Comic Book Journal

Spider-Man 3 opens at midnight tonight . . . errr . . . early tomorrow morning I guess. Anyway, here everything I’ve learned about the sequel and its franchise future.

There are at least three villains. Obviously, Peter’s conflict with Harry Osborn comes to a head as he takes on the mantle of the Green Goblin - I believe he’s just called the Goblin in this, and thank goodness they did away with the Power Rangers mask! I hope they use the Harry-centered Spectacular Spider-Man #200 as the basis for this confrontation!

There’s also Flint Marko, or as we know him, the Sandman, played by Thomas Hayden Church. Sandman is somehow connected to the murder of Uncle Ben, with some indication that he might even be the one responsible for Uncle Ben’s death. But unlike other such movie recons (such as Joker in Tim Burton’s Batman), Sandman seems to be portrayed with a great deal more humanity and family life in the movie. This isn’t totally unreasonable - in the comics, Sandman turned a new life as an associate of international do-gooder Silver Sable. Though complications due to a battle with Venom (perhaps prudent here as well) lead an unstable Sandman to burn many of these bridges, Sandman put himself back together (no pun intended) and remains one of Spider-Man’s only enemies to denounce extreme violence.

Venom is definitely a major figure in the movie. At first, speculation from the trailers amounted to Venom only having a cameo role - right the film’s credit. This is definitely not the case, as later versions show Venom actually in combat with Spider-Man. It’s interesting that Sam Raimi actually detest Venom at first, given his horror background, but was implored by Avi Arad to include Venom given the latter’s fanfare. This is probably because Raimi has more a traditional fandom for Spider-Man, and I think it will be interesting to see Raimi try to incorporate the Todd McFarlane-invented Venom into that fandom.

I said at least three villains. There were rumors Mysterio might appear, voiced by Bruce Campbell - I can’t imagine how fishbowl head is gonna appear in this film - but I’ve been wrong before.

Gwen Stacy, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, is a major character in the film, as is her father, Captain Stacy, played by James Cromwell. Gwen and Peter seem to be involved following the disintergration of his relationship with Mary Jane during the symbiote subplot. Gwen’s fate, though known by many in comics, is still a mystery in the movie, as rumors persist she might appear in the fourth film.

And yes, finally, they are planning a fourth film. Given the expected box office numbers, Sony and Avi Arad insist there is a fourth film in the works, even though Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst (i.e. most of the people who made the first Spider-Man films good) are ambigious about continuing the franchise, having just made three major Marvel movies. It seems Sony is hellbent on making a third, even if these three leave the fold altogether (Raimi might involved in the Hobbit, Maguire has spoke against making an immediate fourth flick, and Dunst doesn’t want to return if Raimi isn’t attached), Sony will probably make a Spider-Man 4 . . . for better or worse.