#the best spidey’s are the ones that have one liners

[cartierdreamx]

𝕵'𝖘 𝕸𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖙 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝕴𝖓𝖋𝖔𝖗𝖒𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 <3

hi my little cherubs <3 i’m j also known as dreamy (she/her), your choice, welcome to my dreamscape, i sure do hope you stay and enjoy yourselves!

i write mainly fem! Reader for jenna and her multiverse of characters, especially for my longer fics but sometimes my drabbles, one liners and one shots are unintentionally GN as i’m not the best with writing GN.

requests are currently closed as I am in the middle of writing a fic (DTF out now), however, you are more than welcome to send in a prompt and request and I can try my best to fulfill it, if I have time between or if my mind needs a little breather from Mafia stuff, but no promises. i write basically anything, just nothing illegal or male reader. but, also feel free to send in asks to get to know me, convos, i love interacting with yall <3

as i do write smut and adult themes, i kindly ask MINORS DNI, you are responsible for your own social media intake, which includes reading entertainment, which my blog falls under. 

love yourz,

j <333

(extra points to you if you can spot out my pop culture/rnb references in my fics and drabbles hehe)

*though my fics have real people, my fics are just for entertainment and far from reality*

CURRENT FIC: DESTINED TO FALL

*!!!!!!!!

JENNA ORTEGA x FEM!READER 

Fics*!: 

FIRE AND DESIRE: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, EPILOGUE

DESTINED TO FALL *Mafia AU*: CH1, CH2, CH3

HACKED INTO YOU *Watchdogs 2 AU (on hold)*: CH1, CH2, CH3, CH4

One shots*!:

MY (SECRET)ARY

THE LAST SLICE

HER MUSE

Drabbles*!: 

WOOHOO

WORM 

FAMILIAR 

FLOWER

MET

HEARTBEAT

SPIDEY

WEDNESDAY x FEM!READER: 

Drabbles*!: 

DONUT

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: The Wall

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Spidey Super Stories is what you get when you take Spider-Man from The Electric Company and give him a comic run of his own. It’s geared more towards kids, so there’s a lot wackier and out-there concepts on display, and is the originator of not only Spider-Woman (though not Jessica Drew), but also this:

And also this:

And, of course, the evildoer known as The Wall. Or more specifically, the Wicked Wall.

Now, here’s thing (and I ain’t talking about that other bricked-up superpowered Marvel character): The Wall is a villain in a Spidey series loaded with some of the wackiest and most bonkers one-shot villains ever put to page. Case in point: Thumper, the girl who dresses as Napoleon Bonaparte, wields a boxing glove, and is defeated by being gifted the pony she always wanted since she was a child, a villain who will definitely be getting one of these reviews someday soon. And then there’s the panels like the ones above, where we get the iconic Thanoscopter. How is The Wall supposed to compete with such iconic madness?

Motivation/Goals: My man Joshua here is, quite simply, a hater. He saw Spider-Man was having a day off, and decided, “Oh HELL no, if I gotta be a brick wall I’m making that his problem!”

And he does! In an impressive twist of fate, The Wall manages to get Spidey kicked out of the Mets game the poor hero was trying to enjoy! Sure, he’s kicked out too and he doesn’t seem particularly happy, but a Pyrrhic victory is still a victory. Kind of.

Final Fate: In a fate even the Kingpin would agree is far too cruel, The Wall… is kicked out of the Mets game alongside Spider-Man. They’re last seen moping outside the stadium together.

Best Scene: The guy’s on four fucking pages, let’s just say his entire existence is perfect. But if I’m singling out a tiny sequence, I think this one might be the funniest:

Of course, there's also the sheer comedy of his backstory, where he was a simple boy building a wall when suddenly it fell, somehow turning him into a monster. Maybe the cement was radioactive? It defies all logic in the best way:

Best Quote:

Final Thoughts & Score: The Wall is a great example of the weird, off-the-wall (heh) creativity utilized in comics at the time. He really has it all: A ridiculously punny name that kind of had his fate sealed from birth (Joshua Waldemeyer), no real reason for villainy, an absurd and nonsensical accident that created him that defies any and all logic, a ridiculous yet endearing design, and an endless supply of corny one-liners. This is what goofy one-shot villains should aspire to be.

Of course, that doesn’t leave me with much to talk about in regards to him; there’s no deep complexities or tragic backstories here, just a simple case of a goofy gimmick villain being a lot of fun due to an absurd design and a simple scheme. Unlike the last villain I reviewed, I’d say the relatively simple and straighforward gimmick of being a fucking wall was used to great effect, giving plenty of goofy puns and gags as well as utilizing his bizarre ability to be a nuisance. Like yeah, you could probably swap out The Wall with someone like Rhino or Juggernaut and get the same basic effect, but would it be nearly as funny?

A 7/10 is a fair score for this guy. He’s just a perfectly fun one-shot who, despite only a brief time in the spotlight, isn’t such a terrible idea he couldn’t work if brought back in some regard. Hell, they almost brought him back for Across the Spider-Verse, with his absence being the only thing holding the movie back from true greatness.

I think my only gripes with him are that he's only there for four pages, which while understandable is rather disappointing, but more importantly is that he's in a comic that seems filled to the brim with utter absurdity around every corner. After seeing the Thanoscopter, would you not be comfortably numb to a living mound of masonry? All in all, is he not simply another brick in the wall?

No you fucking goon, he IS The Wall itself. And nothing can take that away from him. If nothing else, I’m definitely going to have to look through more of these Spidey stories to see what other bonkers villains lie waiting for me.

[blooming-violets]

hi so I wanna say I love Andrews portrayal of spiderman and Peter parker were both great charming and endearing to me but ot doesn't take away the fact for me that the movies were almost starlight up terrible especially the second one we had glimpses of what the movie could be in some scenes that were so great but other than the wonderful performances bu stone garfield and sally and the actor who played uncle Ben and a few scenes here and there the movies were bad really bad I loved that andrew and his Pete got a redemption arc for nwh I love that it's what sold the movie for me he's a great actor who was robbed of a decent script and too much studio interferences really mangled the end product

But i do feel like people are unnecessarily harsh on the mcu version of spiderman while it makes me now uncomfortable thinking About Tony stark is musk's wet dream but the movies were really great for the audiences they are marketed towards young kids the class struggles are very much present just in a more subtle way and nwh has fixed most of the "problems" that mcu spiderman had they are also in general the best spider man movies out there if you remove the rami trilogy this is just my take but Maybe it's just the fact that I'm much younger and enjoy these movies more idk

I don't want to offend anyone or make their day worse sorry if I did that I do love your work just an interesting topic of debate in my opinion lots of love ❤️

I never said they were great movies just that Andrew was a great Peter Parker haha. Although I still think they're really fun movies as long as you take them as something campy instead of as a work of art. Ignore the major plot holes and shit script and just enjoy the ride of watching a 2012 superhero movie.

Personally, I like to pick out the parts that I loved about it and focus on those rather than the poorly done bits. They literally have some of my favorite Spidey scenes in them. The part when all the construction workers move their cranes together because they see Spider-Man struggling after being shot and he saved Ponyboy's son earlier in the movie and now Ponyboy gets a chance to repay him back so he gets all his buddies together to help and Peter swings from crane to crane to get to where he needs to...a literal perfect Spider-Man moment! It's up there with the scene in Toby's when all the people in the subway lift an unconscious Peter up and carry him back inside, maskless, and tell him that his secret identity is safe with them and then hand him back his mask. It's the scenes when NYC backs Spider-Man as their hero that always get to me. I don't remember if Tom's Peter has anything like that because I've only seen his movies once (and one was on a plane lol) and my memory is poop so I can't speak on that. But I like whenever they add in NYC backing up Peter in his films. It was very Spider-Man esque. He's a man of the people, esp the working class, and the people usually like to repay him for that whenever he can help. Andrew's version did a good job of representing that.

Gwen's death was also good. Andrew acted the hell out of it. I mean...

Besides being visually dark as hell, his perfect hugging of her dead body cradled in his arms! They don't shy away from it and they linger on the quietness and raw emotions of that scene for a minute. It was emotional and powerful and done well.

Then the humor in the movies was wonderful! Andrew nailed the one liners and body movement. To me, he was such a cheeky Spider-Man especially going from Toby who didn't quite have that cocky Spidey charm like Andrew did. If you don't look at the movies as a groundbreaking work of art, I don't think they're as bad as people claim them to be haha. They're not great but they're also not the worst movies I've ever seen. It keeps you entertained and excited and can pack a punch when it wants to.

I do think you nailed it though when you said that it depends on your age. I was in the perfect age group when The Amazing Spider-Man came out. I had grown up watching Toby's movies but I was too young to really see them as anything more in depth than just Spider-Man swinging around. TASM released when I was 19. It was the most perfect age to see it in theaters and fall head over heals in love with Mr. Garfield as he blushes and hides his face in flowers after showing up at Gwen's bedroom window. Or when he shows up in middle of the night covered in blood and gets half naked while she tends to his wounds. CHOCOLATE HOUSE. The raw, horny, sexiness of their chemistry together!! He is by and far the horniest of all the Spidey babies. All of their kissing scenes!! How could I not fall in love that man?? He was on the big screen and I was horny for a boyfriend and he gave me everything I needed for my teenage fantasies. And then you add on the chokehold that Andrew and Emma had over the young world when they dated. 2012 was a crazy time. People genuinely thought the world was ending and Peter Parker was back on the big screen hahaha. What more could ya ask for? ;)

It was like it was made for my generation of nerdy ladies to thirst over. By the time Tom's movies came out, I was already way to old to be invested in a high school kid. I thought he was a good actor and has great chemistry with MJ and Ned but I just don't have that same pure, all in love that I did with Andrew.

