonah Jameson's office with the only clear images of Spider-Man.Norman, upon finding out that Oscorp's board members plan to sell the company, attacks them at the World Unity Fair. Jameson quickly dubs Norman as the Green Goblin. The Goblin offers Spider-Man a place at his side as he sees how the authorities mistrust him, but Spider-Man refuses, knowing that it is the right thing to do. The Goblin commits arson to engage him with a final offer, which Spider-Man refuses, and the Goblin becomes set on killing him. At the Osborn and Parkers' Thanksgiving dinner, Norman notices Peter's wound from the masked confrontation and leaves shortly thereafter. Feeling betrayed by Peter, and having found a personal annoyance with Aunt May, he attacks her. Whilst she recovers in the hospital, Mary Jane admits she has a crush on Spider-Man, who rescued her on numerous occasions, and asks Peter whether he ever asked about her. Peter reflects on his own feelings, during which Harry Osborn enters. Feeling betrayed by his girlfriend, Harry becomes fully loyal to his father, and tells him whom Peter loves the most.The Goblin strikes, holding Mary Jane and a tram car full of children hostage on top the Queensboro Bridge. The Goblin tells Spider-Man to choose who he wants to save, and when Spider-Man refuses to choose, the Goblin drops his hostages. Spider-Man manages to save both Mary Jane and the tram car, whilst the Goblin is pelted at by civilians, showing loyalty to Spider-Man and proving him wrong by telling the Goblin that if "you mess with him, you mess with New York." The Goblin then grabs Spider-Man and throws him into an abandoned building and begins to beat him. The tables turn as the Goblin boasts of how he will later kill Mary Jane, and an enraged Spider-Man forces him into being unmasked. Norman begs for forgiveness, but his Goblin persona attempts to remote-control his glider to impale Spider-Man. The superhero evades the attack, causing the glider to impale Norman instead, and he dies asking Peter not to reveal his secret to Harry. At Norman’s funeral, Harry swears vengeance toward Spider-Man, who he believes is responsible for killing his father, and asserts that Peter is all he has left. Mary Jane confesses to Peter that she’s in love with him, but Peter, feeling that he must protect her from his foes, hides his true feelings. As Peter leaves the funeral, he recalls Uncle Ben's words, "With great power comes great responsibility".

Cast[]

Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-ManWillem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/Green GoblinKirsten Dunst as Mary Jane WatsonJames Franco as Harry OsbornCliff Robertson as Ben ParkerRosemary Harris as May ParkerJ. K. Simmons as J. Jonah JamesonBill Nunn as Robbie RobertsonElizabeth Banks as Betty BrantTed Raimi as Ted HoffmanJoe Manganiello as Flash ThompsonMichael Papajohn as Dennis CarradineLucy Lawless as a punk rock girlRandy Savage as Bonesaw McGrawBruce Campbell as the Ring AnnouncerRon Perkins as Mendel StrommGerry Becker as Maximillian FargasJack Betts as Henry BalkanStanley Anderson as General SlocumJim Ward as Project CoordinatorJohn Paxton as Bernard HousemanSally Livingstone as Liz AllanScott L. Schwartz as Jack MurdockK.K. Dodds as Simkins

Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man / Peter ParkerWillem Dafoe as Green Goblin / Norman OsbornKirsten Dunst as Mary Jane WatsonJames Franco as Harry OsbornCliff Robertson as Ben ParkerRosemary Harris as May ParkerJ.K. Simmons as J. Jonah JamesonGerry Becker as Maximilian FargasBill Nunn as Joseph "Robbie" RobertsonJack Betts as Henry BalkanStanley Anderson as General SlocumRon Perkins as Dr. Mendel StrommJoe Manganiello as Flash ThompsonElizabeth Banks as Betty BrantRandy Savage as Bone Saw McGrawMichael Papajohn as The CarjackerTed Raimi as HoffmanShan Omar Huey as Mr. SullivanJohn Paxton as Bernard HousemanTim De Zarn as Philip WatsonTaylor Gilbert at Madeline WatsonBruce Campbell as Ring Announcer

Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-ManWillem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/Green GoblinKirsten Dunst as Mary Jane WatsonJames Franco as Harry OsbornCliff Robertson as Ben ParkerRosemary Harris as May ParkerJ.K. Simmons as J. Jonah JamesonJoe Manganiello as Flash ThompsonGerry Becker as Maximillian FargasBill Nunn as Robbie RobertsonJack Betts as Henry BalkanStanley Anderson as General SlocumRon Perkins as Dr. Mendell StrommMichael Papajohn as Dennis CarradineK.K. Dodds as SimkinsTed Raimi as HoffmanBruce Campbell as Ring AnnouncerElizabeth Banks as Betty BrantJohn Paxton as Bernard HousemanTim DeZarn as Philip WatsonTaylor Gilbert as Madeline WatsonRandy Savage as Bone Saw McGrawLarry Joshua as Wrestling PromoterTimothy Patrick Quill as Wrestling Arena GuardLisa Danielle as Bone-etteNatalie T. Yeo as Bone-etteErica D. Porter as Bone-etteKristen Davidson as Bone-etteJason Padgett as Flash's CronyShan Omar Huey as TeacherSally Levi as Girl on BusEvan Arnold as DoctorJill Sayre as NurseJim Ward as Project CoordinatorDavid Holcomb as Captain CurtisOctavia Spencer as Check-In GirlBrad Grunberg as HecklerShane Habberstad as Little BillyDeborah Wakeham as Billy's MomRachael Bruce as Times Square ChildMackenzie Bryce as Times Square ChildJulia Barry as Times Square ChildMacy Gray as HerselfMyk Watford as Cop at FireBill Calvert as FiremanSylva Kelegian as Mother at FireKristen Marie Holly as Young Lady at FireAjay Mehta as CabbiePeter Appel as CabbieScott Spiegel as Marine CopMatt Smith as Cop at CarjackingSara Ramirez as Cop at CarjackingLucy Lawless as Punk Rock GirlJayce Bartok as Subway GuitaristMaribel González as Lady DogwalkerAmy Bouril as Office LadyJoseph D'Onofrio as Opinionated CopJim Norton as Surly Truck DriverCorey Mendell Parker as Chaperone in TramAshley Edner as Girl in TramWilliam Joseph Firth as Boy in TramAlex Black as Boy in TramLaura Gray as Tram Group MotherJoe Virzi as New Yorker on BridgeMichael Edward Thomas as New Yorker on BridgeJeanie Fox as New Yorker on BridgeRobert Kerman as Tugboat CaptainUncreditedJosscy Vallazza Aartsen as College StudentStephanie 'Stevvi' Alexander as SingerJohn P. Anthony as ParentAri Averbach as DancerJoni Avery as CopRick Avery as CopPeter Aylward as ColonelMargaret Baker as Punk #2Amy Beth Bennett as Jewelry Thief #2Brian Bennett as DoormanCamille Bennett as High School StudentGreg Beville as Wrestling FanAndy Bray as Boy Carrying Tray in CafeteriaJophery C. Brown as ChefCraig Castaldo as Man with Bike in Front of Moondance DinerJacob Chambers as CopJillian Clare as Crying Girl in TramTy Copeman as Car DriverChris Coppola as KyleAlex Couey as Running PedestrianCody Cundiff as World Unity Day AttendeeUna Damon as Lab Tour GuideChandra De Alessandro as CopMark De Alessandro as CopDonald DeCosta as World Unity Day AttendeeMichael Patrick Dobkins as Wrestling FanPatrick Coleman Duncan as Oscorp Lab TechnicianChloe Dykstra as Girl on TramJohn Dykstra as Man Running in Front of Little BillyMarcus Edward as Screaming Fan at Wrestling MatchR.C. Everbeck as Eddie BrockDane Farwell as Man at a StreetSteven D. Fernandez as Kid in Falling Cable CarJames Furlong as Wrestling FanPeter Genovese as Fleeing World Unity Day PatronEric Goldman as Angry Wrestling FanMarcus Gorman as Man in StreetAl Goto as CopJohnny Guerra as Festival City GuyJuan Guerra as City GuyRoman Güttinger as Man in CrowdRandy Hall as CopChristopher E. Hayner as Terrorized Fair AttendeeJesse Heiman as Spectator at School FightPaxton Hickey as School Bus BullyTia Dionne Hodge as Uptown WomanKevin Jackson as BellmanLoren Janes as Board of Directors MemberAndray Johnson as Balkan's AideJanis Jones as Research ScientistJ.D. Kaye as World Unity Festival AttendeeJames J. Kim as Passerby/World Unity Festival Concert GoerKolby Kirk as Festival GuestErik Kleven as ChefFrederick E. Kowalo as Wrestling FanKathy Krantz as Spider TechnicianGary Lane as Graduation - Chess Club TwinLarry Lane as Graduation - Chess Club TwinPatrick Lee as Cheering SpectatorStan Lee as Man in FairKahlil Lyons as StudentPete Macnamara as Pentagon OfficerAnthony J. Maldonado as Midtown High School StudentLynnette Marshall as ExtraTroy Martin as Graduation GuestDaniel Maysen as Man on StreetRyan McGonagle as WrestlerKara McLeod as Wrestling FanClaudia Katz Minnick as Robbie's AssistantJoy Michelle Moore as World's Fair MomJustin Neill as Flash's CronyPhilip Ng as Diamond District AttendeeDebra Orenstein as DoctorGary Otto as New YorkerAnthony Palato as World Unity Festival PatronRichard Par as World Unity Festival PatronBrian J. Patterson as World Unity Fair Guitarist for Macy GrayLeroy Patterson as World Unity Festival AttendantMartin Pfefferkorn as ThugArgenis Pirela as Screaming PersonAnthony Pittman as Ryan GillLance Polland as Bonesaw FanJanuary Pugh as Mary Jane's FriendIvan Raimi as Family on StreetKyle Raimi as Family on StreetMax Raimi as Family on StreetSophie Raimi as Family on StreetSumner Redstone as Oscorp Board MemberRobert Resto as CopSabrina G Samuels as Student at Cafeteria TableScott L. Schwartz as Screaming WrestlerRobair Sims as BellmanRichard Stephens as Man on Brooklyn BridgeTammi Sutton as Street VendorLindsay Thompson as Mary Jane's FriendLou Torres as EnriqueBenny Urquidez as MuggerSean Valla as Boat Light ManKevin Vila as Graduation GuestMichael Wajacs as CopDerek C. Wallace as Homeless ManDick Warlock as Man on RoofGraig F. Weich as StudentJason Weiss as Flash's CronyMark Wheaton as Wrestling FanBrian J. Williams as Young Thug #2John Wojnowski III as Man in StreetDared Wright as Pedestrian - Man on Street

• Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker / Spider-Man: An academically gifted high school student who is socially inept. After a genetically engineered spider bites him, he gains spider-like powers, including super-strength, enhanced reflexes, a "spider sense" that warns him of incoming danger, and the ability to climb walls and shoot spiderwebs (in a departure from the comics, where he utilizes web-shooters). Following a personal tragedy, he decides to use his newfound powers for good, and begins fighting crime and injustice as Spider-Man.
• Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin: A scientist and the CEO of Oscorp who tests an unstable strength enhancer on himself and develops a crazed alternate personality. He later becomes a costumed villain using advanced Oscorp armor and equipment, such as a weaponized glider and pumpkin-shaped explosives; the media dubs his alter-ego the "Green Goblin". Norman develops animosity for Spider-Man after the hero refuses to join him, and makes constant attempts to get back at him. Ironically, he quickly takes a liking to Peter, and sees himself as a father figure for the boy, while ignoring his own son, Harry.
• Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane "MJ" Watson: Peter's love interest ever since he was six years old. Mary Jane has an abusive father, and aspires to become an actress, but gets a job as a waitress at a rundown diner, a fact she hides from her boyfriend Harry. She later develops feelings for Peter as they spend more time together, and for his alter-ego, after he saves her on multiple occasions.
• James Franco as Harry Osborn: Peter's best friend and flatmate, Mary Jane's boyfriend and Norman's son who is envious of his father's apparent closeness with Peter. Before being cast as Harry, Franco had screen tested for Spider-Man himself.
• Cliff Robertson as Ben Parker: May Parker's husband and Peter's uncle, a laid off electrician who is trying to find a new job. He is killed by a carjacker whom Peter had earlier refused to stop, and leaves Peter with the message, "With great power comes great responsibility."
• Rosemary Harris as May Parker: Ben Parker's wife and Peter's aunt.

J. K. Simmons portrays J. Jonah Jameson, the grouchy publisher of the Daily Bugle newspaper who considers Spider-Man a criminal. Ron Perkins portrays Mendel Stromm, Osborn's head scientist, while Gerry Becker and Jack Betts play board members Maximillian Fargas and Henry Balkan. Stanley Anderson plays General Slocum and Jim Ward plays the Project Coordinator. John Paxton portrays Bernard Houseman, the butler to the Osborn family. Joe Manganiello portrays Parker's bully and rival Flash Thompson, while Sally Livingstone portrays Liz Allan. Jason Padgett portrays Flash's Crony. Bill Nunn, Ted Raimi and Elizabeth Banks portray Daily Bugle editor Robbie Robertson, Daily Bugle employees Ted Hoffman, and Jameson's secretary Betty Brant, respectively. Michael Papajohn appears as "The Carjacker", the robber who kills Ben Parker. Bruce Campbell, a long-time colleague of director Sam Raimi, cameoed as the announcer at the wrestling ring Parker takes part in. Raimi himself appeared off-screen, throwing popcorn at Parker as he enters the arena to wrestle Bonesaw McGraw (played by former professional wrestler "Macho Man" Randy Savage), while Jack Murdock (played by former professional wrestler Scott L. Schwartz) is carried off on a stretcher. Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee briefly appears in the film to grab a young girl from falling debris during the battle between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin at the World Unity Fair in Times Square. Raimi originally thought Stan Lee doing a cameo in the film was a bad idea.

