Friday, May 02, 2014

Amazing Spider-Man film informatics Part 02: Characters who appear in both film series

Here is the list of characters who have been featured in both the original Spider-Man films and the Amazing Spider-Man films.


Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Raimi trilogy: portrayed by Tobey Maguire. Peter is an introverted geek who doesn't have many friends, and always being picked on. He excels in many branches of science. The webbing comes from the holes on his wrists. He made several drawings of the costume, eventually modifying the prototype suit to the streamlined classic look. In the second film, his powers begin to wane due to a subconscious desire to lead a normal life, and he dumps his costume in a trash can. He later reclaims his costume from Jameson's office and battles Doc Ock.
ASM films: portrayed by Andrew Garfield. Peter is a shy and awkward loner, his individualistic style due to having been a social outcast in his youth. He is a science genius who designs his own web shooters. He designs his costume mainly to search for his uncle's killer, drawing inspiration from photos of luchador wrestler's masks and colorful spandex suits. Towards the end of the second film, Peter temporarily retires from being Spider-Man, due to the guilt of being unable to save Gwen from death. However, the recording of Gwen's graduation speech inspires Peter to resume being Spider-Man in honor of Gwen's memory.


Ben Parker (Uncle Ben)
Raimi trilogy: portrayed by the late Cliff Robertson. Uncle Ben used to work as an electrical engineer for 35 years, and had since retired, searching for a job in order to gain some money for Peter's school. He appears quite worried about Peter's strange behavior and talks with May about it. He gives Peter a lift to the library, and tells him that with great power, comes great responsiblity. He was presumably killed by Dennis Carradine who had escaped from a ring promoter with a bag full of money, and gotten away in his car. In the second film, Ben appears to him in dream, encouraging him to continue his fight for justice. But Peter tells him that he has decided to quit being a superhero. It was revealed in the third film that Ben was actually killed by the carjacker's accomplice Flint Marko, who went on to become the Sandman.
ASM films: portrayed by Martin Sheen. Ben angrily scolds Peter for forgetting to bring May home, and lectures to him about how his father believed in principles and what good men should do. While trying to look for Peter, he attempted to stop an armed robber from getting away, but was shot in the stomach and killed instantly.

May Parker (Aunt May)
Raimi trilogy: portrayed by the late Rosemary Harris. She has been targeted by the Green Goblin in the first film, and by Doc Ock in the second film. After Peter revealed to her truth about being indirectly responsible for Uncle Ben's death, May is understandably stunned and sad, but later thanks Peter and tells him that admitting the truth to her was a brave thing to do. In the third film, she plays a more prominent role in giving Peter advice on how to forgive others and be a good man to Mary. She is later seen attending Harry's funeral.
ASM films: portrayed by Sally Field. This version was somewhat younger and more strict than in previous depictions. Throughout the film after being widowed, she expresses concern for Peter being out late and coming home injured, though he refuses to admit to her where he has been. At the end of the movie, despite coming home in serious pain, Peter brings home the eggs she asked him to get in the middle of the film, and does not bother to ask what happened.


Captain George Stacy
Raimi trilogy: portrayed by James Cromwell, in his early 60s and quite tall. He appears only in the third film as a minor character. He is the one who informed Peter and Aunt May about Flint Marko being the actual killer of Uncle Ben. He is later seen at Harry Osborn's funeral.
ASM films: portrayed by Denis Leary, this version is much younger yet shorter. He plays a more prominent role in the first film, hot in the heels of Spider-Man whom he sees as a vigilante. He is much stricter and much more judgmental than the version from the third Raimi film. Killed by Lizard towards the end of the first film. Before sucuumbing to his wounds, he makes Peter promise to stay away from Gwen, a promise which Peter found it difficult to keep.


Gwen Stacy
Raimi trilogy: portrayed by Bryce Dallas Howard. Appears only in the third film as a minor character. Not only is Gwen a genius in physics, she is also a part-time model. She was saved by Spider-Man from a crane accident that destroyed the office she was in. Gwen is aware of Eddie Brock's crush on her, but only treats him as a normal friend. She later handed Spider-Man the key to New York as a token of appreciation, giving him an upside-down kiss which angered Mary Jane. Later in the restaurant, Gwen showed up at the same restaurant as Peter and MJ. A symbiote-possessed Peter later invited Gwen over to Mary Jane's workplace, and dances with her in a bid to make MJ jealous. She was present at Harry Osborn's funeral at the end of the film.
ASM films: portrayed by Emma Stone. She is the female lead in the first 2 films. She works as an assistant at Dr. Curt Connors's laboratory at Oscorp, where Peter gets bitten by a genetically-modified spider. She subsequently develops a crush on him, and he soon reveals to her his secret identity as Spider-Man. Gwen also plays an important role in the Lizard's defeat, by helping Peter develop an antidote for Connor's serum (the one that turns people into reptilian hybrids) using her own scientific background. Towards the end of the second film, Gwen was killed when she hit the ground as Peter's web reached her. Peter fell into a long depression due to the guilt of not being able to save her, but a recording of her graduation speech inspires him to resume his duties to honor her memory.


