I am not a comic book reader, but I’m aware that Spider-man has been a sometimes Avenger in the comic books.
Watching the most recent Spider-man movie, I had the thought that I just can’t see this guy as an Avenger. He’s superpowered and skilled enough- I often forget that Spidey has super strength, when I am reminded of the super strength then I figure he’s at least on a level with Captain America and certainly levels above the movie versions of Black Widow and Hawkeye. It’s just that he doesn’t feel like a good fit.
Of course, the characters are very differently realized by the different creative teams.
Looks like the first character we’ll get to see from different studios is Quicksilver. Even though we only see him very very briefly at the end of The Winter Soldier, he definitely seems very different from the Quicksilver that we meet in Days of Future Past.
So, how would Spider-man/Peter Parker be different as imagined by Kevin Feige’s creative team at Marvel Studios? We already have 9 entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe upon which to base our speculation. Thoughts?
I think he’s a weird fit for the Avengers in the comics as well.
Marvel, I think, would likely give us better stories.
I think the current series of movies capture Spider-Man and his personality perfectly. Peter. Gwen. Aunt May. All perfect. So they’ve nailed the characters and the feel but stuck them into some poorly-constructed plots. I think because they wanted to focus on the romance angle as much as the action. Which is fine, but they weren’t good at it.
Marvel would probably give us something a bit tighter.
Spider-Man is much, much stronger than Captain America. Cap is immensely strong for a human, but nothing a normal human couldn’t achieve with the right genetics and a really dedicated exercise program. Spider-Man is superhumanly strong. Cap could, say, lift a car up enough to free a trapped civilian without too much effort. Spider-Man could pick up the car and throw it half a city block without breaking a sweat.
That said, I agree, he doesn’t quite fit in the Avengers. Which is why comics where he’s a member of the Avengers are so much fun.
They’d need to do some 'splaining to fit him into the universe. Either he’s been here all along, in which case they need to explain why there was no sign of him in the previous movies, or he’s just now getting started, in which case you’ve got to work up to the point where he meets the other heroes and they learn they can trust him. Plus, a New York City that’s already been ravaged by the Chitauri invasion would be a peculiar place for Spider-Man’s origin.
I think Spider-Man would be great in the Avengers. There’s definitely a slot for the recon/planning/smart guy on the team. I think he’d fit in very well. Spidey is also useful from a storytelling point of view: He’s the young amateur superhero, the audience avatar, and the hapless everyman to contrast against the various Gods and super-soldiers. And I agree with Miller - some of the best Spidey stories are when he gets to bounce off diametrically contrasted characters like Frank Castle and Nick Fury (“Ultimate Power” comes to mind).
The problem is that Spidey is, was, and always will be a teen or young adult. His entire premise is that is life basically stinks… but he has enough responsibility to do the right thing, even when it makes his life much, much worse. Once you make Spidey a grown-up, give him SHIELD sponsorship, and let him cruise around in a flying aircraft carrier, you’ve taken him away from his theme.
As for whether his movies would be different under a new producer, I don’t know. Marvel has done a very good job of letting the characters’ movies explore their own themes and have their own “voice.” I’m not sure it would be radically different under Marvel’s production house.
On a tangential note, there are always certain characters that just don’t “fit” in team books. I would love to see Ray Stevenson’s Punisher in an Avenger movie, but Frank doesn’t fit in and never will.
I don’t know about that… The current Avengers already have at least two guys who are definitely smarter than Parker, and one who’s at least comparable to him (depending on the writers).
EDIT: aldiboronti, at the time the deal was made, there was no Marvel Studios. Now that there is, they’d desperately love to get the character back, but under the original agreement, Sony keeps the rights as long as they keep making movies. It’s a similar story with the X-Men and Fox.