Octavia Spencer appears as a staff member at Parker's wrestling match. Tig Notaro was offered the role by Raimi and auditioned, but lost it to Spencer. R&B/soul singer Macy Gray appears as herself performing at the World Unity Fair. Lucy Lawless also appears as a punk rock girl who says "Guy with eight hands... sounds hot." She did the appearance as a favor to her husband, Xena: Warrior Princess creator Rob Tapert, on which Raimi had served as an executive producer alongside Tapert. One of the stunt performers in this film is actor Johnny Tri Nguyen. Kickboxer Benny "The Jet" Urquidez has an uncredited cameo as a mugger who attacks Mary Jane. Comedian Jim Norton shows up in one scene as a truck driver who has an unfavorable opinion of Spider-Man. R.C. Everbeck was intended to play Eddie Brock, but his scenes were unreleased; Brock eventually appeared in Spider-Man 3, portrayed by Topher Grace. Sara Ramirez appears as a police officer at Uncle Ben's death scene. K. K. Dodds plays Simkins, Scott Spiegel plays a Marine Cop, while Larry Joshua plays a promoter who cheats Parker out of his winnings. Hugh Jackman, who played Logan / Wolverine in Fox's X-Men film series was planned to have a cameo appearance as the character, with Jackman even arriving in New York to shoot the scene, only for it to be scrapped after the production team realized they did not have the character's suit.

Continuity and References to the Spider-Man Universe[]

Peter Parker/Spider-Man is introduced.Norman Osborn/Green Goblin is introduced.Mary Jane Watson is introduced.Harry Osborn is introduced.Ben Parker is introduced.May Parker is introduced.J. Jonah Jameson is introduced.Robbie Robertson is introduced.Betty Brant is introduced.Ted Hoffman is introduced.Flash Thompson is introduced.Dennis Carradine is introduced.Bonesaw McGraw is introduced.Dr. Curt Connors was mentioned briefly in the film as Peter's laboratory supervisor who fired him for being late.Robbie Robertson mentioned a photographer named Brock in the film, referring to Eddie Brock.At Norman Osborn's funeral, a tombstone reads Gwen Stacy. Gwen would later appear in the third film.

Production[edit][]

Development[edit][]

Further information: Spider-Man in film § Development

In the early 1980s, Marvel Comics was in negotiations with film producers to bring their flagship character Spider-Man to the big screen. Producer Roger Corman was the first to hold an option on the Spider-Man property and began to develop the film at Orion Pictures. Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee was brought on to write a screenplay which featured Cold War themes and Doctor Octopus as the primary antagonist. The project did not come into fruition following budgetary disputes between Corman and Lee. The film rights were then acquired by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus of The Cannon Group for $225,000 in 1985. The two were not familiar with the character's background and mistook Spider-Man for being similar to a werewolf-like character. Leslie Stevens, creator of The Outer Limits, was hired to write a screenplay based on this concept. Stevens' script featured Peter Parker as an ID-badge photographer who becomes subject to a mad scientist's experiment which transforms him into a human tarantula. Tobe Hooper, who was preparing to shoot The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and Invaders from Mars for Cannon, signed on to direct. Stan Lee hated the horror route the studio was taking with the character and demanded that a new script be written that was closer to the source material.

By 1985, a new script was being written by Ted Newsom and John Brancato. In this version, Peter Parker receives his spider-like abilities from a cyclotron experiment. Doctor Octopus served as the antagonist and was written as Parker's mentor turned enemy. Barney Cohen was brought in to do a rewrite which added humor, additional action scenes, and a supporting villain. Newsom and Brancato had John Cusack in mind for the part of Peter Parker. Cannon hired Joseph Zito to direct the film having previously directed the commercially successful Invasion U.S.A. for the studio. For the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, the studio considered Tom Cruise while Zito was interested in casting actor and stuntman Scott Leva who had previously done promotional appearances as Spider-Man for Marvel. Bob Hoskins was considered for Doctor Octopus while Lauren Bacall and Katharine Hepburn were considered for Aunt May. Stan Lee expressed his desire to play J. Jonah Jameson in the film. The project was tentatively titled Spider-Man: The Movie and was budgeted between $15–20 million. Following the critical and financial failure of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and Masters of the Universe which were produced by Cannon, the budget for Spider-Man: The Movie was cut to $7 million. Joseph Zito was unwilling to compromise and stepped down as director. He was replaced by Albert Pyun who was willing to make the film at a lower budget. The project was cancelled following Cannon's acquisition by Pathé and Golan's departure from the studio.

Golan extended his option on Spider-Man during his tenure as CEO of 21st Century Film Corporation. By 1989, Golan attempted to revive the project using the original script, budget, and storyboards developed at Cannon. In order to receive production funds, Golan sold the television rights to Viacom, home video rights to Columbia Pictures, and theatrical rights to Carolco Pictures where James Cameron became attached to write and direct the film. Cameron had previously met with Stan Lee to discuss a possible X-Men film until Lee convinced Cameron that he would be a good choice to direct a Spider-Man film. Cameron said superheroes were always fanciful to him. James Cameron submitted a treatment to Carolco in 1993, which served as a darker, more mature take on the character's mythos. In addition to featuring Spider-Man's origin story, it also included reimagined versions of the villains Electro and Sandman; the former was portrayed as a megalomaniacal businessman named Carlton Strand, while the latter was written as Strand's personal bodyguard named Boyd. Cameron's treatment also featured heavy profanity, and a sex scene between Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson atop the Brooklyn Bridge. Carolco set a $50 million budget for Spider-Man, but progress stalled when Golan sued Carolco for attempting to make the film without his involvement. Cameron had recently completed True Lies for 20th Century Fox as part of a production deal with the studio. Fox attempted to acquire the film rights to Spider-Man for Cameron but this proved unsuccessful. At this point, James Cameron had abandoned the project and began work on Titanic. He would reveal in a 1997 interview on The Howard Stern Show that he had Titanic star Leonardo DiCaprio in mind for the lead role. In 1995, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) acquired 21st Century Film Corporation which had given them access to the previous Spider-Man scripts. MGM then sued Viacom, Sony Pictures, and Marvel, who they accused of fraud in the original deal with Cannon. The following year, 21st Century, Carolco, and Marvel would all file for bankruptcy.

No film studio showed interest in a Spider-Man movie following the disastrous reception of Batman & Robin in 1997, after which film studios no longer took the superhero genre seriously and had the perception that "comic books were for kids". However, the release of Blade by New Line Cinema in 1998 and the development of X-Men by 20th Century Fox convinced some studios that a Marvel character "could carry on" a movie. Marvel would emerge from bankruptcy in 1998 and declare that Menahem Golan's option had expired and that the rights had reverted to them. Marvel would then sell the film rights to Sony Pictures Entertainment, Columbia Pictures' parent company for $7 million. The deal came to effect in March 1999.

While John Calley was in work, training at Columbia, he sought with Kevin McClory's claim to develop an unofficial James Bond movie franchise, partially based on the material used on Thunderball, and also had the rights to the novel Casino Royale. MGM and Danjaq also had to sue Sony Pictures and Spectre Associates, regarding claims of how the McClory film with Sony has been demonstrated. The final blow came in March 1999, when Sony traded the Casino Royale film rights to MGM for the company's own Spider-Man project, thus starting right to production.

