All You Need To Know: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Fan Analysis

Yes, you’re at the right place. At eGamer we’re always looking to improve and try out new things, so we’re now taking our baby steps out into the world of entertainment. Let’s see how it goes then, hey? Anyway, so many will remember, or be trying to forget, Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man reboot from 2012. Personally, I really enjoyed it especially considering that I’m an extremely enthusiastic fan having read a huge chunk of the comics, both Amazing and all of Ultimate (with the exception of the whole new black Spider-Man thing) and watched all the movies and The Animated TV series.

I enjoyed it because I prefer Ultimate Spider-Man. I felt the 160 issue run was absolutely brilliant, and it was incredible to see so many elements of it translated on screen in The Amazing Spider-Man, which sort of blended both worlds but took slightly more inspiration from Ultimate. I also feel Andrew Garfield is a wonderful choice for Peter Parker, and I knew he would be after watching The Social Network. The movie had humour, found a good blend between serious and comedy (which is a famous trait of the Ultimate comics), had gorgeous special effects and visuals, and it told the origin story nicely, as well as presented an opportunity for a real story direction, which is something the original trilogy severely lacked. Why? Because the plot, right down to the endgame, was identical in each movie. Remember how Mary Jane got kidnapped each and every time before the finale? Yeah, like that’s progress.

But, I still like Spider-Man 1, and I really dislike those people who act as though you need to conform to one group of liking and it’s simply impossible to like or hate both. Well, I disliked Spider-Man 2 and 3, and there are many merits to both The Amazing Spider-Man and Raimi’s Spider-Man. The only way you can get a decent comparison going is once The Amazing Spider-Man gets a fair shot at a trilogy. Even then, really, it’s alright if you like both or dislike them all. However, I will say that personally I do prefer the tone, actors and the direction of The Amazing Spider-Man. It has great potential, so let it breathe.

Here, we have an overarching story that, if my speculation is correct, could lead to an extremely exciting second movie. The origin story is told, and now the writers have full creative freedom with where they want to take this. So before I get into my fan analysis, let me briefly go over the major details revealed so far. I’ll start with the thing everyone loves: the good old cast list.

We’ve got Marc Webb directing again, and the main cast is here for sure. New to the scene is Jamie Foxx, Oscar-nominee and lead actor in Django: Unchained. He will be playing the famous Spidey villain Electro. Before you raise your eyebrows over him being black, well Electro is dark-skinned in Ultimate Spider-Man, so they’re staying true to the comics. Plus, he’s a great actor, and the fact that they’re getting someone of his caliber to play a side villain shows some strong initiative.

Of the character Electro, Foxx said (from IGN ):

“Electro is a great character. … I met with the director, [Marc] Webb, I met with Andrew Garfield, and we talked. … I think Electro will be an exciting character to play because he’s a … genius electrician-type person, and he gets the short end of the stick from the whole world, and the next thing you know he turns it on.”

At the beginning of December last year, Marc tweeted that Chronicle star Dane DeHaan was signed on to play Harry Osborn, Peter’s old friend. Shailene Woodley was cast as Mary Jane Watson, Peter’s third, but most famous, love interest in the Amazing Spider-Man comics (Betty Brant, Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane) and first love interest in Ultimate Spider-Man. Finally, we also have actor Paul Giamatti (John Adams, Cosmopolis) signed on to play The Rhino, another notable Spidey villain.

Earlier this month on February 5, Marc Webb announced through Twitter that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 had begun filming, and a day later on February 6 we received the first official plot synopsis:

For Peter Parker, life is busy. Between taking out the bad guys as Spider-Man and spending time with the person he loves, Gwen Stacy, high school graduation can’t come quickly enough. Peter hasn’t forgotten about the promise he made to Gwen’s father to protect her by staying away, but that’s a promise he just can’t keep. Things will change for Peter when a new villain, Electro, emerges, an old friend, Harry Osborn, returns, and Peter uncovers new clues about his past.

Now we finally get to the good and fun part (for me anyway), which is my analysis. Firstly, you must be wondering who the main villain is, because surely Electro and Rhino won’t be the punchline of the movie. Well, while it hasn’t been confirmed yet, I’m very sure that Norman Osborn, as in the Green Goblin, will be the primary antagonist. The reason I believe this is because, obviously besides the fact that Harry Osborn is in the movie, teasers reveal that Oscorp will play a larger role in the movie and, more importantly, in the first film it was said that Norman Osborn is dying, and Doctor Curt Connors’ research on cross-species genetics was the key to saving him. Now considering that A) in the Ultimate comics, Green Goblin is not just a guy in a suit, but a gargoyle-like, monstrous beast as a result of the Oscorp-created Oz Compound, and B) when you think how The Lizard was created, it’s not that big of a stretch to make, and it’s a pretty plausible entry point as far as Spider-Man stories go.

But the largest piece of evidence that points towards Green Goblin being the main villain is far more revealing. As you know, Gwen Stacy is a tragic character who dies in both The Amazing Spider-Man comics and Ultimate Spider-Man comics. In Amazing, Green Goblin throws her off a bridge, and her neck is snapped from whiplash when Spider-Man tries to web her leg. In Ultimate, well, Carnage devours her. Now, considering that Mary Jane has been cast, it provides a great stepping point for the writers to introduce the “Death of Gwen Stacy” story arc. It would be a monumental moment in Peter’s life, and if done correctly could make for a magnificent movie. The most compelling evidence to point towards this is a bit spoilerish, and it possibly reveals a scene in the movie. I’ll leave this to you.

