There is a silent (marketing) war ongoing right now between two of the big comic book flicks due to hit theaters in July of 2012: Warner Bros.' The Dark Knight Rises and Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man.

While we've been bombarded by promotional material for director Christopher Nolan's final Batman movie, director Marc Webb's web-slinger reboot has also been making headlines - thanks to some shiny international banners and a cleverly-designed poster that teases the idea that Webb's take on Spider-Man is going to be substantially different than director Sam Raimi's.

Sony has stepped up its game to land Amazing Spider-Man extra attention by activating the film's official site; among the goodies included therein are several promotional images, new still frames, character descriptions, and a brief plot synopsis that offers more insight concerning "the untold story" of Peter Parker that is explored in Webb's Spidey movie.

Here is the aformentioned Amazing Spider-Man plot logline:

Like most teenagers his age, Peter [played by Andrew Garfield] is trying to figure out who he is and how to be the person he is today. In his journey to put the pieces of his past together he uncovers a secret that his father [Campbell Scott] held... a secret that will ultimately shape his destiny as Spider-Man. This is the first in a series of movies that tells a different side of the Peter Parker story.

Now check out some official character descriptions, followed by a gallery of new Amazing Spider-Man imagery:

  • Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield)Ever since Peter's parents disappeared 13 years ago, he has struggled to find his purpose in life. Now, on the brink of unlocking the mystery about what happened to them, he must face the ultimate challenge - one that has been created within the laboratories of Oscorp.
  • Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone)Smart, charismatic and rebellious, Gwen is the chief intern at Oscorp, a position she takes very seriously. But her life takes a complicated turn as she watches both her boyfriend, Peter, and her mentor, Dr. Connors, undergo radical transformations.
  • Captain Stacy (Denis Leary)An esteemed police officer for over twenty years, Captain Stacy is the public face of the NYPD who leads the department's investigation into Spider-Man's vigilantism. The only thing Captain Stacy vows to protect more than the city is his family - and particularly his only daughter, Gwen.
  • Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans)One of the leading scientific minds, Dr. Connors attempts to engineer a revolutionary regeneration serum to help re-grow limbs and human tissue. His motivations are unclear as to why he elects to be the first human test subject - but what becomes evident is that something goes horribly wrong.

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Amazing Spider-Man really does look and sound like a more genuinely contemporary portrayal of the epnoymous webslinger than that offered in Raimi's previous movie trilogy. Similarly, characters/plot elements such as Gwen Stacy, Spidey's artificial web-shooters, and the narrative thread concerning Peter's father (who may be either modeled off or directly based on the character's Ultimate Marvel universe incarnation) were excised completely in Rami's Spidey films.

A lot of fans are still fairly unenthused about this particular comic book reboot, especially since it will partially deal with the webslinger's all-too-familiar origin story detailed in Raimi's 2002 Spider-Man flick. However, this newly-released material is just further evidence that Amazing Spider-Man will not only stylistically be a far cry from its predecessor(s) - it will also tread on some intriguing narrative ground that has yet to be explored (in live-action form).

The Amazing Spider-Man will arrive in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D theaters around the U.S. on July 3rd, 2012. Be sure to check back on Screen Rant in the near future, as a new trailer for the film is expected to be released soon.

Source: Sony Pictures