Comic thoughts drive-by

Wow, it's been a while. December kept me hopping. Between the holidays occurring mid week, I had a small operation at the beginning of the month, my girlfriend a small check up procedure at the end of the month, it's safe to say I spent most of the month away from home and my computer. I did get a lot of reading done, a few of them pulps and I hope to cover those soon: Doc Savage, the Shadow, the Black Bat.

Got quite a few comicbook and superhero related stuff this year. The first two volumes of The Complete Peanuts, two collections of Alaskan cartoonist Chad Carpenter's Tundra, dvd's of an early movie serial The Sign of the Wolf (a weird then modern/old West mixed with the Middle East/Indian mysticism, a different type of Cowboys and Indians movie), and movies The Dark Knight, and Chandu (one of the earliest superhero magicians, his adventures were on radio and predated all those comicbook ones).

A couple of drive-by comicbook thoughts...

The death of the Wasp was fairly senseless, but Hank Pym becoming the new Wasp in one of his ugliest costumes yet? I had some hopes for Slott's Avengers, but that really killed it there.

Spider-man and Obama... yeah, pretty much a classic screw-up. I can understand why Larsen might be a bit peeved though, since there was nowhere near this fanfare when he put him on the cover of The Savage Dragon. To be fair though, that was BEFORE he was elected President and the Dragon is not Spider-man. The best Larsen can hope for is that some savvy comic store owners might direct some of the customers to Larsen's book as well. Won't be any more money directly into Larsen's pocket, but it might generate some future interest in his title and comic line.

Darkhawk is returning to star in a series. Cool. I actually enjoyed Darkhawk and Sleepwalker and felt they deserved a bit more exposure. I didn't care for the concept of The Loners so I didn't pick it up, but I'll definitely have to give this a look see.

After a long even driven story through the Bat titles, titled RIP yet that wasn't about Batman dying. Instead, that actually occurred in Final Crisis. This has been pretty much the rumored ending for almost a year, so it is pretty much a non-event. And, thanks to all the events lately, a cynical readership has developed, no one really believes that this will remain the status quo.

Interestingly, it's comics and stories like this that probably prompted Willingham's comment about getting back to superheroes fighting supervillains and having heroes acting like heroes. Where's the sense of fun in the DCU when every few months another character is being killed off? Ted Kord at the hands of one of his best friends, the Martian Manhunter, the Freedom Fighters, Elongated Man and his wife. Heroes becoming villains and villains cast in the roles of heroes, or at least more sympathetic as they are honest about their nature.

Phil Hester talks about the upcoming mini-series Masquerade over on comicbookresources.com. Masquerade is the third spin-off from Project: Superpowers and this times concerns the masked heroine formerly known as Miss Masque. Like most of the non-powered characters in Superpowers, Krueger had given Miss Masque some super-abilities. Don't know why. Hester had a really curious thing to say though:

But even with a singular focus on Masquerade, Hester promised that the character won't be alone in her debut miniseries, and fans can keep their eyes peeled for both villains and heroes to drop in. “Miss Masque had nothing in the way of a rogue's gallery, and all the cool Nedor and Gleason villains are spoken for, so I was forced to make up some bad guys, which is always fun," he said.

The first part is right. In the handful of her adventures that have been reprinted by Bill Black and others, there has not been much evidence of a rogues gallery. She fought a few crooks that did wear a colorful costume (one was at a costume party after all), but none that could really be considered memorable.

But the last part, that "all the cool Nedor and Gleason villains are spoken for" ought to raise some eyebrows. One, the concept of Project: Superpowers is that all the public domain heroes are part of it as are their villains. But, this infers that ONLY two company's characters are available. Two, unless there are a lot more big projects in the works, I don't see how all the cool villains are spoken for, even if just the Nedor and Gleason characters. Unless his definition of "all the cool" means the Claw. Because that is the only villain from those two companies that has made any kind of appearance.

Because, the biggest theme of Project: Superpowers has been heroes vs. heroes. Dynamic Man has been turned into a villain. Most of the villains of the heroes have been completely absent other than the Claw and he has been on screen once and referred to a couple of times. And, we know he's being used in Death Defying Devil. The Black Terror mini has him fighting the President who so far is not any GA villain I'm aware of though he's part of a secret cabal that is made up of some GA villains, none of whom were part of Nedor or Gleason. But, it does have him fighting a bunch of patriotic superheroes who were duped/brainwashed/or somehow else compromised and those do include some Nedor heroes.

I'd love to know, what list of villains did Hester want to use that he couldn't? Where are they spoken for? Because, I've categorized hundreds of available GA villains, some more interesting than others. And, some of them are from Nedor and Gleason. I don't flatter myself in thinking that he's or Dynamite have heard of my website, but I do know that a simple online research into some of the characters would pull it up if not some of the many Nedor reprints available online.

