Following on from the recent Spider-Man: No Way Home
villain posts, for no specific reason today’s post will be about the various Sam
Raimi Spider-Man movie trilogy references, easter eggs and connections in
the MC2, including those I consider too coincidental not to mention. For
short, here’s Raimi-Verse References in the MC2.
First up, here’s one I’ve always thought was ahead of it’s
time and almost certainly unintentional. In Spider-Girl #5 we first meet
the MC2’s Venom symbiote.
When the symbiote bonds to it’s former original host Peter
Parker we get a variation on both the Spider-Man and Venom’s
costumes combined dubbed ‘Spider-Venom’. Now, to me this looks way too
similar to Spider-Man 3’s Venom costume design for it *not* to be an
inspiration. Of course, it’s more than likely a huge coincidence but it’s
amusing that this comic was published in 1999, a whole seven years
before the film was released. On an unrelated note, as far as I’m aware this
may also be the first example of the symbiote replacing a host’s lost limb
using it’s own bio-mass over a decade before ‘Agent Venom’ was a
concept.
When a mysterious new Spider-Man first showed up at
the Daily Bugle in Spider-Girl #32, he was rocking a new costume
design which included classic eye-pieces and a red and black colour scheme.
Additionally, the stylized spider emblem on both the front and back of the
costume bore a very familiar design. While the front is a larger, modified
version of Peter Parker’s own, the back with the red colour is
remarkable for it’s strikingly similarity to the one first seen on screen a
year later in the first Spider-Man movie.
Another fun detail -again more than likely unintentional- is
the fact that this new Spider-Man (actually Gerry
Drew, the son of the original Spider-Woman) is capable of producing
organic webbing much like the Raimi-Verse’s version of Peter Parker (Spider-Girl
#37). Meanwhile Peter’s ability to produce organic webbing wouldn’t
be introduced in the Main Marvel Universe until 2004’s Spectacular
Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #20 in what was most likely an attempt at synergy
between the comics and films.
This next one is probably my personal favourite. While
attending an engagement party for Normie
Osborn and Brenda
Drago, Mary Jane points out to Peter a fellow partygoer’s uncanny
resemblance to someone he should know all too well. Needless to say, Peter
doesn’t see the resemblance and instead thinks he looks like Tobey Maguire (Spider-Girl
#82). Of course, the man MJ points out is Reilly Tyne aka Darkdevil
aka the son of Ben Reilly aka the clone brother of Peter Parker himself
which makes this joke all the more amusing.
Okay, this one was so obvious I really have no idea how I
nearly missed it when compiling this post! After hanging up her webs as Spider-Girl
months prior, May ‘Mayday’ Parker suddenly finds herself in need of make-shift
disguise. Thus, the short-lived adventures of the Red Hoodie Girl begin
(Spider-Girl #1-#2, Avengers Next #1). Obviously, this look will seem
very familiar to anyone who’s watched the original Spider-Man movie as
it’s Peter’s ‘Human Spider’ wrestling costume.
Calling back to the concept of producing organic webs, Peter’s
second child, Benjy is shown to have developed just that ability, first
in Amazing Spider-Girl #9 and later in Amazing Spider-Girl #30
when the infant manages to save himself and his mother from a deadly fall at
the hands of a returned Norman
Osborn. This is nicely foreshadowed in a scene where Peter and Mayday
discuss organic webbing while producing a fresh batch of web-fluid together in Amazing
Spider-Girl #20).
There’s also a nice little Raimi-Verse Spider-Man costume reference on the cover of Amazing Spider-Girl #11 featuring Peter Parker strung-up by Carnage’s tendrils, his Spider-Man costume adorned with the spider-design of his film counterpart.
That’s all I have for now, if you think I’ve forgotten or
overlooked a reference to Sam Raimi trilogy, let me know! I thought this would be
a nice little bit of fun to close things out for now.
Until I learn they’ve brought Tobey’s Spider-Man back…
with a daughter in tow, I remain
frogoat