Long before Sam Raimi brought Spider-Man to the big screen, Marvel Comics panels established the visual design that all the future Spider-Man movies would try to match. Over the years, Spider-Man has been one of the most adapted superheroes in movie history. This started with the Sam Raimi trilogy starring Tobey Maguire, followed by two movies by Marc Webb with Andrew Garfield. Now that Tom Holland has settled in as the Marvel Cinematic Universe version, the films have continued to offer up scenes in the movie that were based on art by names like Steve Ditko, John Romita Sr., and Gil Kane.
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Looking at all the Spider-Man movies, here are five scenes that played out almost exactly as they appeared on the comic books’ pages.
5) Spider-Man & Venom in the Bell Tower (Spider-Man 3, 2007)
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 received lackluster reviews and helped end his run on the franchise, but there were some great things that happened in the movie. Sandman was a spectacular villain in the movie, but it was Venom who received most of the criticism, and Raimi even admitted he wasn’t going to have him in the movie until producer Avi Arad ordered him to. Raimi is a comic book fan and delivered a scene straight from the comics.
In both the comics and the movie, the symbiote chose Peter Parker first and tried to serve as a superhero until Peter realized he needed to get rid of it. The only way to get it off him was to go into the church bell tower and let the sonic noise repel it. In the comics, this happened in Web of Spider-Man #1 (1985) by Louise Simonson and Greg LaRocque. The symbiote reattached to Peter Parker after it escaped from the Baxter Building. To remove it, he went to the bell tower and used sonic noise to dislodge it. The movie showed the bell tower scene the exact same way the comic panel showed it.
4) The Death of Gwen Stacy (The Amazing Spider-Man 2, 2014)
“The Death of Gwen Stacy” in the comics had Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin throw Gwen from a bridge, and when Spider-Man webbed her to stop the fall, her neck snapped, and she died instantly. This almost happened in Sam Raimi’s trilogy as the Green Goblin threw Mary Jane Watson from a bridge, along with a tram car of children. However, in this case, Spider-Man didn’t fail, and he saved Mary Jane and the kids who were also in danger at the same time.
Gwen wasn’t so lucky in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. This time around, it was Harry Osborn as the Green Goblin, and he threw her from the top of a clock tower. In an exact replica of the comics, Spider-Man shot his webbing to catch her, but didn’t catch her in time, and she died instantly. It changed from Norman to Harry, and a clock tower instead of a large bridge, but the scene was an exact duplicate of the panels in Amazing Spider-Man #121 (1973) by Gerry Conway and Gil Kane.
3) Green Goblin Impales Himself (Spider-Man, 2002)
The first Sam Raimi Spider-Man movie had Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin as the main villain. This worked out perfectly since Peter was best friends with Harry, and he was dating Mary Jane, and Raimi was able to deliver several moments from the comics. This included the Thanksgiving dinner scene, which was pulled from the comic book panels, and the scene where the Goblin threw MJ from the bridge (it was Gwen in the comics).
Another scene pulled directly from the comics depicts the Green Goblin’s death. In Amazing Spider-Man #122 (1973), “The Goblin’s Last Stand!” by Gerry Conway and Gil Kane, the Green Goblin had already killed Gwen, and he fought Spider-Man. He used remote controls to send his glider at Spider-Man from behind. Using his spider-sense, Peter dodged it, and Norman impaled himself. The exact scene happened in the movie and was almost shot-for-shot, depicting Norman’s death.
2) Spider-Man No More (Spider-Man 2, 2004)
In Spider-Man 2, Peter Parker gave up his role as Spider-Man, deciding the costs were too high. He then went to an alley and threw his suit into a trash can. Raimi framed the shot with the trash can with the costume in the foreground and Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man walking away in the shadows, seemingly quitting his role as a hero.
This is a direct recreation of one of the most famous panels and comic book covers in Spider-Man history. Inย Amazing Spider-Manย #50 by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., Spider-Man decided he and his loved ones were in too much danger, and he threw the costume in an alley trash can before leaving. The cover declared “Spider-Man No More,” and Raimi lovingly recreated that panel and cover with this in-movie shot.
1) Spider-Man Rises From the Rubble (Spider-Man: Homecoming, 2017)
The MCU has always worked to throw scenes into the movies that they pulled straight out of the comics. Spider-Man: Homecoming delivered one of the most famous scenes in comics and recreated the scene where Spider-Man rose from the rubble, showing his strength on a level he had never shown before. The comic book this scene recreated was Amazing Spider-Man #33 (1966) by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
In the comic book story, “If This Be My Destiny…!,” Spider-Man was buried under a pile of rubble in the sewers. When it looked like he had no chance of survival, he was trying to save Aunt May, and he used this to push himself further than he had ever done before. Inย Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man was trapped under heavy machinery in Vulture’s lair, and he powered up to escape, recreating this iconic Spider-Man comic book moment.
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