spider-man trilogy meme > favourite relationships (4/6)
> peter parker and aunt may
aunt may parker
You’ve found the Context Captions! In this scene, Harry (after an initial bout of thoroughly ineffective supervillainy) decides he doesn’t want Peter to die after all and takes a fatal wound for him
The train passengers that Spider-Man just saved go up unarmed against Doc Ock (who is very, very armed.)
They loved each other so much don’t touch me
1) Aunt May gives her wonderful speech about heroes, but I could only fit one line in the gif 2) Gwen apologises for Peter using her to make MJ jealous
1) This is Ursula! She’s crushing on Peter so much she accidentally sets fire to things when he’s around, and then she overcomes her shyness to bring him cake 2) MORE TRAIN SCENE
1) Everyone knows this scene, probably because it’s still one of the best ones 2) JJJ proves he’s actually got badass principles
1) Otto decides to die to save the city from himself 2) Ursula wants Peter to be happy 3) Betty is Peter’s friend and he should appreciate her more
1) MJ stands up for Peter, 2) the train passengers promise to not reveal Peter’s identity, 3) The love between the central trio is what really makes these movies for me
1) Peter, with no superpowers, runs into a burning building to save people, 2) Peter forgives the guy who helped kill his uncle, 3) Awww poor Otto
1) MJ tries to defend Spider-Man against Ock, 2) The little girl Peter saved doesn’t run away and instead helps him up, 3) This speech of Peter’s is what snaps Otto back to reality
bearsbeetsbattlestar-galactica:
The original Spider-Man trilogy is campy and cheesy and it probably hasn’t really aged well, but I love it so much and will absolutely recommend it to anyone who likes the MCU simply because (as seen above) it is just so thoroughly uncynical and virtually everyone from Peter to Gwen to Aunt May to Peter’s neighbour to random bystander #563 is SUCH A GOOD PERSON
Me personally, I think it has aged well, sheerly because it never deliberately anchored itself to one particular generation/demographic (unlike one particular reboot which I will not name), but rather it was just an incredibly earnest representation of the source material.
What I loved so much about this series is that it never tried to run away from the “comic” aspect of it being a comic book movie. When I say that, I don’t necessarily mean that it was overly hilarious or was filled with zingers like a Joss Whedon production, but it was never afraid to embrace levity and even more camp aspects, and as the OP stated, it was just so incredibly UNcynical.
It took bits and pieces from canon and melded it with modern storytelling that allowed for a fresh and contemporary narrative throughout all 3 films (yes, even Spider-Man 3). It never tried to cut off any of its potential audience, it never tried to appeal to just ONE particular clique through the use of fumbling dialogue and an indie soundtrack, but rather it’s story focused on the people involved. Underneath the costumes and superpowers, these were honest-to-goodness lives that people were living, from trying to hold down a steady job to getting the rent paid, these were stories that anyone could get on board with, which is why I find myself incredibly disappointed when people just dismiss this franchise sheerly because they might not consider it “relevant” anymore.
It’s an incredibly human story, unafraid of depicting moments of weakness, unafraid of showing us that even our idols can fail, but also unafraid of being disarmingly sweet to show that people are often inherently valuable and kind, thus imbuing the series with a simple, yet undeniable humanity that never had to be forced, but rather we just naturally rooted for and gravitated towards.
It was light-heartedness, solemnity, and gravitas all rolled into one, and it is a tone that I have not seen in any vein since Christopher Reeves’ Superman films, and I don’t think I’ll see again in a superhero series to come, which is why I hold the original Spider-Man films in such high regard.
You nailed it, darn you!
I have a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff from these movies (books, DVD extras, that sort of thing) and they all come back to “We loved this story, we loved these characters, we loved this city and we loved the folks we were working with”. Sure, you can’t really count on any part of the blockbuster-making machine to be 100% sincere…but I really like to think they were.
Few things have disappointed me more than the recent backlash towards these movies. Even the universally mocked Spider-Man 3 has a hell of a lot to offer (more than a lot of other superhero films, actually), and if I’m being honest, no other franchise – not even Star Wars, not even Lord of the Rings – has had the sheer effect on me that the original Spider-Mans had. As much as I love the MCU (and I do) it’s never quite nailed the “there’s a hero in all of us” theme that was so integral to the Spider-Man trilogy. Like, you know that headcanon post going round about Brooklyn residents sort of adopting Steve Rogers and standing up against his enemies? An idea like that is what the entire climax of the first Spider-Man hangs on! (I’ve actually seen quite a lot of MCU and ASM headcanons that just make me think “The Spider-Man trilogy already did that. Go watch it!”)
S’like, yeah, these fims are about superheroes, but they’re also about goodness, really. Illustrated in Peter, of course, and illustrated in MJ and Aunt May and Harry’s sacrifice and Otto’s redemption, but (crucially) also illustrated in Ursula, the shy young woman who brings Peter food even though she can barely talk to him without awkwardness, and in the train passengers who put themselves at physical risk protecting Spider-Man from Doc Ock, and in Gwen who’s so sweet and nice she apologises to another woman for something that wasn’t her fault, and in Peter’s landlord who was really far nicer to him than he deserved at that point in time, and…I could go on, but you get the idea. Basically? When I was sixteen – and still, ten years on – I finished watching Spider-Man 2 and I wanted to be like Spider-Man.
But I also wanted to be like Ursula.
six year old peter parker trying to deal with his parents leaving him and latching onto harry osborn and inviting him over constantly because he needs something familiar in his aunt and uncle’s house
harry being happy to come over as often as he can as long as it gets him away from his father and to a place where someone is willing to make a home-cooked meal for him and say goodnight to him and treat him like more than garbage
harry knowing what it’s like to lose a parent and how it feels to be abandoned and trying to take care of peter even though he’s not even old enough to take care of himself and trying to play it cool while making sure peter gets enough attention and love where harry didn’t
harry offering money to aunt may and uncle ben because he has more than enough even as a child and when they refuse he just uses the money to get peter new toys and shirts because money is all harry really has to give except for his friendship but why would peter want that if harry’s own father doesn’t even want him around
harry poking fun at peter but picking a fight with anyone else who tries to and managing to land them both in the nurse’s office being told to call home but harry just calls aunt may
harry wandering to aunt may’s house whenever his dad becomes too much for him to handle and eventually just whenever he can because he knows his dad won’t notice
aunt may waking up to the sound of the front door closing and going downstairs to find harry asleep on the couch
aunt may starting to wonder if harry even goes home when he leaves some nights
harry calling aunt may “mom” by accident
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