[supercat]

A few comments, if someone who's familiar with both the books and movie could help me out [massive spoilers; highlight text to read]:

• The Green Goblin seems like a more CGI-powered character than I'd expect to see in a comic book, and yet the setup of his son as someone who hates Spiderman seems very comic-book-ish. Are there any comic book stories featuring those characters, and if so, how do they compare to the movie plot?

• While I understand Spiderman's promise not to reveal the Green Goblin's identity, dressing Osborn's corpse and putting it in bed as he did made no sense. Were the guy uninjured, that might work, but Spiderman's actions would do nought but implicate him in Osborn's murder.

  What would have seemed logical would have been for Spiderman to have arranged the scene so that it would appear that the Goblin had killed Osborn and then gotten blown up sufficiently to leave no corpse. After all, if Osborn was innocent of the Green Goblin's crimes, he would--as the sole surviving Oscorp board member, be a very logical target for the Goblin.

• I don't mind at all that superheros are not bound by ordinary human limitations. I don't mind too much that they're not bound by laws of physics. But why do other characters get a free pass on such things? Superman catching Lois Lane (helicopter fall, original movie) could be explained away by stating that empowers those touching him with the ability to accellerate their entire body. How, though, can one explain MJ's fall to the cable car's roof?

• How can Spiderman's identity be a mystery when he himself performed in public before starting his superhero role? The wrestling people would certainly have Parker's name and signature on file, especially since he had no particular reason to hide it at the time. Do the comic books get into this at all, or does he not do his wrestling performance in them?

Okay, maybe I'm being too pedantic; I did generally like the movie. Parts were too predictable, but I supose superhero stories need a certain formula as their baseline.

[Brett66]

The dynamic between Parker and Osborne's son was fairly close to the comic. I believe Osborne's son eventually aquires the power to become Venom.

[steve-b]

Spoiler protection should be carried over:

• The Green Goblin seems like a more CGI-powered character than I'd expect to see in a comic book, and yet the setup of his son as someone who hates Spiderman seems very comic-book-ish. Are there any comic book stories featuring those characters, and if so, how do they compare to the movie plot?

  The main differences I recall are: 1)In the comics, Norman Osborn didn't become clearly aware of his Green Goblin personality -- he just felt something come over him and went to get the Goblin's gear. 2)In the comics, the Goblin discovered Spider-Man's identity (and Osborn knew nothing of it).

• While I understand Spiderman's promise not to reveal the Green Goblin's identity, dressing Osborn's corpse and putting it in bed as he did made no sense. Were the guy uninjured, that might work, but Spiderman's actions would do nought but implicate him in Osborn's murder.
  What would have seemed logical would have been for Spiderman to have arranged the scene so that it would appear that the Goblin had killed Osborn and then gotten blown up sufficiently to leave no corpse. After all, if Osborn was innocent of the Green Goblin's crimes, he would--as the sole surviving Oscorp board member, be a very logical target for the Goblin.

  I don't remember how that came out in the comic. It didn't bother me in the movie; given the circumstances and the fact that he's still relatively green at this, I can chalk it up to not thinking it through properly and the usual Spidey bad luck (if Spider-Man had gotten in and out unseen, the authorities might have decided that the Goblin had hunted down Osborn at his home just before the battle at the bridge).

• How, though, can one explain MJ's fall to the cable car's roof?

  If you watch closely, she does find the nerve to climb down a fair distance -- by the time she falls, it's only a few feet.

  How can Spiderman's identity be a mystery when he himself performed in public before starting his superhero role? The wrestling people would certainly have Parker's name and signature on file, especially since he had no particular reason to hide it at the time. Do the comic books get into this at all, or does he not do his wrestling performance in them?

  The wrestling bit is straight out of the comic -- and it's even harder to explain away there, because his wrestling costume in the comics is pretty much the final version. IIRC, in the comics he doesn't want Aunt May and Uncle Ben to find out how he's making money, so he doesn't give his real name.