Reboots IV: A New Spider-Man

Welcome to the fourth installment of The Reboot Chronicles! In the past few posts of this series I’ve mainly been going over what’s wrong in the realm of reboots. We’ve overviewed the Reboot dilemma, discussed Disney’s live action cash grabs, and went over feminism’s part in the reboot epidemic. While pointing out the flaws is fun, I think it’s important to give credit where credit is do and show that some reboots can be done right.

I’ve gone into detail about the many issues I have with the mindless cash grab reboots but I have not touched on how much I love well made reboots. While there are many great reboots like the Dark Knight Trilogy, Casino Royale, and The Pink Panther I will be using a more recent movie that I feel will best display what a great reboot is. That movie is “Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse”

I’d like to start by saying that I think about Into the Spiderverse at least once a day. A lot of people like to discount the movie because it’s animated but it’s simply phenomenal. The movie is great because you don’t have to be a super nerd to enjoy this movie. It does a good job at organically creating an original plot without getting to complicated or convoluted. It is easily the best movie to come out this year and could quite possibly be one of the top five superhero films of all time (which is saying a lot considering the last ten years). The reason I think Into the Spiderverse is a great example is because in addition to being an extremely popular and well known character, Spider-Man has been rebooted an awful amount of times. There was a movie in the 70’s, a bunch of animated series that dawned in the 90’s, a Japanese TV show, the original 2000’s Spider-Man trilogy, the Amazing Spider-Man reboot movies, and the new Marvel Universe Spider-Man. Over the last 50 years there have been countless interpretations and adaptations of Spider-Man that it’s almost impossible to create an original and interesting take on the beloved character which is why so many of the attempts failed (*cough Andrew Garfield *cough).

Despite all of this, Into the Spiderverse was still one of the greatest and most original superhero movies of all time. I think that it succeeded was for a multitude of reasons because there are many factors involved in making a successful reboot, however, I think the most important question a studio or writer should ask themselves before rebooting is “What could be done different?” I think what makes a reboot good and even at some points necessary is a different outlook on a character or doing something with said character that hasn’t been done yet. The reason a movie like Batman Begins was necessary is because up until that point the Batman character was only displayed through a kid friendly fantasy world. In movies and TV shows, Batman fought silly bad guy with weird bat themed weapons to make a fun story. Christopher Nolan changed that by asking “How could Batman exist in the real world?” and through that lense, Nolan was able to create a dark and deep Batman character that would amaze millions.

Into the Spiderverse didn’t copy its predecessors. There was no killing of uncle Ben, no “with great power comes great responsibility,” and no focus on a nerdy nobody getting superpowers. They reimagined the idea of what Spider-Man is and what he represents from a completely different perspective. Instead of focusing on Peter Parker becoming Spider-Man, they focused on Miles Morales figuring out what it meant to be Spider-Man. It was extremely different from other Spider-Man and superhero movie and was given the right amount of dedication which resulted in a beautifully made movie. There’s a lot of other reasons this movie succeeded but I think as a reboot, this is the main reason.

A reboot could be fantastic if they no how to get a different perspective without straying too far from the the source material. This is something that doesn’t only apply to superhero movies. Any reboot could use this idea. If instead of remaking Aladdin, why not have a different take on it. Give the film a more adult spin, throw in some twists. No one needs a shot for shot remake of a perfect movie. I think it’s important to give the audience something different if you’re going to remake or reboot a movie. I think if reboots could be quite enjoyable as long as a new interesting component is added into the mix.

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Click here to read Reboots I: Endless Reboots

Click here to read Reboots II: Desolation of Disney

Click here to read Reboots III: Femsurgence

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Comment what issues in the realm of reboots and sequels that you’d like to see tackled! You could also email us at TalkToToiletReads@gmail.com to give your input and ideas!