Spider-Man: Homecoming

[riddler]

There is nothing that connects that kid to Peter Parker. He's one of the million kids that were in New York at the time. I don't believe for a second that it was intended to be Peter Parker considering Marvel wouldn't even get the rights to the character for another five years. If they want us to believe that, put something in a film connecting the two. It reminds me of when someone who worked on Batman 89 tried to say in an article a few years ago that the thug with Jack Napier the night he killed the Wayne's was Joe Chill despite nothing in the movie or sequels ever stating this.

[Silver Nemesis]

Aside from the orchestral rendition of the old Spider-Man theme and that one Ramones song, I can't remember any of the music in this film. With the eighties John Hughes influence, I wish they'd gone full retro and given it a synthwave soundtrack similar to Drive or It Follows. Considering how nondescript Jon Watts' direction is, particularly compared to Raimi's signature style, I think the film would also have benefited from some retro eighties cinematography (fogged sets, dry ice, coloured lights in night scenes, soft focus during romantic daylight scenes, etc).

[The Laughing Fish]

Despite the rave reviews, Homecoming has reportedly experienced a massive drop in its second week at the box office. Though the film is still doing fine financially.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2017/07/16/box-office-spider-man-homecoming-suffers-mcus-worst-second-weekend-drop-ever/#7425377b35fb

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robcain/2017/07/15/what-spider-man-homecomings-awful-73-plummet-means-for-marvel-and-for-superhero-movies/#7036a8ff1672

[The Laughing Fish]

I was speaking to a fan before who explained his take on the Sokovia Accords affecting Spider-Man. He reasoned that Spider-Man wasn't a cause for concern because his role was only contained in New York, and was never brought onto any mission that could be pose as a threat to the world. If Ross or someone else questioned Stark about Spider-Man after the ferry incident, he would simply shut them down and said he had it under control. Under Tony Stark's supervision, Peter had protocols in his suit to keep him from getting into huge trouble.

My problem with this is it still doesn't justify why would Peter want to join the Avengers, and why would Tony Stark even want to bring him along. Peter would have to give up a lot, including revealing his secret identity to the government, and face pressure by authority. If he doesn't understand the consequences of joining the Avengers - and it wouldn't surprise me because he wasn't debriefed properly when he joined the hunt for Bucky and Captain America - then Tony Stark is a pretty sh*t excuse for a mentor. It's just another example how Stark has regressed badly as a character, in my view.

[riddler]

With respect to the Sokovia accord consider the following
Peter is a minor and thus could not sign without parental consent. Tony seemed to have an extensive conversation with May during Civil War and knew that there was zero chance of Peter telling her his secret as well or May ever endorsing Peter becoming spider-man.

It's not really needed for Peter/Spider-man, Tony likely doesn't fear he'll go rogue and besides, Tony can easily find out where Peter is at all times, he's a kid with school and living with his Aunt, he can't go hide for days on end and if he did, there's still the spider-tracker.

That may be why Tony keeps Spider-man so close to the ground, he doesn't want him gaining too much popularity since he isn't registered. That is likely why he doesn't want Peter catching too much attention and gets so upset when he does on the staten island ferry.

I actually wonder if Tony Stark regrets revealing his identity? A lot of the bad things that happen to him throughout Iron Man 2 and 3 would not have happened if the world did not know Tony Stark is Iron Man. His big mistake in this film is ignoring the threats of the Vulture because of how well Toomes does at covering up what he is doing.

[The Laughing Fish]

With respect to the Sokovia accord consider the following
Peter is a minor and thus could not sign without parental consent. Tony seemed to have an extensive conversation with May during Civil War and knew that there was zero chance of Peter telling her his secret as well or May ever endorsing Peter becoming spider-man.

It's not really needed for Peter/Spider-man, Tony likely doesn't fear he'll go rogue and besides, Tony can easily find out where Peter is at all times, he's a kid with school and living with his Aunt, he can't go hide for days on end and if he did, there's still the spider-tracker.

That may be why Tony keeps Spider-man so close to the ground, he doesn't want him gaining too much popularity since he isn't registered. That is likely why he doesn't want Peter catching too much attention and gets so upset when he does on the staten island ferry.