I honestly don't even remember Tom's other Spidey movies, I remember a couple of scenes here and there, but NWH was perfect. I don't think I've ever been so equally breathless and excited while watching a movie in my life.

[connabeth]

ok so here’s my little no way home rant:

1. the number of times this movie got me choked up…

2. i will always love how andrew garfield is so liberal with his emotions😭 the way he teared up abt gwen when mentioning her and after saving mj bc now he has an iota of something akin to closure and redemption

3. also his confidence issues and little pep talks and ‘i love you’s🥺😭

4. you know the 9am crowd is not fluent in memes bc no one laughed besides me and my best friend when willem dafoe said “you know, i’m something of a scientist myself😏”

5. let andrew garfield’s spidey have a little date with venom, my boy wants to fight aliens!!

6. dr. strange fight sequences will always be the best because the visuals of the mirror dimension are unparalleled…i think that’s why i loved far from home’s scenes bc of how trippy they were thanks to the tech used

7. the way the three spideys interacted was so adorable and realistic bc too often heroes team up and the only thing exchanged are battle strategies and dramatic one-liners but it was refreshing to see people naturally curious about the situation and each other

8. they really went yes i love destroying national monuments it makes the fight more dramatic😎…symbolism-wise statue of liberty is nice and all but why not choose somewhere you can cause minimal destruction😭😭

9. what if gwen and raimi’s mj and just roaming the fucking streets since the spell could’ve theoretically brought them into this universe? imagine if andrew’s peter saw gwen😭😭

10. when max was disappointed spider-man was white😭 same bestie

11. peter’s face when he found out fury was off planet for about a year💀

10. FINALLY A BEAUTIFULLY REALISTIC DEATH SCENE!! i hate it when someone dies and the hero stares into the camera with a grim face and they immediately move on with little visible grief. the way tom’s peter was crying and STAYED crying for a while was like a breath of fresh air although hard to watch. he’s just a boy who lost his only remaining family!!!

plotholes/things i’m confused about:

1. both venom and max dillon didn’t know peter parker so why were they teleported into mcu peter’s universe

2. how does happy work with spider-man and never bother to get to know his identity

3. in the same vein, because ned and mj were at the statue of liberty after having their memory of peter erased, do they now believe they work with spider-man despite not knowing his identity or how does that work??? what’s their explanation for being at that location and did strange implant some other memory in their head/teleport them away via portals

4. doc ock shouldn’t have known green goblin’s identity despite knowing norman…

5. how did none of the three spideys detect green goblin was gonna stab tobey💀

6. did all records/evidence (legal documents, news footage, etc.) of peter parker also get erased along with people’s memory and if so how did he buy a fucking apartment with no records😭

[beterpbarker]

This is a tall order but I’d love to hear your pitch for a Spidey show or movie series if you’re down to share.

Hi Friend! @thespacevagabond

LOL first I wanna say I am so sorry that this ask has been sitting in my ask box for a couple of years now 😅 . I would love to give you my full answer but unfortunately that would take forever. Since you asked me this I’ve been writing down all my thoughts,I went overboard lol. I even went so far as writing out genuine scripts lmao. I’ve filled nearly a whole notebook at this point. I want to be able to give you a relatively coherent answer and I don’t really believe what I would like to see in  a Spidey show is unique so I’m going to try not to go into to much detail. One day I will post everything I’ve written down but today is not that day. I do want to answer you though, this just wont be very in depth (and it might not even make much sense lol).

Anyway to start it would be a multi season show, with maybe 7 seasons? That feels like not enough but i fear more would be too many. I’m undecided on whether it would be animated or live action but if it were animated I would prefer it to be styled like ITSV. The animation in that movie is some of the best I’ve ever seen and the style is perfect for the story. This would be as close to a 1x1 adaption as possible. The only real changes to the story I would like are ones that would simply make the overall story better for TV.

Now as we all seem to like to point out Spider-Man is basically a soap opera. I think that is one of the most appealing characteristics of the comics. So I would like to keep that element. The drama and messiness of a soap opera. I would also like to focus of Peter’s civilian relationships. I want his cast properly adapted and respectfully adapted. I want it to feel like the people creating the show have as much respect and love for the source material as the fans. I would start with the obvious origin story in high school but I would prefer him to if not be a senior in high school then start maybe near the end of junior year? I don’t want him to be eternally stuck in high school (I also personally find the majority of his time in high school fairly boring, I like seeing him interact with Flash, Liz, Betty and Jonah but god sometimes it’s just 🤷). At most we would spend only 1 season in high school.

I’m not sure which BIG plots and villains would make the cut but Norman is 100% in it. There are so many big things that happen and I have yet to try writing them out to see what flows best and would make the most sense. Overall though as far as crime fighting goes I would like a more subtle overarching plot with villain of the week style episodes thrown in. My only reason for that is because that is how the majority of the shows i enjoy are formatted and it’s what keeps my attention best lol.

Ideally there would be less action scenes compared to..well... everything else. I’m not the biggest fan of gratuitous fighting or explosions. The MCU style of movie/show were it’s big boring action scenes separated by one-liners is the worst style of movie/show. I don’t want this to be all action and no plot or character development. I think on of the best and most important part of Spider-Man is Peter and his friends/family.

I want to see Peter in his very first relationship with Betty. I want the love and drama and trauma between Peter and the rest of the Coffee Bean gang. I want to see Flash go from high school “bully” (that’s in quotes because is it really bullying when half the time Peter is provoking him lol) to one of Peter’s best friends. I want to see Harry’s struggles and the dynamic between Harry and Norman and Peter. I want to see Norman being himself. I am so tired of seeing creators constantly trying to redeem him.  I want to see the death of Gwen Stacy and the impact it has on ALL of them not just Peter. Ideally I would want Glory to show up too at some point but limiting myself to only 7 seasons and with everything else I would like to include I’m not sure where I’d be able to squeeze her in.

And I do want to see him being quipy and quick but I also want to see him being a dick. Because he is. I’m tired of the constant woobification of Peter Parker. I also don’t care for team ups (unless it’s the F4 or like Daredevil) So, I would LOVE to see his animosity towards other heroes and team ups lmao. I don’t want to see Peter Parker friends of cops. I want to see Peter Parker vigilante.I want the friendly in “You’re friendly neighborhood Spider-Man” to be sarcastic.

You know that scene in The Amazing Spider-man, I want more of this. Also I want little ways to show how incredibly smart Peter is. I don’t have a clip of it but you know that scene in ITSV where Peter is watching Octavius type from the vent he’s in and he’s clearly memorized what she’s typed. I want more of that.

If it were possible I would make the worlds longest show and adapt as much of the source material as I could while still keeping it a coherent story with a clear ending. However, I also don’t know how I would warp up my little (extremely long) show. I’m a sucker for a tragedy. I personally would like to see, overtime, how this group of people we love and that love each other slowly get torn down and apart.

(I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the BBC’s Merlin or if you even like it but it’s on my mind at the moment. and you know how it starts happy and hopeful aside from a few unfortunate events and then slowly circumstances get worse and less joyful and then on Christmas eve they murder Arthur and my soul. We all knew it was coming it’s an Arthurian legend adaption but it made you hope things would be different because you love them so much. But in the end no one really survives, just Merlin all alone in the 21st century. This isn’t really relevant other then I love the pacing and how tragic it was even though i knew he what was coming I wasn’t prepared)

Of the five of them I see the only real survivor of it all being MJ. Peter would be the last to die though. He’d have to be, I don’t believe there’s ever going to be a situation where he would/could give up being Spider-man for good. BUT not everyone likes a tragedy and I would like to create a show for all the comics fans out there tired of the MCU slapping comic character names onto their OCs and bargain bin heroes. So, I am not opposed to a happier ending. One where (like MC2 Peter) he’s been injured so he can’t be Spider-Man, maybe someone else takes his place (Miles perhaps?). He and MJ and end together maybe even with their own little baby Mayday.

I want to go into so much more detail, I’m struggling not to pull out my notebook to give you snippets of what I’ve written. I’m going to stop here before I give in. I hope this answer is satisfactory.I’m not very good with articulating my thoughts and i don’t believe I have any original thoughts on all of this. I hope you enjoyed my rambling and again I am so sorry this took me years to answer only for me to not even given you my complete thoughts lmao.

[brakken-spideyverse]

Another Spidey review. Nearly to the big one, now!

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

I enjoy this movie more as an epilogue to Endgame than I do as a Spidey movie, I think. 

There are parts that feel incongruous with each other, and where Homecoming had a pretty solid plot with some hiccups coming out of Civil War, this one has a real identity crisis as to how much it wants to be connected to the Avengers events.

I like Peter’s journey. There’s a mounting pressure of filling the gap left by Tony, but also just this general sense that people are relying on him to be a hero, and not thinking of the person behind the mask. I think they could have delved into that further than they did – there’s opportunity to have him really hash it out with Ned, or May, or maybe MJ, but it’s not ever fully put out into the open with the people most dear to him, which is a shame. The movie seems to be stuck in a little bit of a repeat of the Homecoming plot, albeit with some occasionally clever reversal.

