10 Biggest Differences Between Spider-Man In The Movies & Comics

There have been three different big-screen versions of Spider-Man and each series has made changes to the Web-Slinger’s story. However, while they each painted a picture of a different part of Peter Parker’s life, there were a lot of things in the movies that differed greatly from what comic book fans knew about Spider-Man.

The movies did show phases from Spider-Man’s life, from his high school years in the start of the comic book run to discovering himself in later years, to his role as an Avenger and one of Earth’s most respected heroes. However, as is the case with any movie, changes had to be made to translate the character to the big screen.

10 The Tony Stark AI Costume

Most of the time that Spider-Man has existed in the comics, he has made his own costumes. These have been cheaper-looking costumes, and there have also been some pretty fancy costumes over the years. In the first two movie franchises, Peter made his costumes.

In the MCU movies, Tony Stark gave Spider-Man a high-tech costume with an AI built into it. While there was a short time in 2021 where Spider-Man had a similar costume supplied by Threats & Menaces, he never had anything close to what Tony Stark made for him in the movies.

9 Peter Parker Is A Genius In The Comics

Peter Parker in the movies has been smart. Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man was intelligent and Andrew Garfield’s was as close to a genius as the movies got. Tom Holland is smart, but he has never shown himself to be anywhere near the genius he is in the comics.

In Marvel Comics, Peter Parker is a genius, and even Reed Richards, one of the smartest people in the Marvel Universe, credited his intelligence. Peter created his own equipment, started his own company, and competed head-to-head with Tony Stark for tech. This genius was never even approached in the movies.

8 More Annoyingly Funny In The Comics

If there is one thing that Marvel fans love about Spider-Man, it is his commentary while in battle. Because of his insecurity, Spider-Man would often crack jokes and insult the villains, which was mostly a way for him to keep from panicking when faced with intense dangers.

That didn’t exist at all in the Tobey Maguire movies and was only there loosely in the Andrew Garfield movies. Tom Holland also isn’t anywhere near the level of annoying comedy as Spider-Man in the comics, which drives even his allies to frustration.

7 Captain Stacy In The Comics Supported Spider-Man

Captain George Stacy only appeared in the Andrew Garfield movies, where they focused on Gwen Stacy over Mary Jane Watson. While the movies were very faithful to Gwen, including having her die in almost the same way as the comics, they changed her father, George.

In the movie, Captain Stacy was actively trying to stop Spider-Man and when he died during a battle with Lizard, he asked Peter to leave his daughter alone for her safety. In the comics, Captain Stacy was a huge Spider-Man supporter. When he died in one of the best Spider-Man comics of the 1970s, he told Peter to be good to Gwen and take care of her.

6 Changes To Aunt May

Aunt May has changed so much from the Sam Raimi trilogy to the current MCU movies, de-aging in every movie. The closest any of the movies came to Aunt May from the comics came in Rosemary Harris’s performance in Raimi’s movies, the older version who mostly just wanted to care for Peter Parker.

However, none of them match up to the strength of Aunt May in the comics. She is a strong and powerful woman who raised Peter to be his own man in place of his birth parents. Her current role running a soup kitchen for the homeless shows how much of a hero she is, and the movies have never really had this character show up.

5 Flash Thompson

Flash Thompson has never been done right in any Spider-Man movie. In Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Flash was a typical bully and one that Peter Parker was able to get one over to prove he wouldn’t let the bullies get to him anymore. In the MCU movies, he is a cocky, yet smart kid who doesn’t like Peter.

The original movie franchise’s Flash was close to his original presentation in the comics. However, Flash Thompson was so much more. Flash and Peter ended up friends before Flash went to the military and became a hero in his own right.

4 Peter’s Long Marriage To Mary Jane

Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson had a complicated relationship in the first trilogy. In the second, it was all about Gwen Stacy and a new MJ appeared in the MCU movies. None of these movies had the Mary Jane Watson fans fell in love with in the comics.

In the comics, Mary Jane was a strong woman, one who knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man and supported him. The two got married in one of the best Spider-Man stories from the 1980s, and it was the culmination of one of the greatest love stories in comics. Sadly, Marvel controversially ended it with One More Day. That never happened in the movies, and likely won’t.

3 Peter’s Relationship With J. Jonah Jameson

J. Jonah Jameson has no chance in the movies to share the relationship he has with Peter Parker in the comics, and that is a shame. In the movies, J.K. Simmons played J. Jonah Jameson and he had a small relationship with Peter Parker, but never elevated to anything but a minor role.

In the comics, Peter worked for Jameson for a long time, since he was a teenager, and Jamesone became almost a father figure for Peter, even though he hated Spider-Man. That made the moment in the comics where he learned Peter was Spider-Man so important for both men and that can never happen in the movies.

2 Too Many Villain Deaths In The Movies

If there is one thing that holds true for almost all Spider-Man comics, it is that he does everything he can to save his villains. He only saw a few die, with Green Goblin a perfect example. Even in that case, Norman Osborn didn’t die. Spider-Man often blamed himself for tragedies because his villains always came back for more.

In the movies, it seemed that everyone died. Green Goblin died. Doctor Octopus died. Harry Osborn died. It seemed Venom died. Lizard died. Mysterio died. For a hero who never kills, it seemed the Spider-Man movies did nothing but kill his villains.

1 Venom

Venom is what many critics and fans claimed ruined Spider-Man 3. The villain was definitely a low point, and the film became Raimi’s final Spider-Man outing.

Topher Grace tried to act like Peter Parker rather than the Eddie Brock from the comics. The version in the Venom movies is much closer, but that Venom had nothing to do with Spider-Man and neither did Eddie since Peter in that world was never a photographer for the Daily Bugle. The Venom from the comics never really existed in the movies.

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