Favorite Characters: Peter Parker (The Amazing Spider-Man)

After repeatedly praising Andrew Garfield’s Peter in the mixed-bag Amazing Spider-Man franchise, it’s time ol’ Spidey had a post of his own.  Marvel has a knack for dynamite casting, so I have complete faith in Tom Holland, but I’ll definitely miss this version of the web-crawler.

First, let me say that Spider-Man and Batman are the only superheroes that I truly had a feel for prior to seeing any major films.  Though I’ve not read any of their comics, I devotedly followed their animated series as a child, and I was especially all over the ‘90s Spider-Man cartoon.  I’ve always liked me some Spidey, is what I’m saying, and as such, I’m in a better position to assess his big-screen incarnations as actual adaptations compared to, say, the X-Men or any of the Avengers, where I’m really just along for the cinematic thrill ride of excellence and have little knowledge of what the characters are “supposed” to be like historically.

All of this is to say that I’m bowled over by how wonderfully, authentically Spidey this version feels.  Peter is a good kid with a brainy-and-inventive streak, a brave-and-reckless streak, and a rootable looking-out-for-the-little-guy streak.  However, he’s still very much an adolescent, and, superhero or not, his character reflects that.  He’s prone to impulsive decisions, he can be stubborn and immature, and his emotions can get the better of him.  His good and not-so-good qualities work well for me, because he’s such a genuinely teenage hero.  As great as he is, he’s still growing as a person, and his flaws fit well with his Everyboy persona.  He gets distracted by his love life, and when he’s disheartened, his mind can go into “I don’t know what to do!” overdrive, heightened by the trademark Great Responsibility that comes with his Great Power.

So many of Peter’s qualities are so well-realized here.   He’s a genuine smart cookie, designing his web shooters among other techie gizmos (some apropos of nothing – I love the mechanical lock rigged up for his bedroom door,) taking a frequently analytical approach to solving his superhero problems, and just generally being enthusiastic about knowledge, calculations, and experimentation.  He uses his webs to get around and to immobilize baddies, of course, but he also uses them creatively and intelligently to accomplish a variety of goals; I really like how he sets up a network of webs to search for the Lizard in the first movie, along with the relation between webs and electric conductivity with Electro in the second.

I enjoy how his bravery and kindness are really pronounced in an understated way.  Does that make sense?  I mean how he just dives into the fray and gets things done, and how he inspires those around him to be more heroic without it being a big thing.  It’s automatic for him, and it shines through in small moments – I love the scene of him protecting a kid from some bullies in the first movie.  Not only does he keep the kid safe, but he also repairs the kid’s smashed science project and praises his industrious smarts.  It’s awesome that he takes time for stuff like that.

And of course, it’s not quite Spider-Man without the snarky banter, and this version delivers nicely on that front.  It plays into the added confidence/bravado that his powers (and the mask) give him, and it also ties back to his youth and relative immaturity.  Let’s face it – a teenage superhero would totally be a smartass with a criminal and then use his webs to yank the guy’s pants down.  Peter’s cockiness and more-than-a-bit-dorky jokes give the whole franchise that fun, goofy, comic-book air that it really needs, and it’s Spider-Man all the way.