There’s a whole lot I like about Mysterio. The illusion of heroism is a fun spin on the character, with his design being not just a great comic adaptation, but also a perfect blend of Stark & Strange – Peter’s two companions in Endgame. His mo-cap outfit is a neat little idea, and he’s equally entertaining as the tortured dimension-hopper as he is the jilted ex-employee. However, he really didn’t need to be connected with Tony. In fact, I think his plot works better if he’s just some dude looking for his own big break. This idea of holding grudges after the universal tragedy of the Snap just doesn’t hold up. His job history calls into question why no-one (including EDITH) could identify him, and it feels partly like a re-tread of Vulture’s own little gripe. I can understand and appreciate the value and impact that Iron Man brought to the MCU and its various stories, but sometimes it feels like the character is stuck to it. Like the Symbiote, enhancing it in some ways, but poisoning it in others.

The aftershocks of Thanos are almost non-existent in the larger scope of the world. The story zeroes in on Tony’s death as the big event rather than the Snap, which works fine, but the Snap is now treated more as a joke than anything else. There were already out-of-place moments of levity in Endgame, but our newcomer’s perspective of the post-Snap world via Scott Lang is one that is decidedly worse off, and broken. In FFH, we have Peter and his class going on a fun trip through Europe like nothing’s changed – like the world didn’t end, and un-end. It was like this plot had already been decided on before the other pieces, and they decided to stick with it rather than actually considering how the consequences would play out.

The Marvel humour feels invasive this time – every character has their opportunity for a silly moment or one-liner, and once again Spidey’s own personality gets lost in the crowd – to a stronger degree here than in Homecoming. And y’know, he doesn’t need to be funny-quippy in every moment, but golly does it feel absent in FFH. He’s grieving, and that’s valid, and a valuable story moment to focus on. But in that case, I really think the rest of the movie could have done with keeping that tone steady. Half of these kids could have PTSD, and the other half are dealing with having missed five years. They’ve all survived the universe’s greatest threat, and the best the movie has for us is humour. And not like, joking as a form of deflection, but just straight-up ‘haha it’s goofy time’? The Blip humour doesn’t work for me, and all the stuff with the teachers especially doesn’t work for me. It just feels wrong and out of place.

Hey, so… where’s Karen? Remember Karen, from Homecoming? Did Tony just delete her when he gave the suit back? Peter mostly wears other outfits in this movie, but was she just… switched to silent when he met with Fury and Beck? I guess they didn’t want two female AI voices in this - it’s gotta be one per movie.

EDITH is an odd aspect. Not just because of that similarity to Karen, and this feeling that Peter’s making similar mistakes he’s already learned from, but… I simply don’t mesh with the idea of Tony handing this incredibly dangerous and valuable device to Peter, and only giving him a riddle as to what to do with it. Was Tony really leaving the glasses to Peter? Or did he want him to pick the next heir? The movie never really answers this for us, or for itself. In fact, there isn’t really a strong follow-up at all with what happens with EDITH.

May feels kind of… pushed out of this story. It’s a shame since I felt she missed out a bit in Homecoming, too. It’s not like she needs to be involved to the point of being forced into scenes, but she is an important part of Peter’s life and this movie feels like it sidelines that, where Homecoming was sorta able to surprise us with her depth.

On the side of visual spectacle – the illusion scene in Berlin is just fantastic. It turns the presentation of the holograms up to 11, taking us in and out of reality to help us understand how they work. The tiny bits of information that Peter confided in Beck are now amplified and used against him - every transition and set-piece highlights how Beck thinks about this kid. It is an incredibly creative series of comic book panels put into motion, taking both Spidey and us on this uncomfortable, inescapable ride through action beautifully blended with character. And while I knew it was a gonna be a fakeout, the final trick with Fury to get info out of Peter was the perfect button on Mysterio’s manipulation.

The ending of the movie itself is a weird one, for me. It builds us up to feel like Peter is finally in his own as Spidey, only to follow-up with this jokey stuff where MJ doesn’t like the swinging. Cute enough, I suppose. But to then sweep the rug out in the post-credits scene in such an explicit way… ? I just don’t know. It feels like it unwinds Peter’s journey in defeating Mysterio before we’ve even had a chance to appreciate it. It turns the whole movie into the first part of something, instead of a complete piece with more to come. Coupled with the entirely unnecessary twist that Fury was a Skrull, it makes for an unsatisfying dismount to the whole ordeal.

As a whole, I might summarise my feelings like this:

Peter’s story comes to a head in the scene with Happy in the plane, where he lets go of the expectations he’s burdened with, and understands that he can never live up to being Iron Man - that he has to solve this in his own way, as Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Yet, the scene follows this up with him building a suit using Stark tech, based on Tony’s designs, while AC/DC music plays in the background.

I enjoy plenty of the ride that this movie takes me on. It’s fun to watch the twists play out, to build to that perfect Mysterio illusion scene, and everyone’s delivering great performances to make it entertaining. But it’s all just a little muddy, and doesn’t really allow me to believe that it’s saying what it thinks it’s saying.

Rating:

[starkerdestroyedmylifee]

Thief

Peter tries not to feel the weight of his backpack as he makes his way up from the lab. He really does. But, it’s heavy. 

‘Well, of course it is.’ 

Peter curses himself, popping up each step and hoping- praying- he doesn’t bump into anyone on the way. It’s still heavy, though. Even with his super-strength; heavy, and metal, and not his, because he really, really shouldn’t have it.

At all.

When the day had begun, Peter’d played the part of ‘devastated mentee’ to a T. His eyes had been puffy, exiting his aunt May’s car, rubbing his runny nose on the cuff of his suit.

No, not his suit.

Some store-bought thrift that didn’t quite fit his shoulders. A black jacket with fabrics frayed at the base, and dress-pants not quite long enough. Pepper had offered paying to get something tailored, but Peter’d declined quickly. It didn’t feel right, taking money from Mr. Stark’s fortune, even beyond the grave. They hadn’t known each other well enough. Which is odd, considering he’s currently attending said man’s funeral.

Peter tries not to linger on the fact that he’s technically (Technically meaning actually) stealing from Mr. Stark, and instead makes his way through the crowded living room. The majority of guests seem to be winding down now, what with Tony’s eulogy all said and done. Only soft, meditated tones, and consoling hands on shoulders, and Ms. Pepper Potts- smiling politely, but dead on her feet- striking up some conversation about sewage. He meets her gaze, and the weight of his backpack is bone-breaking.

She doesn’t walk over to him, thankfully. Of course, he’s just another kid wrapped up in her late husband’s antics. The invitation sent their way had been courteous at best, but worded as something that was supposed to happen, despite being a bit inappropriate. Peter’s a stranger, after all. And, what happens when you invite strangers into your house?

They steal your stuff.

Still, Ms. Potts nods his way. Soft; disinterested. Her gaze quickly slides over him, onto another guest far more deserving of her attention. Despite this, Peter’s back goes rigid for the few seconds spent on him. He holds his breath- freezes- before letting it out in relief.

‘This is horrible.’ Peter thinks to himself. ‘I’m literally going to hell for this.’ 

It doesn’t matter at this point. Not with his mind fogged in an overwhelming cloud of grief, or his eyes still stinging from such a heavy cry, or his throat burning from yet another wave of anguish. ‘No,’ he decides, tapping his aunt’s shoulder. ‘It doesn’t even matter at this point.’

He feigns a stomach ache, by which May thinks he’s playing sick to escape the depressing atmosphere of his idol’s funeral, and drives him home before Happy can so much as woo her to stay at his place.

Up the stairs.

Through the hallway.

Into his bedroom.

He shuts the door. Crumbles to pieces. Because-. Because, he finally starts realizing what he’s just done.

‘Oh, god. Oh god, this is so much worse than I thought it would be. This is- This is literally the worst idea I’ve ever had. Stupid, stupid, stupid!’

Peter can’t help his hands from shaking as he lifts the metal helmet out of his bag. It’s cold against his skin, which only makes his mouth go dry. Mr. Stark used to wear this. He used to wear this, and it’d been cold. Heavy and cold.

“...I really fucked up.” He says out loud, which only seems to solidify it.

Well, he can’t take it back now. Not if Pepper ends up noticing that it is gone. A monument. A goddamn trophy of Mr. Stark’s. One of his earliest models, with the classic red spray and golden faceplate. Christ, if he’d wanted it so badly, why didn’t he just buy a replica?

Because it wasn’t the same.

It isn’t the same.

But, damn it all, it’s also not his. 

Peter had just wanted something to remember Mr. Stark by, and-. God, that helmet had called to him like a siren. 

‘Mr. Stark would want you to have it.’ His brain had supplied.

Which-.

Uh.

No.

No, he would not want a literal child hanging onto his legacy like a fucking baseball card, instead of in a museum, or some well-maintained pedestal, or in a safe to be preserved for the next thousand years. Tony had been over the top like that. He liked to think his work was worth something. It was meant to adore.

The thought of Peter one day throwing it on top of his dirty laundry made him want to cry.

