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The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Full Reaction)

FULL REACTION: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

It's the first day of the new year! What better way to celebrate the start of 2025 than to watch The Amazing Spider-Man 2!! The next and final movie in our Spider-Man movie marathon will be the MCU's No Way Home.

Watched on: Disney+ / Runtime: 2:21:41

Hope you enjoy!

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Full Reaction)

Comments

I'm pretty sure there's a 3rd one in the works after no way home dod so we'll. Also the opening chase scene was filmed just 5 minutes from me in Rochester ny!

BIG MATT

Precisely

iameNeRG (Rodney Gant)

You do. It's powerful and devastating. One of the very best Spider-Man films ever made.

Robin Wise

Garfield wasn't what I thought of as Peter Parker (nerdy, loser, always struggling) but he was an AMAZING Spider-Man. Quippy, fast-witted, insulting his enemies and mocking them, to force errors on their part.

Robin Wise

Absolutely solid comics lore. I came here to start but saw you'd already done it. Great work LittleGalaxyBoy. The Night Gwen Stacy Died https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_Gwen_Stacy_Died changed EVERYTHING. That was (arguably) the first time that a comics death was considered permanent. All of a sudden the friendly fun harmless era of comics was over, and events had consequences. People can die! Wow does that whole idea change comics forever on a fundamental level. Any OG Spider-Man fans who saw Gwen's outfit green over purple (Green Goblin colors for the long-term trackers in the audience) in ASM2 immediately knew what was coming. It wrecked me to see Emma Stone show up all happy and casual as https://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/story/entertainment/local/2014/05/16/analyzing-that-moment-from-new/17510166007/ When we knew this happens: https://mmv2api.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/products/images/2-image-comicspdrdeadgwendy-1-productimagenowatermark.jpg On a completely unrelated note, you REALLY REALLY need to watch Into The Spider-Verse and its sequel Across the Spider-Verse. Honestly, the best time BY FAR for you to watch this is right after No Way Home. Trust me (or contrariwise, tell me I'm wrong!), it connects. And it's a different continuity (kinda, kinda not!) you can jump into at any point. And hey, while doing a Spider-Series is the perfect time. It's a different continuity and yet and yet this is where the web connects most directly. You can enjoy it at any point! But this is where everything starts to tie together, if you wish.

Robin Wise

Web Heads🕷️🕸️🌹😎💕

Cojuancidence

"I hope this movie doesn't make me cry" ohh no 😭

Alex Gorell

Harry has taken up the mantle of the Green Goblin multiple times in the comics, but he’s never used the Hobgoblin identity. To Harry, the Goblin persona is a legacy of the Osborn family, so taking up another name would feel disrespectful. In the comics, the original Hobgoblin is Roderick Kingsley, a fashion designer turned criminal mastermind. Over the years, Kingsley blackmailed several people into wearing the Hobgoblin mask and taking his place, one of the most notable being Ned Leeds. It helped Kingsley maintain his cover while keeping the Hobgoblin active. This setup also gave writers the flexibility to keep the mystery of the Hobgoblin’s true identity alive. However, as writers changed over time, the storyline became a bit of a mess, with multiple fake-outs and misdirections. Eventually, it was revealed that Roderick Kingsley was the true Hobgoblin, clearing up the confusion in Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives (1997) I believe. In theory, the Hobgoblin could be anyone if he’s ever introduced in live action. But Harry Osborn as the Hobgoblin would feel way too on the nose, plus it would undermine the legacy of the Green Goblin.

