Liked Avengers: Infinity War? Thank Sam Raimi’s Spiderman

Everyone, including MARVEL, seems to think Iron Man started it all. They’re wrong. It was Sam Raimi’s Spiderman.

I am Iron Man.

Thus spake Tony Stark aka Iron Man

Jon Favreau’s Iron Man (2008) starring Robert Downey Jr is considered the First: the movie that truly kicked off the superhero genre that was thought to be on its way down, specifically for the MARVEL cinematic universe. The film re-introduced Robert Downey, who was by then forgotten and washed out (90s kids will remember his movies and his TV stint with Ally McBeal very fondly). It also brought a B-level superhero – which was what Iron Man was, until a 1996 comics reboot – right up to the top.

Robert Downey as Iron Man is relatable and funny and flawed. And the CG is convincing; these are the reasons quoted for the film’s success.

But Iron Man is NOT the first movie to make a superhero seem possible and believable. That credit goes solely to Sam Raimi’s Spider Man, that predates the superhero in a metal ladybug suit by a good six years.

From Rubber Nipples to Realism

2002. The year of Agnivarsha and Devdas.

The last popular superhero movie before Spiderman, was Bryan Singer’s X-Men (2000), and before that, Batman and Robin (1997), which featured anatomically detailed rubber suits that featured rubber nipples (I kid you not) of the characters.

Sam Raimi’s Spiderman released in May, starring Tobey Maguire. This was before MARVEL Studios ever existed, and the company sold its comic rights to literally any interested studio for comically low margins. The big studios like Universal and WB ignored the comic book fan base (which is okay, since it’s niche), ignored the relevance of the back story (big mistake) and turned the superheroes into what they felt worked for the larger (or specific target) audience. Hence the rubber nipples.

But Sam Raimi did with Spiderman what every successful (and unsuccessful) film in the genre continues to emulate.

For the first time ever, there was a Peter Parker whose life was so unsorted and filled with sucky time management that it felt absolutely real.

The only advice [for other studios hoping to ape Marvel’s success] is don’t worry about the universe. Worry about the movie. We never set out to build a universe. We set out to make a great Iron Man movie.

Kevin Feigie, MARVEL Studios

Spiderman, Minus the Spider, Was Still Real

There’s a specific body language to someone who’s more cerebral than athletic (in other words, a geek). A thin line that, when crossed, makes the actor playing the role walk and talk like a clutz (which is what Jamie Foxx did with his role in Amazing Spiderman 2).

Tobey Maguire, as the original Spiderman, was brilliant as the unsure, budding scientist. He was reticent but not socially challenged. He was quiet, but spoke without a stutter when he did. He was kind hearted but got pissed off when something warranted it. In short, he was someone you wouldn’t mind being.

Robert Downey as Tony Stark, on the other hand, is the unicorn everyone wants to be. He’s the Rajinikanth equivalent of an ordinary human being. Charming, a ‘ladies man’, funnier than anyone else in the room AND a genius. 

Oh, I almost forgot; he was also flawed.

Yeah right.

Ballet in the Sky, for the First Time Ever

Sam Raimi, known for The Evil Dead (1981), which achieved cult status before the end of the decade, was roped in for two specific reasons;

1. His ability to tell compelling stories
2. His keen sense of production, where he could get the most out of a budget, high or low.

Until then, Sam Raimi, and the superhero genre at large, worked mostly with sets and practical visual effects. It was John Dykstra, the head of visual effects, who convinced Sam to let CG take over for this one.

Dykstra had earlier won an Oscar for his work on Star Wars (1977). And he had worked on two Batman films before this. So Sam trusted him to bring his dream of a ‘Ballet in the Sky’ to reality. The budget was raised from $70 million to $100 million.

For the first time ever, it was impossible to differentiate a CG superhero from the real one. Even 16 years later, Spiderman’s visual effects seem to have aged quite well, with even the most recent Spiderman Homecoming (2017) not really upping the game in terms of the aerial choreography.

The Guy Who Started It All

Sam Raimi’s Spiderman was envisioned as a single movie, and not part of a universe. Regardless of what MARVEL may claim, there is a formula (comedy when you don’t expect it + real life problems + easter eggs) that every MARVEL film post Iron Man follows religiously.

You will see this even is ostensibly hatke films like Guardians of the Galaxy and Kick-Ass.

But the most important ingredient, the real secret sauce of realism in the characters, is derived from Sam Raimi’s Spiderman, a good three years before Nolan’s Batman Begins, and Jon Favreau’s Iron Man.