In April 1999, although Sony Pictures optioned from MGM all preceding script versions of a Spider-Man film, it only exercised the options on "the Cameron material", which contractually included a multi-author screenplay and a forty-five-page "scriptment" credited only to James Cameron. The studio announced they were not hiring Cameron himself to direct the film nor would they be using his script. The studio lined up Roland Emmerich, Tony Scott, Chris Columbus, Barry Sonnenfeld, Tim Burton, Michael Bay, Ang Lee, David Fincher, Jan de Bont and M. Night Shyamalan as potential directors. However, most of the directors approached were less interested in the job than in the story itself. Fincher did not want to depict the origin story, pitching the film as being based on The Night Gwen Stacy Died storyline, but the studio disagreed. Columbus would later pass on the project to direct Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone instead. Burton expressed a lack of interest by remarking that he was "just A DC guy", given his past work in Batman and Batman Returns. Amy Pascal's choice for director was Sam Raimi. Raimi was attached to direct in January 2000, for a summer 2001 release. He had been a fan of the comic book during his youth, and his passion for Spider-Man earned him the job. Raimi's agent Josh Donen warned him that he was not Sony's preferred choice for the job, leading Raimi to cite all his reasons for which he would be the ideal director for the project during a meeting with Pascal, producer Laura Ziskin, Calley, Marvel Studios chief Avi Arad and film executive Matt Tolmach before abruptly ending his pitch after one hour, not wanting to overstay if Sony's executives did not want him.

Cameron's work became the basis of David Koepp's first draft screenplay, often word for word. Koepp said that Cameron's script was "influential". Koepp pitched the idea of having Peter Parker not getting his Spider-Man suit until after the film's first forty five minutes so they could stretch out the origin story and that Peter and Mary Jane would not get together at the end, feeling that them ending apart was romantic. Cameron's versions of the Marvel villains Electro and Sandman remained the antagonists. Koepp's rewrite substituted the Green Goblin as the main antagonist and added Doctor Octopus as the secondary antagonist. Raimi felt the Green Goblin and the surrogate father-son theme between Norman Osborn and Peter Parker would be more interesting, thus, he dropped Doctor Octopus from the film. In June, Columbia hired Scott Rosenberg to rewrite Koepp's material. Remaining a constant in all the rewrites was the "organic webshooter" idea from the Cameron "scriptment". Raimi felt he would stretch the audience's suspension of disbelief too far to have Parker invent mechanical webshooters.

Rosenberg removed Doctor Octopus and created several new action sequences. Raimi felt adding a third origin story would make the film too complex. Sequences removed from the final film had Spider-Man protecting Maximilian Fargas, the wheelchair-using Oscorp executive, from the Goblin, and Spider-Man defusing a hostage situation on a train. As production neared, Ziskin hired award-winning writer Alvin Sargent, to polish the dialogue, primarily between Parker and Mary Jane. Columbia gave the Writers Guild of America a list of four writers as contributors to the final Spider-Man script: Rosenberg, Sargent and James Cameron, all three of whom voluntarily relinquished credit to the fourth, Koepp.

Casting[edit][]

For the titular role, the filmmakers wanted someone who was not "extraordinarily tall or handsome as Christopher Reeve", but who could have the "heart and soul" for the audience to identify with. The studio had expressed interest in actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Freddie Prinze Jr., Chris O'Donnell, Jude Law, Chris Klein, Ewan McGregor, Wes Bentley, and Heath Ledger. DiCaprio had been considered by James Cameron for the role in 1995, while Raimi joked that Prinze "won't even be allowed to buy a ticket to see this film". Sony made overtures to Law about Spider-Man. Pascal and her fellow executives pursued Ledger for the role due to her past collaborations, whereas Raimi met with Bentley but did not meet with DiCaprio or Ledger. Bentley turned down the role as he was uninterested in superhero movies. In addition, actors Scott Speedman, Jay Rodan and James Franco were involved in screen tests for the lead role (Franco would ultimately land the role of Harry Osborn). Joe Manganiello also auditioned for the role. He would eventually win the role as Parker's bully, Eugene "Flash" Thompson. Tobey Maguire was ultimately cast as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in July 2000, having been Sam Raimi's primary choice for the role after he saw The Cider House Rules. The studio was initially hesitant to cast someone who did not seem to fit the ranks of "adrenaline-pumping, tail-kicking titans", but Maguire managed to impress studio executives with his audition. The actor was signed for a deal in the range of $3 to $4 million with higher salary options for two sequels. To prepare, Maguire was trained by a physical trainer, a yoga instructor, a martial arts expert, and a climbing expert, taking several months to improve his physique. Maguire studied spiders and worked with a wire man to simulate the arachnid-like motion and had a special diet, though he tried to be as fit as possible due to being a vegan.

Nicolas Cage, Jason Isaacs and John Malkovich were considered for the role of Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, but turned down the role. Willem Dafoe was cast as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in November 2000. Raimi met with Dafoe while he was filming a movie in Spain. He felt attracted at the prospect of working with Raimi and the idea of making a comic book movie. Dafoe insisted on wearing the uncomfortable costume as he felt that a stuntman would not convey the character's necessary body language. The 580-piece suit took half an hour to put on.

Kate Bosworth unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Mary Jane Watson. Elizabeth Banks also auditioned for the role but she was told by Producer Laura Ziskin that she was too old for the role and was cast as Betty Brant instead. Kate Hudson turned down the role. Eliza Dushku, Mena Suvari and Jaime King also auditioned for the role. Before Raimi cast Kirsten Dunst, he had expressed his interest in casting Alicia Witt. Dunst decided to audition after learning Maguire had been cast, feeling the film would have a more independent feel. Dunst earned the role a month before shooting in an audition in Berlin. Her hair was dyed in the front and she wore a half-wig. The crew wanted her to straighten her teeth but she refused.

J. K. Simmons was cast as J. Jonah Jameson, though he learned about his casting through a Spider-Man fan who had read the news of his casting at a fan website three hours before his agent contacted him to inform him that he had gotten the role. Despite Stan Lee's longtime interest in playing Jameson, the filmmakers agreed that he was too old to convincingly play the part, but Lee was supportive of Simmons' casting, feeling that Simmons did better than he would have done.

Hugh Jackman, who starred as Logan / Wolverine in the X-Men film series, stated in September 2013 that he was approached to appear as Wolverine in the film in either a gag or just for a cameo appearance. However, when Jackman arrived to New York to shoot the scene, plans for his appearance never materialized because the filmmakers were unable to get the costume Jackman had used in X-Men.

Filming[edit][]

With Spider-Man cast, filming was set to begin November 2000 in New York City and on Sony soundstages. The film was set for release in November 2001, but was postponed to be released on May 3, 2002, due to an expected extended post-production schedule.

