Movie Jail: The People vs. Spider-man

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Ever wonder what happens to actors and filmmakers who stop making good films and start releasing bad ones? They land themselves in Movie Jail! JoBlo.com readers will act as the jury to hold celebrities accountable for the diminishing quality of films, while still taking into full account their entire career. While they won't actually spend any time behind bars, this is a fun way for you to voice your opinion as to whether a few bad movies discredits an entire career. So, read through the evidence on both sides and let us know in the comments whether this week's defendant deserves to go to MOVIE JAIL!

The Defendant: Spider-man

The Charges: 

Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are hereby charged with misuse of an iconic film character and gross negligence in sharing custody of said superhero. Over the course of seven feature films, Spider-man has failed to maintain a minimum threshhold of quality and, despite strides in the right direction, seems destined to repeat prior offenses. Is it time for the character to take a break from the big screen?

The Prosecution

EVIDENCE FOR THE PROSECUTION: SPIDER-MAN 3, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2, SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME, Sony/Disney divorce proceedings

Since the year 2002, Spider-man has been the sole custody of Sony Pictures. As one of the first major studio superhero films of the modern era, Sony enlisted the talented Sam Raimi to realize the Marvel Comics character on the big screen. After two blockbuster films, Sony maliciously released SPIDER-MAN 3, a film created in opposition to Sam Raimi's creation vision and forever marred his trilogy of films. SPIDER-MAN 4 was aborted and a rebooted film series was created to capitalize on the gritty realism of Christopher Nolan's THE DARK KNIGHT. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN duology, under the guidance of director Marc Webb, failed to come anywhere close to the success of the Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst films.

After failing to win audiences over, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone returned for THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2, a film that eschewed the realism of the first film in favor of an overstuffed comic book movie without any of the magic inherent to the Spider-man character. When that failed, Marvel Studios and Sony agreed to share custody of the character and wisely introduce him to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME became the highest grossing film featuring Peter Parker, it ignored all the hallmarks of who Spider-man is in favor of a film that served to further the success of the MCU with more references to Tony Stark than to Uncle Ben.

In the wake of SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME, Sony and Marvel Studios have separated with divorce proceedings imminent. In light of the atrocious manner in which Sony has maintained guardianship over their ward, we hereby demand that the studio be found guilty of abuse and mismanagement and move for full custody to be remanded to Marvel Studios. In light of VENOM and the upcoming MORBIUS film, we are concerned for the well-being of the webslinger and request that at the very least that shared custody between Marvel Studios and Sony be reinstated with Sony required to have all visits observed.

The Defense

EVIDENCE FOR THE DEFENSE: SPIDER-MAN, SPIDER-MAN 2, SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, AVENGERS: ENDGAME, SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE

Spider-man is one of the most iconic superheroes in the genre. Unlike most of his adult peers, the teenage Peter Parker has always given a unique glimpse into the pathos of how a character can grow, not just into adulthood, but into maturity. In Sam Raimi's original series, we see Peter grow into his powers via a startlingly good performance by Tobey Maguire who nails the geeky side of what makes Spider-man so relatable. Raimi's film also offered us two of the best comic book villains of all time: James Franco's Harry Osborn, the rare bad guy who appears in every film of a series, and Alfred Molina's relatable and tragic Otto Octavius.

While the Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone chemistry saved both films in THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN duology, it was Tom Holland's casting that finally realized the perfect Spider-man. Not only did we finally get to see him interact with other major Marvel characters, but Holland's youthful energy finally took the character back to his high school roots and gave us a friendly neighborhood hero trying to find his place in a universe of infinitely more capable superheroes who did not need to hide their faces like a kid would. Even the animated INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE ranks at the top of the very best comic book movies of all time, giving us a completely original type of animation that makes you feel like you are in a comic book.

Even if the split between Marvel Studios and Sony is permanent, the latter has gotten a great jump start to continuing their franchise. Tom Holland's contract means he will continue to make Spider-man sequels, it just means they won't be able to name drop any of The Avengers. And, at the end of the day, that means Sony can mine their catalog of characters and make Spider-man movies that are about Spider-man and not the MCU. Sam Raimi and Marc Webb both did it, I have confidence that Jon Watts will be able to as well.

CLOSING ARGUMENTS

While Spider-man's inclusion in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a cause for celebration amongst fans, the pages of Marvel Comics have existed for decades with solo Spider-man runs that did not need Captain America or Iron Man to sell issues. Based purely on their standing as films, Spider-man has a legacy of eight movies which continue to gross more than their predecessors. But, does higher profits mean higher quality? We urge you, the jury, to reflect on the evidence presented and decide whether the fate of Spider-man resides in Movie Jail or in the capable hands of either Sony Pictures or Marvel Studios.

*The cases for and against a defendant going to Movie Jail by the author are not necessarily his views and opinions but they are some of the beliefs that one would use to effectively make an argument for both sides. Not quite a devil's advocate but you get the point. Anyway, this is all in fun so don't take it too seriously. We have a separate jail for those people called "Troll Tower" and believe me you do NOT want to go there.

WHAT SAY YOU: GUILTY OR NOT?

Here is your change to make your voice heard. You are the Jury! Let us know in the comments below whether you find Spider-man INNOCENT or GUILTY and we will share the verdict in two weeks! Remember: this is all for fun. No celebrities have been harmed in the creation of this column.

LAST WEEK'S VERDICT: NOT GUILTY

The People have unanimously found Arnold Schwarzenegger NOT GUILTY in light of his major contributions to movies and franchise filmmaking. Mr. Schwarzenegger is hereby expunged of all charges…but we will be watching closely to see if TERMINATOR: DARK FATE brings him back into out courtroom.