The first installment of the Spider-Man series, directed by Sam Raimi, makes a hilarious reference to DC Comic's man of steel Superman, despite the latter originating in a rival superhero universe. Beginning with Spider-Man in 2002 and ending with Spider-Man 3 in 2007, Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and James Franco included Superman’s catchphrase during one of the early scenes of the first Spider-Man film.
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy is considered to be one of the main superhero series, alongside the X-Men (2000) and Blade (1998) franchises, that revived the comic-book movie craze for a mainstream audience. The trilogy following the web-shooting friendly neighborhood Spider-Man paved the way for the success of other comic book movie franchises, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Infinity War saga, which began with Iron Man in 2008, and the DC Extended Universe’s varied superhero films, which began with Man of Steel in 2013. While the Marvel and DC franchise’s weren’t as well known to a mainstream audience at the time, Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy makes multiple references to both Marvel and DC Comic’s series, including Superman.
In the first Spider-Man film, Peter Parker uses Superman’s catchphrase, which Clark Kent used every time he flew up into the sky, in one of the opening scenes of the film when Parker is learning how to use his new spidey abilities. After he was bitten by a radioactive spider during a field trip to a genetics laboratory, Peter Parker practices activating his web-shooting on a rooftop in New York City, trying out a few different combinations of phrases and hand gestures to bring about his new power. Apart from “Go web!” and “Fly!”, Peter Parker also shouts Superman’s catchphrase, “Up, up, and away!” as a small Easter egg for DC comic fans.
However, this isn’t the only reference within Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, as the first film alludes to another DC Comic’s series: Shazam!. Within the same scene, Peter Parker also shouts the phrase, “Shazam!” to attempt to shoot his webs, which of course is only comical if you know that “Shazam!” is the magic word used to transform Billy Batson into a superhero in the DC comics. This reference may not have been recognized by every casual moviegoer until the 2019 release of the DC film Shazam!. Delving further into the Marvel universe, Spider-Man 2 makes a reference to the Marvel superhero Dr. Strange when J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) and his staff at The Daily Bugle are coming up with a catchy name for the villain Dr. Octopus. When Hoffman (Ted Raimi) suggests “Dr. Strange” as an option for the mad scientist’s villain name, Jameson says, “That’s pretty good, but it’s taken!”.
While many of the comic book references in Raimi’s Spider-Man may have just been added for fan service, the references seem to lend Raimi’s spider-verse with a strange amount of awareness about superheroes in general. Since Dr. Strange and Spider-Man exist in the same comic’s universe, the Marvel references can easily be explained by the presence of other superheroes in this world even though the only superhero shown is Spider-Man. However, the DC Comic’s references aren’t as easily explained. While superheroes appear to be woven into the fabric of their society, it begs the question whether or not the DC Comic’s franchises exist in Raimi’s Spider-Man as well-known fiction or if they’re considered real superheroes alongside Dr. Strange.
Whether fiction or fact, the references to DC Comic’s characters in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy reminds comic book fans that whether you’re team Marvel or team DC, the two superhero universe’s celebrate the same basic appreciation for the costumed hero genre. Now that Sam Raimi is in talks to direct the Marvel Cinematic Universe's sequel to Dr. Strange, it's safe to assume that fan's can expect more superhero Easter eggs in the upcoming film.