“Oh, god. Oh- Oh, shit. Okay, Peter. This is-. Oh, shit.” He tosses Mr. Stark’s helmet on the bed, and really does almost cry. A High-Tec, revolutionary piece of hardware, worn by Earth’s savior had just been thrown on his rumpled bedsheets, and goddamn fucking shit Peter is definitely- definitely- about to have a panic attack. He throws his arms up.

“That’s it.” Peter rambles sharply. “I’m screwed. I am so screwed, because I-. Oh my god, is it chipped? Of course it’s fucking chipped, Peter. It-. It’s Tony’s. Of course. Oh my god, I’m going to jail.” He peeks out the window, half-expecting to see cop cars at the entrance of his apartment complex. “Why did I do this?”

That’s the big question. Up until this point, Mr. Stark had only ever been an idol. Then a mentor. Then a father figure.

And, then-.

Okay, no. Peter is not going there. He paces around his room, onto his walls, the ceiling, hanging off his fingertips before plopping back onto his bare feet. He sighs, cursing, before making his inevitable journey back to the helmet.

Picking it up, his senses note a slight rise in temperature. It’s still cold, obviously. His room is well-heated though, unlike the lifeless cellar they’d had it cooped up in just hours before. Which makes Peter feel a little better about things- he smiles, tilting it this way and that. ‘Ha! A real home.’- before noticing a patch of crumbs on the helmet’s jaw from when he’d eaten Cheetos on the bed, wiped his fingers against the sheets, and seamlessly forgotten to throw them in the wash.

Peter almost faints.

Luckily, they’re easily wiped away by some bed-side tissues (Peter tries not to remember what he uses said tissues for. He’s already mortified by his poor treatment of it.) He sits on the bed with a huff, settling Mr. Stark’s tech in his lap like a pet. Peter runs his fingers over it apologetically, but it doesn’t feel like enough. Nothing feels like enough. He sighs, lowering his head.

“I bet you think this is pretty funny, huh?” Peter supplies, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Well, it’s not… It’s a little funny, but only because I know you’d probably have some quippy one-liner set up for me.” He falls onto his back, bringing the helmet to rest against his chest. Breathing out through his nose, he raises the metal mask just above him, so he can stare up at it. His bedroom light catches the surface of gleaming red, and Peter feels like a dirty slob just touching this rare treasure.

“Something like…” He pauses, thinking for a moment. “‘Oh, Peter. Looks like you’re a head of the game…’ That was really bad.” He chews his lip. “‘Sorry, kid. I want you to fill my shoes. This is a little much.’ God, no. That doesn’t sound like Mr. Stark at all.” Peter turns onto his side, letting the helmet lay against his pillow. They stare intimately at each other. ‘They’ being Peter and a lifeless curve of metal. He pulls the mask a bit closer.

“‘Woah there, Spiderman. At least buy dinner before you take it to bed.’” Peter turns his face into his pillow, groaning pitifully. 

“Why are helmet jokes so hard?” He pauses, mulling his complaint over. “Okay, that one wasn’t bad.” Like that, Peter angles his face to check on the helmet, and looks to see its reaction. Which creeps him out, of course. Alright, so maybe there are even more implications to stealing his idol’s helmet then the fact he stole it. Maybe it’s just bad to have an inanimate object symbolic of Mr. Stark around him.

‘No shit.’ Peter thinks to himself, drawing a hand down his face.

Still…

He places a finger along the metal mask’s faceplate; feels the cool of its surface, the crisp curve of each indent. It’s nice. Really, really nice. Which is exactly why he has to pull away and face the wall of his room.

‘Nope. No chance. Time out, Peter.’

He closes his eyes, counting back from one hundred. He does it seven times. Eight. It doesn’t matter. Peter turns around to face it again, and does exactly what he’d been doing before. His fingers map out the metal slabs, just imagining what it must’ve been like inside.

‘It probably smells like him.’ Peter’s brain coos.

‘What? Like booze, and sweat, and morning breath? Is that what you’re tempting me with?’

‘Yes.’

It doesn’t smell like Mr. Stark, for the record. It smells sterile and lifeless and unworn, like someone went and purged it of everything Tony. Which, Peter assures himself, is completely, totally fine. It doesn’t bother him a bit.

Not one bit.

Not when he slips a hand inside and feels the strange padding used to cradle Mr. Stark’s head. Or when he pulls it out, not devastated to find the man hadn’t shed any hair. Nope. Not even a little. Because that would be weird, and a little obsessive. A lot obsessive. It’s not like Peter could clone Mr. Stark if he had any kind of DNA. It’s not like Peter wants to.

He checks his alarm clock, the same one still ticking five years after the blip; 10:47.

Not crazy late. On the contrary, it’d be amazingly early for the hyper-active teen to turn in just yet. That’s what he tells himself as he reaches over his night stand, tugging the string of his lamp light. The room goes dark and Peter tries (Read: fails miserably) to fall asleep. Looking his crime in the face anymore than he already has to is punishment enough, at least for today.

He tries to ease his muscles, but they just won’t let up. There’s a weight in his bed that he’s not used to, and it sets all his human nerves on edge, even with his Spidey-senses dormant. Peter should put it in the closet, but he can’t bear the image of allowing it to collect dust. On the contrary, the thought leaves him choked and wanting a glass of water he doesn’t have the energy to grab. The idea of mistreating anything Tony Stark-related has the young vigilante in shambles.

Which is why he soon finds himself rotating around to face the helmet in his bed. Even through darkness, he can make out a sharp outline of lunar beams streaming in through the window. It’s soothing. It’s reprimanding. Peter sniffs, blinking away what feels like an ocean of tears.

“I’m sorry…?” He offers shyly. His tone breaks, shoulders bunched, brow pinched with a grimace only offset by the flush of his cheeks. ‘At least here,’ Peter thinks to himself, ‘I can get some kind of closure.’ 

Which is exactly what leads him to kiss the metal armor.

Soft, across where he’s sure Tony’s lips would be located. It’s quick. Innocent, really. If things weren’t so different in the 21st century, people might mistake it for a platonic peck. Because Tony- brave, wise Tony- was like a father to him, in the only way he understood a father could be. It’d been so tender, after all. With those sweet, thin fingers caressing, not pulling, and palms that cradled, not smooshed. Nothing demanding. Nothing sexual. Just a good ol’ fashion kiss, which lasts no more than a few seconds.

Peter promises himself it isn’t anything else. It’s a platonic kiss on the lips. Which is a thing. It is, but other people might make it out to be something more. Someone like MJ would probably cackle her ass off if she knew he’d given the mask a kiss, as short as it is.

The few that follow after are a bit longer.

By the time Peter finishes, he’s relaxed in the worst way possible. He feels groggy, worn at the lips, and shitty as all hell because that last kiss had definitely been excessive. 

And, okay.

Peter has a massive crush on Mr. Stark.

It’s terribly obvious. And tragic as shit, since the man is dead. Despite reminding himself, he can’t help but cling onto that damn feeling of metal on chapped, teenage lips. He feels sleepy, and he suddenly doesn’t want to be. It feels immensely inappropriate falling asleep next to a helmet he smooched to pieces.

Like sleeping next to Tony in Peter’s perverse, miserable fantasies.

Where Ms. Potts is away on business, and Mr. Stark is oh-so alone, and oh-so desperate for some kind of bodily touch. Where Peter is his sexy young intern, who has the confidence to wear feminine lingerie under his work clothes, and doesn’t mind brushing hips. They could make hot, passionate love in the lab for all he cares, and Mr. Stark would call him Baby, and Peter would call him Daddy, and it would hardly be funny to say in the moment, though he might snort when thinking over it later.

Best of all, Tony likes Peter best in his fantasies.

Parker is his favorite.

It’s only ever fantasy, though. Peter knows better than to indulge it.

In a conflicting fit between putting the helmet away, or pulling a sheet over top, or entertaining the notion of sneaking it back in place before anyone notices it’s gone, Peter decides to give the mask his bed while he sleeps on the floor. He’d much rather give Mr. Stark his best than chance disrespecting the man’s memory in favor of comfort. He obviously can’t be trusted, getting too close to Tony-related objects.

Laying on his bedroom floor twiddling his thumbs, Peter can’t help but wonder: What has my life come to?

[soshinee]

Wait soshi ur mind is fucking *chefs kiss* because the amazing spider man movies are objectively good (ignore Emma’s stones wack acting) because it’s the thought that they put behind it and the same goes for the original Spider-Man movies with Toby like he emotion they put into them with him solely struggling and relying on family rather than overpowered money falling out his ass superheroes 😐 it puts a very deep bond on not only how much pressure it is to be a superhero and learning all of this by yourself but also how great it is to at the end of the day take of that mask and have family and friends surround you

Tom Holland’s just doesn’t have that feeling or attitude in his movies like it’s literally how many one liners of teen things of today can I fit in and oh yea why not just throw in every superhero ever in marvel into the movie and have them teach him a bunch of shit and he never learns anything on his own.

