Thank You Stan Lee

            Let’s start with a story. My first experience with a superhero video game was the PlayStation classic Spiderman. Six-year-old me had yet to open up and read a comic book, so a superhero game on the first console generation was a great alternative. The game included exciting gameplay mechanics like web-swinging controls where Spidey could swing from “only” one building to the next. You heard right, only one building. Spiderman also shot his webs from not hands but thimble like balls for hands, and the game was filled with enough quips from Spiderman that made Deadpool seem absent of bad jokes.

            Beyond the dated early 2000’s gaming tech, the intro of the game included a narration by a man with a unique vigor in his voice. It was commanding not because of some overarching authority but because of the fun, light-hearted nature of it. This narrator sounded excited, no ecstatic, to be the opening narration (just as I would be) of a Spiderman game. “Welcome true believers and new comers alike, Spiderman co-creator, Stan Lee here” the man said as the game’s tutorial commenced.  This narrator’s enthusiasm not only made me excited to play through the title but also interested in exploring and learning about the superhero universe he created.

            Fast forward 18 years later, I am 24 playing through Marvel’s Spiderman on PS4 during the release weekend having nostalgia feelings of when I was six playing. Early in my play-through of the story, a cut scene occurs with Peter Parker and Mary Jane meeting for the first time at a diner to discuss criminal activity in New York and the couple’s romantic future. Their conversation is interrupted by the sound of police sirens echoing down the street with Peter giving a glance to MJ that is reminiscent of the times his other job took time away from them. After Peter leaves, MJ walks to the counter to pay the bill and talks to the owner, who happens to be Stan Lee, who comments to MJ, “Love seeing you two together again, you always were my favorites.” Besides making the fan-boy in me happy, there was a real sense of love conveyed in that spoken line showing the admiration Stan Lee had for co-creating those characters. It was the same care that I had heard in that narrator 18 years prior.  

            Stan Lee passed away on November 12^th, and fans around the world have paid homage to the man who helped create so much. He was responsible for putting together a mythology of heroes that will forever be etched in popular culture. For myself, celebrity deaths have rarely upset me as much as the passing of Stan Lee has. His death has instilled in me a real sense of just how much this man impacted not just my life but countless others with heroes that many could aspire to. You created Spiderman who is a character I have identified with for a majority of my life with regards to both struggles and victories, so thank you Stan Lee. Thank you.

Spiderman 2: The Best Kind of Superhero Sequel

            Sequels are difficult to get right. From an audience’s perspective, it can seem that sequels don’t have the same amount of excitement as the original, and honestly, most of the time they don’t. The first book in a planned series tends to be the most popular with its originality while those that proceed it, struggle to come up with any notable way to push the narrative. In music, there is a phrase called the “sophomore slump” directed towards a musician or band’s second album not attaining the same level of success critically or commercially as the debut. The movie industry is where the struggling sequel is most visible. Hollywood is famous for taking a successful original film and turning it into a franchise, and one genre of film well known for producing sequels is the superhero genre.

            There are great sequels within superhero franchises. Staples of the genre like The Dark Knight and Capt. America: The Winter Soldier. Superhero films that pushed their respective properties beyond the original’s source material, but they are rare in a market of superhero sequels. Counting the number of Marvel and DC films since the year 2000, 16 have been direct sequels to an original film. So, what are the deciding factors between The Dark Knights and the Iron Man 2s of the superhero genre? A great, and sometimes forgotten, example of a well-crafted superhero sequel is Spiderman 2 (2004) directed by Sam Raimi and starring Toby Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-man. Spiderman 2’s handling of context, villain, and growth of its protagonist make it a great model for any superhero sequel.

            When Spiderman 2 begins, we see a montage of comic style drawings of scenes from the first film. These range from Peter’s famous upside-down kiss with Mary-Jane, to him laying the life-less body of Norman Osborn (aka Green Goblin) in front of his best friend Harry Osborn. These scenes remind us of the victories and defeats he suffered as Spiderman in the original. From this montage, the first live action scene begins with a monologue from Peter describing his love for Mary-Jane while looking at her picture and acknowledging how the duality of Peter Parker and Spiderman will never allow him to live a normal life.

            Besides making us feel bad for Peter’s situation, this opening scene, as well as others throughout the film, have story beats that create continuity and context that are carried over from the original. Spiderman 2 is heavily influenced by the first movie, which differentiates Sam Raimi’s second Spiderman film from other superhero sequels by making these two movies resemble a Part 1 and Part 2 of a bigger story. There is a strong arc from the first scene of the original to the last scene of Spiderman 2, and when it comes to the villains that are a challenge to Peter, they’re a great example of this arc.

            Doctor Octavious aka Dr. Octopus is a well-known rogue’s gallery member amongst fans and could have been seen as a predictable choice for the second villain in Sam Raimi’s Spiderman franchise. However, by making him a father type figure to Peter as well as his motivation to do good (at least starting out) make him one of the more unique and heartbreaking super villains in any franchise. To recap on the first film, after the death of Uncle Ben, Peter sees Norman Osborn as a father figure with him providing a place for him and Harry to stay in New York as well as taking an interest in his science studies. His attachment to Harry’s father is cut short from his discovery that the man he thought so highly of as a mentor ends up being the Green Goblin.

