As I mentioned many times before, Spider-Man is my favorite superhero. As a character, he is one of the most relatable, identifiable, and lovable of a sea of so many others with similar qualities; he's the kind of hero we can all aspire to be in our own ways. Plus, he's always quick with a clever quip, which is always fun.
Over the years, I've enjoyed countless Spider-Man things in my life. Some great, some less so, and some were merely footnotes in my fandom, but were still important staples nonetheless. After watching and reviewing Spider-Man: Brand New Day, I decided to look over those same things, and offer up an official ranking. You may not have heard of some of the things I'm going to mention here, so I hope you find them interesting and charming in your own way.
This is TheNorm's Top 5 Spider-Man "Things"
#5
Spider-Man Battles Ignorance
In my early school days, my parents signed me up for the Sylvan Learning Systems: an after school tutoring program meant to help students with various learning differences. One of their processes was gamifying learning by providing tokens for excellent grades, which could then be exchanged for prizes. Amongst their catalog was this special issue Spider-Man comic, where Spidy, after taking a hit from the villain and gets a bad case of amnesia (how original), gets help from the kids at the Sylvan Learning Center to restore his memory and take on the bad guy again.
This was little more than a piece of promotional material for both Sylvan and Marvel Comics, but for an elementary school kid trying to grasp their unusual learning differences, it was pretty awesome at the time to see one of my heroes getting help from my peers (as it were). It was one of those lessons you don't realize until much later in life that it's okay to ask for help, and even the smartest and strongest of us can't handle everything on their own. It may be cheesy and a little silly, but then again, so is the idea of a guy getting bitten by a radio-active spider and becoming a superhero; it's okay to be a little silly.
#4
The First Trailer for the First Sam Rami Spider-Man Movie
Picture this: you're in high school, you're at the movies with your family, and you're watching the trailers for all the upcoming attractions.
One of them begins with an elaborate bank heist with a group of armed crooks stealing tons of cash and escaping to the roof for their getaway helicopter. They fly through the city congratulating themselves on a heist well done, when, suddenly, the helicopter stops dead in its track mid air, gets yanked backwards, and finds itself trapped in between two buildings...in a Spider web!
My high school self was beyond excited the moment I saw that giant web holding a group of criminals in place waiting for the authorities. I knew exactly what it meant, and I couldn't wait for what was to be, in my mind, the very first time I got to see one of my heroes on the big screen.
As you may have surmised, this particular trailer is less famous for being the introduction of Spider-Man's big screen debut, and more infamous for the buildings used to depict Spidy's presence. In the trailer, the bank robbers helicopter is depicted being webbed up in between the World Trade Center, and the trailer was released less than a few weeks (to my recollection) before the tragic events of 9/11.
I do apologize for this entry being a downer, and I assure you that is not my intention, but despite the unfortunate historical tragedies, this trailer is still a piece of fondly remembered media pertaining to Spider-Man. Sure, there would be many other promotional materials later on that were as important, but few if any of them were ever as memorable or impactful as that first trailer.
If you would like to see it for yourself, you can find it right here.
#3
The Live-Action Spider-Man Television Series from the 1970s
While Spider-Man has enjoyed many media outings since his conception, the short lived TV series (running from 1977 to 1979) is one of my personal favorites. Although I didn't grow up watching it when it originally aired on TV, I enjoyed renting episodes of this show from my local video rental shop, Video Man.
Marvel Comics actually enjoyed a pretty successful time on television with their superhero properties in the 70s: in addition to our favorite web swinger, there was also the iconic Incredible Hulk series, the made-for-TV Captain America movie with Reb Brown, and a pilot for a Doctor Strange series that never aired for various and equally hilarious reasons.
The Spider-Man TV show from the 70s is a charming piece of media that maintains a place in my heart, mostly for the costume. Something about those big round eyes makes this iteration of Spider-Man a little extra charming. In fact, this show contributed much of my appreciation and interest in the general 1970s aesthetics and styles, especially the coffee mugs (for some reason).
The show itself may be a bit goofy and has all of the expected trappings of a 70s TV show, but it has a charm and an enjoyable spirit that can't be matched. If you can find yourself an episode or two of this series, give it a shot.
#2
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Yes, the latest film from the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), and the movie I reviewed most recently, has the second highest place on my list of Spider-Man things! While I will always have a a deep appreciation for the Sam Raimi films, and the less said about The Amazing Spider-Man films (minus Andrew Garfield's excellent performance) the better, this fourth entry of the Tom Holland run as Spider-Man is so well made, so emotionally resonating, and so true to Spider-Man's appeal, that it deserves all the praise it's been getting from everywhere.
I've already gone on about how much I love this film in my review, so I won't repeat myself here. And, in case you're wondering my ranking of the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies, they are as follows, in order from most favorite to least:
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Spider-Man: Far From Home
Apparently, the movie has already made well over a billion dollars at the box office, and it deserves every cent! If you haven't seen it yet, I encourage you to do so ASAP. I'm absolutely getting a copy of it when it comes out on 4K.
#1
The Spider-Man Video Game (2018)
I discussed this game here on this blog sometime ago. One of the most endearing qualities about the game was the writing. The story presents an older and more experienced Spider-Man, along with a few reinterpretations of his lore and supporting cast (my favorite being Mary-Jane, Spidy's long time girlfriend, is a bad-ass journalist in this story), all of which creates a compelling and emotionally resonating narrative. Every turn in the story feels worthy of your investment, and it all builds up to probably the most satisfying and powerful endings I've seen in any Spider-Man story.
The gameplay, design, and re-playability are all fantastic in their own right, but it's the storytelling that ultimately gives this piece of Spider-Man media its edge. It is, to date, my absolute favorite Spider-Man thing out there, and I look forward to what will come next in the video game world for Spidy. In case you're wondering, I'm only about half way through the second game, so no spoilers please. 😂
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.
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