Principal photography officially began on January 8, 2001, in Culver City, California. After the September 11 attacks happened that year, certain sequences were re-filmed, and a shot of the Twin Towers was removed from the film which can be found on the Sony Stock Footage website. Sony's Stage 29 was used for Parker's Forest Hills home, and Stage 27 was used for the wrestling sequence where Parker takes on Bonesaw McGraw (Randy Savage). Stage 27 was also used for the complex Times Square sequence where Spider-Man and the Goblin battle for the first time, where a three-story set with a breakaway balcony piece was built. The scene also required shooting in Downey, California. On March 6, 45-year-old construction worker Tim Holcombe was killed when a forklift modified as a construction crane crashed into a construction basket that he was in. The following court case led to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health to fine Sony $58,805. Raimi rented out a Warner Bros. Studio lot for the set to use to film the upside down kiss scene. Kirsten Dunst said that filming the upside down kiss scene was not so romantic, she said that Maguire could not breathe as water was pouring down into his nose while hanging upside down. Dunst also called shooting the scene "awful". Maguire also said that he was gasping for air. He and Franco had tension on set due to Franco's infatuation with Dunst, who was dating Maguire at the time. Randy Savage refused a Stunt Double to do a mid-flip so Savage did the stunt and injured himself.

In Los Angeles, locations included the Natural History Museum (for the Columbia University lab where Parker is bitten and receives his powers), the Pacific Electricity Building (the Daily Bugle offices) and Greystone Mansion (for the interiors of Norman Osborn's home), the latter of which was the set that was used for Batman. In April, 4 of the Spider-Man costumes were stolen, and Sony put up a $25,000 reward for their return. They were recovered after 18 months and a former movie studio security guard and an accomplice were arrested. Production moved to New York City for two weeks, taking in locations such as the Queensboro Bridge, the exteriors of Columbia University's Low Memorial Library and the New York Public Library, and a rooftop garden in the Rockefeller Center. The crew returned to Los Angeles where production continued, filming wrapped in June 2001. The Flatiron Building was used for the Daily Bugle.

Design[edit][]

The Green Goblin's original headgear was an animatronic mask created by Amalgamated Dynamics. Dafoe described it as a "Halloween mask" and "kind of silly-looking", and the designers instead came up with a modern, angular helmet. Dafoe also wanted the costume to be flexible enough to allow him to do splits.

To create Spider-Man's costume, Maguire was fitted for the skintight suit, being covered with layers of substance to create the suit's shape. One concept costume designer James Acheson became fond of was the idea of having a red emblem over a black costume. Another, which would eventually lead to the final product, featured an enlarged logo on the chest and red stripes going down the sides of the legs. In early development, Acheson experimented with a potential helmet-like design for the suit, which was then scrapped. It was designed as a single piece, including the mask. A hard shell was worn underneath the mask to make the shape of the head look better and to keep the mask tight while keeping the wearer comfortable. For scenes in which Spider-Man would take his mask off, there was an alternate suit where the mask was a separate piece. The webbing, which accented the costume, was cut by computer. The mask eye lenses were designed to have a mirror look. for the Spider for which it gives Peter his powers in the film, Raimi selected the Steatoda grossa and the makeup department spruced it with red and blue.

Visual effects[edit][]

Visual effects supervisor John Dykstra was hired to produce the film's visual effects in May 2000. Dykstra met with Raimi while he was filming The Gift (2000). He convinced Raimi to make many of the stunts computer-generated imagery, as they would have been physically impossible. Raimi had used more traditional special effects in his previous films and learned a lot about using computers during production. Raimi worked hard to plan all the sequences of Spider-Man swinging from buildings, which he described as, "ballet in the sky." The complexity of such sequences meant the budget rose from an initially planned $70 million to around $100 million. Shots were made more complicated because of the main characters' individual color schemes, so Spider-Man and the Green Goblin had to be shot separately for effects shots: Spider-Man was shot in front of a greenscreen, while the Green Goblin was shot against bluescreen. Shooting them together would have resulted in one character being erased from a shot.

Dykstra said the biggest difficulty of creating Spider-Man was that as the character was masked, it immediately lost a lot of characterization. Without the context of eyes or mouth, a lot of body language had to be put in so that there would be emotional content. Raimi wanted to convey the essence of Spider-Man as being, "the transition that occurs between him being a young man going through puberty and being a superhero." Dykstra said his crew of animators had never reached such a level of sophistication to give subtle hints of still making Spider-Man feel like a human being. When two studio executives were shown shots of the computer generated character, they believed it was actually Maguire performing stunts. In addition, Dykstra's crew had to composite areas of New York City and replaced every car in shots with digital models. Raimi did not want it to feel entirely like animation, so none of the shots were 100% computer-generated.

Music[edit][]

Further information: Music from and Inspired by Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Original Motion Picture Score

Danny Elfman composed the music for the film. Its soundtrack combines traditional orchestration, ethnic percussion, and electronic elements. Its distinct ethnic characteristics are credited to Elfman, who spent a year in Africa studying its unique percussion.

Release[edit][]

Marketing[edit][]

After the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, Sony recalled a teaser poster which showed a close-up of Spider-Man's head with the World Trade Center towers reflected in his eyes. The film's original teaser trailer, released that same year, featured a mini-film plot involving a group of bank robbers escaping in a Eurocopter AS355 Twin Squirrel helicopter, which gets caught from behind and propelled backward into what at first appears to be a net, then is shown to be a gigantic spider web spun between the World Trade Center towers. This trailer was attached to the screenings of Jurassic Park III, American Pie 2, Rush Hour 2, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Planet of the Apes, and other films. According to Sony, the trailer did not contain any actual footage from the film itself. Both the trailer and poster were removed after the events of the attacks, but can be found online. New teaser posters featuring Spider-Man and the Green Goblin were unveiled in November 2001. Meanwhile, a new trailer deemed acceptable by Sony was later released during Temptation Island and online on December 13, 2001. It made its theatrical debut six days later with the opening of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Raimi later stated that the scene was, in fact, originally in the film but removed due to the recency of the attacks. Another Spider-Man trailer premiered online on March 27, 2002, and in theaters with the releases of Panic Room and The Rookie just two days later on March 29.

To promote the release of the film, Sony partnered with CKE Restaurants to release kids meal toys at Hardee's and Carl's Jr. restaurants. Beginning in April 2002, the locations offered customers three different Spider-Man collector's cups and patrons could purchase a Spider-Man figure to attach to their car radio antenna. A month later in May, "Cool Combos for Kids" would feature one of four different toys highlighting Spider-Man or his nemesis, the Green Goblin. KFC would then follow suit, releasing their own Spider-Man kids meal toys at their locations in the United Kingdom. Other promotional partners included Dr Pepper, Hershey's, Kellogg's, and Reebok.

Theatrical[edit][]

In the U.S., the film was almost given an "R" rating by the MPAA due to the intensity of the final fight between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin, thus leading to the scene being toned down slightly. Ultimately, it was rated "PG-13" for "stylized violence and action". Before the film's British theatrical release in June 2002, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) gave the film a "12" certificate. Due to Spider-Man's popularity with younger children, this prompted much controversy. The BBFC defended its decision, arguing that the film could have been given a "15". Despite this, North Norfolk and Breckland District Councils, in East Anglia, changed it to a "PG", and Tameside council, Manchester, denoted it a "PG-12". In late August, the BBFC relaxed its policy to "12A", leading Sony to re-release the film.