EXACTLYYYY like peter parker is a self-made hero, he comes from modest means and everything he accomplished he either did on his own or with the support of his loved ones. making him a protege of tony stark is antithetical to the most basic elements of the character— he's not supposed to have the backing of a guy who literally makes military grade robot armies for fun, he's supposed to be a working-class kid who miraculously gets powers and decides to use them to help other working-class ppl in his hometown. and he does it on his own, learning to find confidence in himself as a hero but also how to cherish his close relationships and ask for help if he needs it. it's a remarkable coming of age story, honestly one of the best i know of personally.

giving him what essentially amounts to a stark industries sponsorship goes against everything he stands for both as a hero and as an individual. and they're not little things that can be glossed over for the sake of telling an epic superhero story, those values are integral to the character of peter parker and have been since 1962. his close relatability to teenage and young adult audiences has never ever been tied to trends or memes of the times, but rather is founded on the intense questions/concepts of identity, self-worth, personal expectations, grief, etc. that are somewhat intrinsic to the experience of being a teenager. like his insecurities and struggles with an inferiority complex, social anxiety (neurosis in general tbh, he's a very anxious individual), etc. are nearly universal experiences for teens. seeing him work through those issues and truly become spider-man, the superhero, is what makes his story so timeless. hinging his identity as an adolescent on memes and references completely erases the most basic aspects that make him the timeless character he is.

i can't rlly comment on holland's spidey bc like i said i didn't watch those movies (idgaf abt the mcu honestly like i'll just watch the originals and spiderverse over and over and be fine lol) but he doesn't feel like peter parker to me. like yeah he feels a little insecure and awkward but in like a fun "oh look i'm so cute and handsome but actually i'm sooo awkward i'm such a nerdy misfit 🥺👉👈" kind of way, not in the "actually i have severe, semi-crippling issues with self-image/esteem and inner conflict regarding my own identity and value as a person which makes me incapable of truly engaging with the world around me and now i also need to defend nyc and i have to start juggling my regular problems with superhero problems" kind of way that is more authentic to him (and in general)

this is rlly long omg sorry um anyway i guess the tldr is that mcu spidey seems inauthentic to me and feels like a betrayal of the original spirit of the character, which is such a shame bc i love peter and i think he deserves much better than what he's been given in recent years. i think future films should go back to the basics and focus on making peter the complex, somewhat troubled, working-class hero that he was always meant to be, and bring emphasis back to his internal development as well as the development of his interpersonal support structures.

[violent-optimism]

With the “Spider-Man: No Way Home” Trailer that just came out, I’ve been recalling just how much I love Doctor Strange, both the character and the movie he’s from. I know that sounds weird considering Spidey is the main focus of that movie but god damn I love me some Strange and I’m so excited for his role in this movie as well as Doctor Strange 2.

I think it’s been said before that Doctor Strange is one of the most underrated MCU films. With 20+ films and shows in the franchise it’s very easy for some works to get lost or forgotten about. I’d be lying if I said that every single MCU movie that’s come out in the last 12 years or so was perfectly enjoyable and memorable. News flash: not all of them are.

Doctor Strange is though (to me at least). I honestly don’t know what it is about the character that I love so much. Stephen Strange is often compared to Tony Stark in that they both started out as wealthy, arrogant assholes with massive egos who only care about themselves. Granted, they have both changed a lot and became better people over time.

The big difference is that the change Tony went through over several films, Stephen was able to do in just one. I think that’s what makes his story so satisfying. Benedict Cumberbatch is charismatic and likeable as all hell, even when he’s playing a selfish bastard, but what’s even better is that by the end of his arc he understands that it’s not just about him and he can see the big picture. There are larger forces at work and he needs to do his part to protect not just the Earth, but space, time and the fabric of reality.

Granted, Tony and Stephen do butt heads a lot in Infinity War and they are both equally guilty of acting like children at certain moments. But Stephen definitely has the more mature edge and at least we see him actively trying to explain to Tony why they can’t just do what he suggests.

(No hate on Tony as a character btw I think RDJ does a fantastic job and I like him too)

There’s something else I really like about Doctor Strange. Like Ant-Man or some in the ‘Guardians’ crew, he could have easily fallen into more of a background role with a couple cool scenes and the odd one-liner joke. It’s obvious almost from the start that Doctor Strange has to play a CRUCIAL role in the fate of the larger story. It’s why he had such a big role in Infinity War and why is return/revival in Endgame was so necessary.

I mean the dude was the only one who knew EXACTLY what was going to happen and made sure that it did. That’s pretty damn significant and the rest of the characters certainly owe Strange their lives. In short, I love how powerful Doctor Strange is as a character and I love that he plays such a vital role in the series. I think his worth will only continue to grow, especially since he is going to have to work some major sorcery in order to fix all the multiverse BS that’s been going on lately lol

Sorry that this post is kind of all over the place. Before I cap it off the one thing I really need to mention is the soundtrack posted above. Doctor Strange has probably the BEST MCU soundtrack with only the main Avenger’s theme competing with it. Michael Giacchino is right up there along with my other favourite composers. I absolutely love what he did with this film and how he gave Strange such a unique and strong theme. It was one of the first things that caught my attention when I first saw the movie in theaters, and I continue to listen to it every once a while.

Enjoy this random blurb and the song that accompanies it. Maybe one of these days I’ll sit down and right a proper review of the film. I admit that I’m starting to suffer a bit from Marvel fatigue, but honestly Doctor Strange is one of the biggest reasons I keep coming back to it.

[spideymarvelws]

The Dark Of Night (Peter Parker x Reader)

Summery: Your past seems to catch up with you and spider-man is there to help you out

Main Masterlist / Series Masterlist

Word count: 1.2k

A/n: just a little story cause i’m sick and have nothing else to do. also did not proof read, so that’s kinda tuff hehe... heh

You stood at a far distance from the wall that you had just finished painting on. after finishing the final touches, you admired the mural that you had created. After packing away your supplies away into a duffle bag, you put it back into the hole in the wall, hopeful that it won’t get stolen. Your sketchbook, pencil and eraser were always in your jacket, something that you cared about to much to leave alone.

Exiting the alleyway, you spotted an empty table outside a local cafe with a newly wrapped sandwich. A business man stood not too far away from the table shouting into his phone. Swiftly passing the table, you picked up the food and walked away, looking back to make sure he didn't notice.

Walking down the streets of New York was a dangerous task. For most people, it never ended well, but you never cared. You adapted to the ways of surviving with only the clothes on your back and while it was challenging at times, you’ve never felt so alive in your eighteen years of life.

Besides, you never had anything of worth for someone to rob you and often times the outfit you wore disguised you into the night.

I guess thats why you loved walking through the city when the sun disappeared, leaving you to be unseen by anyone who may have passed by. Not that anyone noticed you at all.

You pulled the hood of your jacket further down over your face with one hand and took a bit of the sandwich you stole with the other. Approaching the stairwell to a random building, you proceeded to climb, garbing onto the bars of the slightly unstable and rusty structure. It created little noise since it wasn't your first time.

Finally getting to the top of the roof, you hopped onto the ledge, dangling your legs, rocking them back and forth. Closing your eyes, you felt a soft breeze blow against your face.

This is why you enjoyed the night. The feeling of being free without anyone near to judge or criticise you in any way. Moment like these reminded you why you left your life before in the first place, to finally feel free.

Of course those moment never lasted as long as you would've liked them too.

You heard the sound of feet landing on to the floor knowing exactly who they were.

“You know, sitting that close to the ledge doesn't look that safe,” Spider-man said, approaching your current position.

“You tell me that every time and yet I never listen,” you stated throwing one leg over the ledge to face the masked superhero who stood leaned with both hands locked together in front of him, “Gets tiring doesn't it?”

Spider-man chuckled, pulling his up to reveal his mouth, “I guess you could say I just can’t quit you.”

You let out a loud chuckled before punching him on he shoulder, not caring about how hard you hit him knowing it probably wouldn't hurt him anyways.

“Can you go one minute without saying something completely stupid?”

“I think it’s one of my best traits.”

“I think it��s making you fail your job as a superhero.”

“You take that back!”

“What are you going to do, bore me to death with your cheesy one liners?”

This was also another reason why you loved the night. Never in a million years would you have thought that you would have made friends with the one and only spider-man.

Despite your thieving ways, he always let you slide since it never harmed people drastically and he understood that you had to do what you had to do. Despite his help, he never had a lot of time to get you most things and most times he couldn't blame you for not choosing to starve until he came.

It also helped him understand villains that he encountered on a daily basis and the reasons as to why they do the things they do in the first place. That’s why he kept seeking you out, he always learned something new about himself when hanging out with you.

He loved that fact that he could express himself without worrying about the consequences or letting you down because he wasn't strong enough as a superhero. He’s even told you things about his own personal life, no matter how vague, he’s told you about most of his life as Spider-man and Peter Parker.

Of course the same went the other way, he knew about all your struggles and thoughts and he always tried to help in anyway he could whether I be a sandwich from Delmer’s or staying with you threw the night like what he was doing now. He always tried to make time after petrol to talk to you.

“I’ll have you know that I’ve taken down bad guys with some pretty cool words.” Spider-man said with a smug look on his mouth and you can assume the rest of his face.

“The fact that you say ‘bad guys’ answers my question thoroughly” you chuckled, throwing a leg back over the ledge and scooting around, welcoming him to sit besides you.

“Sometimes, I question why I talk to you,” he responding, taking the same position besides you.

“You can’t seem to quit me remember, I’m just amazing like that,” you joked, flipping your hair back dramatically.

Your conversations always flowed effortlessly from light and fluffy to dark and deep, it never had hesitation or pauses when it came to telling each other something.

You looked up at the sky shutting your eyes, before letting out a puff of air. the air around you got quiet. Peter sensed the mood shift and immediately questioned it.

“Hey, everything okay?” He questioned, cocking his head to the side.

