I saw The Amazing Spider-Man last night, and I have to say it was a surprisingly bittersweet experience.
You see, I know how Gwen Stacy dies.
I'm not special in that regard, a lot of people know. Gwen Stacy died in 1973, although, in the fashion so common among comic book characters, death has not been a barrier to subsequent appearances in Peter Parker's life. Regardless, that moment 39 years past when Peter cradled his dead girlfriend in his arms is considered to be a critical event in the history of comics, the end of the Silver Age and the beginning of a changed world not only for supporting characters, but for the heroes as well.
But I can guess at the strategy behind the decision to start the show with Curtis Connor's cold-blooded alter ego. By connecting Connor's experiments with Oscorp and Norman Osborn, they're setting up the elements for Osborn's appearance behind the mask of the Green Goblin in a future movie. I'm impressed that they'd gamble on the success of the reboot by refusing to lead with trump, so to speak, and I think it augurs well for the next film. (Or pair of films, trilogies seem to be the standard for super-hero movies.)
Similarly, I can see why they went with Gwen Stacy for Peter's love interest. Gwen was Peter's first love, and it was widely believed that Marvel was working their way up to marriage for the happy couple, at least until the events of Issue #121. As such, she's a better canon choice than Mary Jane Watson for Spider-Man's return - in fact, in the comic version it was shared mourning over Gwen's death that began the process of Peter and Mary Jane becoming a couple.
But does that mean that Gwen Stacy is marked for death? They've made some minor alterations in Peter's backstory for the reboot, but the major events in his life remain the same. On the other hand, they've already made a substantial change in the Gwen and Peter continuity by having Peter tell her about his dual lifestyle - in the comic, she died without ever knowing Spider-Man's true identity. On that basis, I'll be paying a lot more attention to subsequent movies in the series to find out whether or not Ms. Stacy's relationship with her friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man has started her down a path with only one destination.
- Sid
From the standpoint of someone who saw this movie without any background information, in was quite entertaining. I thought the characters were well cast but there were many loose ends (which is why they will have a sequel, right?) such as the mysterious disappearance of Peter's father and mother, who Osborne is, and what happens to the secret dual species recombinant DNA formula. A good movie overall, but Dr. Curt Connors would only give it one thumb up. And how appropriate that it was directed by a Mr. Web(b).......
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