Keep That Amazing Fire

We all have heroes in our lives.
Celebrities dressed in glamour. Politicians polished in their suits. Family members despite their drama.

But for some, they prefer their heroes in tights.

—

With The Avengers 2: Age of Ultron coming to theatres soon and Captain America 3: Civil War starting pre-production, I thought I’d purge what I’ve been holding in for the past few months. For those of you that don’t know, Spider-Man has been one of my heroes since I was four years old. My mother introduced me to the world of Marvel and I cannot thank her enough. The character Peter Parker/Spider-Man has inspired me and many others in so many ways.

When people discover that I am a Spider-Man fan, I get asked “do you prefer the original films or the rebooted films” almost every time. It’s a reasonable question don’t get me wrong. I don’t know about other Spider-Man fans but, to me, that is a very loaded question. I am at war with myself because with Spider-Man being so dear to me, I am excited beyond capacity but am also extremely critical. I won’t go too much into detail about the Sam Raimi trilogy or the Marc Webb Spider-Man films because we don’t have 78 hours, but I will say that there are things about each that I love and things that I would have changed Spider-Man 3.

Like many Spider-Man fans, I too was disheartened by the reboot announced in 2010. I didn’t necessarily mind Tobey MaGuire in the role, not nearly as much as some people on the internet, but after Spider-Man 3, well let’s just say that I was very emotionally compromised.

When Andrew Garfield was announced as the new Spider-Man, I remember the internet imploding. I remember the comments on the forums, some expressing their frustration and some positive and open minded. Some were expressing how Garfield was too slim, too attractive to be Peter Parker. Too British. My main concern was not of the trivial: my concern was how the character was going to be portrayed. You can have all the special effects in the world but without a story and without heart… all of that means nothing. I was anxious because with the Spider-Man films being so successful at the box office, my beloved character would possibly be in the hands of someone who pushed for the cash and not the heart of the story.

I had known who Andrew was because of several UK films that were very well received (Never Let Me Go, Boy A). He became more well known in America after starring in The Social Network. It was safe to say we had a very talented actor who seemed to be an alright guy but there is always fear in the back of your mind when it comes to a favorite character.

San Diego Comic-Con 2011 was when I was reassured.

He attended his ever first comic-con and I was beyond touched by what I saw. I wasn’t expecting to be reminded so much of myself: a young person so moved by a character that it was impossible to contain your emotions. You can see his excitement and passion emitting off of every word he spoke. His smile took up half his face, a smile as if he had a hanger in his mouth. You could tell he was nervous but it was wonderfully genuine. You could tell that he loves the character with every fiber of his being and that is something I fear cannot be replaced.

You might be wondering why I am spending my time writing about something that happened a few years ago. I’m getting to it, I promise.

Regarding the films, Spider-Man belongs to SONY and that has been a frustration to say the least because, pardon my bluntness, SONY has proved with The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2 that they never cared for the character.  The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was not critically received and I as well as many believe that that is because the production company rushed the film and its release in order to keep their rights to the character otherwise the rights would be reverted back into Marvel’s hands.

While this was playing out, exciting things have been happening at Marvel. It was confirmed that the Avengers films would be going the Civil War route in terms of the of the plot. This had many speculating if Spider-Man’s character would be involved considering he was a vital character in the comic crossover. The only problem was that SONY and Marvel Studios would need to come to some sort of agreement so that no lines were crossed.

In February 2015, Spider-Man fans were given wonderful news. We would be able to see Spider-Man fighting alongside the other heroes. Spider-Man was being added to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I won’t go into the specifications of the agreement but let’s just say that SONY continues to be as greedy and money hungry as ever. However, to many, that excitement was short lived. We were blindsided with the news that Andrew Garfield would not return as Spider-Man and that the series would be reboot yet again.

I am still elated to know that the Spider-Man character will be involved in the MCU but I am deeply saddened and extremely bitter that Andrew was let go (it’s a little complicated). Captain America 3: Civil War is in pre-production and filming will commence within the next few weeks. Spider-Man is reportedly scheduled nothing less than a cameo and with that news, we know that casting for the new Peter Parker has been underway.

With SONY at the helm of the Spider-Man films, I can never be too excited in fear of being let down. I cannot begin to tell you the disappointment I feel towards the company and how they have chosen to handle my personal hero and I won’t. But I will say this:

Andrew Garfield, for the time and effort and wit and emotion and heart you have contributed into bringing Peter Parker to life, I can never thank you enough. Your passion was more than anything I could have asked for as a Spider-Man fan. And even though your journey as him was wrongfully short-lived, even if the films were not successful in their telling, you are the Peter Parker for me. You are the Spider-Man for me.

Andrew Garfield will probably never read this. And that’s okay. I just thought people should know that passion like that is very hard to be replaced. It’s something we don’t see very often in the world we live in. Everything is so disposable. So to whoever is reading this, I hope that you find that incredible thing that makes you feel like you’re on fire. And if you have found that incredible thing, I pray that it never gets extinguished.