Home media[edit][]

Spider-Man was released on DVD and VHS on November 1, 2002, in North America and Australia, and on November 25, 2002, in the UK. Over 7 million DVD copies were sold on the first day of release. The film would hold the record for having the highest single-day DVD sales until it was taken by Finding Nemo in 2003. As of 2022, it has the single-day record for any live-action film. In just a few days, the DVD release sold more than 11 million copies, beating Monsters, Inc. and setting records for any DVD release. While the VHS release sold over 6.5 million copies, the DVD release went on to become one of the best-selling live-action DVD titles of all time with over 19.5 million copies being sold. This two-disc DVD release comes in widescreen (1.85:1 aspect ratio) and fullscreen (specifically reframed 1.33:1 aspect ratio digitally mastered from the original source and specially reframed by the filmmakers themselves without gutting out portions of the frame using pan and scan) versions. Bonus features on the first disc include commentaries, character files, marketing champaign with music videos, TV spots and trailers, Weaving the Web Pop-Up Factoids, the Spider-Sense option that pops up an icon of Spider-Man while disabling subtitles and more. As for the second disc, the special features are an HBO special called The Making of Spider-Man, The Evolution of Spider-Man, outtakes, screen tests, an E! Network special called Spider-Mania and more. Both discs feature DVD-ROM features, such as a countdown to Spider-Man 2, record your own commentary and an Activision game.

The film's American television rights (Fox, TBS/TNT) were sold for $60 million. Related gross toy sales were $109 million. Its American DVD revenue by July 2004 was $338.8 million. Its American VHS revenue by July 2004 was $89.2 million. As of 2006, the film has grossed a total revenue of $1.5 billion from box office and home video (sales and rentals), in addition a further $880 million from television (pay-per-view, broadcast TV and cable TV).

In the United Kingdom, the film was watched by 700,000 viewers on subscription television channel Sky Movies 1 in 2004, making it the year's ninth most-watched film on subscription television.

The film made its Blu-ray debut in 2007 as part of the Spider-Man Trilogy. Just three years later, it was released as a separate Blu-ray on November 16, 2010. This was followed by another release on July 5, 2011. Spider-Man was also included in the Spider-Man Legacy Collection, which includes 5 Spider-Man films in a 4K UHD Blu-ray collection, which was released on October 17, 2017.

Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy was released on Disney+ on April 21, 2023.

Reception[edit][]

Box office[edit][]

Spider-Man became the first film to pass the $100 million mark in a single weekend, even when adjusting for inflation, with its $114,844,116 gross establishing a new opening weekend record. The gross surpassed the previous record holder's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone $90.3 million opening; on this, Rick Lyman of The New York Times wrote "while industry executives had expected a strong opening for the film because there was little competition in the marketplace and prerelease polling indicated intense interest from all age groups, no one predicted that Spider-Man would surpass the Harry Potter record." Starting with Twister in 1996, the benefits of bowing in May had been first fully exploited with its $41 million opening weekend. Following comparable debuts of Deep Impact in 1998 and The Mummy in 1999, the frame was taken to the next level in 2001 with the release of The Mummy Returns. Spider-Man had not only made history for a summer starter film, but for weekends as well. It surpassed The Lost World: Jurassic Park to have the largest May opening weekend. When the film was released, it was ranked number one at the box office, beating The Scorpion King. The film also broke X-Men's record for having the highest opening weekend for a superhero film.

The film also set a record for crossing the $100 million milestone in three days, at the time being the fastest any film had reached the mark. This opening weekend haul had an average of $31,769 per theater, which at the time, Box Office Mojo reported as being "the highest per theater average ever for an ultra-wide release." The film's three-day record was surpassed by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest four years later. The $114.8 million opening weekend was the highest at the North America box office film for a non-sequel, until it was surpassed eight years later by Alice in Wonderland. Spider-Man would hold the record for having the highest-three day gross until it was surpassed by Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith in 2005. Within four days, it had the biggest non-holiday Monday of all time with $11 million, increasing the total gross to $125.1 million and staying ahead of recent blockbusters, including Charlie's Angels and Erin Brockovich.

With the film's release in the United States and Canada on May 3, 2002, on 7,500 screens at 3,615 theaters, the film earned $39,406,872 on its opening day, averaging $10,901 per theater. This was the highest opening day at the time until it was surpassed by its sequel Spider-Man 2's $40.4 million haul in 2004. For three years, the film would hold the record for having the highest Friday gross until 2005 when it was overtaken by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Upon its opening, it had the third-highest number of screenings of any film, behind Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Mission: Impossible 2. Spider-Man also set an all-time record for the highest earnings in a single day with $43,622,264 on its second day of release, a record later surpassed by Shrek 2 in 2004. On the Sunday during its opening weekend, the film earned an additional $31,814,980, the highest gross a film took in on a Sunday, at the time.

The film stayed at the top position in its second weekend ahead of Unfaithful, dropping only 38% and grossing another $71,417,527, while averaging $19,755.89 per theater. At the time, this was the highest-grossing second weekend of any film. During its second weekend, the film reached the $200 million mark on its ninth day of release, also a record at the time. This made it the fastest film to cross the $200 million mark, surpassing Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. At the end of its second weekend, the film brought in a 10-day total of $223,040,031. It quickly surpassed Ice Age to become the highest-grossing film of the year. Spider-Man had crossed over 149 spots on the top-grossing film chart, landing in 29th place between Rush Hour 2 and Mrs. Doubtfire while excelling past the final tallies of other films, including Batman Forever, Mission: Impossible 2 and The Mummy Returns.

The film dropped to the second position in its third weekend, behind Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, but still made $45,036,912, dropping only 37%, averaging $12,458 per theater, and bringing the 17-day tally to $285,573,668. Its third weekend haul set the record for highest-grossing third weekend, which was first surpassed by Avatar (2009). Spider-Man would beat another record that was previously held by The Phantom Menace, becoming the quickest film to hit $300 million in just 22 days. It stayed at the second position in its fourth weekend, grossing $35,814,844 over the four-day Memorial Day frame, dropping only 21% while expanding to 3,876 theaters, averaging $9,240 over four days, and bringing the 25-day gross to $333,641,492. Within 66 days, it was the fastest film to approach $400 million, tying its record with Titanic. Both films held this record for two years before being surpassed by Shrek 2.

At the box office, Spider-Man became 2002's highest-grossing film with $407,022,860 in the U.S. and Canada, defeating The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Attack of the Clones. As of 2021, Spider-Man ranks as the 37th-highest-grossing film of all time in the U.S. and Canada, not adjusted for inflation. The film also grossed $418,002,176 from its international markets, bringing its worldwide total to $825,025,036 making it 2002's third-highest-grossing film behind The Two Towers and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and the 58th-highest-grossing film of all time, worldwide. Additionally, it was the highest-grossing Sony film of all time, beating out Men in Black. Spider-Man also dethroned Batman's record for becoming the highest-grossing superhero film of all time. The film sold an estimated 69,484,700 tickets in the US. It held the record for most tickets sold by a comic book movie until The Dark Knight topped it in 2008. As of 2020, it is still the sixth highest grossing comic book movie of all time adjusted for inflation. Only Avengers: Infinity War, The Dark Knight, Black Panther, The Avengers and Avengers: Endgame have sold more tickets than Spider-Man. Spider-Man was the highest-grossing superhero origin film, a record it held for 15 years until it was surpassed by Wonder Woman (2017). As of 2020, it is the 12th-highest-grossing superhero film, as well as the 12th-highest-grossing comic book adaptation in general.

