TITLE: Spider-Man
AKA: AUTHOR: David Koepp

ANALYST:
CIRCA: Present Day
LOCALE: New York City
GENRE: Action

LOGLINE:
After receiving a bite from a genetically-mutated spider, a geeky high school senior is transformed into the superhero Spider-Man, then is pitted against his first and most heinous nemesis, The Green Goblin.

COMMENTS:
An excellent adaptation which encompasses the entire Spider-Man mythos, but one which could use a dialogue polish, and in one case in particular, greater characterization.

PROJECT RECOMMENDATION: Yes
WRITER RECOMMENDATION: Yes

SUMMARY:
PETER PARKER (17), is a geek. He is picked on by the “beautiful people” at his high school. He is picked on by the nerds. He is picked on by everyone but his rich-kid best friend, HARRY OSBORN (17), and the love of Peter’s life, MARY JANE WATSON (MJ) (17). Beautiful but sad, with a dismal home-life, MJ has been Peter’s next door neighbor since they were six years old, and Peter has secretly been in love with her the entire time. During a class trip to Columbia University, Peter gets-up the courage to approach MJ and ask to take her photo for the school paper. She obliges in the science lab, standing before a glass tank full of genetically engineered spiders. As Peter snaps the photo, one of the mutant spiders escapes from its glass cage and bites him. A deathly ill Peter later staggers home to his AUNT MAY and UNCLE BEN’S house, then spends the night passed-out on his bedroom floor. The next morning Peter awakens as a very different young man. He is shocked to find that he suddenly has perfect vision when before he needed glasses. He is even more shocked to find rippling muscles when before his body had been weak and scrawny. Truth is, Peter has developed all the characteristics of the genetically engineered super-spider which bit him. He now has the ability to climb walls, leap great distances, spin funnel-shaped webs and react to danger so fast that it borders on precognition or a spider sense. Kind of amazing, for a high school kid….

After several amusing failed attempts at mastering his new powers, Peter must decide what to do with those powers. After noticing that MJ is attracted to rich boys like Harry, Peter believes that material trappings may help to secure MJ’s love for him, so he begins to use his supernatural abilities for his own personal gain. Peter sews up a Spider Man costume then enters a wrestling competition at Madison Square Gardens with a purse large enough to enable him to buy a car. During the fight, Peter quickly subdues a much larger and meaner opponent, but when he goes to collect his prize money, the FIGHT PROMOTER cheats him, giving him only a fraction of what he was promised. When, moments later, the Promoter is robbed by a THIEF, an embittered Peter does nothing to stop the crime. But when Peter’s beloved Uncle Ben is carjacked and killed by that same Thief, Pete realizes that his new powers must be used for good.

But just as Peter goes through this great personal transformation, so does Harry’s father, NORMAN OSBORN. A business tycoon and military researcher, Norman is pushed to the limit when Pentagon brass threaten to pull funding for his newest inventions, a single-winged flying glider one rides like a magic carpet, and an inhalant designed to transform soldiers into super beings by increasing their strength by 800 percent. Fearing that the inhalant may cause madness, the Pentagon calls for more animal testing before the chemical is tried on humans. But in an act of pure desperation, Norman decides to test the experiment on himself. He steps into an airtight chamber then breathes in his experiment’s noxious green vapors. And, just like Dr. Jekyll before him, the test goes terribly wrong. Norman’s personality splits in two and the murderous maniac, The Green Goblin emerges… to become the perfect nemesis for Peter’s do-gooder alter ego, The Spider-Man.

While Spider-Man now uses his powers to catch criminals and save babies from burning buildings, The Green Goblin uses his powers to systematically eliminate anyone opposing him. It is during a parade for the World Unity Festival that he decides to take-out his company’s entire board of directors in one clean sweep, not troubling himself that his son, Harry — and Harry’s new girlfriend, MJ Watson — will be on a reviewing stand with them. He swoops out of the clouds on his company’s stolen jet glider, then lobs a bomb at the reviewing stand. The stand immediately crumbles, leaving MJ hanging on for dear life as she dangles five stories in the air. Harry is unable to reach her and Spider-Man is unable to help her as he battles The Goblin, who throws more bombs at the crowd while raking Spider-Man with laser blasts and machine gun fire. It is only when The Goblin draws too close to Spider-Man that Spidey is able to reach under the glider’s wing to rip out several wires. The Goblin careens out of sight on a disabled machine that’s smoking and sputtering, just as the balcony holding MJ completely collapses. The girl plummets toward the ground as Spider-Man dives after her with one of his webs trailing behind him. He catches MJ just moments before impact, then the two of them bounce up on the web as if on a bungee cord. With this act Spider-Man does more than steal MJ’s heart away from Harry — and secure a sweet thank you kiss from MJ. He also makes it clear that The Goblin’s only true opposition comes from Spider-Man.

