Spider-Man is one of my favorite superheroes. His origin story is so heart-wrenchingly beautiful and he has always stood out to me as the greatest characters in the Marvel Universe.
As a kid, I couldn’t get enough of him. I still can’t bring myself to let go of my VHS copy of “Spider-Man,” starring the great Tobey Maguire, even though I haven’t even seen a VCR in 10 years.
Knowing this about me, it may come as a surprise that I haven’t seen the new Spider-Man film, “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” nor do I plan to. I honestly have no interest in sitting in a theater and watching it.
It’s not that my aforementioned affection for Spider-Man has faded, or that I have anything against Tom Holland, the actor who currently plays the role of Peter Parker. It’s not even about the ongoing Sony/Marvel Spider-Man drama that I’ve grown extremely tired of hearing about recently. It’s that the beautiful story that I love so much has been told too many times.
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” which I highly recommend, was so good because it told a new story. It brought new life to a comic movie universe that has been relying on repackaging the same thing for so many years. This newest film doesn’t seem interested in doing that at all.
I’m not saying that there can be only one film portrayal of everyone’s favorite web-slinging superhero, but three versions in the last two decades barely gives fans enough time to breathe.
The impact of the origin story becomes watered down when it is told over and over again, which is a shame because I think every Spider-Man fan remembers their first time experiencing moments like the untimely death of Uncle Ben.
It’s a heartbreaking, powerful moment and is vital to Peter Parker’s decision to become Spider-Man. But even the most diehard of fans can grow weary of a story after seeing it told in film three different times in three different ways by three different directors.
I can’t speak for all Spider-Man fans, but I think these movies would be better if they were focused on building upon Peter Parker’s story instead of retelling it. I’m not very hopeful that will ever be the case though.
So, I’m going to take a break from Spider-Man movies for a while. He’ll always be one of my favorite superheroes. I’ll always have a deep appreciation for his origin story. But I think these reboots are making me a little jaded.