“My father has been searching for me and he getting scarily close. This morning I think one of his goons followed me for half the day until i lost him, why I couldn't meet you in our usual spot,” you said, playing with you fingers.

Peter looked at you with concern, you talking about your father was a sensitive topic, same you could say about him and his uncle, but you’ve never mentioned anything besides the fact that you ran away to find a new life.

“I thought he stopped looking for you for months,”

“Well I guess he started back,” you grumbled, turning to face him, “I can’t let him find me spidey, I can’t go back.”

You felt your eyes start to fill with tears. It was petty, you knew. There were people out there who would kill to have a family and yet here you were crying about getting one back. But you couldn't give up the life that you had now.

The feeling of nothing placed upon your back, the feeling of being free.

“Hey, it’s ok y/n/n,” peter said, pulling you into his chest while wrapping his arms around your waist, “we’ll figure something out, I promise.”

“I know I just can’t go back. I love this feeling of not caring, it’s amazing, I can’t give that up,” you whispered, “I can’t go back to being something for people to expect everything great from, here I can just be myself, granted not the best conditions, but its refreshing in a sense.”

Peter nodded, pressing his cheek to the top of your head.

“Don’t worry y/n/n, I’m sure everything would turn out fine,” peter said, rubbing your back tenderly.

Peter didn't want to completely agree with you because he never really approve of the approach you took with the relationship with you and you father. But he didn't know the entire story so he never questioned your actions out loud.

Looking back at the sky, peter let out a sigh before tightening his hold on you. He was just realising how much he cherished you as a person and he would do anything to keep you safe, even if it meant going against his mentor and only father figure.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city...

“Mr. Stark, it seems that we have found a match.”

“Thank you Friday, prepare my suit, its going to be a long night”

taglist: @jadegill​

[sephiasblogspot]

Who Played The Best Spider-Man in Film History?

Source: Flickreel

Long before we knew Tom Holland as Spider-man in the MCU today, and recognized as one of the heroes in the MCU together with Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hulk, and others; there were already several actors who played this character.

Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the “Spider-Man” Trilogy

Source: Pinterest

While Tobey Maguire's take on Peter Parker was instrumental in ushering in the current golden age of superhero movies, he merely set the bar for the character, one which most of the actors who have followed him have managed to clear. Still, Maguire had the distinction of being the first to step into the role in a feature film.

Source: Pinterest

Tobey Maguire wasn't just an actor playing Peter Parker, he was Peter Parker. He was the first Spider-Man, and for a while, it seemed like even though there was someone else playing the part, he was always going to be the truest version of the character.

Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in 'The Amazing Spider-Man' Films

Source: Pinterest

Garfield's Peter capturing the character's nervous energy, balanced with his steadfast determination to do what is right. What's more, he managed to convey just how scary it is to be Spider-Man, and how Peter often feels like he's in over his head but keeps pressing on anyway. Despite taking his great power and great responsibility seriously, Garfield's Spidey never lost Peter's characteristic wit and charm, keeping the character lovable and fun even when his circumstance seemed pretty dire.

Source: Screengeek

But, he moves on too fast from the guilt inherent in Spidey’s existence. Garfield’s Peter Parker almost appears to be too sure of his role as a superhero, and even his moments of doubt pass by a little too fast.

Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Marvel Cinematic Universe

Source: Pinterest

As Holland has continued in the MCU, he's only further cemented that he is the definitive cinematic version of Spider-Man. He's the first Peter Parker to ever really drive home the idea that all of this great power and responsibility rests on the shoulders of someone whose brain hasn't even finished developing yet. So when the Marvel Cinematic Universe acquired the rights to bring Spider-Man into their world, the only way they could go was to make Spidey radically different. That's why they cast Tom Holland in the role, and the rest is history.

Source: Pinterest

Holland's take on Spidey is starkly different from both Maguire and Garfield. A main difference? He's younger. Holland's youth brings a level of innocence and irreverence to the portrayal that really makes his take on the character feel so fresh and new. The energy that Holland brings to the role is really special. Tobey's Spider-Man, an older and more mature take on the character, was similar to the Spider-Man animated series; Tom Holland's youth, quick wit, and constant one-liners are in line with the comics in a big way.

After all that, the question remains: Which of these actors did it best? There will still be differing opinions on which Spider-Man is the best one, though many are currently leaning towards Holland’s version of Peter. But let’s not be too quick to hand Tom the top honor just yet. After all, taking on such a well-loved role means that one holds great power, and with it comes.

Photo Credit:

1. Flickreel

2. Screengeek

3. Pinterest

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Spider-Man: The Tablet Saga

There are Spider-Man stories that are constantly talked about. There are Spider-Man stories that are condemned to the forgotten memories of fandom. 

And then there are those weird ones in-between. 

The ones that rarely crop up on ‘Best of’ lists nor ‘worst of’ lists. The ones that are few people’s favourites but are also not regarded as bad per se. The stories that are not regarded as anything close to iconic and are generally unreferenced by fans and creators yet nevertheless have been revisited far more often than you’d think. 

Perhaps the prime example of this is the ancient stone tablet. Across stories and other media it’s rarely even had a consistent name. Only the word ‘tablet’ has remained constant but whether it’s ‘The Ancient Tablet’, the ‘Petrified Tablet’, the ‘Tablet of Time’ or the ‘Lifeline Tablet’ depends upon who you ask.

For years I dismissed the storyline. However, oddly it has been revisited enough times in Spider-History that I’ve grown rather fond of it. It helps that the stories attached to it are at worst flawed but never truly bad. 

Anyway I’ve decided to make this post to list all the Spider-man stories associated with the Tabet and perhaps encourage others to check out this curious element of Spider-Man history. 

ASM #68-75

The original story set the template (no pun intended) for the majority of the Tablet’s other appearances. The Tablet was initially essentially an ancient scientific note describing a chemical formula that could in theory give someone eternal youth. This in turn sparked a gang war chiefly between the Kingpin and his rival Silvermane. Naturally Spidey was caught in the middle, along with the Connors family. From then on the Tablet has predominantly been the object of gangland aspirations in spite of it being a more mystical item. 

The entire storyline has been collected more than once, but the most recent as of this writing has been in Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection Vol. 5: The Petrified Tablet Saga.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Season 2 Episodes 11-12/’The Neogenic Nightmare’ Chapters XI-XII: ‘Tablet of Time’/’Ravages of Time’

Exempting recaps, Marvel Saga or Handbook entries this was possibly the first time the tablet was ever referenced after the initial story. It makes a certain amount of sense. The head honcho for the show, John Semper, was predominantly exposed to Spidey strips from the 1960s and 1970s during his formative years as a Spider-Fan. I suspect the late 1960s and early-mid-1970s more specifically. This time period was the peak of Kingpin’s tenure as an ongoing Sidey foe, hence the character propped up as essentially the main villain of the 1994 cartoon. 

Additionally the second season of the show revolved around Spidey and other characters dealing with their genetic mutations and seeking ways to cure themselves; or in the case of villains exacerbate the problem. Since the tablet was a potential cure for the Lizard and the Lizard was a big part of the original storyline it was a logical story to adapt into a season all about mutations. 

A LOT of details are changed between the comics and the cartoon, such as the inclusion of Tombstone and Hammerhead, neither of whom had been introduced when the original story was released; though ironically Hammerhead would appear in another Tablet storyline.

However, as with so much of the show, whilst the details changed the ‘spirit’ of the original story was retained. Kingpin and Silvermane are at war for the tablet, they have their muscle men get involved. Silvermane meddles with forces he doesn’t fully understand and isn’t careful what he wishes for. And Spidey and the Lizard are caught in the middle. 

Ironically I think it’s these two episodes that truly ensured the place of the Tablet as part of the ‘collective memory’ of Spider-Fans. As obscure as it was it was always going to be at the back of fans minds due to these two wacky episodes.

Aside from an out of print DVD set, the most practical way to watch these episodes is on Disney+. For the record here’s the DVD though. 

Spider-Man: Lifeline #1-3

This was the first true sequel to the original Tablet storyline. If read immediately after it’s predecessor it might come off as a bit flat and samey. This is due to the writer and artist team deliberately trying to evoke the 1960s style of the original storyline, although the story is firmly set in the (then) modern day. If read in the context of the times the story is a fun throwback that deftly recreates a bygone era and organically expands upon the original story even whilst it homages it. 

However, for better or worse it is also the story that rendered the tablet an explicitly mystical item possessing potentially cosmic power. A lot of Spider-Man fans are turned off by anything too mystical. Usually I am too but for me personally the fun of this story is how successfully a 21st century story recaptures the 1960s, complete with witty Spidey one-liners.

The mini-series was collected several years ago alongside the original 1960s storyline. 

Spider-Man: Forever Young

This Y.A. novel from 2017 is a curious novelty.

For about the first half of the novel it adapts the original story and does so fairly faithfully. This isn’t a case of being ‘spiritually faithful’ like the 1994 cartoon. I’d argue the vast majority of the dialogue used is word-for-word identical to Stan Lee’s and the narration describes practically the exact actions of the fight scenes from the 60s comics. Granted there are some changes and omissions. Quicksilver and the Shocker are noticeably absent whilst the Schemer/Richard Fisk is incorporated from a later Lee story.  But overall it is like 90% faithful.

