The history of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in print is more than 55 years old and nowhere close to stopping. Every year, the scope and reach of the character continues to expand, attract the imaginations of people young and old, and wrap modern pop-culture more firmly in its web. And yet, it took a film like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse to push Peter Parker, as a character, into a territory that Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe seem terrified to go. As a thirty-something adult, older than nearly every interpretation of Peter Parker, it moved me to tears.
When choosing a favorite, non-Miles Spider-Man from the new film, it’s hard to look further than Jake Johnson’s Peter Parker, given that he’s got enough screen time to essentially be the co-lead of the film. But suggesting that he’s the best non-Miles character in the film purely because of screen time would be to do him a great disservice. This Parker Parker stands as a stark rebuke to the Marvel Comics and film interpretations of the character, which have him stuck in a sort permanent adolescence.
‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ and Why It’s Time to Let Peter Parker Grow Up
6 comments
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I’ve been saying this since Marvel announced their stupid ass plan to make him into a kid again. And said it even louder once I saw how mediocre Homecoming was.
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Yes please give us a mature spiderman
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Finally a subject which speaks to me as I gave up being a Spiderman fan after they cast Tom Holland in the role. Actually I go a little farther back to Andrew Garfield but at least he wasn’t made to look like a doofus the way Holland looks. Bottom line is I came to Spiderman because nothing in DC at the time I was a kid reading about superheroes appealed to me. Superman was some middle aged crusty guy (George Reeve) Adam West’s version of Batman was a joke and there just wasn’t enough material around for me to discover The Flash or Green Lantern or Green Arrow for that matter. But a guy who could crawl up a wall, now there was something and that Peter Parker was a college kid and he was relate-able. I don’t where there are going to take the character in the next movie but I’d sure like to see them age him at least to college age but that would probably mean giving Holland the boot.
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I think they are planning on keeping Holland for the long haul. I imagine their plan is probably to have us see him grow up through high school and then college and maybe even beyond. Sort of like Harry Potter.
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Glad we have the PS4 game to finally see a mature Peter Parker centred story outside of the comics.
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K_Man399 3+
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