Spider-Man (2002)
A shy teenager named Peter Parker is bitten by a genetically engineered spider and gains extraordinary powers. After the death of his Uncle Ben, he learns to use those abilities responsibly and becomes Spider-Man. As he fights crime in New York City, he is forced into a battle with Norman Osborn, who becomes the Green Goblin.
Narrative Score
Full Plot & Ending Explained
Intro
Peter Parker, a shy high school student in Queens, visits a Columbia University genetics lab with his class, where a genetically engineered spider bites him while he is taking pictures of Mary Jane Watson, the girl he likes; at the same time, Norman Osborn, Harry’s father, tests an unstable performance-enhancing formula on himself and begins to show violent instability.
Turning Point 1
After collapsing at home, Peter wakes up transformed: he can see clearly without glasses, his body has become stronger, he can cling to walls, and he discovers he can shoot webbing from his wrists and react with spider-like reflexes.
Turning Point 2
Hoping to earn money to impress Mary Jane, Peter enters an underground wrestling match and defeats Bone Saw McGraw, but the promoter cheats him out of the full prize; when a thief runs past him, Peter refuses to stop him, and that same thief later murders Uncle Ben after robbing him.
Turning Point 3
Shattered by Uncle Ben’s death and remembering Ben’s warning that “with great power comes great responsibility,” Peter hunts down the killer in a warehouse, fights him, and realizes the man is the same robber he had let escape; after the man falls to his death, Peter commits himself to using his powers as Spider-Man.
Turning Point 4
As Spider-Man, Peter begins stopping criminals in New York and takes freelance photo jobs for J. Jonah Jameson at the Daily Bugle, where Jameson uses the pictures to attack Spider-Man publicly while Peter struggles to balance his secret life, his friendship with Harry Osborn, and his feelings for Mary Jane.
Turning Point 5
Norman Osborn, now fully the Green Goblin, attacks Spider-Man repeatedly and targets those close to Peter; at a Thanksgiving dinner, Norman recognizes Peter’s injuries and later confronts him as the Goblin, forcing Peter to protect Mary Jane and Harry while Norman’s violent behavior escalates.
Turning Point 6
During the Unity Day festival, the Green Goblin kills the Oscorp board members and then captures Mary Jane and a cable car full of children, forcing Spider-Man into a brutal choice; Peter saves the children and Mary Jane, then fights Norman in a ruined building, where Norman reveals his Goblin identity and tries to manipulate Peter into joining him.
Ending
Norman attempts a final ambush with his glider, but Peter dodges the attack and the glider impales Norman instead, killing him; Peter and Mary Jane share a quiet kiss, Peter decides not to pursue a romance with her because he fears the danger it would bring, and the film ends with him fully accepting his responsibility as Spider-Man.
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