Click to reveal

One of the biggest causes for hype recently happened on February 7, where it was teased that Venom could be part of this movie. Personally, I don’t think he will be, especially when you’ve got three villains, one of them being the famous Green Goblin. However, I think the Symbiote plot may surface, and Venom may be the movie’s final tease for the next sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 3.

See, Webb tweeted a photo of a locker, and gave the hashtag “#happybirthday.”

Now, Crave (via Badass Digest) analysed this, and you can read it down below (thanks IGN):

That’s the same number as the locker in which Peter Parker and Eddie Brock found the Venom suit in the Ultimate Spider-Man comic books, in which the suit was an invention by their respective parents, intended to cure cancer. Eventually, the symbiote bonded to Brock, and if you know anything about Spider-Man whatsoever, you probably at least get the gist of what happened next. This, dear readers, is the locker in which Venom was born.

That is not, however, the significance of the hashtag “#happybirthday.” February 6 is the birthday of Amazing Spider-Man 2 co-star Dane DeHaan, who plays Harry Osborn in the sequel. Translation: “Happy Birthday, Dane DeHaan… Here’s your Venom suit.”

If we’re right (again, if Marc Webb isn’t just screwing with us), then Dane DeHaan would be the new Venom. And that makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it? The son of the Green Goblin, friends with Peter Parker, who will eventually turn on the hero. With his roots in OsCorp and his best friend Spider-Man destined to turn against Harry’s father, Dane DeHaan seems like the perfect candidate for the Venom suit in the new franchise, and then get his own solo movie, courtesy of DeHaan’s old Chronicle director, Josh Trank.

I’m not completely sure how I’d feel if Harry Osborn does turn out to be Venom, but it would certainly give him a far greater purpose in this story than just dicking around on a glider as an average Goblin. Plus, it would make the prospect of Venom so much more personal, and if you’ve watched The Animated Series or read any of the comics, you’d know that Venom isn’t just a brute, but a psychological villain who gets in Peter’s head. There’s something potentially fantastic here, because in the comics Peter first takes a liking to the Symbiote and encourages its use, and it, being an alien life-form, becomes sort of obsessed with him because of Spider-Man’s super human power. Peter rejects it after seeing its evil, where in Amazing it turns him aggressive and out of control with anger, and in Ultimate its a living, breathing Venom that makes him, again, mentally unstable. Now, if it turns out that Harry becomes Venom, the combined hatred the Symbiote develops for Peter (after he rejects it) and Harry’s own hatred, if his father dies in a fight with Spider-Man, could make for a great setup for a third movie. That is, if Harry turns out to be Venom, which is looking quite likely from the evidence.

But, based on what’s here, I strongly believe that, while the Symbiote will be introduced as Peter continues investigations into his past and his father’s work, Venom himself will only emerge as a teaser at the end for the third movie. Personally, as a huge fan, it’s ideal for me that the Symbiote and Venom plots get their own movie. And finally, it would be the right time for Carnage to appear on screen.

The next bit of teaser fun came a few days ago actually, and it’s quite an interesting one. Marc Webb was up to his schemes again on Twitter when he posted a video teasing Spider-Man’s new costume. Like the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, Spidey’s suit will undergo changes in the first sequel.

Personally, I’m over the moon to see the iconic white eyes return, as I wasn’t the biggest fan of the gold eye lenses, even though I liked most of the suit. Now, this image is interesting because the black surrounding the eye could just as easily be a symbiote teaser as it could be to just make the eyes stand out more. However, the actual video, as excruciatingly brief as it is, does appear to show flashes of a scientist looking through a scope, with flashes of the the image above every few seconds, so it is possible that the Symbiote is discovered in this movie and analysed. Maybe Spidey will even get it, although I’m doubtful. You can’t have Electro, Rhino, Green Goblin, Gwen’s death and the Black Suit. That’s definitely overkill and could result in another Spider-Man 3, God forbid. I’d only be more accepting of it personally if the Symbiote and Venom went on to be what the third movie is all about.

The final teaser actually came yesterday, when Marc Webb tweeted a photo of two actors dressed up as FBI agents. My best guess would be that they’re either hunting down Spider-Man, or they’re investigating Oscorp after the Lizard fiasco. That would seem quite reasonable.

And with that, look we’re all done! I hope you enjoyed getting some insight into The Amazing Spider-Man 2, especially if you’re a fan. Let us know in the comments below if you’d like to see more of this on eGamer in addition to gaming, as we want to give you the best of all worlds. Or something like that.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will hit theaters on May 2, 2014.

P.S Just who is that dude who appeared in the mid-credits scene of The Amazing Spider-Man? Mysterio? Cameleon? It’s puzzling me. Who in Spidey’s villain roster can fade in and out of prison cells?

Name: Azhar Amien
Location: Cape Town
Position: Editor, Reviews

Azhar has published 2511 posts. Read all of Azhar's posts.

• Email Me
• My RSS Feed
• Follow Me On Twitter