This wasn't my point though. I was questioning why would Stark even want to bring Parker along in the first place if it would put the kid in harm's way. Wouldn't it have been better if he had never associated with Peter in the first place, for the boy's sake? After all, the Defenders having nothing to do with the Avengers, and they seem to get by without worrying about having to register to the government. Unless that spin-off show will address the Accords at some point? We'll see.

I actually wonder if Tony Stark regrets revealing his identity? A lot of the bad things that happen to him throughout Iron Man 2 and 3 would not have happened if the world did not know Tony Stark is Iron Man. His big mistake in this film is ignoring the threats of the Vulture because of how well Toomes does at covering up what he is doing.

Tony Stark has always been an egomaniac, but judging by his last three film appearances - Age of Ultron, Civil War and Homecoming - I think the man is too self-absorbed more than ever. Even when he admits to do something wrong, e.g. creating Ultron, he's too flippant rather than sincere about it. It was fine when he was redeeming himself in the beginning as Iron Man and becoming a team player in the Avengers, but now it's starting to get grating. His character arc is regressing nowadays, in my opinion.

[riddler]

With respect to the Sokovia accord consider the following
Peter is a minor and thus could not sign without parental consent. Tony seemed to have an extensive conversation with May during Civil War and knew that there was zero chance of Peter telling her his secret as well or May ever endorsing Peter becoming spider-man.

It's not really needed for Peter/Spider-man, Tony likely doesn't fear he'll go rogue and besides, Tony can easily find out where Peter is at all times, he's a kid with school and living with his Aunt, he can't go hide for days on end and if he did, there's still the spider-tracker.

That may be why Tony keeps Spider-man so close to the ground, he doesn't want him gaining too much popularity since he isn't registered. That is likely why he doesn't want Peter catching too much attention and gets so upset when he does on the staten island ferry.

This wasn't my point though. I was questioning why would Stark even want to bring Parker along in the first place if it would put the kid in harm's way. Wouldn't it have been better if he had never associated with Peter in the first place, for the boy's sake? After all, the Defenders having nothing to do with the Avengers, and they seem to get by without worrying about having to register to the government. Unless that spin-off show will address the Accords at some point? We'll see.

I actually wonder if Tony Stark regrets revealing his identity? A lot of the bad things that happen to him throughout Iron Man 2 and 3 would not have happened if the world did not know Tony Stark is Iron Man. His big mistake in this film is ignoring the threats of the Vulture because of how well Toomes does at covering up what he is doing.

Tony Stark has always been an egomaniac, but judging by his last three film appearances - Age of Ultron, Civil War and Homecoming - I think the man is too self-absorbed more than ever. Even when he admits to do something wrong, e.g. creating Ultron, he's too flippant rather than sincere about it. It was fine when he was redeeming himself in the beginning as Iron Man and becoming a team player in the Avengers, but now it's starting to get grating. His character arc is regressing nowadays, in my opinion.

One thing I noticed is that not counting Homecoming (as it's not a stark film, we see very little about his world in this films) is that after his first three films (IM 1 and 2 and the avengers) he went from the suave superhero everyone wants to be to getting extremely humbled based on his own mistakes in the next three films; Iron Man 3, Age of Ultron and Civil War, Tony's character takes a beating and it is in part his fault. We found out in those three films that Tony doesn't always have all the answers. It never gets explored further but Iron Man 3 heavily implies Tony is getting nightmares and daymares from nearly dying in space and his encounter with aliens. This may explain why he doesn't embark on solo missions any more, I don't know how much time has passed in the films since the third Iron Man movie but Iron Man isn't doing his thing as often. Maybe he doesn't want to keep up this gunslinger act by himself anymore and we don't know if Rhodie will become the War Machine again after his injuries. Why does Batman groom Robins despite the danger he's putting them in? Maybe it's the same reason, Stark knows you can't stop an aspiring superhero if they have actual powers so he does the next best thing and keeps Spidey under his wing. Maybe with him getting serious with Pepper Tony is looking for someone to take over his mantle so he can get out of the trenches. Or simply put as the threats keep getting bigger, Tony figures they need more Avengers and special people don't come along every day.

