Many Spider-Man fans are currently celebrating the 20th anniversary of Sam Raimi's unforgettable trilogy. Despite being around for two entire decades, these early 2000s films about the infamous superhero are just as popular now as at the time of their release, if not more so.The Raimi trilogy is a powerful predecessor for many Spider-man movies today, as it established everyone's favorite web-slinger long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The films are very distinct for Tobey Maguire's portrayal of the titular Peter Parker, who Raimi paints as noble, moody, and nostalgically dorky, and unforgettable, given the number of lines still quoted from the movie today. Even some great memes perfectly articulate Pete as he appears in the original trilogy.
Polite Peter
Given the number of Spider-Man movies that can be found today, it's a normal occurrence for each of the live-action web-slingers to be compared, especially after the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Some Raimi fans like to poke fun at other Spider-Man movies, but the truth is, all three live-action films bring unique perspectives to Peter Parker's character. While Andrew Garfield's portrayal of Parker seems cooler and cockier, Maguire's character was written as more shy and nerdy, causing a long period of time before Mary Jane actually notices him as a romantic interest.
I Missed The Part Where That's My Problem
"I missed the part where that's my problem" is one of the most famous lines from Raimi's trilogy and comes from a time when Peter is in his earlier stages of character development and becomes frustrated by his seemingly futile attempts to do better. This is just the beginning of Peter's challenges as Spider-Man, including the complication of his love life.
Though Peter has deep feelings for Mary Jane, he constantly has to push her away in order to keep her safe. As seen in the many terrible things that happen to Mary Jane in the comics, her association with Spider-Man poses as a constant risk to her well-being. The two have a usually rocky relationship because of the number of rude things Peter says in order to keep her at arm's length.
Different Sides Of Peter
One of the unique aspects of the Sam Raimi trilogy is that it explores Peter Parker at all different stages of development. The first movie begins with a shy, nerdy Pete that doesn't try to step on anyone's toes, and in the third film, he is an edgy anti-hero who purposely speaks arrogantly to others.
Peter Parker's multiple stages work together to give him a deep and well-written character arc that extends over three films. Because of this long development, Peter's maturity by the end of the third movie resonates deeply with fans who stuck around for the entire trilogy.
Black Suit
One of the most iconic transformations of Peter Parker is his costume change to an all-black suit. The change occurs because his suit is corrupted by a black symbiotic substance that pushes Parker towards evil, and its color happens to symbolize the dark path that Peter briefly faces in the movie. While his suit is a distinct change in the movie, there are tons of other cool black suits that can be found in the comics.
Peter's encounter with his new suit is an essential part of his story because it gives him a serious challenge of submitting to evil forces or choosing to do good. Thankfully, he overall frees himself from the dark, symbiotic powers and resumes his role as the hero his city needs.
Missing Rent
Although Peter Parker is only a college student, he frequently finds himself battling some of the most deadly forces in New York. While most of these forces are powerful villains, one of his constant enemies is rent.
Rent poses one of Peter's most challenging issues in the Raimi trilogy, since being a hero doesn't necessarily give him enough money to pay the bills. While this issue is not as cinematic as the terrifying Venom or tactful Green Goblin, it's certainly something more of his real-life viewers can relate to.
Pizza Time
There are countless quotes from Raimi's trilogy that have been cemented in meme culture today. One of the most iconic of Peter's lines is "Pizza Time," which is said after he makes a late delivery at the beginning of Spider-Man 2.
Parker's quote is popular for good reason. It's a perfect demonstration of how Peter tries to win others over with his dorky appeal, even when he constantly disappoints others because of his big secret. It takes a while for Peter to balance his personal life and his crime-fighting, and a lot of that conflict is explored in the second film.
Emo Parker
There's been a lot of conversation about Peter Parker's egotistical personality that forms after his symbiotic corruption in Spider-Man 3. While some current fans have dubbed this phase as "Bully Maguire," Peter's change is classically referred to as his "Emo" stage.
No matter the name, Peter's alter ego has formed a lot of debate in the critical inspection of the third film. While some people think that it ruined the movie, others think Peter's arrogant personality change in Spider-Man 3 is just misunderstood, and his cringe actions work well to paint Peter as someone who is trying too hard to be someone he's not.
Character Arc
One of the most rewarding aspects of the Sam Raimi trilogy is Peter Parker's deep and long character arc. Though nerdy and youthful in the third film, Spider-Man 3 features a Peter who is unrecognizable because of his nobility and maturity.
Part of the reason that Peter's development was so in-depth in the trilogy is that he was the only superhero throughout the films, which is a vastly different technique that can't be as easily replicated in the MCU universe. But, Spider-Man: No Way Home did offer a unique and even further glimpse into how Maguire's Parker has grown.
Natural Web-Shooter
As mentioned, there are many personality differences between the Spider-Men across the multiverse. One of the biggest differences in Raimi's Spider-Man is not in character, but in physical attributes.
Maguire's Spider-Man is the only one of the three live-action heroes to shoot webs naturally, as the other two have constructed devices. This offers some fun scenes in the trilogy, where Peter has to figure out how to use his new natural ability, and is demonstrated in his hilarious "Go web! Fly!" dialogue.
The Cranberries
While some quotes in Raimi's Spider-Man movies are heartfelt and deep, some are sillier than others. One of these quotes is when Peter Parker is late to a Thanksgiving event in Spider-Man and explains how he had to "beat an old lady with a stick" to get some cranberries.
Thankfully, however, the heroic Spider-Man was simply being hyperbolic. The quote is an example of the immense amount of lies Peter has to construct for his loved ones in order to protect his true identity.