20 Most Significant?

I love Steven Grant's column on comicbookresources. At best I agree with about half of any of what he says, but as a longtime professional, his insights to the industry are informative and interesting. At worst, he's what Holmes would credit of Watson, while not a source of light, he reflects it and is often illuminating ie I may ultimately disagree, but what he says does make one think.

His most recent column about the 20 most significant comics fired up the boards as most lists are apt to do. Some of his choices were interesting such as American Flagg and Blackmark. Not really up on the independent scene at the time though I sampled quite a few of the comics from First and Eclipse, it's hard for me to judge how significant those and some of the others actually were.

A few of his other choices I disagreed with. Such as the Showcase debut of the Flash. If any "history" is a myth it's that of the debut of the Flash signifying a great superhero revival and the start of the Silver-Age. In an older post I explored in more detail the various "ages" of comics and the context of the Flash and the other heroes debuts. Ignore the conventional wisdom of when the "ages" were as they are nothing more than convenient constructs and look at the broad picture of superhero comics and the debut of the Flash is just one blip among many before and after, at about a steady rate all told. There is nothing any more significant about that comic than a host of others. The "Flash of Two Worlds" is a far more significant comic in the scope of superhero history.

What's also puzzling is his choice of Amazing Spider-man #1. What little of the logic he applied to Showcase would by default kick out Amazing Spider-man in favor of at least his debut in Amazing Fantasy or the true comic: Fantastic Four #1. But, even when talking about significance, everything that is significant in Spider-man is first found in the FF. When truly looking at a logical start of the Silver-Age, it's the Fantastic Four. It's the first "new" superhero comic. While it is still built upon comics and superheroes of the past, in style, themes and substance, it is new and different from how they've been done before. Spider-man may have been the more popular and the more significant character especially in terms of the Marvel Empire, but it's not the more significant comicbook in the context of comicbook history.

Of course, as talks generally go, it gets one thinking exactly what would be one's own list. Mine is more superhero-bent, it's what I read and enjoy, and it's all American based comics. But, if I had to compose a list:

If I had to list with a slightly more supehero-centric list:

1-3 of Steven's list is correct and would be foolish to try to come up with something better.

#4: Whiz Comics #1: While taken to the courts as infringement, Captain Marvel was significant: it recognized we don't want Robin to identify with, we want to be the hero. The ultimate in wish fulfillment and a modern day fairy tale in superhero form. Might be impossible to gauge whether it was he or #5 that is responsible for all the Captains that would eventually litter the superhero landscape.

#5: Captain America #1: the title that really launched the patriotic superheroes, from Captain America punching Hitler on the nose. No messing around with fictitious dictators and countries. The tail would wag the dog as Irv Novick, the artist on the earlier Shield would change his artwork to match more closely Simon & Kirby's work hyperkinetic artwork. Not the first patriotic hero nor the first of S&K teaming up, but this is where they became a recognizable force and influence on comics for the next couple of decades. Just a Robin may beat out Bucky as a kid sidekick, most of those that followed owed more to Bucky down to using their own names in lieu of code-names.

#6: Whiz Comics #21: The introduction of the Lieutenant Marvels. May not seem like much now, but this was the first attempt at franchising a superhero; not introducing a sidekick, but other characters capable of carrying their own strips based on the popular lead. Soon, Marvels were everywhere at Fawcett: Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., Hoppy the Marvel Bunny, Uncle Marvel, Freckles Marvel, the Aunty Anti-Marvel, the whole Sivana clan and culminating in Black Adam, the evil Marvel. To them we owe Supergirl, Superboy, Superwoman, Bizarro, Batgirl, Batwoman, Bathound, Bat-Mite, Man-Bat, etc

#7: Pep Comics #41: Archie debuted sometime earlier and even appeared on the cover since, but from here on out, he starts out figuring prominently on the cover, slowly edging the Shield out. He goes from being an above-average back-up strip to a cultural phenomenon. The times are changing.

#8: All-Star Western #58: With this, the title that gave the JSA a home for a decade became a Western, superheroes were going dormant. Westerns that had been around for a long time as a minor part of comics would now be a dominant genre for the next two decades.

#9: I'll concede to Crime Does not Pay for the reasonings that it helped fuel the campaign against comics and the formation of the CCA.

#10: FF #1: The first true SA comic book. DC's SA was still being fueled by the late 1940's and early 1950's, Marvel recreates the superheroes into something new. Like the GA, the heroes are rooted in their times, the fears of communism, the space race, science unchecked. The heroes bicker, they are cursed as much as they are blessed and can be motivated by selfish means (in this sense Amazing Fantasy #16 is more significant than the first issue of his ongoing, the theme that with power comes responsibility vs our selfish nature that contributes to unhappiness and undoing).

