Bloopers That Make Us Love Spider-Man Even More
Spider-Man isn't like all the other famous superheroes. He isn't a wealthy baron of industry with a chip on his shoulder like Batman, and he isn't an indestructible and patriotic alien like Superman. No, Spider-Man is the alter ego of Peter Parker, a gawky teen and budding photographer who just so happens to develop arachnid like powers after a fateful encounter with a radioactive spider.
And because Spider-Man is the goofiest of all the major superheroes, that might be why Spider-Man movies are so prone to bloopers. Actors, directors, and crew members just can't escape the inherent silliness (or unabashed fun) of spending tens of millions of dollars to make really cool movies about a young dude who flies around buildings on webs he shoots from his appendages. Here are some times when things got a little silly on set of all the various movies starring your friendly neighborhood Spider-Men, be they Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, or Tom Holland.
When the new Spider-Man referenced the old Spider-Man
In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) has a full and busy life. He's got to juggle homework with a spot on his school's excellent debate team, not to mention his newfound spider-like powers and working with the Tony Stark as an intern down at Stark Industries. In this scene, he tries to talk his way out of an upcoming academic decathlon face-off, and his advisor (Martin Starr) won't take no for an answer, because this is the nationals, after all. Holland as Parker sputters as he lists off all of his activities, or rather "responsibilities." That's a trigger word for anybody playing Spider-Man, as it's the key item in the most famous and kind of profound line from the original Spider-Man movie from 2002 (not to mention the comics): "With great power comes great responsibility." Holland can't help but break character, give a wry turn to the camera, and recite the catchphrase predecessor Tobey Maguire made mainstream.
Watch out for that black backpack, mack
When Spider-Man 2 opens, Peter Parker has already been through quite a few adventures as crime-fighting web-slinger Spider-Man. He's into college at that point but still the same clumsy guy, picking up none of his superhero personality's gracefulness. In this scene from the set of Spider-Man 2, Peter (Maguire) drops all of his books and school supplies while walking on campus. That action was supposed to happen, but what came as a surprise to Maguire was what happened next. As he stays in character, grumbling and picking up his strewn materials as other students briskly walk by, one faceless extra slams their backpack smack into Maguire's head. This blooper is actually a prank, courtesy of director Sam Raimi. He's the guy with the backpack, surprising Maguire with a little razzing. The actor finds it all extremely funny — and impressive, even — when one of Raimi's backpack straps wraps around his neck.
Ain't no party like a Spider-Man party
While Spider-Man isn't as loaded as Batman, or as unworldly powerful as Superman, he does have one big thing in common with those two other members of the major superhero trifecta: He's an orphan. Those other guys were raised by a valet and a farmer couple, respectively, while Spider-Man grew into a goofy and friendly teen thanks to his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. In this rapid-fire barrage of bloopers from the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming, friends Ned (Jacob Batalon) and Peter (Tom Holland) try to talk to a female classmate about the current teen party scene, and Peter mentions how parents sometimes let their kids throw those parties. But that bit of dialogue sends Holland way off his game and off the rails. He remembers that his character doesn't exactly have biological parents anymore. "My parents are ... dead," he cracks while visible wincing. Orphans: They're never not funny to Spider-Man.
It's so romantic, words fail Tobey Maguire
A quiet and intimate moment filled with heartfelt emotion with the object of your affection can make even the most confident individual tongue-tied. But hey, sometimes deep thoughts and feelings are better left unsaid, right? That would make this blooper from the set of Spider-Man 2 extremely realistic, except for the fact that Tobey Maguire, as Peter Parker, isn't supposed to be so wordlessly flummoxed in this cute love scene with Kirsten Dunst, portraying his character's longtime love interest Mary Jane Watson. With the camera trained on his face for a close-up in one of the film's rare soft moments, Maguire totally forgets his line. To his credit, however, he sells that mistake as simply being overwhelmed by emotion. But then he realizes he's been silent for way too long, and that the jig is up, and so he bursts into laughter, ruining the take and looking for a reset.
