10 Things The Amazing Spider-Man Does Better Than The Original Trilogy

5. Being A Teenager

Peter Parker isn't a billionaire or a scientist or even an adult; he is a teenager. And that is one of the central charms of his character. Stan Lee originally made Spider-Man to be a character that would directly appeal to the readers, rather than just serving as a blank avatar (see The Fantastic Four). It made him relatable and helped the books explore the real-world ramifications of being a hero (at least to the extent of what was possible in sixties comics). Central to this was that Peter was a geek. He was uncool, unpopular and wore that age-old adage of dorkiness, glasses. Raimi's films did this side well (so well the majority of people didn't even release), but one of the big criticisms of the reboot is that it replaces geek for inexplicably outcast hipster. But that actually works. Here's the thing. Peter Parker was a nerd because the target audience of the original Spider-Man comics was; it was a slice of aspirational fun. The audience for a modern Spider-Man movie is not just nerds; it's teenagers, all of whom find themselves an awkward fit in society (without realising that's a shared experience). Raimi's films were purposely invoking the character's origins, while Webb's films skewed much more modern. And in doing so they made a more relatable hero.