#spiderman 2012

no nuance baybee

Without naming them, post a gif of ten of your favorite ships and tag as many people to do the same.

Ever since Tom Holland swung his way into our hearts as Peter Parker, people have been trashing on the Amazing Spider-Man series (2012-2014), which is really weird because when these movies came out, people couldn’t get enough of them. People loved the action and intensity, blending comic book wonder with intense realism. The acting, the visual effects, the story... people loved it all!

Well, almost all.

The one flaw that die-hards almost universally agreed upon was the characterization of Peter Parker (played by Andrew Garfield). People loved his quipping, confident Spidy, but once the mask came off people thought he was too cool and confident to be Peter. He simply wasn’t nerdy enough. When I first saw it I didn’t really mind, but with all the recent hate these movies have been getting and the fact I haven’t rewatched the first one in a few years, I decided to rewatch it and see if there was anything I was too lenient on at age thirteen

First of all, this movie is still fantastic. Real talk, it ties with Homecoming for my second favorite Spider-Man movie after Into the Spiderverse. I think all the hate that’s been popping up is a byproduct of the recent fandom trend of “Piling Unwarranted Hate Onto Something Good To Praise Something You Think Is Better,” a la pitting Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) against Rocketman (2019) or Aladdin (2019) against Beauty and the Beast (2017). This is a really mean-spirited aspect of fan culture that’s been really “in” recently, but that’s the topic of another article.

Secondly, when people said that Peter wasn’t awkward enough, I think they were looking for awkwardness in the wrong places. Look at his mannerisms in his introduction scene:

He can’t make eye contact. Nothing he says registers above a mumble and he can’t get through a sentence without stuttering. Between the teacher, the couple making out, and Flash he can’t get a word in edgewise until he shouts at Flash, and even then his pacing is uncertain and stilted. His clothes are muted compared to everyone else’s and he sinks between his shoulders. I wasn’t able to find this clip, but in class he sits in the back of the classroom and buries himself in his arms.

There’s no way around it. Peter is definitely awkward, insecure, and severely emotionally stunted. The difference is that this has nothing to do with him being a nerd.

Peter’s original otherness stemmed from the fact that he was a nerd, which worked for 1962 and even 2002, but this was made in 2012. Arguably, the true dawn of the Age of the Nerd. Suddenly it was cool to be smart and have niche interests and wear big thick glasses. In that, this Peter’s still a nerd, but that’s not where his otherness stems from. Between these mannerisms and the backstory established in the first five minutes of the film, his otherness stems from having severe emotional issues linked to his parents’ deaths and some degree of undiagnosed social anxiety.

Compare this scene to the basketball scene, post spider bite and when he’s gaining confidence in his abilities:

His posture is better. He looks Flash in the eye as he taunts him and his voice doesn’t shake. For the first time, he’s actually smiling. And even with all this, his voice is still soft, his clothes are still muted- even wearing the same thing he was earlier in the week. He’s still the same character from before, but through finally getting to seek answers about his parents (and a little spider science) he’s been able to grow and develop.

Y’know, like how characters (and by extent, people) are supposed to.

Were audiences so distracted by the traditional semiotic markers of “coolness” (skateboards, spiky hair, being more traditionally attractive, etc.) that we all just overlooked these traits? Or were people expecting more of the over-the-top awkwardness from Toby Maguire’s portrayal, and when they didn’t get it they automatically marked Andrew Garfield as a bad Peter? Or is it that this characterization could be better understood in today’s day and age, were we understand more about teen mental health and can better recognize the signs of someone struggling emotionally? Whatever the reason, I hope we can move past this hatred phase and remember this movie for the gem that it was.