The Lizard
But what of the villain? There has been some level of uproar about how Curt Connors' The Lizard has been designed for this movie, a character who is no doubt difficult to realistically transfer from page to screen. From what I can gather, Peter Parker creates a cross-species genetics formula intended to heal Connors' missing arm- a miracle cure that has thus far evaded the esteemed scientist. Quite how the result of that ends up meaning he turns into an 8 foot reptilian monster is anyone's guess but I'm willing to suspend my disbelief on this one. The 4 minute super preview does have plenty of shots of the lizard- and monstrous he certainly is but fans of the comics have expressed disgruntlement that he's not wearing his iconic labcoat . If you are interested there is a whole featurette on the design and character of this years super-villain over at
SuperHeroHype.
I for one think the design team have done a pretty awesome job, he certainly looks better on screen than Willem Defoe's Green Goblin and I love that his mutant alter-ego is so far removed from anything human-looking, so as to make him look that much more powerful and difficult to defeat.
Family Problems
The final point I want to make about the trailers is their emphasis on the 'untold story' and the indication that Peters search for the truth about his parentage will be a main driving force of the narrative. In the narration here he says
When your past is a mystery- how do you ever stop looking for the truth?' followed by some flashback shots of his parents that seem to crop up in a lot of the trailers circulating the web. Then later we see a mysterious silhouette of a man (could it be Norman Osborn a.k.a The Green Goblin?) asking Connors if he has told Peter about his father. So what is the great mystery surrounding Richard Parker? What were he and Connors working on together and how does that tie-in with Peter going from average school kid to a slick snazzy superhero? These are the hooks that Sony Pictures are dragging us in with- the promise of an alternative take on Spider-Mans origins, an explanation perhaps that goes far behind an accidental bite on a field trip. Alongside all these huge thematic clues the super preview gives us plenty of city swinging footage as Spider-Man gymnastically weaves his way from one tall building to the next possessing a grace and elegance that maybe Raimi's Spider-Man lacked? And that is, after all, one of the biggest questions here- just how will this, quite frankly unnecessary, reboot stand up against the franchise already spawned by Sam Raimi only 10 years ago? It will certainly be an altogether different movie- but will it be a better one?