Spider-Man 2

[Rhydderch Hael]

Angel,Jul 17 2004, 03:04 PM] ... Stipulating that the "illogical scenes" also would be fixed ...

Of course, when you say illogical scenes, you're really meaning illogical reactions by certain bit characters, namely Cap'n Jameson and the bridesmaid.

Those are not the two folks I'm scratching my head over concerning illogical attitudes.

J.J. Jameson continually publishes cover-page news about Spiderman the Menace; Spiderman the Terrorizer; Spiderman the Reckless Vigilante who is a clear danger to the city. This movie is set two years after the first one. One would figure that two years of superheroics on the part of Spidey will set public opinion firmly in his favor. We even get that much from the kids and Aunt May's talk of kids. So, the consensus is that the good majority of the city sees Spiderman as a hero, not a villain. One would assume then that anyone reading the cover of the Daily Bugle emblazoned with yet another one of Spidey's "criminal acts" would think the Bugle a scandalous rag on some personal witch-hunt.

If there is a board of directors or a shareholders' board controlling the Bugle, J.J. Jameson would have his posterior well set in the sling and already beating his kid on a race to the moon. If Jameson himself is running the show, he's already and irrevocably set his reputation in the city as an irrational crank that nobody is going to listen to anymore. This buzz-cut shepard boy has called 'wolf' a hundred times too often. I'm not baffled by his motivation. I'm baffled that Jameson is still a force to be reckoned with here.

Second illogical: Harry Osbourne. Right before he died in the first movie, Norman implored to Peter not to tell Harry about what happened. That has to be the defining reason why Peter (in the guise of Spiderman) has never told Harry the truth of his father's death. That's probably why Peter (unmasked) still did not say "I didn't kill your father, Harry. The Green Goblin did..." in this movie. There, then. I understand.

The trick is, Harry does find out the truth in the end. Harry finds the Goblin's lair. If Harry was savvy enough, he'd realize that his father, Norman Osbourne, was not just the Green Goblin: he was a murderer, a terrorist, and he almost killed Mary Jane-- as well as almost killing Harry himself!

Probably then-- no, logic demands then, Harry should have realized that Spiderman's involvement in Norman's death has been re-painted in a whole new color. There's a reason why Norman died now. There's a purpose in Spiderman's tie to Norman's death. That should have eased or set straight some of the questions and hatreds Harry held against Spiderman.

What do we get instead? The Green Goblin, Mk II. "Oh, it turns out my dad was a murdering menace who was nuttier than a Bedlamite sock-hop in an almond grove. Cool! I want to grow up to be just like him!"

Norman Osbourne's turn to villainny had the forgiving grace of being chemically-induced. Harry's going to turn through conscious, unadulterated choice in the matter. It's his decision, and he'll choose the Goblin's way as a means to answer his dilemmas. That makes him the first real villain that will arise in this franchise. A villain of his own making, not one created from a victim of overwhelming circumstance.