3+Adaptation+to+Film

(Figure 9. Spider-man movie, 2002)

**Spider-man, the movie, 2002**
Considering that the original story takes place in the 1960's, audiences could more readily identify with the modern film version. Outdated clothing and vocabulary were modified to 2002 current fashion trends for relevancy and believability. Characters were quite natural without excessive stereotyping. Computer generated images (CGI) were essential to portraying Spider-man's powers and abilities, although they were occasionally distracting in their lack of realism.

The film remains true to the original storyline of Spider-man's debut in Amazing Fantasy, with additional and extended storylines and a villain's appearance weaving through the main plot. The movie follows Peter through graduation from high school and on to making a living in the city, whereas in the original story, Peter has not yet graduated. The continuation beyond high school provided for some development of the characters and complexity of story. The Green Goblin does not actually appear until much later issues of Amazing Spider-man comics, but was well written into this screenplay.

I watched the film several times and attempted to compare cinematography shots to comics techniques, in order to note transitions and similarities between print and film despite the fact that it was like comparing apples to oranges. I tried to imagine how many of the live-action scenes might have been portrayed as comics. It was a difficult task but I believe that I succeeded in identifying a few examples.

The film begins with a great deal of scene setting, or what would be aspect-to-aspect closure so that we instantly come to know in what kind of atmosphere or mood the characters are functioning. Once the school bus stops and lets Peter on board, the hostility and ostracization that Peter experiences from his peers is obvious. Some people won't look at him, others make it clear that he can not sit beside them either verbally or with a facial expression, some students throw things at Peter and call him names and someone trips him. The wrestling ring is another great aspect-to-aspect closure where we see various shots of the crowd and their verbal and visual support for Bone Saw, the reigning champion of the ring. As Peter enters the ring, the crowd raises signs saying, "kill him" (Peter) as they chant the same words. The atmosphere is electric and hostile.

There were also instances of moment-to-moment closures throughout the film to draw the viewer right into the scene. The first one occurs with the spider descending ever so slowly towards Peter's hand. Another is seen when Peter discovers that he can climb walls and the camera follows him step by step along the wall as he tests both hand and foot grips, and looks down to check his climbing progress. A third instance is when Norman Osborn has a conversation with himself, both good and evil aspects, in the mirror and we follow him closely as he works his way towards the mirror itself.

Motion was the most difficult to compare seeing as how everything was constantly moving! Only one part stood out for me as being a comics technique and that was the blurring of the background as Peter races down an alley and begins to change into Spider-man.

Sounds and sensation were consistently normal, except for when Peter experienced his 'spider sense'. The first and second times it happens, everything slows down and the camera pulls in for a close-up on Peter's face and eyes. A buzzing sort of sound accompanies third and subsequent spider sense episodes. Having read the comics before the film, I could imagine jagged lines radiating out from Peter's head as he experienced the tingling sensations. The close-up face shots also helped me to imagine the lines.

One of the best things about the film version was the believability of Peter Parker's transformation. He shows what I would expect to be normal reactions to the changes as he experiences surprise at his new muscles; surprise and some confusion over not needing glasses any more; suprise, shock and pride when he defeats Flash Thompson; doubt and hesitation when he first tests swinging on a web; fear and even panic when he is locked into the cage with Bone Saw; doubt, pride and elation when he defeats Bone Saw. The subtleties of facial expressions and emotions would not have been so well portrayed in comics and this is where the film has a definite advantage in revealing those intricacies.

Peter's first attempt at travelling by web is quite hilarious, mostly for the realistic natural lack of confidence and skill. In the print versions, Spider-man seems to be an instant expert in swinging from building to building by web, but in the film, he begins without a plan, and his first web swing brings him very close to crashing before he shoots another web at the last moment to redirect himself. The swings themselves are not graceful and are not well timed, and Peter screams in fear at first. Obstacles such as traffic lights, trees and streetlights add to the panic and confusion of the first venture. Of course, Spider-man perfects his techniques over the course of the film and the swinging becomes much more fluid.

Overall, I would say that Sam Raimi, with David Koepp's screenplay, created a great realistic version of the the classic comic that held true to the story and characters, as well as the good versus evil action scenes between our hero, Spider-man and the villain, the Green Goblin. "Director Sam Raimi has done a tremendous job of creating a movie that will appeal to a wide range of audiences - from non-comic book fans like myself to the most die-hard “Spider-Man” groupie" (About.com, 2009). The love interest with Peter and Mary Jane was not prevalent in the print sources I referred to, but I know that it appears in other issues of the comics. The film was an artistic blending of several comics issues, coming together in a cohesive action-packed story with some great special effects. 

Introduction Story Summaries Characters Critical Story Components What makes a Spider-man? Additional Spider-man Information Bibliography

Source codes: AF (Amazing Fantasy #15, 1962 debut); AS (Amazing Spider-man, vol. 1 1963); USPR (Ultimate Spider-man, vol. 1 2009, Power and Responsibility); SM (Spider-man movie, 2002); SC (Spider-man cartoon, episode 21, 1967)