Internationally, Spider-Man opened in 17 territories in its first week, earning a total of $13.3 million. It scored the second-highest opening in Iceland, Singapore and South Korea. Plus, Russia and Yugoslavia had the third best all time film opening. Spider-Man would score the biggest opening in Switzerland with $1.4 million and 160,000 admissions from 106 screens, surpassing The World Is Not Enough. As for Germany, it had the strongest June opening and the third best debut of any movie, behind Attack of the Clones and Ice Age. Its opening screenings in France were a massive 10,645 admissions from 27 screens, beating out the French film Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra. Additionally, it set the highest opening gross in Spain. Meanwhile, Spider-Man would go on to unleash new opening records in the UK during the 2002 FIFA World Cup soccer game. The film made $13.9 million from 509 screens, making it the country's fifth biggest movie opening, trailing only behind Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, The Phantom Menace, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and Attack of the Clones. In addition, Spider-Man had the largest opening of any film in the UK with a BBFC certificate higher than a "PG" rating, staying ahead of Independence Day and Hannibal. Despite lunch matches, it still led the weekend box office to a bigger 110% week-to-week increase and a 130% year-on-year increase when Pearl Harbor led the chart during its third week. It was the country's number one film for three weeks until it was displaced by Minority Report. In India, the film was simultaneously released in English and three different languages across 250 screens, becoming the widest reach and return for a Hollywood title since The Mummy Returns in 2001. It was even Sony's first major release in the country since Godzilla in 1998. The total number of international markets that generated grosses in excess of $10 million include Australia ($16.9 million), Brazil ($17.4 million), France, Algeria, Monaco, Morocco and Tunisia ($32.9 million), Germany ($30.7 million), Italy ($20.8 million), Japan ($56.2 million), Mexico ($31.2 million), South Korea ($16.98 million), Spain ($23.7 million), and the United Kingdom, Ireland and Malta ($45.8 million).

Spider-Man became the highest-grossing superhero film of all time at the time of its release, both domestically and worldwide while surpassing Batman. Its domestic gross was eventually topped by The Dark Knight (2008). Its worldwide gross was first surpassed by Spider-Man 3 (2007).

The film also held the record as Sony's highest-grossing film domestically until 2018, when it was finally surpassed by Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle ($404.5 million).

Critical response[edit][]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 247 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "Not only does Spider-Man provide a good dose of web-swinging fun, it also has a heart, thanks to the combined charms of director Sam Raimi and star Tobey Maguire." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.

The casting, mainly Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe and J. K. Simmons, is often cited as one of the film's high points. Eric Harrison, of the Houston Chronicle, was initially skeptical of the casting of Maguire, but after seeing the film he stated, "it becomes difficult to imagine anyone else in the role." USA Today critic Mike Clark believed the casting rivaled that of Christopher Reeve as 1978's Superman. Owen Gleiberman, of Entertainment Weekly, had mixed feelings about the casting, particularly Tobey Maguire. "Maguire, winning as he is, never quite gets the chance to bring the two sides of Spidey—the boy and the man, the romantic and the avenger—together." The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt thought: "the filmmakers' imaginations work in overdrive from the clever design of the cobwebby opening credits and Spider-Man and M.J.'s upside down kiss—after one of his many rescues of her—to a finale that leaves character relationships open ended for future adventures."

LA Weekly's Manohla Dargis wrote, "It isn't that Spider-Man is inherently unsuited for live-action translation; it's just that he's not particularly interesting or, well, animated." Giving it two and a half stars out of four, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times felt that the film lacked a decent action element: "Consider the scene where Spider-Man is given a cruel choice between saving Mary Jane or a cable car full of school kids. He tries to save both, so that everyone dangles from webbing that seems about to pull loose. The visuals here could have given an impression of the enormous weights and tensions involved, but instead the scene seems more like a bloodless storyboard of the idea." Stylistically, there was heavy criticism of the Green Goblin's costume, which led IGN's Richard George to comment years later: "We're not saying the comic book costume is exactly thrilling, but the Goblin armor (the helmet in particular) from Spider-Man is almost comically bad... Not only is it not frightening, it prohibits expression."

Entertainment Weekly put "the kiss in Spider-Man" on its end-of-the-decade "best-of" list, saying: "There's a fine line between romantic and corny. And the rain-soaked smooch between Spider-Man and Mary Jane from 2002 tap-dances right on that line. The reason it works? Even if she suspects he's Peter Parker, she doesn't try to find out. And that's sexy."

Empire magazine ranked Spider-Man 437 in its 500 Greatest Movies of All Time list in 2008.

Accolades[edit][]

Main article: List of accolades received by the 2002–2007 Spider-Man film series

The film won several awards ranging from Teen Choice Awards to the Saturn Awards, and was also nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound (Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Ed Novick), but lost to The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Chicago, respectively. While only Danny Elfman brought home a Saturn Award, Raimi, Maguire, and Dunst were all nominated for their respective positions. It also took home the People's Choice Award for "Favorite Motion Picture." The film was nominated for Favorite Movie at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, but lost to Austin Powers in Goldmember.

Future[]

Sequels[]

Main articles: Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3

Two sequels to Spider-Man were produced and directed by Sam Raimi: Spider-Man 2 was released on June 30, 2004, while Spider-Man 3 was released on May 4, 2007.

Notes[]

• Spider-Man is a commercially successful superhero film released in 2002 and directed by Sam Raimi. The film stars Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, and Kirsten Dunst. It tells the origin story of Spider-Man and fight against his first major enemy, Green Goblin. The film was the first movie to ever make more than US $100 million in one weekend. As of 2012, that record has been broken.

Critical Reaction[]

The general critical reaction was generally positive, with Maguire and Dafoe singled out for particular praise. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an average rating of 7.6/10 and an 89% "certified fresh". Top critics on Metacritic gave the film a normalized score of 73/100 indicating generally favorable reviews. There were complaints about the second half of the film being rather derivative and the CGI being overused towards the end. The relatively flat acting from most of the other lead actors, especially Kirsten Dunst and James Franco, also created some criticisms. Some also found the idea of putting an expressive actor like Willem Dafoe in a large costume with no expressiveness for most of the film was a large mistake.

Some vocal comic-book fans aired complaints about the change made in Spider-Man's webs. In the comic books, Peter Parker invents a mechanical web-shooting device, while in the movie he produces his webbing organically from his wrists. Sam Raimi has, however, explained this decision, saying that "the only thing I could not relate to with Peter was him being a genius".