After The Goblin realizes this, he quickly pieces together Spider-Man’s true identity based on injuries Pete sustained the day of the parade. And when he does, all hell breaks loose for Peter Parker. First, The Goblin attacks Pete’s sweet old Aunt May in her own home, then he goes after MJ — forcing Peter to choose between saving her or entire tram-load of children, both of which The Goblin drops from the Queensboro Bridge at exactly the same time. But little does The Goblin know, Peter as Spider-Man is hero enough to save all. He spins a web rope, dives after MJ, catches her, then grabs the tram’s severed cable, stopping its fall. Spider-Man’s body is stretched to its limit as he hangs from the bridge clutching MJ and the tram with one hand and his web rope with the other. When The Goblin starts slashing at Spider-Man with razor sharp blades that adorn his green suit, angry NEW YORKERS who watch from the bridge begin pelting The Goblin with chunks of debris, causing the villain to retreat. This gives Spider-Man time to lower MJ and the tram to a bridge-piling and safety. But seconds later, The Goblin flies by on his glider and lassos a rope around Spider-Man’s waist, dragging the hero away.

As the super beings pass over a condemned small pox hospital on Roosevelt Island, The Goblin cuts the rope binding Spider-Man, causing him to fall through the hospital’s roof then through several of its rotted floors. When Spider-Man comes to, the Goblin’s glider is already circling him. A mighty fight ensues, and when The Goblin discovers that he is about to lose, he tears off his mask, exposing his true identity and begging for mercy. While Spider-Man is distracted by this, Norman uses a remote control to send his unmanned glider hurtling toward Spider-Man’s back. At the last moment the Webbed Wonder contorts himself into a nearly impossible position, and the glider passes him, impaling Norman, instead. To save Harry from learning that his father was a madman, Spider-Man places Norman’s body back in the Osborn penthouse in hopes that it will appear that the tycoon was killed in a simple burglary attempt.

Unfortunately, Spider-Man is caught doing so by Harry. Harry jumps to the conclusion that Spider-Man killed Norman in cold blood then vows revenge, neatly setting-up an antagonist for subsequent installments in the Spider-Man franchise. And as for MJ and Peter… while facing death on the Queensboro Bridge, MJ realizes that it is the kindly Peter Parker, and not the rich Harry Osborn or even the gallant and heroic Spider-Man whom she loves. And although Peter has won his greatest desire, MJ’s heart, he realizes that because of his Spider-Man alter ego, anyone he loves will be in great danger. So after a final kiss he walks away from MJ. But with that kiss MJ realizes who Peter Parker really is: The Amazing Spider-Man.

COMMENTS:
SPIDER-MAN is similar to BATMAN in that it is a rousing and inspirational tale of a loner who accepts his responsibility to humanity, and his own unique gifts, to become a truly extraordinary force for good — and in this way it succeeds. Its writing is somewhat careless, though, as more attention could be paid to its structure, characterization and dialogue.

SPIDER-MAN’S premise is a good one. The story of the superhero’s genesis is accessible enough to garner wide appeal, while also benefiting from a built-in audience in the form of die-hard fans of the Marvel character. A very high budget and a great deal of CG will be required, however, and should be considered before moving on the property.

SPIDER-MAN’S structure is somewhat flawed. Almost half the script is spent in the First Act, where Peter gains then learns about his new powers, eventually deciding to use those powers for good. Some pairing-down of this act is advised, although a light touch is suggested. The First Act is entertaining enough, and its plot-points vital enough, that it could remain slightly longer than the accepted norm.

Though SPIDER-MAN’S dialogue is quite natural, it is also often lackluster, to the point that memorable and pithy trailer moment lines will be hard to come by. A polish aimed at punching up the dialogue is highly recommended.

Though virtually all the characters in SPIDER-MAN are well-rounded and have more than enough screen-time, one character is not so fully developed. Mary Jane Watson has no complete story line, no achievements all her own, and no arc. She is simply pretty window dressing. She starts as a poor kid picked-on by her parents, she gets passed around from one rich young man to another, then, after a barely touched-on attempt at the acting profession, she ends-up working at a greasy spoon. She develops no further from there, and is left to languish at the greasy spoon even unto the very end of the story. Her only change comes from her new-found love for Peter, which simply isn’t enough. In a script which so carefully follows the progression of Peter Parker, wimp, to Peter Parker self-actualized superhero, MJ’s lack of growth is truly disappointing.

SPIDER-MAN’S story beats could also use some work, especially in the script’s Third Act. Peter Parker is a bright young man. How does he think he can deposit the lifeless body of Norman Osborn back into his penthouse while making it look like Norman was killed by a would-be robber? The tycoon has just been skewered straight-through by a jet-propelled rocket glider, causing a wound that would be impossible for an ordinary robber to inflict. The conclusion of the Peter/MJ storyline isn’t terribly satisfying, either. MJ is in danger throughout the entire Second and Third Acts of the script — before she even realizes that she loves Peter — simply because Pete loves her. At the story’s end Peter still loves her, but feels he can’t be with her to keep her safe. Won’t MJ be in danger whether she and Peter are an item or not? By walking away from her, Pete really accomplishes very little.

CONCLUSION:
Keeping the above points in mind, SPIDER-MAN is an exciting and engaging read, with enough nostalgia and reverence for the Marvel property to keep even a die-hard fan satisfied. It definitely merits a writer’s recommendation.