Hey, Spider-Man is supposed to soar, not fall
Part of what makes Spider-Man and Peter Parker such a great character (or characters) are the stark differences between the superhero and his mild-mannered, teenage human counterpart. Spider-Man is Peter Parker, of course, but they're also complete and total opposites, creating a natural dramatic tension as they fight for internal dominance. For example, Spider-Man glides through the air with the greatest of ease, swinging among buildings on his own webs, never slipping up as he tracks down and takes down bad guys. Peter Parker, on the other hand, is a typical gangly and less-than-confident teen who's not quite comfortable in his own skin yet. In this sequence from Spider-Man: Homecoming, the guy who portrays both superhero and regular guy really nails Peter Parker's awkwardness. Tom Holland is almost too far in character, as these bloopers show. The actor apparently tripped, slipped, and stumbled quite a lot during the making of the movie.
A fine welcome for Gwen Stacy
Maybe Tobey Maguire doesn't like needless romantic storylines in action-heavy superhero movies, to the point where he finds the idea laughable. Or maybe he does like romantic storylines, but he doesn't think the idea of introducing the comics character of Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard) isn't necessary for the already overstuffed Spider-Man, which already has so many extra characters. Or maybe the actor has just gone a little stir-crazy from the long, arduous hours playing Spider-Man in his third movie in five years.
For whatever reason, Maguire can't seem to get through filming close-up coverage on what's supposed to be a simple, dialogue-based exchange in which Gwen Stacy introduces herself to the Daily Bugle photographer for the first time. Seriously, what is so funny about Richie Cunningham's real-life daughter saying her character's name? Is it the brightly-colored white-blond hair that's throwing him off?
Filming came down to the wire for Tom Holland
Sorry to bust the fantasy bubble, but the actors who play Spider-Man in the movies can't really fly through the air on super-sticky webs of their own creation. It's a special effect achieved with some combination of green-screen, CGI, and suspending actors like Tom Holland on gravity-defying wires.
That's not exactly a natural or comfortable state, having one's limbs and body attached to a series of cords, and it takes a lot of effort to get used to, let alone develop the ability to act while in that condition. On this blooper from the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Tom Holland can't seem to get the hang of those dangling wires. While assuring everyone around that he's "got it," he tries to turn his inability to navigate the wires into a little dance. Holland winds up looking like an awkward, Peter Parker-like, teen, and all of it happens in front of his effortlessly cool (but genuinely concerned) co-star Donald Glover to boot.
There were many stunts on Spider-Man 3, wire do you ask?
Tom Holland wasn't the only actor to don the stretchy Spider-Man suit to embrace the shear absurdity of spending a long time attached to flight-enabling wires like they were starring in a high school production of Peter Pan and not a multi-million-dollar Hollywood blockbuster. While shooting a night scene for Spider-Man 3, Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker guides Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane Watson down from some trees to the safety of the ground below — while notably not wearing his Spidey suit. Dunst has so much fun that she lets out a couple of hoots, which seemingly causes Maguire to forget the dialogue he's supposed to say when they reach the earth. And so, rather than just stand there and stare at his co-star, Maguire improvises some silliness. "Let's go get on my bike!" he sarcastically cracks, then tries to walk away like the Muppet or marionette he so closely resembles in that moment.
Spider-Man returns
There are few sadder movie moments than when death tears apart two people who love each other more than life itself. Nearly everyone who saw Titanic cried when Rose promised Jack she'd never let go ... and then totally let go of him when he froze to death in the Atlantic Ocean. Another example: In Avengers: Infinity War, when a heartless "snap" by supervillain Thanos (Josh Brolin) killed half of all known living things in the universe, including Spider-Man (Tom Holland). He falls into the arms of his mentor and father figure Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), pleading "I don't wanna go" before literally turning to dust. It's absolutely heartbreaking, which means Holland probably wanted to keep things light and bouncy when his character miraculously returned in Avengers: Endgame. In fact, he literally bounces around the rubble-strewn set, much to the pleasure of Downey, who hugs his boy wonder for just a little too long and even gives him a little kiss on the cheek. Welcome back, Spider-Man.