Spider-Man: Homecoming: 8 Things It Must Learn From The Sam Raimi Originals
1. It's Time To Break From The MCU Villain Mould
Speaking of villains, that's another thing that Raimi's original trilogy handled masterfully. From setting up Norman Osborn's betrayal by, and resentment of, Oscorp to giving us the incredibly sympathetic and ultimately very affecting Otto Octavius, the antagonists Peter faces up against are brilliantly three-dimensional. Even when the Green Goblin seems totally psychotic we witness a glimpse of Norman's humanity as he begs Peter not to tell his son what he's done with his last breath. And despite Spider-Man 3 being an overall disappointment, Flint Marko's Sandman (and the motivation to save his sick daughter) is one of the film's best things.
If there's one problem that runs through the entire MCU, it's weak villains. In general, the baddies are flat and rather “evil for the sake of it”; their motivation is intrinsic or it stems from a desire for power, pure and simple. And, three phases into the MCU, the formula is getting a bit stale.
The Raimi trilogy has some of the best examples of supervillains out there – if there's one thing Raimi can teach the MCU, it's how to handle the antagonist (especially when compared to Webb's Amazing Spider-Man films, which gave us the absurd Lizard and laughably cartoonish Electro).
What other lessons can Homecoming can learn from Raimi's films? Share any more we missed down in the comments.