3 Things That Still Don’t Make Sense About Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man

It’s hard to think of a time when superhero movies didn’t rule the box office. However, there were plenty of misses in the early 2000s. Tim Story’s Fantastic Four movies left a lot to be desired, while Elektra and Catwoman are still considered some of the worst comic book films ever made. Thankfully, a few outliers allowed the genre to find its footing and lay the groundwork for massive franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy certainly fits into that category, and while the second movie gets most of the glory, the original has just as much going for it. It’s a great origin story and conveys Peter Parker’s double life in a way the MCU still hasn’t been able to replicate.

But as good as Raimi’s first Spider-Man movie is, it’s far from perfect. There are a few head-scratching moments that make rewatching the decades-old superhero film a bit of a challenge.

Why Do Peter Parker & His Classmates Look So Old?

The first issue that rears its ugly head in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man is how old some of the characters look. Peter Parker is still in high school when the events of the movie kick off, but he and the rest of his classmates, especially Joe Manganiello’s Flash Thompson, look like they’re in their early 30s. While the sequels age everyone up and set things right, it’s hard to move past it.

The easy explanation is that Raimi wanted to put together a cast of experienced actors. After all, Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, who play Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson, respectively, had some major credits under their belt when they landed the highly coveted comic book movie roles. If things had to be that way, though, the movie should’ve started with them in college, not high school.

Why Does Green Goblin Not Have a Failsafe On His Glider?

It’s hard to find a flaw with Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin. His portrayal is so great that the MCU brings him into the fold in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Unfortunately, as great as Dafoe is, Spider-Man‘s script lets him down by making him the cause of his own demise. While fighting Spider-Man, Green Goblin sends his glider careening toward the hero to take him out, but it blows up in his face. Spider-Man uses his Spider-Sense to dodge the vehicle, which drives it straight into Green Goblin’s stomach.

Green Goblin’s death is heartbreaking because Norman Osborn isn’t necessarily a bad guy. He loses himself and gives in to the Goblin persona, which ultimately leads to his downfall. However, Norman is extremely intelligent, and it’s hard to believe that he didn’t put a failsafe in place in the event his glider goes haywire. It’s possible that Norman’s descent into madness made him overlook such a crucial detail, but being the Green Goblin didn’t make him lose that big brain of his.

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Why Doesn’t the Osborn Butler Tell Harry What Happened to His Father?

Despite Peter Parker not being the direct cause of Green Goblin’s death, the event still has ripple effects in his life. The biggest one involves Peter’s best friend, Harry Osborn, who walks in on Spider-Man leaving his father’s body at their home. Harry immediately blames Spider-Man for the death of his father and vows to do everything he can to get revenge. It’s a crucial moment for Harry’s character, setting up his arc in the next two movies, but it doesn’t have to go down like that.

As the Osborn butler, Bernard Houseman, tells Harry in Spider-Man 3, he knew the whole time that Norman died at his own hands because he cleaned up the wounds from the glider. For some reason, he withholds that information for two movies and lets Harry go down the same dark path his father did. If Bernard had told Harry everything right when it happened, it would’ve saved Spider-Man a lot of headaches and Harry his life.

Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man is streaming now on Disney+.

Did you notice these problems with Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man? What other things make you scratch your head whenever you watch it? Let us know in the comments below!