9 Ways The Amazing Spider-Man Almost Turned Out Awesome

3. A Proper Post-Credits Scene To The Sequel

Post-credit scenes are an absolute must-have in modern superhero cinema. People have now cottoned on that studios slip in extra moments paying off forgotten jokes or hinting at future events, to the point where most audience members instinctively stick around at the end of Marvel movie. The Amazing Spider-Man got in on the act, throwing in a sting (albeit halfway through the credits, probably out of fear people wouldn't stay for the whole slog) elaborating on some wider plot involving Oscorp and a "Man in the Shadows".

It was strange, then, that the sequel didn't follow suit; for a movie so obsessed with where the series was going, you'd expect a run of trailers for all the movies Sony had planned. Instead there was a clip from X-Men: Days Of Future Past, which prompted every online commenter to condescendingly shout it didn't mean the two franchises were coming together, despite no one asking them to.

The X-Men clip was included on Sony's part to appease Fox - they had director Robert Webb contracted in for a couple of movies before he jumped ship to Spider-Man, with some free advertising intended to off-set the issue - and probably replaced an originally planned mid-credits sting that would have actually kept people a bit more interested in the series, rather than getting them excited for a much better, unrelated movie.

So, what was the originally intended moment? The scene from the finished film where the Man in the Shadows is revealed to be The Gentleman and Harry Osborn discuss his plans for the Sinister Six is the most likely contender, although the much-talked about scene of Norman Osborn's head in a jar is also possible. Now that would have made you want to see The Amazing Spider-Man 3.