LittleGalaxyBoy

Gwen's Impact on Comics: "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" (The Amazing Spider-Man #121-122, 1973) was a game-changer for the comics industry. Written by Gerry Conway and drawn by Gil Kane, it was one of the first comics to show the darker side of being a superhero. Gwen's death wasn’t just some shocking plot twist, it changed the tone of superhero stories, bringing in more mature themes and showing that no one, not even the hero’s closest loved ones, were safe. For Peter Parker, it was devastating. The loss of Gwen left a mark on him and set the stage for a darker, more emotionally complex Spider-Man. The formation of the Comics Code Authority (CCA) in 1954 brought strict censorship to comics, leading to the lighter, more whimsical portrayals of characters during the campy Silver Age of comics. The iconic Adam West Batman TV show from the 1960s is the perfect example, fully embracing the humor and over-the-top tone of the comics at the time. However, after the CCA relaxed its restrictions in 1971 and lifted the ban on horror comics, comic books began to embrace darker topics and stories. Batman returned to his noir, detective roots, marking the start of the often-overlooked Bronze Age of Comics. Stories like Daughter of the Demon (June 1971) revived a darker Batman and introduced Ra's al Ghul. During this period, Batman faced off against cults, assassins, dark magicians, and monsters, subjects that had been off-limits during the Silver Age due to CCA restrictions. The same applied to Spider-Man, as The Night Gwen Stacy Died helped transition Marvel into the Bronze Age of Comics. This shift allowed for more complex narratives, character development, and the exploration of real-world issues, ultimately reshaping the landscape of superhero storytelling for years to come. Though these themes began to be explored during the 1960s, they were still limited by the CCA's restrictions. With the relaxation of these rules, writers could delve deeper into darker, more mature topics, giving rise to a richer and more nuanced portrayal of characters like Spider-Man coming into the '70s and '80s. Fun details: Peter’s suit in this film takes some inspiration from Ultimate Spider-Man (2000 - 2011), especially with the big white eyes that are iconic to that version of Spidey. The '90s Spider-Man suit designed by Todd McFarlane also rocked the large white eyes, but since these movies are heavily influenced by Ultimate Spider-Man I'm sure this was the main inspiration for the suit. Electro in this film is straight out of the Ultimate universe as well, depicted as being fully blue, which is a big shift from his mainline counterpart who's a normal looking human in a yellow and green suit with yellow electric powers. The whole blue Electro take is pretty unique to the Ultimate comics and this film. Norman Osborn’s disease, Retroviral Hyperplasia, or "Goblin Disease," was created specifically for this film. The physical changes Norman goes through, like the Goblin-looking hands, are somewhat similar to the Ultimate version of the Green Goblin. In that universe, he’s this massive, Hulk-like monster with a demonic twist, basically a literal goblin. That transformation happens because Norman tests the Oz Serum on himself. Fun fact: in the Ultimate universe, the Oz Serum was Oscorp’s attempt to recreate the Super Soldier Serum, which also ties into how Spider-Man got his powers after being bitten by an Oz-infused spider. Hulk’s origin in that universe is also connected to Super Soldier Serum experiments, this time for S.H.I.E.L.D., with Peter’s parents being part of the think tank that worked on the serum alongside Bruce Banner. Mutants as well were a byproduct of the Canadian government trying to create their own super soldier, accidentally creating a new mutated genome which would give birth to Mutants. Basically everything connected back to the Super Solider Serum in the Ultimate Universe. Harry becoming the Green Goblin is a nod to the comics, where he takes up the mantle using Norman’s Goblin suit and gear. This leads Peter to think Norman’s somehow back from the dead. Speaking of Norman, his death in the comics during "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" has a similar setup to what we saw in Spider-Man (2002). In both, the Goblin gets impaled on his own glider, though the movie swapped Gwen for MJ, and Peter actually saves her. In the comics, Goblins death comes after he killed Gwen Stacy, though he'd later return, along with Norman Osborn. There’s also a fun Easter egg in this film. Harry’s computer has a file called "Project Venom," which is a nod to Ultimate Spider-Man, where Venom was created in a lab instead of being an alien symbiote. I went into this more in my Amazing Spider-Man (2012) notes if you want to check back on that. Oscorp is packed with gear that hints at other classic Spider-Man villains. You’ve got Doc Ock’s tentacles and Vulture’s wings in there, for example. In the Ultimate universe, Otto Octavius was a scientist at Oscorp, and his tentacle arms got fused to him during a lab accident. But in most other versions, especially the mainline comics, Oscorp isn’t connected to every villain, which, honestly, I prefer. Feels a little like how Lex Luthor in Superman stories, is often tied to the creation of other Superman villains. The plan was to build up to a Sinister Six film, bringing together a team of Spider-Man villains from the comics. The classic lineup includes Doctor Octopus, the Vulture, Mysterio, Kraven the Hunter, the Lizard, and Electro, though the line-up switches around like most teams. Fun little tidbit: in the ‘90s Spider-Man: Animated Series, the team was introduced as the Insidious Six because of censorship reasons, "Sinister" was too much I guess.

LittleGalaxyBoy

Something I happened to notice when watching the first movie this time is that this Spider-Man had a tendency of catching people with his webs. He did it to the little boy in the car and he did it to Gwen when getting her out of the school during the Lizard's attack. I don't know if it was on purpose, but it does foreshadow Gwen's fate. I knew as soon as you said that you hoped this movie didn't make you cry, I felt so bad because I knew you were just in for it with this movie Jax! Gwen's death is beautifully tragic and Andre Garfield acted the hell out of that scene. The movie is unfortunately very uneven. The acting is well done, but it's just too overstuffed and rushes through a lot of things. The Harry-Peter plot should feel a lot bigger, but we have no real attachment to their relationship so it doesn't hit like it should. The hype for this movie was actually really big. I remember it was being predicted to be one of those movies that would make $1 billion at the box office and it ended up falling well short of that. IT wasn't a bomb by any means, but the poor critical response as well as it falling well short of its assumed box office, it made less than the first movie, led to Sony instead looking to hook up with Disney to bring Spidey into the MCU. Excited for your No Way Home reaction!

