Opinion 20 years before Dr Strange and Metaverse, how Spider-Man defined a generation

I was 16 when the movie came out, and while box office numbers meant little then (as now), I did register that there was something special going on on-screen as Maguire and William Dafoe battled it out. For many in their 30s, some of the earliest memories of television are of the 1981 animated series, Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends. Coupled with Batman and Superman cartoons, I was a confirmed fan of caped crusader antics from a young age. However, cinematic outings were almost exclusively a DC affair throughout my childhood. My father was a big fan of Christopher Reeves’ Superman films and I myself remember being excited about watching Joel Schumacher’s extremely “light” take on the Dark Knight.

This is also why, seven years later, I was blown away by Raimi’s take on Spidey. It had its funny moments of course, but it also had layers — pathos, tragedy, betrayal, intrigue. It wasn’t made for kids, it was made for adults. Until that point, many of us believed comic books and comic-book characters were a kiddy affair. But Spider-Man redefined what a superhero movie could be, beyond the campiness, beyond the larger-than-life sets and garish costumes. It redesigned the template for every single superhero movie that followed, from the gritty Batman reboots to wildly irreverent Deadpool romps to the never-ending Marvel super-franchise. It opened the door for graphic novel adaptations like Sin City and V For Vendetta and gave lesser-known comic book series like Kick-Ass and Kingsman a chance at Hollywood glory.

Perhaps most importantly, Raimi’s Spider-Man opened up the complete universe of comic books for me and many others. The possibilities were suddenly endless. If superhero movies weren’t just for kids, then maybe comic books also had more to offer? By the time I graduated fro, college, I had read the complete illustrated works of Frank Miller and Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Garth Ennis. I learned about the Silver Age and the Golden Age of Marvel and DC. I was introduced to Watchmen and the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I discovered the original metaverse, with multiple incarnations and avatars of characters I had grown up reading and watching, with real-world problems like depression and alcoholism.

But I get ahead of myself. While all these revelations were a few years down the line, sitting in that audience, watching Tobey, Peter and Spidey come of age together in Far from Home, there was a sense of vindication. Maguire’s take on Peter Parker was so relatable to a nerdy misfit. It was easy to live vicariously through him. To imagine showing up the school bully the way he did. That core still reverberates throughout all of Marvel’s offerings even today, with its witty one-liners and everyday problems in the middle of grandiose universe-saving schemes. And while the format is getting old, it was so refreshing back in 2002.

It will be fun to see where the new Dr Strange movie takes the Marvel universe now, especially with Raimi helming it. Pure coincidence or a delicious twist of fate, only the comic book gods can tell. But as Raimi should know, more than anyone right now, with great power comes great responsibility.

This column first appeared in the print edition on May 10, 2022 under the title ‘Spider-Man, the Everyman’. The writer is a Mumbai-based stand-up comic and Editor-in-Chief at Tinkle Comics