            Fast forward to 2 years after the events of the first film, and Peter meets Otto Octavious who is working on a renewable energy source for the Oscorp Company now ran by his friend, Harry Osborne. When meeting Octavious, Peter sees a man who has everything that he wants: a successful science career and a loving partner who supports his endeavors. Octavious’s interest in Peter’s life creates an interesting dynamic between the two of them when he becomes Dr. Octopus after his failed experiment results in the death of his wife and the permanent attachment of his four mechanical arms. Peter again sees the downfall of a mentor figure that may have represented a future version of himself to aspire by. This idea of mentorship and Peter’s desire to fill the gap that Uncle Ben’s death left is a thread that continues through both movies and is a tragic but necessary part of Peter’s arc. 

            At the end of Spiderman 2, Peter comes full circle in his journey in being a hero. His greatest challenge is not Doc Ock or trying to amend things with MJ, but with upholding the ideal that Uncle Ben wished for him to aspire to in the first film, and the remarkable risk the film takes with Peter’s arc is that half-way through Spiderman 2, he quits being Spiderman. With his Aunt May in financial distress, his best friend Harry beginning to hate him for continuing to protect Spiderman’s identity, and Mary Jane’s engagement to J Jonah Jameson’s son, Peter trashes his Spidey suit and tries to begin some type of normal life.

            We see a more fulfilled Peter who has time for a social life, but also during this freedom, he witnesses the injustices he used to fight against. In one of the best, and my personal favorite, scenes in the film, Peter comes across an apartment fire with a couple’s child lost in the wreckage. Despite almost dying in the process, Peter saves the girl without using his powers and comes to the realization that the hero side to himself is something he cannot escape. Whether if it is a curse or a duty he is meant for, Spiderman is essential to his character and makes Spiderman 2 not only a great sequel but a tribute to Spiderman's endearing charm in pop culture.  
             

            What is your favorite superhero sequel? Let me know in the comments!    

The Movie Pass Effect

            I could try to romanticize going to the movies to hide some of the less flattering aspects of it. The smell of old, buttery popcorn and the crunch of stale candy when you walk into the auditorium. The chance that while you’re sitting down, someone who drank way too many sodas earlier has to constantly walk between you and the screen when nature calls. Then of course, a little kid who trots along the isle behind you occasionally screaming “Wakanda forever!” in your ear (I may have experienced this one). There are opportunity costs for going to the movies rather than staying home, but the benefits of top grade sound and visuals can be possibly paired with better pricing in the near future in the form of movie theater subscription plans.

            With movie streaming services like Netflix and Hulu becoming more and more integrated in American culture, the movie theater industry has started to combat these sites with their own subscription plans for customers. One of the most notable and newsworthy companies offering a movie subscription is MoviePass. Opening in 2016, the company offered moviegoers a fantastic value with a monthly fee of $10 to see as many movies as desired. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, that’s because it was. In July of this year, the company went through a shaky period where it did not have enough cash to pay for subscription holders’ movie theater visits, and it’s bitter sweet because the idea behind MoviePass is great by providing customers with incentives to go back to the movies.

            I don’t plan to talk about the business side of MoviePass; however, do check out the link below to watch a video from the YouTube channel Nerd Writer to learn more about the company’s business model and other financial related information. It’s very insightful and gives this short essay more context. Instead, I want to discuss how the business model behind a subscription plan is a great idea for keeping theaters culturally relevant in 2018.

            First off, I love being able to stream movies on my laptop, home console, and smartphone. The opportunity it’s given me to watch films that I either cannot find elsewhere or making movie viewing affordable to someone with my socioeconomic status is astounding. Those luxuries that I just mentioned, movie theaters have a hard time competing with, but for the type of moviegoer who sees on average two or more films a month like myself, it is likely we’d end up seeing a movie in theaters subscription or no subscription (although a subscription plan is great). However, this demographic makes up a small percentage of consumers.

            The average American sees at the most six movies a year, and theaters want to attract these types of consumers who make up this majority. Getting this section of the market is the great part about subscription-based plans to generate more interest amongst the public because of the price point. Getting customers like these into a theater does obviously means more revenue, but it also continues to keep the act of going to the movies relevant in our culture. I would be happy to see a business model that would make subscriptions work for both consumers and businesses. Other theaters like AMC and Cinemarks have started to adopt this idea, and I hope its popularity continues. People have been going to the movies since the early 1900’s and this trend in the market towards a movie theater subscription would help to continue movie theater relevance.  

             Sources: https://www.statista.com/statistics/264396/frequency-of-going-to-the-movies-in-the-us/

         NerdWriter Vid (also used as source): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w876zZZIb10&t=59s