Thoughts Before Going to See Spider-Man 3

So, I'm finally going to see Spider-Man 3 tonight, and despite some mixed critical views I'm still hopeful for the film. Actually a little more than hopeful. This movie has to be good enough to make up for the disaster that was X-Men 3, the bore that was Superman Returns, and all the times I had to resort to the defense mechanism of denial when a commercial for Nic Cage in Ghost Rider came on (that's going to be my very first tumor!). Yet the critics are going after this one in a way they didn't the first two. Going by Rotten Tomatoes (which is a pretty good indicator) where the first two movies got a score in the mid to high 80's, Spider-Man 3 is (last time I checked) at a respectable but disheartening 63%. This means that only 63% of the critics that went to see it liked it. The common complaint of the critics that panned it was that it was too busy and rushed in how it tried to cram so many plot elements and characters into one film. I can see why they'd say that. With three villains (Green Goblin, Venom, and Sandman) and two love interests (Mary Jane and Gwen Stacy) it's easy to see how Sam Raimi might have been trying to fit in a bit too much.

I'm still optimistic, though. I don't always agree with the critics and this could be one of those happy occasions. I loved the first two movies so much that I probably couldn't live without them in my DVD collection (try to tell me Spider-Man 2 wasn't one of the best big budget films in years). And I love that Bryce Dallas Howard is Gwen Stacy.

She's great. So I'm going to put my faith in the cast, writing team, and in Sam Raimi all who have not disappointed me yet. In any event, I'll tell you what I think afterwards.

But to put things in perspective, I've decided to write about a disappointing Spider-Man limited series I picked up recently entitled Spider-Man: Friends and Enemies. I got it as part of a massive order I put in at milehighcomics.com (another moment of weakness where I forget how broke I am and spend what little money I have on back issues I don't need). I picked it up, mainly, for one reason: I'm a proud fan of the character Darkhawk and Darkhawk is in the entire series. The basic premise of this limited series is that Spider-Man along with Darkhawk, Nova, and Speedball go after and try to rescue a group of teens called the Metahumes who are being exploited by various villains for their powers. This series ends up being a train wreck.

This is mostly because of the writer Danny Fingeroth who I have mixed feelings about. Danny was a longtime group editor for Marvel Comics and the sole writer for Darkhawk's ongoing series. I respect Danny for his wonderful work as a group editor for the Spider-Man books and for the first 38 or so issues of Darkhawk which I cherish as some of my favorite work from 1990's Marvel Comics. But the last twelve issues of Darkhawk and this limited series really show off Danny's considerable weaknesses as a writer.

For instance, Danny hits you over the head with what the main theme of the series is. Every two pages a character has to point out about how the metahumes are young and impressionable and how they are being exploited (MESSAGE!). Also, the four heroes who are supposed to save the day in this act more like macho, irritable jerks than friends. Darkhawk is continually snapping at Speedball and in issue #3 Spider-Man randomly goes ape-shit and starts beating up Speedball and Nova over having lost track of the Metahumes (not the Peter Parker I know). This series also contains some of the most poorly named villains in comics history: The Hostiles led by (you've got to be kidding me) Honcho! Neither Spider-Man's presence nor the ties to the Darkhawk regular series (the crystals that gave the Metahumes power were the crystals that healed Darkhawk in issue #47) could really save this series for me. The sad part is I only have the first 3 issues of this 4 issue series, and despite my distaste for it I know I'm going to end up eBaying the fourth (my addiction is sick). What I'm trying to get at, though, is: At least Spider-Man 3 can't be as bad as Spider-Man: Friends and Enemies. So I'm going to kick back later tonight and go in there feeling like I'm about to see a good movie. I'll tell you how that goes later tonight.