The film was a hit, grossing $403,706,375 in its theatrical run in North America, becoming the highest-grossing film of the year, and denying the Star Wars film Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones from being number one in the box office for the first time ever. It was the fifth highest grossing film of all time at the end of its run. Its $114,844,116 opening weekend set a record, and the movie became the first to earn over $100 million in a weekend. It had an equally successful home-video release. Maguire, previously known as a baby-faced character actor, became a major star.

According to court documents, Marvel Comics tried to use "Hollywood accounting" to deprive Stan Lee of due royalties from the films, claiming the film's "earnings" were not profits. Lee successfully sued in 2002.

The most famous scene in the film and one which immediately entered popular culture is the 'upside down kiss' scene where Spider-Man, after saving Mary Jane from a gang of thugs, has a romantic kiss in the rain with her as he hangs upside down from the wall. This iconic image had been utilized in the comics for many years without generating the same kind of response.

Sequels[]

• Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is a junior novel set between the first and second film.
• Spider-Man 2 was released on June 30, 2004
• Spider-Man 3 was released on May 4, 2007

Trivia[]

• Originally, Carolco Pictures was to distribute the movie but went bankrupt before it could secure the rights.
• The climax of the film is loosely based on Amazing Spider-Man #121-122, in which the Goblin kidnaps Spider-Man's girlfriend, Gwen Stacy and suspends her over a bridge. Gwen is killed by the fall and the Goblin is later impaled by his own glider. The main differences in the movie is that the damsel in distress is Mary Jane and she survives (and that Peter caught her with a strand of webbing in the comics).
• Stan Lee makes a cameo appearance, at the scene when the Green Goblin first struck at the World Unity Festival. He pulls a girl out of the way of some falling rocks. Of note is that when originally filming, Lee was meant to pick up the girl and after several tries could not, and so he had to eventually just lead her away.
• Both main characters are given names that are discarded in the movie. Spider-Man is "The Human Spider" (possibly a reference to The Human Torch), and the Green Goblin is called "The Green Meanie".
• Several Spider-Man costumes were created at a cost of up to $100,000 each. Four were stolen from the set in early April 2001 and Columbia Pictures posted a $25,000 reward for their return. The costumes were not returned.
• The genetically modified spider that bit Peter Parker was not a black widow spider but a Steatoda grossa spider, which was chosen by Steven R. Kutcher and painted red and blue by Jens Schnabel while the spider was anesthetized. That is how Peter created the red and blue costume which he had gotten the idea from the spider's color skin.
• The jumping spider that Peter attempts to take a picture of is an Avondale spider, the same type used in Arachnophobia.
• The sketches Peter Parker does of his costume in the movie were actually done by Phil Jimenez, a sequential artist with a long career working for both Marvel and DC Comics. One of the designs is actually Stingray, another Marvel character.
• In the comics, Peter Parker designed and made Spider-Man's synthetic spider web and the mechanical wrist guns that fire it. In the movie he shoots the web from his own body. Director Sam Raimi answered the protests of comic fans saying that it was more credible to have Peter shoot web this way than for a high school boy to be able to produce a wonder adhesive in his spare time that 3M can not make. It is noteworthy, though, that Peter is able to read Norman Osborn's work on nanotechnology with understanding while only in high school. Interestingly, the comic version of Spider-Man grew organic web-shooters as well after the movie's release. The Ultimate version of Spider-Man refers to the classic character in that he utilizes a mechanical web shooter and artificial webs. The discrepancy of a high schooler cracking such a complex formula is resolved by having Peter complete a formula that his father had begun the research on, eliminating the conflict that resulted in the change for his movie incarnation.
• Director Sam Raimi's 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88, also known as The Classic, appears in the movie as Uncle Ben's car. This car has appeared in all Raimi's films, even disguised as a wagon in his film Western film The Quick and the Dead.
• Tobey Maguire said he had never read a Spider-Man comic but took the role because he liked the script. The same also applies for Kirsten Dunst. Raimi was a fan of Spider-Man from a young age.
• The scene when the Oscorp Industries board kick Norman Osborn off the council may have been inspiration for a similar scene in Fantastic Four, in which Victor Von Doom is kicked off the Von Doom Industries.
• The smoke in the lab during Norman Osborn's transformation scene was originally white but was then digitally altered to green. Director Raimi wanted to use real green smoke, but went with the CG effect when prop designers could not create a colored smoke that was non-toxic.
• Entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as having the Highest Box Office Gross in a single day, taking in US$43.6 million on its second day of release. That record has been broken since then.
• Bonesaw, the wrestler Spider-Man fights for money, is played by real life wrestler Randy "Macho Man" Savage. Early in his career, Savage wrestled under the name The Spider.
• After the terrorist attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001, Sony recalled teaser posters which showed a close-up of Spider-Man's face with the New York skyline (including, prominently, the World Trade Center towers) reflected in his eyes. Not all the posters were recovered, however, and the ones still at large are now highly prized collector's items.
• The movie's original trailer, released in 2001, showed a group of bank robbers on their getaway in a helicopter. However, they are stopped by Spider-Man with a giant spider-web between the two towers of the World Trade Center. The trailer was pulled after the events of September 11, 2001 attacks and remains unreleased, although it can be found on the Internet.
• When Jameson's subordinates are trying to tell him about Spider-Man, one of them says, "Eddie's been trying to get a picture of him for weeks." This is apparently a reference to Eddie Brock, who in the comics is a reporter for a rival newspaper to Peter Parker and ultimately, after his Pulitzer-prize winning story is denounced as lies, becomes Venom. Eddie was not seen in this movie, but had an important role in the third movie.
• When trying to shoot web from a building top Peter says "Up up and away web" a reference to Superman. Peter also says "Shazam" a reference to DC Comics's Captain Marvel. Directly afterwards when swinging Peter says "Tally ho!" This is the same line used in Raimi's Army of Darkness, when Ash (Bruce Campbell) swings on a rope during a fight sequence in the battle at the castle, which is itself a reference to Errol Flynn's swashbuckling roles.
• Spider-Man was originally set to be released in November 2001.
• Nicolas Cage and John Malkovich were first approached for the role of the Green Goblin before Willem Dafoe got the role.
• In a 2013 interview with The Huffington Post, Hugh Jackman, who portrays Wolverine in the X-Men series of films, revealed he was initially going to make a cameo appearance as Wolverine in this film. Plans for the cameo were cancelled once it became clear Jackman's costume from X-Men would be unavailable.

Gallery[]

Main article: Spider-Man (2002)/Gallery

Posters[]

Videos[]

Trailers[]

See Also[]

• 51 image(s) from Spider-Man (2002 film)

Links and References[]

External links[]

• Official site
• IMDb
• Wikipedia
• TVTropes
• Spider-Man on IMDB.com
• Spider-Man on AllMovie.com
• [1] on Marvel Movies wiki
• Spider-Man on Spider-Man Films wiki
• Marvel Films
• Spider-Man movie message boards
• Spider-Man Downloads wallpapers, screensavers, buddy icons
• Spider-Man director Sam Raimi interview
• Template:Shh
• Movie Tour Guide.com - Maps and directions to Spider-man Filming Locations
• Original trailer (pre-September 11)