#11: The Flash #123: "Flash of Two Worlds" the beginning of modern continuity sensibilities at DC and in a sense giving a measure of power to fans.

#12: Fantastic Four #49: issue #48 started the storyline, but Galactus' first appearance is here. There had been cosmic stories and stories featuring gods, but the power and scope of Galactus and the Silver Surfer as done by Kirby, it showed what his creative mind was capable of and unlike anything before. It set a whole new benchmark for what superhero comics could be and what cosmic really meant. The Legion had the Sun-Eater, which is probably a bit more realistic, but his nature doesn't achieve the Greek tragedy heights of the characters of the Watcher, Galactus and Silver Surfer. The best creators today are still trying to catch up to what Lee & Kirby were able to do here.

#13: Mad: Another one I cannot fault his logic for inclusion.

#14: Green Lantern #76: I was torn on this or The Amazing Spider-Man #96 which ran without a comic code seal of approval. But it's with this issue of Green Lantern, that superheroes started rediscovering their relevancy. The true significance of these titles was far more subtle than generally recognized. After all, the more serious and relevance take didn't signify higher sales and it went back to being more straightforward space-opera soon enough. However, Denny O'Neill brought a bit of that sensibility to every comic he wrote and edited. Writers and editors would follow suit in other comics, reflecting more of the culture and society unrest, expanding the types of stories superheroes could be about and the power of the CCA was weakened as not carrying the label didn't bring doom and gloom upon a comic. There's a reason why issues of this run are among the most reprinted comics in one format or another, never staying unavailable for long.

#15: Amazing Spider-man #121: There have been deaths in comics before and Peter Parker had his share of heart-ache and break-ups. But no character's death has ever really served as a watershed moment as did the death of Gwen Stacey. That the hero would not only fail but be partly responsible for the character's death, it's a true landmark comic. If Quesada and company were really daring about rebooting the character, they should have undid this issue along with the wedding. That really would have set things in an uproar and made for some interesting stories.

#16: Swamp Thing #20: Alan Moore takes over the character and redefines the concept of horror and superhero-esque titles written for adults. To be fair, he had done this before this title but it's here where he made his name and where he laid the groundwork that would give rise to the British Invasion of comics writers and make works like Neil Gaiman's Sandman, Morrison's Animal Man and Doom Patrol possible and eventually lead to the creation of a whole imprint, Vertigo. It is doubtful that we'd have seen other revisionist superhero works like Miller's Dark Knight Returns, O'Neil's Question, Grell's Longbow Hunters if Moore hadn't paved the way here first. I say this and recognize this, but I miss the way Swamp Thing was before Moore got his hands on him.

#17: Maus. I've not read it, but I respect and recognize its achievements.

#18: Cerebus. No specific issue and I don't agree with a lot of Sims' point of view. But, it is a testament of a creator forging his own path and creating his own work and unique vision. A lot better example to hold up than Youngblood.

#19: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Not every one was significant for being good. I agree with Steven on this one. I think one has to acknowledge the success of this questionable comic parody lead to a boom in independent comics and readers recognizing that b/w is a viable option and at least trying various b/w comics whether it be various output of Dark Horse, The Southern Knights, Cerebus, Zenazoic Tales, or Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters. 90% of what it helped spawn was dreck, but there was some good stuff too. Wish someone would bring back the Southern Knights.

#20: Crisis on Infinite Earths. This is basically a tie between it and Watchmen. Two great and landmark works yet, both have lead to the excesses of the 90's of modern revisionism and strip mining continuity while pretending to be honoring history by recasting heroes as ineffectuals, fascists and closet fetishists, where creators' egos feel their version trumps all that went before... to write continuity driven stories while creating retcons right and left, stories about continuity instead of with continuity.

Somewhere in there I would have liked to include the likes of Camelot 3000. I may be wrong but it is or close to being the first maxi-limited series, not based on superheroes or continuity, had Brian Bolland artwork, printed on high quality paper-stock AND intended for the direct market to boot. One of the first showing DC taking away from Marvel the role as being the innovator and producing comic intelligent comics for adults and not just kids. But, then again, some of that can be credited to Alan Moore's Swamp Thing as well. Then, there's The Death of Captain Marvel, the first original graphic novel that lead to some pretty good original graphic novels out there. And, one of the best death of a superhero stories ever done. Had the graphic novel format been a bigger ongoing success, who knows. Maybe it was just too early, the trade market not really existing like it does now.

