Spider-Man has always been a popular superhero, but it's hard not to credit Sam Raimi's trilogy as a driving force behind the character's continued success at the box office today. These movies are loaded with iconic moments and still largely hold up today, but they have their quirks. Granted, they always had some goofiness to them, but now that we have so many other Spider-Man movies to compare them to, it's time to acknowledge parts of these the Raimi movies just don't make sense.
The following are some of the things I've questioned over the years, though I should say right now, they don't impact my enjoyment of the trilogy. This is entirely meant to be tongue-in-cheek, because how can I really come at two of the best superhero movies (and another one) out there and pretend they aren't fantastic? Let's dive in, and remember, the "great power" and "great responsibility" line is not actually said the way we frequently state it.
Peter Parker Has A Personal Relationship With Ever Major Villain
It's not entirely rare for a hero to have a nemesis with some close ties, but it is truly remarkable that Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker has a personal relationship with every major villain in the Sam Raimi movies. Green Goblin (played by the wonderful, but now-jaded on hero films Willem Dafoe) is his best friend's dad, Doctor Octopus works for Oscorp and gives Peter a tour of his eventual doomsday machine, Sandman was the one who actually killed his Uncle Ben, and Eddie Brock just happens to be his co-worker at the Daily Bugle? There's a theory here that Peter drives people in life to take up arms against Spider-Man, but I'll table that and just say it's freaky he's close to so many arch-enemies.
Green Goblin Scaring Aunt May, Then Leaving
There aren't many scenes in Spider-Man that are supposed to be sad, but make me laugh uncontrollably, yet this is one of them. Green Goblin decides to pay Aunt May a visit during nightly prayer and blows out the side of her house with a bomb. Despite that, she's relatively unscathed, but scared shitless trying to finish the Hail Mary. Green Goblin makes her finish the prayer, and then just flies away as the scene cuts to Peter rushing to a hospital room where May is howling and terrified by what even a spooked person would identify as a clear costume. I'd feel sorry for her, but the moment is just far too goofy given she's completely fine afterwards.
Doctor Octopus Trying To Kill Peter Parker
After he loses his mind, Doc Octopus is hellbent on getting revenge on Spider-Man. He strikes a deal with Harry Osborn, who tells him that Peter Parker knows where to find Spider-Man. With only that lead to go on, Doc Ock kicks things off by hurling a car at Peter and an unsuspecting Mary Jane. He then follows up by using his super-strong arms to slam him into a brick wall. I don't know what's more idiotic, the fact that he's trying to kill the guy who knows how to find Spider-Man, or that he didn't catch on after his clear attempts at homicide failed.
Harry's Butler Not Telling Him About Spider-Man's Role In Norman's Death
Harry's Butler Bernard Houseman (gotta love the ironic last name) knew the full circumstances of Norman Osborn's death and accurately figured out Spider-Man was not responsible for that. Despite that, he continued to let Harry Osborn obsess over Spider-Man for quite some time before telling him in Spider-Man 3 that Norman's death wound came from his own glider. I'm not sure why he played it so close to the chest that entire time, especially considering all the things Harry went through along the way.
The Various People Who Saw Spider-Man's Face On The Train
Spider-Man 2 has a pretty cool moment when an exhausted Spider-Man is carried across a train by citizens of New York City, wanting to protect him while he's vulnerable. The vow to secrecy they all made not to share the details of his face to others is commendable, but also highly unrealistic that people held true to that promise. You'd have to think those people would be interviewed by the news, and then, of course, family and friends would want to hear their Spider-Man story. Someone would've had to spill the beans eventually, and while it may not blow the lid off Peter's identity entirely, it would create a profile for people to speculate on.
Peter Never Getting Evicted
For as big of a pain in the ass as he can be, Mr. Ditkovich seems like a real softy when it comes to Peter Parker's rent. Peter spends two films dodging him on rent, and then bites his head off about shoddy upkeep of the complex in Spider-Man 3? Like, dude, you're well within your rights to bounce this guy from your complex! Somehow though, Peter managed to hang on, and even got an orange from Mr. Ditkovich at some point. So more power to him, I guess.
Emo Peter
I know the symbiote suit altered Peter's mood, but his personality shift just never made much sense in the context of how violent Venom is. Instead, Peter was more or less turned into a douchebag, and one that color-coordinated into a rather emo style. It was an odd tone for the character, especially given the history of the symbiote in Spider-Man lore and history. Frankly, Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock didn't have such an extreme mood shift in comparison, though perhaps that's why he's usually the guy wearing the symbiote.
Dr. Octavius Using Goggles During The Fusion Process
Dr. Octavius' fusion reactor was very powerful, so much so that apparently even looking at it can cause eye damage. Yet when he first demonstrated it to a room full of people, Octavius is the only person sporting goggles. Granted, there were a lot bigger problems than blindness with that first test of the fusion reactor, as evidenced by the death of his wife. Watching the scene now, can I assume Peter was spared thanks to his supernatural spider abilities, and everyone else in the room that day went blind?
Are there any other things in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy that just don't add up to you? Feel free to talk out any and everything in the comments below, and continue to stick with CinemaBlend for all the latest happenings in movie and television news.
