Marvel's Spider-Man
Directed by James Cameron
Story by James Cameron and Will Wisher
Produced by Marvel/Lightstorm Entertainment/Tri-Star
Cast
Fred Savage as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Arnold Schwarzenegger as Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus
Brittney Murphy as Mary-Jane “MJ” Watson
Michael Biehn as Ben Parker
Jamie Lee Curtis as May Parker
Bill Paxton as J. Jonah Jameson
Joe Morton as Joe Robertson
Kenan Thompson as Randy Robertson
Charleton Heston as Justin Hammer
Ron Perlmann as ???
Released: July 15, 1994
Budget: $150 Million
Box Office Gross: $977 Million
1994 would be a banner year for the superhero genre in film in the same vein as 1978 and 1989. However, unlike
Superman and
Batman before it,
Spider-Man would see the launch of a shared cinematic universe that had not been seen since the days of Universal’s monster films.
Spider-Man received more promotion throughout the first half of the year with the launch of the animated series on Fox Kids, Happy Meals at McDonalds, and cereal boxes on supermarket shelves. All eyes were on the webslinger, even DC’s with their new Superman film releasing the next year.
James Cameron enjoyed a great deal of creative freedom while writing and directing the film, however, the only restriction that Marvel placed on him was that he could not use characters that were deceased in the comics. That excluded characters like Norman and Harry Osborn (both the Green Goblin) and Gwen Stacy from the story, but they were hardly necessary for the tale Cameron wanted to tell. The first act of the film was effectively a retelling of Spider-Man’s origins in 1962’s
Amazing Fantasy #15, albeit with a few changes. Peter Parker was still a brilliant, but still socially awkward outcast whose only friend was Randy Robertson and pined for the popular and vivacious Mary-Jane Watson.
Another major departure from the comic book canon is involvement of Dr. Otto Octavius in the creation of Spider-Man, which also serves to tie into the larger cinematic universe Marvel planned. As an expert in radiation, Octavius is attempting to replicate the vita-ray process that stabilized the super-soldier serum that created Captain America. Justin Hammer (a rival of Tony Stark who mentions the future Armoured Avenger as a hint of what’s to come) won the government contract and pressures timid Octavius to work long to the detriment of his marriage. Admittedly, it stretched the audience’s suspension of disbelief that the 69-year-old Heston could intimidate Schwarzenegger in his prime, but some moviegoers found the absurdity of it entertaining.
It is at one of Octavius’ demonstrations that his experiment irradiates the spider that bites Peter, giving him his powers. Naturally, Peter uses his newfound abilities and intelligence to craft the Spider-Man ability for fame and fortune. His growing arrogance and falling grades alarm his guardians Ben and May Parker, prompting the latter to remind him that
“with great power comes great responsibility.” Peter ignores his uncle’s advice and a robber he refuses to stop after a television appearance later shoots Ben in an attempted robbery.
That same night, an extremely fatigued Octavius begins another experiment at Hammer’s insistence, but forgets to put all the safeguards in place in his weary state. It doesn’t help that his wife (played by Tia Carrere) arrives at a critical time in the experiment, which explodes, killing her and fusing mechanical arms to his spinal cord. A grief-stricken Octavius awakens in the hospital to promise revenge on Hammer.
Meanwhile, Peter still grapples with his guilt over Uncle Ben’s death and with the help of Randy’s father, Joe [1], takes a job at the Daily Bugle for the bombastic J. Jonah Jameson. It is on his first day as a copy boy that he learns Jameson is paying large amounts of money for photographs of Spider-Man and gets the idea to photograph himself. He is also later partnered with Mary Jane on a school project, which gets interrupted by Octavius’ rampage where he uses her as a hostage and comes into direct conflict with Spider-Man. Naturally, Jameson uses this incident to tar both Octavius (whom he dubs Doctor Octopus) and Spider-Man as menaces.
An increasingly crazed Octavius kidnaps Hammer during an interview with DB Media and takes him to the Ditko Nuclear Power Plant where he intends to irradiate the entire tri-state area to make everyone “feel his pain.” Spider-Man confronts him for the climactic battle where Octavius completely overpowers him, forcing Spidey to use his brains. He relentlessly taunts Octavius and baits him into electrocuting himself and prevents a meltdown at the last moment. Despite his heroics, it’s something of a pyrrhic victory for Spider-Man. Jameson still rails on him as a menace and thus divides public opinion on him, and Mary Jane, despite showing some feelings for him, still stays with Flash Thompson. However, Aunt May gives Peter some needed encouragement by telling him that Ben would be proud of how he’s stepping up despite being unaware of his dual identity.
Elsewhere at an ultramax prison called the vault, a shadowy figure watches a silent Octavius in his cell. His partner, a man in a derby hat, remarks that they’re popping out of the woodwork, “First mutants and now these freaks.” The shadowy figure steps out into the light to reveal himself to be Nick Fury (Ron Perlmman), who nods and tells him that they are going to need a team for what’s coming next.
Needless to say,
Spider-Man exceeded both
Superman and
Batman in box office gross to stop short of the billion dollar mark. Audiences and most critics praised Fred Savage’s performance, citing that his time on television’s
The Wonder Years made him the ideal fit for the role. Critics were less charitable towards Schwarzenegger’s performance, complaining that he chewed the scenery along with Paxton’s Jameson though audiences weren’t judging by the box office receipts. If anything, Spider-Man helped Arnold bounce back from the misstep of
Last Action Hero and even propelled him to an Oscar nod for 1996’s
Crusades.
What possibly thrilled longtime fans even more were the strands of continuity hinted at within the film, particularly the allusions to Captain America and Iron Man. Indeed, Marvel officially confirmed and announced
Iron Man starring Pierce Brosnan and Charleton Heston for 1996, though the Star-Spangled Avenger would have to wait a few years more after the
Spider-Man and
X-Men sequels. Fans were excited for what came next and how the Distinguished Competition would respond.
[1] In another departure from the comic canon Joe Robertson plays an arguably more prominent role than Jameson as a paternal figure to Peter.