Ed Scoglio

It may sound a little morbid but many of us comics fans were hoping they would go this route after the first movie came out, but mostly because it is such a huge part of Spider-Man's backstory.

Andrew Polinski

I've been enjoying this Marathon so much! To speak about Garfield's performance as Spider-Man, and his casualness when it comes to danger in the city, I would just like the state that that is the way that Spider-Man usually is in the comics, / all forms of media. It's the reason why most of his villains don't like him as much. Because he's always cracking a joke or making light of a situation. That's why I love this iteration of Spider-Man. Because the jokes are exactly where they need to be. Anyway, I'm excited about No Way Home!!

iameNeRG (Rodney Gant)

I remember my buddy showing me the trailer to this at work, and my first time watching the trailer, I said "I can't believe she said that!" and my friend was like, "what do you mean?" I said "She screamed, 'Peter!' as she was mad at him and then cupped her mouth right away."

Mister Lou

This was a fun ride! And yes tom is truly spectacular!

Armando Castillo

Yeah this movie is a little messy compared to the others but it has so much heart.

Cameron

Oh gosh! I need to buy another box of tissues!!!

Jacqueline

Ooh, The Sinister Six is a great name for a villain squad. It is a shame they didn't get to continue this story, but I'm glad we got to see Mysterio and the Vulture in the MCU.

Jacqueline

Thanks for sharing the backstory from the comics. Gwen's death is such a gut punch, especially since they were all so young.

Jacqueline

That is so cool that you've been in an abandoned station!! The rats sound scary though.

Jacqueline

That would explain why I am unfamiliar with it!

Jacqueline

That was Paul Giamatti!?! OMG! I thought he looked so familiar but was convinced that was not him!! 😂

Jacqueline

JAX I have been waiting for your NO WAY HOME reaction since it came out. Now having said that very glad you Re-watched the OGs. But know Tissues and Lamby are very VERY much need.😅😏🤫 okay see you in the next one.😁

Marshariki Bowie

I too am constantly amazed by how much Paul Giamatti looks like Paul Giamatti. 😂

Onno Smits

Garfield's performance in this movie just making me feel all the emotions is one of the reasons he's my favorite Spider-man. I'm sad that he never got to continue with his series. The scene at the end where you saw the tentacles and wings hanging on the wall was teasing the next movie they were planning on doing where Peter would have to go against a very famous six villain team up known as the Sinister Six, which included the Green Goblin (Harry), the Rhino, Doctor Octopus, Kraven the Hunter, Vulture, and Mysterio, but the deal between Disney and Sony Productions to have Spider-man appear in the MCU cut that off. Given how much trouble one and a half villains gives him, I wondered how Peter would take on the seemingly insurmountable task of taking down six. (I say half just because Harry kinda just shows at the end for a quick contest at the end when the overall show was about Max being the main antagonist)

Minibeast

Everyone talks about Uncle Ben and the whole "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" speech but I firmly believe that it is Gwen's death that moulds Spiderman into the hero he is today. Her death is very humbling for him and he becomes more selfless than selfish after this event. The Felicia in this movie I believe is a nod to Felicia Hardy AKA Black Cat who is a love interest of Peter Parker's. In the comics Norman goes by the Green Goblin while Harry originally goes by Hobgoblin, I prefer the comic book variations of their looks compared to these movies

Andrew Polinski

In comics Gwen Stacy was one of the great tragedy of Spider-man, she's killed by Normand Osborn as the Green Goblin in Amazing Spider-Man #121. Osborn dies in #122 killed by his own glider in the same way he did in the movie Spider-man. At the end Harry by talking of a small group is hinting at the Sinister Six and group of Spider-man villains working together which probably was for an Amazing Spider-man 3 which saddly never happened.

David Bourgeois

The old Roosevelt Station is a real thing, exactly as it was described in the movie. I've been in abandoned MTA stations in NYC, yeah there's a lot of dust, much of it is brake dust from the trains, somewhat toxic, pretty disgusting. The rats are enormous, too. :(

Chester Beals

Plutonium is mostly known for being used in nuclear fission weapons.

eladrin22


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