Amazing Spider-Man: Five Predictions

First of all, it should be said for readers just arriving that there may potentially be spoilers here. After all, if you're going to have predictions, then any of them might turn out to be true and ruin the surprise. Additionally, when we use the existing trailers or the comics to support our positions, those comics will be spoiled. You're warned. Now that we've seen a little bit of what to expect from Sony's upcoming film The Amazing Spider-Man, it seems as good a time as any to make some marginally-informed predictions about what might come out of the flick. We'll try to keep the totally baseless speculation to a minimum, but there's bound to be a bit of it. And as far as (forty year old) spoilers for the comics, the first prediction is a biggie so if you don't want any idea what might happen, now's the time to turn around.

There's been a fair amount of fan speculation about the fate of his daughter Gwen after actress Emma Stone said at Comic-Con that the character's story "falls close to the comics." Get it? Falls? I see what she did there. At any rate, though, it seems unlikely that they'd get a well-known and marketable actress and throw her away after only one film--and anyway, Captain Stacey died first in the comics. How did he die, you ask? Well, he saved a kid from a falling piece of building and was crushed, as seen below. [caption id="attachment_12464" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="From Amazing Spider-Man #90"]

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The kid was fine, so we guess on one hand he wasn't too late--but at the same time, he died from injuries sustained in that moment. What makes us think there'll be a falling chunk of building in Captain Stacy's cinematic future, you ask? Well...

[caption id="attachment_12465" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="From the recent Amazing Spider-Man trailer"]

[/caption] 2. We'll either see, hear of or be set up for Spider Slayers. Given that Marc Webb is going after the Parkers-as-spies storyline on some level, and that he's tying them to Oscorp and (apparently) some kind of spider-themed something long before Peter ever exhibits his powers, it's probably safe to assume that when Osborn and/or Green Goblin does show up next, he'll have Spider Slayer robots with him. Or else that someone--maybe even Peter's own parents, not knowing who they're up against--will appropriate the technology. It makes more sense than having J. Jonah Jameson--an editor at a daily newspaper, not exactly a cash cow of a career choice in this century--bankrolling them and would provide a through line between this film and the next, assuming there is one. Don't be surprised to see Spencer Smythe in the labs during the course of this movie. 3. A return to Peter's "science prodigy" roots. We see mechanical web shooters as well as what appears to be a spider-tracer in the trailer, as well as a comment by Dr. Connors that Peter has solved some very impressive science problem. The rather implausible idea of a scientific genius trying to make his way in New York as a freelance photojournalist (especially in this day and age, where news sites prefer to use the free photos they can find on the Internet) is something that the comics have historically grappled with, at one point turning Peter into a high school teacher so that he was more effectively using his skill set. Since the controversial One More Day storyline that basically set the status quo back to the '70s, though, and throughout every TV and movie version of Spider-Man, this was never really a consideration. To see the science part of his persona so far exceeding the "cub reporter" part in this trailer is a little disconcerting--but it's a welcome change. 4. To Be Continued...

Okay, so they probably won't have the Back to the Future-style title cards at the end, but all this stuff about Peter's search for answers is just begging to be made into a trilogy right quick if this one opens at #1 in the box office. Expect the movie's ending to be left wide open and a quick announcement from Sony that they're picking up everyone's options if the movie performs on opening weekend. 5. Captain Stacy will steal some Bill Hicks jokes. Why not? It's Denis Leary.