Dr. Curtis Connors
Raimi trilogy: Portrayed by Dylan Baker. He is a supporting character in Spider-Man 2 and 3. He works as a professor who specializes in quantum mechanics and calls Peter "brilliant but lazy". Pet in analyzing a symbiote substance, remarking that he is a physicist, not a biologist. He later told him over the phone that it amplifies the host's negative traits, most partciularly aggression. He is unaware that Peter's mind has already been far too corrupted by the symbiotic suit. He does not transfrom into the Lizard in this film series.
ASM films: Portrayed by Rhys Ifans. He is the main antagonist in the first film. Dr Connors ier used to work as his lab assistant, but he fired Peter for always being late. In the third film, he assists Peters being pressurized by his superior Dr. Ratha to quickly find a cure for the dying Mr Osborn and to start human trials with his new serum, after having tested it on a lab rat named Fred. He decides to inject himself with a serum, which not only regrew his arm, but also drove him insane and transformed him into a giant, bipedal lizard monster. The next day, Peter found Fred in the lab, and found him transformed into a reptillian creature eating Wilma, and instantly realized that Connors, who had also injected himself with the serum, was the Lizard who caused the havoc in the bridge the night before. Following the ordeal at Oscorp Tower, Dr. Connors is locked up in Beloit Psychiatric Hospital.


Flash Thompson
Raimi trilogy: Portrayed by Joe Manganiello. Eugene "Flash" Thompson is Mary Jane's boyfriend at the start of the film, a bully who torments Peter, and sometimes Peter's friend Harry. Later on in the film, after Peter accidentally uses a web to splash Flash with a tray of food. Later, a fight between them breaks out in the school's hallway, in which Peter first learns of his newfound abilities. Flash then throws some punches at Peter, but Peter avoids all the punches due to the spider-sense, and he defeats Flash with just one punch. Mary Jane later remarks that Flash was thankful for Peter not hurting him even more. Flash is last seen at graduation, where he and Mary Jane break up. He reppears in the third film,
ASM films: Portrayed by Chris Zylka, this version was a school jock, taller in build and sported a crew cut. Flash decided to pick on Peter by throwing a ball at him. Flash was picking on a student called Gordon when Peter joined the crowd. Flash wanted Peter to take a photo but he refused and told Flash to stop, when Flash ignored him, Peter used his real name (Eugene) to try and get his attention. This just made Flash angry and he beat up Peter in front of the crowd until Gwen Stacy stopped him. Once Peter got his "spider-like" abilities, he humiliates Flash during a basketball practice session as retribution. Later, he starts acting nicer to Peter, starting by sympathizing with him due to the murder of his Uncle Ben, letting Peter take some of his anger out on him. Much later in the film, he attends Captain Stacy's funeral. Flash is more friendly with Peter (though he still calls him "Parker") and expresses admiration for his alter-ego "Spider-Man", as he is shown sporting a Spider-Man T-shirt..


Norman Osborn
Raimi trilogy: Portrayed by Willem Dafoe. He is the main antagonist of the first film. He has been granted enhanced strength, agility and reflexes by the Goblin serum, but is also driven insane. He kills several board members and almost kills Mary Jane and a group of children. He dies after being impaled by the blades of his own glider. In the next 2 films, he appears in Harry's hallucinations and encourages him to avenge him.
ASM films: Portrayed by Chris Cooper. He only appears in the second film, dying from a mysterious illness which had been passed on to his son Harry. Before he dies, he gives Harry a small device which he claims contains his life's work. The next day, it is reported that Norman Osborn has passed away, making Harry Osborn CEO of Oscorp where Felicia Hardy becomes his new assistant.


Harry Osborn
Raimi trilogy: Portrayed by James Franco. He is the best friend of Peter Parker who is often being neglected by his father. By the end of the first film, he mistakenly believes that Spider-Man killed his father, and begins to be obsessed with hunting down Spider-Man and making him pay for what he had done.
In the second film, he forms an alliance with Doc Ock, promising to hand him the tritium if Doc Ock could hand Spider-Man over to him. Upon unmasking Spider-Man, Harry is shocked to discover that it was his best friend behind the mask all along. Later he hallucinates his father asking him to avenge him, he breaks the mirror and stumbles upon Norman's secret Goblin lair.
In the third film, he becomes the New Goblin, wearing a streamlined bodysuit and a paintball mask and travelling on a skiboard-shaped glider. He pursued Peter in the streets and suffered temporary memory loss after being defeated and hitting his head. He doesn't seem to remember anything about his grudge towards Spider-Man/Peter, even though he still displays quick reflexes. He spends time with Mary Jane, only to be rejected. He hallucinates his father talking to him, and having regained his memories, goes on to force MJ to break up with Peter. He later gets into a fight with Peter in his apartment and is disfigured by one of his pumpkin bombs. Peter tries to ask Harry to assist him in battling Sandman and Venom to save Mary Jane, but Harry tells him to go away. His butler Bernard later tells him the truth of his father's demise, which makes him realize that he had wronged Peter all these years. He decides to fly in to help Peter battle Sandman and Venom. Although he is successful in defeating Sandman, he sacrifices himself to save Peter, being impaled by his own glider held by Venom.
ASM films: Portrayed by Dane DeHaan. Here in this film he is the secondary villain. he returns from overseas boarding school and is reunited with Peter after nearly 10 years. He is infected with the same disease that had claimed the life of his father, and he began to get obsessed with trying to acquire Spider-Man's blood which he believes could serve as an antidote to his illness. He injects himself with a spider venom, which accelerates his condition and turns him into a goblin-like being. He then acquires a hi-tech glider and bodysuit left to him by his late father. Following the climactic battle in a clock tower, Harry was sent to Ravencroft.