 Which is extra remarkable considering it goes to the effort of updating the setting to modern times. So you have characters speaking dialogue and displaying attitudes faithful to a 60s comic book but they also have cel phones and other modern technology. This becomes especially odd when the author has to essentially update a discussion about the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.

The biggest swerve of the novel is that it doesn’t end when it finishes adapting the original story. Rather the back-half goes on to tell an entirely original story that is built upon the foundation of the original and even incorporates some minor elements from the Lifeline mini-series.

If you don’t want to read the whole book, GraphicAudio produced an abridged audio version of it that’s currently available on Audible. 

FCBD 2018, ASM v5 #1, 6-7, 26-28, 41-43

The latest installments in the Tablet’s saga is difficult to categorize because it has transpired as an off and on subplot within the current Nick Spencer run of ASM. The above are merely the issues I feel are most relevant to said subplot thus far. 

I won’t comment on this storyline for now as it’s still brewing. Similarly, whilst I’m sure it will be collected again in the future, as of this writing these are the trades available to read the story so far.

[codee21]

Back on my MCU BS:  Peter and Harley as fanfic writers

Okay, so, hear me out. I would LOVE for Peter and Harley to meet online, as fanfic writers. 

They both become really well-known names on Ao3 and Tumblr; every time ItsWednesdayMyDudes or potatoboi3000 updates, the Avengers fandom goes wild on every platform. Because ItsWednesdayMyDudes just has a knack for writing Spider Man - every fight scene he publishes is cinematic perfection, but more than that, the internal monologues and moral dilemmas he pens are so humanizing for Spidey, and so real and raw and at times heartbreaking. Peter, who started writing these stories because his (NDA’ed to secrecy) therapist convinced him it would be a good outlet for his very real hero-related emotions, is flattered by the attention. And though he has no plans to publicly reveal his identity any time soon, it’s still nice to see that there are people who care about Spider Man on a human level.

potatoboi3000, meanwhile, becomes well-known for Avengers slice-of-life drabbles. The stories he tells are absurd -  like the one where Tony mistakes motor oil for coffee after 57 straight hours in the lab  - but they’re funny and entertaining and just realistic enough to be possible. He has an entire series dedicated to “times when someone asked Thor to open a jar but he just ended up breaking it.” His longest fic is a multichapter one where Hawkeye crawls around in the vents of the Avengers complex, dropping glitter on people who have pissed him off. They’re not deep or meaningful like the stuff ItsWednesdayMyDudes writes, but hey, Harley’s never met any Avengers in person besides Tony. He doesn’t know how Black Widow talks or how Captain America thinks, but he does have the stories Tony relays in their weekly phone calls and dammit he’s gonna share them with the world.

The two “meet” when they get asked to collaborate on a Spider Man fic for Avengers Week. The blog organizing the event is the premiere Avengers tumblr. All of the most popular writers in the fandom will be participating, and it’s truly an honor to be asked. They’ve been tasked with writing a Spider Man fic together for Day 6. And it goes well, really well. potato admires how in-character Wednesday is when it comes to writing emotional scenes for the masked hero; meanwhile, Wednesday appreciates the humorous situations and witty one-liners that potato plots. Their styles are so different, but they click, and so do the writers themselves.

Avenger’s Week ends (to huge success), but their partnership doesn’t. The two keep talking together, and writing together, and okay flirting too but it totally doesn’t mean anything because they don’t know each other names, right? 

But then, a really weird thing happens. Spider Man gets into a fight with the Green Goblin. It’s a small one, with no witnesses (besides Karen, and therefore Tony). And Peter gets his ass absolutely handed to him when the Green Goblin uses a modified version of his own webs to restrain him. And so he’s forced to wriggle out of the suit, which is absolutely glued to the ground and not going anywhere anytime soon, and chase down the Goblin wearing nothing but his boxers and his mask.

He succeeds. Under any other circumstances it would be funny (and oh boy does Tony laugh when they talk the next morning), but somehow the internal crisis he’s having over putting his best friend’s dad behind bars sours his mood, ya know? So he writes it. 

And so does potatoboi3000. Less than a minute later.

And of course Peter is dumbfounded. How does this boy from tumblr know about this very small fight with no witnesses? Because it’s clear, he has to know, there’s no way that potato randomly devised a drabble where Spider Man has to fight a villain in his boxers within 24 hours of it actually happening in real life. On the other side of the screen, Harley is also mystified. How did Wednesday hear about this very small fight with no witnesses? And not only that, but how did he know that Green Goblin was actually the father of Spidey’s real life best friend? (That was a detail he’d had to confirm with Tony after reading Wednesday’s fic, and the man had been surprised that Harley knew to say the least).

Harley comes clean to Tony about his Ao3 account, worried that there’s been some kind of security breach that could put the Avengers’ lives in jeopardy. It’s embarrassing to admit to his father figure that he’s a popular fanfiction writer, but this is a serious situation and he has no other choice. And Peter comes clean to Tony too, for the same reasons. 

Tony thanks them both seriously with an impressive poker face. He sets up a Zoom call, telling each boy that he’ll need them to repeat the story for a member of their security team so they can figure out who the leak is. But instead, when the three log into the Zoom call, Tony says “Harley, meet Peter, aka ItsWednesdayMyDudes. Peter, meet Harley, aka potatoboi3000. Peter is Spider Man. And Harley is a pain in my ass from Tennessee.” 

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Mysterio

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

In one of the greatest twists in all of cinematic history, it turns out that Mysterio, the man who in the comics is one of Spider-Man’s most iconic foes and who was heavily hyped by marketing as TOTALLY a good guy, is in actuality… a villain. Bet you didn’t see that one coming!

I think the real twist is that, despite how obvious the twist is and despite how much they change going into this character, they really managed to make him one of the most enjoyable antagonists in all of the MCU. And trust me, the fact that he is yet another villain that Tony Stark inadvertently helped create is a big hurdle to overcome, not to mention Beck is coming right on the heels of one of the MCU’s greatest villain so far, Thanos. But somehow Quentin Beck manages to not only be great, but a villain who takes the cake as one of the most terrifically amoral douchebags in all of cinematic history.

Actor: Jake Gyllenhaal plays Mysterio, and while it is literally impossible to make this man ugly like his comic counterpart, they not only managed to give a good reason why Quentin Beck should be sexy but they gave it to the perfect actor for the role. Gyllenhaal manages to sell Beck as a charming and likable fellow, a “cool uncle” figure to Peter as he has been described, to the point where the inevitable reveal that he’s just a scumbag who is lying out his ass about everything sting all the more even though it is so obviously coming. And when Beck’s true nature is revealed, Gyllenhaal manages to use that natural charm Beck seems to exude to make him at once completely hilarious with how he treats everything his team does as a primadonna actor would as well as utterly terrifying with his extremely blasé attitude towards killing children, treating it less like a contemptible crime and more like an annoying speedbump in his career he’d really rather not do. Gyllenhaal absolutely nails it, and while this Beck may not be in the film business like in the comics, he still manages to be one Hell of an actor.

Motivation/Goals: As it turns out, Beck was the guy who made B.A.R.F. If you don’t remember what that is, don’t worry; the movie gives a flashback to the scene where Tony debuts it in Civil War. Beck was fired by Stark for being too dangerous and unstable, and giving his hard work a stupid acronym was the last straw for Beck, who proceeded to round up disgruntled Stark employees to utilize illusion technology, drones, costumes, and special effects to essentially do what Syndrome wanted to do in The Incredibles: create fake world-threatening problems that he could solve with ease to make himself out to be a hero, all the while causing untold amounts of death and destruction in an attempt to make things realistic. You know, just like how a totally normal, mentally stable person would do it. This might actually be the one time where Tony made a good call in firing someone and it still somehow comes back to bite the people he cares about in the ass.

Personality: Quentin Beck, when acting as a hero, exudes the sort of charm and charisma one would expect of a hero, though occasional hints at his ego and lack of modesty do pop up; however, all of that is subdued by the general air of cool, friendly affability he exudes. He’s a kind mentor to Peter, giving him good advice, and in general seems to be a genuinely good guy…

...But obviously it’s all an act. Beck is very much an egomaniacal sociopath who has no care for anyone, not even his own henchmen; he threatens them after a screwup, though it is a bit justified seeing as how they were brushing off something that would blow their ruse wide open. Just as Beck revels in being a hero, he too revels in his villainy, as one can see during the scene where he gleefully breaks Peter’s mind with a series of traumatizing hallucinations. While he does give some indication he wished he could just have let Peter go, his behavior indicates that unlike someone like Vulture, all of this is just him never turning off that surface-level charm he puts up. He’s absolutely not sorry he has to kill Peter, he’s gonna have fun doing it, but he has to at least put forth that token “I really wish he didn’t have to do this” as if for the sake of some unknown viewer he wants to convince of his nobility even as he tries to brutally murder high school students.

Final Fate: Beck is apparently shot by one of the drones under his command, and dies shortly after Peter manages to break through his illusions… or is he? Considering this is Mysterio we’re talking about, and considering the mid-credits scene, there is a high chance that Beck faked his own death and used one last illusion to escape from under Spidey’s nose. But for now, we can only assume he’s dead. I’m definitely updating this if he comes back, trust me on that.