[Silver Nemesis]

At present, the total WW gross of each Batman actor's filmography (according to boxofficemojo.com) is as follows:

1.   Clooney - $4,599.5 million
2.   Affleck - $4,461.9 million
3.   Bale - $4,383.3 million
4.   Keaton - $4,054.4 million
5.   Kilmer - $1,734.4 million

If Homecoming does make over a billion, it should bump Keaton up a place or two. Unless of course the other actors appear in equally lucrative films over the next 12 months. And since Affleck's got Suicide Squad and Justice League coming up, I'm guessing he's going to take the top spot from Clooney.

One year later, and oh how things have changed. Michael Keaton now has the highest grossing filmography of any Batman actor.

TOTAL DOMESTIC GROSS (UNADJUSTED FOR INFLATION)
1.   KEATON:  $2,394,321,363
2.   AFFLECK: $2,288,795,245
3.   BALE: $2,215,847,430
4.   CLOONEY: $2,078,819,236
5.   KILMER: $1,041,329,397

TOTAL DOMESTIC GROSS (ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION)
1.   KEATON:  $3,687,705,300
2.   AFFLECK: $3,227,541,300
3.   CLOONEY: $2,877,178,800
4.   BALE: $2,820,281,600
5.   KILMER: $2,022,242,900

TOTAL WORLDWIDE GROSS (UNADJUSTED FOR INFLATION)
1.   KEATON: $4,656.7 million
2.   CLOONEY: $4,640.8 million
3.   AFFLECK: $4,640.8 million
4.   BALE: $4,391.6 million
5.   KILMER: $1,734.8 million

Sources:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=michaelkeaton.htm
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=valkilmer.htm
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=georgeclooney.htm
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=christianbale.htm
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=benaffleck.htm

[riddler]

At present, the total WW gross of each Batman actor's filmography (according to boxofficemojo.com) is as follows:

1.   Clooney - $4,599.5 million
2.   Affleck - $4,461.9 million
3.   Bale - $4,383.3 million
4.   Keaton - $4,054.4 million
5.   Kilmer - $1,734.4 million

If Homecoming does make over a billion, it should bump Keaton up a place or two. Unless of course the other actors appear in equally lucrative films over the next 12 months. And since Affleck's got Suicide Squad and Justice League coming up, I'm guessing he's going to take the top spot from Clooney.

One year later, and oh how things have changed. Michael Keaton now has the highest grossing filmography of any Batman actor.

TOTAL DOMESTIC GROSS (UNADJUSTED FOR INFLATION)
1.   KEATON:  $2,394,321,363
2.   AFFLECK: $2,288,795,245
3.   BALE: $2,215,847,430
4.   CLOONEY: $2,078,819,236
5.   KILMER: $1,041,329,397

TOTAL DOMESTIC GROSS (ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION)
1.   KEATON:  $3,687,705,300
2.   AFFLECK: $3,227,541,300
3.   CLOONEY: $2,877,178,800
4.   BALE: $2,820,281,600
5.   KILMER: $2,022,242,900

TOTAL WORLDWIDE GROSS (UNADJUSTED FOR INFLATION)
1.   KEATON: $4,656.7 million
2.   CLOONEY: $4,640.8 million
3.   AFFLECK: $4,640.8 million
4.   BALE: $4,391.6 million
5.   KILMER: $1,734.8 million

Sources:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=michaelkeaton.htm
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=valkilmer.htm
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=georgeclooney.htm
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=christianbale.htm
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=benaffleck.htm

I wonder where Christian Bale's career is going? I doubt once he pulled ahead of Keaton, anyone thought Keaton would pull back ahead but yet while Keaton seems to be making a comeback proving he can still be a leading man, curiously Bale's career has quieted down since the Dark Knight Rises. He has shared the screen in some good films the Big Short and American Hustle but all of a sudden he's no longer a leading man. Is this a career choice or have his off-camera antics caused movie studios to be careful about headlining films around him?


Either way it's a good time to be a fan of the Burton bat films. Five years since it ended, the Nolan trilogy is already failing the test of time and losing relevance, Bale did not end up taking over Hollywood as some predicted, Hans Zimmer retired from superhero films meanwhile Keaton is back on his game, Michelle Pfeiffer is joining the MCU, Danny Elfman is composing for the justice league and the current Batman clearly takes far more cues from Keaton than Bale.

[Paul (ral)]

The 80's is cool again.