10 Iconic Spider-Man Comics Moments We're Still Waiting To See On Screen
4. Meeting The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man
Demonstrating that there is no kind of comic book story that Roger Stern cant write, in 1984 he crafted one of the most heart-wrenching tales in Spider-Man history in The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man. Interestingly enough, the tale is actually the B story in Amazing Spider-Man #248, though most comic book fans remember it much more fondly than the issues main story of Spider-Man versus the villain Thunderball. The story features Tim Harrison, a young boy who is described by a newspaper article as the greatest Spider-Man fan in the world. Spidey shows up in Tims bedroom one night and the two start sharing stories about the Web Slingers career. Eventually, the boy asks Spidey who he really is under the mask, and shockingly, Spider-Man unmasks and introduces himself as Peter Parker. On the comics last page, we learn (via the newspaper article), that Tim has terminal leukemia and will die in a few days. Adapting such a quietly sad story for the big screen would be a radical departure for a superhero movie, but in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, director Marc Webb and actor Andrew Garfield also exhibited a very clear understanding of how Spider-Man is able to connect with regular New Yorkers including one scene that shows Spidey helping a young boy who is being bullied. Perhaps this magic can be recaptured again in a future film and Tim Harrisons story can get the same cinematic treatment as the death of Gwen Stacy, and Spider-Man No More.
Mark is a professional writer living in Brooklyn and is the founder of the Chasing Amazing Blog, which documents his quest to collect every issue of Amazing Spider-Man, and the Superior Spider-Talk podcast. He also pens the "Gimmick or Good?" column at Comics Should Be Good blog.