Best Scene: The scene in Berlin where Beck subjects Peter to a series of illusions that look like something ripped straight out of a comic book, or even a Scarecrow sequence from Arkham Asylum. It’s filled with utterly nightmarish imagery, tons of fakeouts, lots of references to the Spider-Man mythos, and even a few allusions to Mysterio’s video game appearances. In a film where Mysterio has no end of fine moments, this is easily his finest.

Best Quote: Beck has so many great lines that really ring with truth nowadays about people and their desire to believe even the most blatant of lies just so they can have something to believe in. But his greatest quote is perhaps when he weaponises that, with a little bit of edited footage he sends to a seedy, sensationalist news site called The Daily Bugle…

“I managed to send the Elemental back into the dimensional rift but I don't think I'm gonna make it off this bridge alive. Spider-Man attacked me for some reason. He has an army of weaponized drones, Stark technology. He's saying he's the only one who's gonna be the new Iron Man, no one else. Spider-Man's real... Spider-Man's real name is - Spider-Man's name is Peter Parker!”

And with this doctored footage, broadcast live on the news for all to see, Mysterio cements himself as one of the most absolutely scummy pricks in the entirety of the MCU, second only to Ego in sociopathic kick-the-dog cruelty.

Final Thoughts & Score: I just want you all to know that Mysterio is my absolute favorite comic book villain; I love his costume, his concept, that time he fought Daredevil, his gimmick… Mysterio is a villain who is a lot of fun but who rarely is handled well by comic writers, never getting to truly show off the full extent of his greatness. As you can imagine, this meant my expectations going into Far From Home were pretty high… and they were blown out of the water. Mysterio is just that good.

It helps that the MCU really managed to utilize the sort of paranoia and distorting of the truth a guy like Mysterio can bring to the table to its fullest extent. It’s to the point where, yeah, it’s easy to believe that he survived his supposed death; he’s shown us so many other moments where it has seem The day is saved prior that turned out to be BS, why should this be any different? Then there’s the fact that Gyllenhaal is able to fully sell this super-cliched bargain bin hero fantasy involving dimensional travel and world-ending elemental monsters, complete with wooden acting, cliché one liners, and an oh-so-obviously manufactured heroic sacrifice and make it cool in universe and out, that it all goes above and beyond to not only wash the bad taste of him being another villain Tony created out of your mouth, but also the sheer clunkiness of his expository bar scene where he literally explains everyone's role in the Mysterio ruse for the benefit of the audience and seemingly no one else in what might be one of the most awkwardly done scenes I have ever scene. He is so legitimately good that he somehow manages to walk away as a 10/10 villain despite being in a scene that bad.

I think what really makes him work is how psychological he is. Obviously, he has no real powers beyond a dedicated special effects team backing him up, and yet he still manages to be a serious obstacle to overcome by just how good he is at utilizing the illsuions he can create to mentally torment Spider-Man. He taunts him over Iron Man’s death, he plays on his fears of not being able to save MJ, he pretends to be trusted authority figures to trick him into endagering his loved ones... he just goes all out and really delivers a different kind of villain, one who poses a far more intriguing threat than simply a physical one and forces Peter to grow as a person and come to terms with himself in order to beat him.

When I compared him to Syndrome earlier, it really was more than just in terms of his plan; he’s equal to Syndrome in terms of quality as well, and portrayed by an actor who is able to inject just as much charm and personality into the role. And much like Syndrome, by the end of the movie you will think Quentin Beck is one of the must insufferably smug, sociopathic, and scummy villains you will ever love to hate. He outed a child’s secret identity to the world out of spite, for Christ’s sake! That really is up there with “I put a tumor in your mom’s brain” in terms of deliciously hateable dickishness in the MCU, in my opinion.

He may not be the most complex villain out there, and his backstory is a bit played out  (which is funny, considering the cliche hero story with destroyed worlds and dead families his team constructs ends up being more original in comparison), but what he lacks in depth he makes up for in charm, charisma, brilliant acting, and just delicious evilness. I seriously hope he comes back, because if any villain deserves more of a thrashing from a hero they fought, it’s this guy.

[squisybananas]

During my boredom after getting furloughed recently ( I was essential until my company stopped earning enough money to pay all of us), I decided to catch up on the shows that I watch that I hadn’t had enough time to watch because of work. Once I ran out of those, I turned to friends for suggestions. I binged The Boys and then moved onto Supernatural. I had been encouraged for several years to watch the show by multiple friends but my insane schedule made it nearly impossible. I decided that now was the time. I have not finished the series yet but am just starting season 12 (I don’t care about spoilers. I realize that when I’m late to the party that I may not always be surprised by things. I started GoT right before the final season). I am really enjoying it though I do find some aspects just kinda weird. Why do they keep cuffing them when they always get out of them? Shouldn’t the demons have a meeting about this? And after so many years, shouldn’t the bros have a spidey sense about the traps they are walking into? How come sometimes the Werewolves can smell them and other times they can walk up behind one and stab it? Do their livers still function at full capacity? Where can I get my own Bobby?

While I love the close relationship between the brothers, why isn’t there more balance? Dean is a man whoring, drunk, swaggering man child while Sam is an angsty, above it all whiny weirdo. Personally, I’m a little bit of all of these things and so are my siblings. We are also weirdly close and overprotective of each other so that part I get. They continually lie to each other despite telling each other every time they get caught that they will no longer lie to each other. And leave each other all the time because it’s for the best. But every time they realize it’s NOT for the best. Wouldn’t you have learned from your mistakes by now?

I liked the idea of Castiel when he came along. I was a fan of seeing the world through the eyes of an angel. I liked the innocence of how he saw things, learned, made dry observations and how he interacted with things we take for granted. At first. Now he seems like just a way to make a story line. Heaven needs Cas, Cas is God, Heaven wants to kill Cas,  Cas is evil, Cas is hurt, Cas is human, Cas is Lucifer, Cas is missing, Cas does research, Cas is missing, oh hey Cas is missing again. Kinda seems like the little brother no one wants that fucks up, states the obvious and squints awkwardly at everyone. He doesn't ass much and I feel like at this point he just kinda detracts from things.

I do love the childish humor, dorky references zippy one liners that come with each episode. All in all, I am enjoying the show so far and have every intention of finishing it, even if it has become very convoluted and strange at this point. We shall see.

[just-another-busy-fangirl-writes]

Team Arrow vs. Team Freewill 2.9 vs. The Defenders? Fighting, looks and one liners

OH BABY

Let’s list these out, shall we?  (I think I’m gonna answer how you wanted me to, but feel free to clarify/ask further opinion questions once this is out there!)

Team Arrow

Fighting: 

I love the combination of hand-to-hand combat and shooting (guns and arrows) that Team Arrow uses.  Like, each of them are capable of incredible things, and they all have their specialties.  All the martial arts (or combinations of styles of martial arts) are fun to watch and it’s nice that most of the team doesn’t have powers to resort to.  Of course, the Canary cry is pretty sweet, too.

Looks:

Okay, first thing - I am totally, 100% down to get in the middle of Oliver and Felicity, because let’s fact it: Stephen and Emily are smoking.  But let’s be real - they’re all incredibly attractive.  John, Dinah, and Rene all have such complicated backstories that only make them more interesting and attractive.  Former members - Roy, Sarah, Thea, Laurel, Curtis, Nyssa... Yep, they look just fine and dandy to me. ;)

One Liners:

This one is a bit harder for me in general, cause I have a horrible memory for things like this, but here’s what I can come up with:Oliver - I think the vigilante needs a better name than ‘The Hood’Malcom - How about the Green Arrow?Oliver - That’s lame.

Team Free Will 2.0

Fighting:

Listen, Sam and Dean have no business winning some of the fights they get themselves into, but they always pull through.  Castiel’s powers fluctuate more than day turns to night, so there’s that.  And lil Jack just...he has a lot going on.  That being said, I will always root for the boys and do my best to ignore inconsistencies.

Looks:

Yes.  They all look....very, very, good.  In the show and in real life.

One Liners:

There are just so many.  Here are some classic favorites:Dean: I think I’m adorableSam: I mean, what if there’s something… not natural?Castiel: My ‘people skills’ are ‘rusty’ (I have a t-shirt of this and it’s the motto of my life)Jack: Well I’m two. Enty. Twenty-two. I’m twenty-two.

The Defenders (lol at the # in the gif)

Fighting:

I think this is one of the best parts of this ragtag team.  Their fighting styles are all SO DIFFERENT.  I love how there’s one point in The Defenders where Jessica says something along the lines of “Why does everyone here know taekwondo?” and it’s just funny.  Jess and Luke are so strong, it’s great seeing them throw people around and take a punch.  Matty and Danny get the crazy fighting dances, which are so well choreographed and shot, it’s just great fun.  I especially like when Matt and Elektra go hand-to-hand, because it adds in the element of their screwed up relationship behind every hit.

Looks:

Yes.  It’s just really unfair that all the people in these groups are just so freaking attractive, but I would go for any of them.  Let Luke or Jess throw me around a bit, and I could dig how (probably) bendy Danny is.  And Matt?  He doesn’t need to see with his eyes, he can see with his hands. 

One Liners:

The Jessica quote that I do remember is a play on Spidey, something like “With great power comes great mental illness.”  That one made me chuckle.  And freaking Danny always saying “I’m the immortal Iron Fist.”  Like, okay dude.  Nobody you say that to knows what it means, so good for you.  I’m not coming up with any from Luke or Matt, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have great lines, too!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION!

Laura Kay Saturday