Norman's legacy in the comic books is a bit of a mixed bag. The murder of Gwen Stacy sealed his notoriety. His immediate death, although great for the immediate story, wasn't the best choice as the franchise was robbed of a truly great villain. Most of Spidey's Rogues were powered thugs, unrelated to Peter Parker's personal life. The Goblin was different. Norman's death did enable Harry to become a second Green Goblin, which is also an avenue the third film seems interested in exploring. Norman's death, though not the best idea, was still legendary. Unfortunately writers decided that the need for a closely-tied villain was more important, and Norman was brought back to life over 20 years after his death.
Norman's adaptation is pretty good with one glaring exception. What. Is. He. Wearing? 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 (or perhaps worse). Not only is it not frightening, it prohibits expression. We're guessing a more natural approach was tossed out due to the potential cost of computer graphics, but we're sure there could have been a different approach. What we got instead seemed like a farce rather than something truly menacing. We also hated the fact that Norman magically acquired a goofy looking trident in the final fight. It sure was menacing, but where was he hiding it? On second thought, we don't want to know.
Finally, we come to Peter Parker. Like the majority of the characters in the film franchise, Peter endures a variety of changes, and yet none of them are really significant. From the origin to the powers, Sam Raimi tweaked elements to create a more modern and streamlined take on Marvel's flagship character.
First we'll tackle the classic origin. Simply put, it's a bit different. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko draw an irradiated spider biting Peter Parker, bestowing spider-like abilities to the nerdy, outcast teen. The film does the geek routine just fine, but this time the spider is a genetic construct with genes from a variety of spider species. It's not a franchise-altering change, but it's there. As we previously mentioned, Harry Osborn and Mary Jane have grown up around the Parker family. Harry is already best friends with Peter and Mary Jane is the girl of his dreams. Both were present when Peter was bitten, though neither one noticed. Raimi also included some extended sequences with Peter and his powers at the high school. Those concepts simply weren't present when the character was developed over 40 years ago. Flash Thompson was however, though he wasn't dating Mary Jane as he was in the first movie.
The biggest change to Spider-Man in terms of his powers comes from his web-shooters. Raimi's writing team decided it would be easier to make them organic mutations stemming from the spider bite. The comic book version of Spidey, at the time, featured mechanical shooters that fed off of web fluid cartridges. These devices were engineered by Peter. What most casual fans may not know is that Marvel Comics later adopted the ideas of Sam Raimi, giving Spidey the same "natural" power. For the most part however, fans received Spidey the way he was meant to be. Spider-Man 2 even explores the concept of Peter Parker losing his powers due to illness or a lack of confidence. This happened at least once during the Stan Lee era of Amazing Spider-Man and is used as a way to explore our hero's struggle with his responsibilities.
While Peter Parker's awkward, shy and nerdy character shines bright in the film, his personality in the suit is remarkably different. The writers ignore his "battle banter", typically opting to focus only on the battle. While we do understand the logic that someone wouldn't chat during an intense fight, this attribute of Spidey is one of the things that sets him apart. He's practically defeated villains by talking them to death. If there was one element we miss from these adaptations, it's the banter.
The storylines of both Spider-Man films are really hybrids of various arcs and events. Sam Raimi's various writers selected famous moments, but didn't slave to adhere to replicating what had come in the comics. Like the X-Men films, there are plenty of moments for the fans, but don't expect a panel-by-panel replica as movies like 300 have done with their source material.
Outside of the characters, the first two movies pay constant tribute to the comic book forefathers. Images from classic covers and poses are used throughout, and supporting characters like Aunt May and J. Jonah Jameson seem like living replicas of their printed counterparts. Even small suggestions are made towards future villains. The first film makes reference to Eddie Brock, and the Lizard is constantly hinted at throughout the trilogy. Even running through the principle actors isn't enough to touch on the vast number of small touches for the fans. Sam Raimi even got the "thwip" right. We'll touch on more of these tributes when we return Friday for our look at Spider-Man 3. Also be sure to check out IGN Movies the same night for a full review of the film.
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