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Comic-Con 2013: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

This is a big jump to way towards the end of Friday’s activities in Hall H at San Diego Comic Con this year, but I figure Spider-man is popular enough to have more people curious about what went on here than other panels I was able to witness. Here is the official description of what was in store for audiences: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 — Last year, Andrew Garfield, along with director Marc Webb and producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach, launched a new chapter in the Peter Parker story with The Amazing Spider-Man. With a new installment in the franchise due in 2014, join us in Hall H for one of Comic-Con’s most highly anticipated panels to hear a bit about what awaits Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Having gotten to sit through the entire panel and take a first look at footage from this web-slinging sequel, I will have plenty to share in the rest of this post.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was given the deluxe treatment in Hall H at Comic Con, as the largest viewing screen possible was provided for the panel. To provide some context, Hall H is the largest presentation hall, where all the biggest events at Comic Con occur each year. There are several large screens in all of Hall H, but the center screen had the curtains on both sides of it pulled back to create one massive screen, exactly like last year’s panel for Pacific Rim. It is certainly a way to get the audience excited, which is what happened.

With the exciting screen reveal, the animated logo for the film was on display, which led to the arrival of director Marc Webb, star Dane DeHaan (he’ll be playing Harry Osborne), and producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach onto the stage. A special guest was also announced, which was set up by a video introduction. This guest was Spider-man, who was shown in the intro video to be web-slinging his way into comic con, only to be awkwardly followed by Spider-man simply walking up onto stage. This was not a huge loss, however, as it was a lot of fun having Spidey on stage, with Andrew Garfield wearing the new costume and staying in character. He had fun with the audience and the panel, fielded some questions, and was acting very genuinely like your friendly neighborhood Spider-man.

Emma Stone was not able to make it to the panel, as she is busy filming a movie in France, but she did send in a video of her wishing the best for everyone at Comic Con. Unfortunately, this video was hijacked by Electro, who had an introduction of his own consisting of some menacing words about Spider-man, followed by Kanye West’s “Power” being blasted on the speakers, as Jamie Foxx (who stars as Electro) took the stage. Foxx has a pretty solid level of charisma at Comic Con, as fans were quite loud in receiving him. Better yet was the banter between Foxx and Spider-man, as Spidey took the opportunity to compliment not only Django Unchained (which led Foxx to tell Spidey, “I like the way you die boy”), but also give praise to Any Given Sunday, of all films. This led to Foxx literally singing the rap that his character, Willie Beamen, in Any Given Sunday had. I realize this is only of interest to a few people, but when Jamie Foxx recalls memories from Any Given Sunday at Comic Con, I feel damn inclined to report it. Anyway, following the fun that Spidey was having on stage, the time finally came for him to make his exit, which only led to the first viewing of footage from the film to be shown.

In a nutshell, I can say that I found the footage to be very promising, but I can provide more detail than just that. It is established that Peter Parker has been enjoying the life of Spider-man for some time now, as he continues to fight crime and perform some truly heroic acts. We get brief glimpses of Paul Giamatti in angry Russian-accented form. Yes, the word is that he plays the Rhino, but that really is not what he looked like in the footage shown. The heavier focus of the footage actually surrounds Jamie Foxx’s character, Max Dillon (who will become Electro). We see Max as a person alienated from society, yet obviously has a lot of smarts, as he works for Oscorpe. Some kind of freak accident occurs, which involves Max electrocuting himself and falling a great distance into a tank of electric eels. It is pretty comic book-y, but it works. A lot more is going on as well, which includes brief shots of Harry and Norman Osborne, plenty of Gwen Stacy, Aunt May, and a lot of Spider-man in action. The really good stuff comes at the end, as Electro makes a pretty awesome entrance in Time Square, absorbing all of the electricity to black out the area, only to blast it right back out, panicking everyone and showing that he will be a major threat. Even with some of the effects shots being unfinished and other little technical issues, the footage very much provides a proper tone for what to expect in this upcoming sequel.

Once the footage ended, Andrew Garfield was now sitting with the panel as himself and the group began answering questions. Among the many questions, there were some highlights. The main thing to really note is how well Andrew Garfield understands how to address the Comic Con audience. He is incredibly positive and honest, never talking down to anyone, which is incredibly admirable. He also knows how to take control over issues he brought up in the past. He describes Spider-man as a hero that stands for those that need protecting, regardless of race, color, or creed, when discussing gender, race, and sexuality politics concerning the character. Garfield also brings up things in his own life that allow him to tap into how he should be portraying the character. Every answer Garfield provided was incredibly humbling and fitting for him, which is a pretty easy way to stay in the good graces of the Comic Con crowd.

Jamie Foxx had things to say about playing Electro as well. He humorously enjoyed the idea of being the first black man on film with a comb-over, in reference to the look of Max Dillon, before his accident. In general, Foxx seemed very excited to be playing this character and being allowed to find why it is that this person goes from being a nobody to someone that wants to destroy all of New York and take down Spider-man as well. Additionally, Dane DeHaan confirmed that his Harry Osborne will be a childhood friend of Peter’s, who has come back from boarding school to deal with his own father as well as reconcile his relationship with Peter. Lastly, director Marc Webb was asked a question about how he can balance all the new characters, without the film heading into the same overcrowded direction that made Spider-man 3 suffer. His response was in regards to emphasizing how the film indeed plans to have Electro as the focus. Spider-man will face challenges and interact with others, sure, but the film’s true villain is Electro and that is the foe that Spider-man was overcome in this next film.

No word on when a trailer for this film will hit, but I would imagine some time in the fall. I have posted the very brief teaser released for Comic Con below though. Regardless, I was very pleased with the footage I saw. I thought the newest take on Spider-man was good enough for the first film; not great, but a decent start, but with the origin story out of the way, it opens up many interesting possibilities and that aspect certainly seems to be being followed through on for the sequel.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Hits Theaters on May 02, 2014

Here are some more pictures:

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Aaron is a writer/reviewer for WhySoBlu.com. Follow him on Twitter @AaronsPS3.
He also co-hosts a podcast, Out Now with Aaron and Abe, available via iTunes or at HHWLOD.com.