Contemplating Spider-Man 3

Next year – 2017 – the film Spider-Man 3 will celebrate its ten-year anniversary of being released.  This is astounding to me.  I still vividly remember the first time that I watched this movie in theaters with my brother.  It certainly doesn’t seem like this film is that old already, but it is.  To commemorate this fact, I wanted to talk about this film.  I know I could do this next year, but I figured now was as good a time as any.

Whenever I talk about Spider-Man 3, I have to make this disclaimer lest I lose all credibility as a superhero enthusiast: Spider-Man 3 is far from the greatest superhero movie.  This Spider-Man installment has noticeable warts and flaws.  The film is too long.  There are too many characters.  And there are way too many story lines – Harry Osborn’s amnesia, for example, should have been eliminated from the final script.  I could mention more, but you get my point.  This isn’t an unblemished superhero flick by any stretch of the imagination.

 

But, blunders of the film notwithstanding, I still firmly believe that there are praiseworthy elements to this movie as well.  In fact, back in 2013, I wrote a two-part blog that I entitled “6 things I love about Spider-Man 3”.  So check that out, if you are so inclined.  Having given the introductory material let me dive in to the main content.

 

One of the main story lines in this film is how a mysterious black, alien goo (officially called a “symbiote”) bonds with Peter Parker.  At first, Peter loves the increased power that the suit gives him.  But the symbiote’s influence makes Peter/Spider-Man darker, angrier, and more violent.  In preparation for this blog, I watched portions of this film again, and it struck me how the black suit seems to be a metaphorical indication that the host is harboring bitterness, rage, and unforgiveness.  This was certainly the case for Peter for most of the film.  But it’s true of another character named Eddie Brock.

Eddie Brock is an interesting study (to say nothing of the fact that he was portrayed by Topher Grace; something that angered many fans).  Eddie Brock is Peter’s Parker’s rival.  The previous photographer of the Daily Bugle had quit, and both wanted to fill the vacant spot.  The editor, J. Jonah Jameson, issues a challenge: whoever can bring in a photograph of Spider-Man as the menace of the city that Jameson believes Spidey to be, that person will be rewarded with the job.

Brock resorts to trickery and deception; he doctors a fake photo of Spider-Man in the throes of crime.  Peter, still in black at this point, rightfully exposes Brock’s plot, but he does so with much more vengeful hate than was necessary, even going so far as to call Brock “trash.”  Spidey is exonerated, but he has gained an enemy.  The next time we see Eddie Brock, he goes to a church.  He is so angry, he actually asks God to kill Peter Parker.  Ultimately, just after Peter rejects the suit, the symbiote bonds with Eddie Brock, creating one of Spider-Man’s most formidable opponents: Venom.  Incidentally, he is never once referred to as Venom, a fact of the movie that still really bothers me to this day.  But I digress.

In the exciting conclusion, one can clearly see Eddie/Venom’s rage toward Peter.  For example, at one point, he essentially tells Peter, “You humiliated me, now I’m going to humiliate you.”  Once again, as I said before, the black suit is an indication that the person is harboring vengeance and unforgiveness.  This whole thing was a simple matter of revenge for Eddie.  He could have let the whole matter drop, but he never did.  I think this conveys an important truth: while we can’t live without being hurt, we don’t have to be like Eddie Brock; we can choose to let it go.  We can choose to forgive.  That’s why I love the ending scenes of Spider-Man 3.  Forgiveness is extended on multiple occasions; it is beautiful and glorious to see.

Kevin