At the current time of writing, there have been eight Spider-Man movies released over the years. The first was back in 2002 and was a huge box office hit, with only Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and The Lord of the Rings: The Tower Towers making more money. And the most recent was 2019's Spider-Man Far From Home, a blockbuster that trumped big movies such as Captain Marvel, Joker, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Part of the reasons they're so popular is because they're full of twists and turns. So it's now time to take a look at every movie to hit the big screen so far and look at the biggest revelations they contain...
Spider-Man: Norman Osborn's Last Laugh
2002's Spider-Man is a good, old-fashioned fight between good and evil. Peter Parker represents the former, gaining his powers and trying to rid New York City of crime. However, Norman Osborn sits on the opposite end of the spectrum. After taking a serum and becoming the Green Goblin, he wreaks havoc across the city - clocking up quite the body count in the process.
And the biggest twist is his last laugh. Despite dying, he's able to haunt Peter from beyond the grave by ensuring Spider-Man is framed for the incident. And this makes for a pretty interesting subplot throughout the whole Sam Raimi trilogy, with not everybody universally behind the webhead despite all the good he does.
Spider-Man 2: Harry's Discovery
In Spider-Man 2, Doctor Octopus is the big antagonist. He turns on Spider-Man, and the world, when a science experiment goes wrong. Fortunately, by the end of the film, he reverts back to his old self - drowning his dangerous arms and sacrificing himself in order to stop the citizens of New York from being sucked into a giant black hole.
Yet his redemption isn't the biggest twist. Instead, that honor goes to Harry Osborn's discovery. Peter's best friend discovers his father's old Green Goblin lair, complete with mask, armor, and glider to boot. Not to mention hundreds of pumpkin bombs and goblin formula. This wasn't one everybody saw coming and paves the way for his transformation into the New Goblin in the sequel, Spider-Man 3.
Spider-Man 3: Dennis Carradine Wasn't Uncle Ben's Killer
In 2002's Spider-Man, it's pretty clear that Dennis Carradine is Uncle Ben's killer. After all, he's the one who robs the cash from the wrestling promoter, proceeded to stop a vehicle, and even fires shots at Peter during their battle in an abandoned warehouse. However, in a surprising turn of events, Spider-Man 3 reveals Dennis wasn't responsible for the tragic death.
Instead, it was Flint Marko, AKA Sandman, who fired the shots - albeit by accident. This was Raimi's way of giving Marko a significant backstory, even if altered things for the worse. Sandman proves to be a good villain during that movie but appears to give up his life of crime at the end, shortly after Harry Osborn's death. That would have allowed him to return for Spider-Man 4, a movie that was ultimately scrapped by Sony.
The Amazing Spider-Man: The Gentleman's Visit
The Amazing Spider-Man, while an enjoyable movie, is a predictable one. Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy were always going to couple up, Doctor Connors' plan to turn everybody in New York into giant lizards was destined to fail and it was inevitable Uncle Ben would bite the dust again. For the most part, things play out exactly as you'd expect. However, the appearance of the Gentleman at the end of the movie is certainly a bolt from the blue.
He visits Connors in his cell, clearly hellbent on putting a team of villains together. He also appears in the sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but the ending to his arc was never known. This is because The Amazing Spider-Man 3 was scrapped, though it was rumored to have involved certain characters coming back from the dead. That plan would have to have a clever, villainous mind behind it in order to succeed.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Gwen Stacy's Death
While not entirely surprising, Gwen Stacy's sad death in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 definitely warrants a place on this list. Many fans expected Emma Stone's character to meet her death, given that's what happens in the comics. Yet nobody expected things to be quite so hard-hitting.
It really is a tear-jerker seeing Peter's web take the form of a hand as he desperately aims to stop her from falling, a task made even trickier by the presence of Harry Osborn. Gwen was a great love interest for Peter, giving us much as she's got despite often being overshadowed. Stone may be in line to reprise her role, however, with reports suggesting she'll be back for Spider-Man: No Way Home later in the year.
Spider-Man Homecoming: Vulture's Refusal
The post-credits scenes in MCU movies often contain twists and turns. And that's certainly the case for Spider-Man: Homecoming, with Michael Keaton's Vulture flatly refusing to give up Peter Parker's identity as Spider-Man when Scorpion demands it behind bars.
Given he's just been defeated by the webslinger, losing his home, family, friends and super-tech in the process, Adrian Toomes was expected to give Scorpion the answer he craves. Instead, he chooses to defend Peter - which could make for some interesting plots further down the line. It's unlikely fans have seen the last of Toomes, who will certainly be involved when Morbius hits theatres in 2022.
Spider-Man Far From Home: J. Jonah Jameson's Return
For a long time, it seemed as though movie-goers had seen the last of JK Simmons and J. Jonah Jameson, head editor of the Daily Bugle, in 2007's Spider-Man 3. Simmons was immensely popular as the character and, though many pined for his return, that didn't seem realistic. Especially when you consider how he signed up to play Captain James Gordon in the DCEU's Justice League.
So that meant that, when Jameson returned in the post credits scene of 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home, audible gasps could be heard in movie theatres across the globe. His second coming as the character was an even bigger twist than what he actually said, with the journalist revealing Spider-Man's true identity to the world. And it'll be exciting to see what happens next when No Way Home releases at the end of the year.
Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse: Peter Parker's Death
Spider-Man movies certainly don’t shy away from killing off big characters. The likes of Uncle Ben, Doctor Octavius, Norman Osborn, and Gwen Stacy have all perished on the big screen over the course of the movies released so far. But 2018’s Into The Spider-Verse decided to up the ante by having Peter Parker die.
It really was a surprise to see the webhead callously murdered by Wilson Fisk. Fortunately, Nicolas Cage returned as a Peter Parker from a different universe - one who helps Miles Morales adjust to his new responsibilities as a superhero. But, while that’s the case, seeing Peter actually die was something few saw coming - making it the undisputed biggest twist of the story in the process.