No More Days

Sometimes it’s just too easy. Part 2. Quesada and JMS have been going around talking about their individual plans for the One More Day and Brand New Day arcs. For those living under a rock, Aunt May is mortally wounded. Peter Parker travels the world looking for some way to save her, and Mephisto shows up offering to help. But, to do so, his and Mary Jane’s marriage never happened. MJ agrees to the deal. Bingo, Spider-man is single again, no one knows his secret identity and somehow, Harry Osborn is still alive.

Now, JMS wanted his name removed from the story. He didn’t like the magical angle and Quesada and company didn’t like how much JMS was actually intending to do, re-write history from an early point on. Whereas, Quesada just wanted the marriage to disappear but everything else really happened. According to Quesada, Spider-man still joined the Avengers and unmasked, though no one remembers it.

In this day and age where Captain America is put down for not knowing about myspace, Marvel seems to have an editor that doesn’t seem to know about YOUTUBE! Spider-man unmasked on national television, it was in the papers! Heck, it was in real newspapers! Who cares if no one actually remembers it, there are actual records of the event in almost every media! And even so, if Pete and MJ never got married, Aunt May isn’t told about his secret identity, why would Pete have joined the Avengers in the first place, much less unmasked (they helped convince him to)? It just plainly doesn’t follow.

We knew for a long time this was coming. Quesada was vocal early on about not liking the marriage, felt it “aged” Spider-man somehow. Want to talk about aging your fictional shared universe, the problems are with the FF, not only married, but also a couple of kids! But, Peter’s being married and teaching doesn’t make him any older than he has been for over 30 years, somewhere in his 20’s. Kids don’t want to read about married adults… hmm, some of my favorite JLAers were married: Aquaman, Atom, Animal Man, Rocket Red. I liked it when Crystal and Quicksilver were married, Scarlet Witch and the Vision, Hank and Jan. And while they weren’t married until recently, I liked that Green Arrow and Black Canary were a committed couple for the longest time. How does Spider-man being married age him in a way that marrying Storm to the Black Panther does not age them? Plus, considering the way the main Marvel Universe is being written, their books aren’t appropriate for reading by kids who are so young that married people are “old”. And anyone that young, being in college is old too.

And we knew it was coming as soon as Spider-man unmasked as Peter Parker, that somehow that particular genie would have to be put back in the box. For all the fanfare and the comments on how that was the new status quo for story ideas, most knew that the genie would be put back in the box, that Marvel had just written themselves into a corner that wouldn’t last long. And that anything that could do that could also get rid of that pesky marriage Quesada didn’t like.

Then you have the motivations behind Mephisto, a devil doing this, because it undoes a HOLY ceremony and a special and rare love… You’d think he must spend a lot of his time going around breaking up marriages that have been blessed then.

Just stupid, stupid, stupid all the way around.

And the reasoning is flawed because undoing the marriage doesn’t automatically make better stories. Look at Marvel’s track record with characters after they broke them up. Crystal cheated on Quicksilver, he keeps switching sides. Scarlet Witch, boy that character has been royally screwed up. Mockingbird and Hawkeye both got dead, not sure where Hawk is these days. Hank and Jan. DC’s not much better. Jean Lorring, wife of the Atom is now a murderer psycho and Eclipso. The Barry Allen Flash was widowed, went on trial for murder, and then killed off shortly after reuniting with his wife. Mera went nuts, Aquaman went through various psychological and physical changes. Currently deceased. Wonder Girl lost her identity and went through a couple more… her ex-husband and offspring killed. Don’t want to even go into the mess with Hawkman and Hawkwoman after they got restarted as an unmarried couple in HAWKWORLD and what that did to continuity as a whole. Suffice to say, both characters in that book are now dead.

Some of JMS’ best parts with Spider-man was focusing on the marriage. He brought MJ back from being MIA. He ditched the supermodel angle and made her an actress struggling for legitimacy. He brought Aunt May into the fold as sharing the secret and had Peter get a job that actually fit his character. Peter Parker’s circle felt more like a family, and while supportive, this actually adds more to a soul burdened with responsibility, even if it’s responsibilities he wants. They now know the dangers he faces daily, and he now must bear some of the responsibility for the stress they feel as well.

And, when I think of some of my favorite Spider-man stories, it’s regardless of his marital status. They are just plain good and fun stories. Some don’t touch on his personal relationships at all. Some do, but girlfriend and wife could be easily interchangeable. Because, when it comes down to it, he’s a superhero character and they are superhero stories. The only stories that really dictate there be a marriage is found in SPIDERGIRL where they are supporting characters and part of the backdrop to the central character.


What made Spider-man bad wasn’t the marriage, it was bad stories and stunts and decisions like “Sins Past” and “Civil War”. And “One More Day”. And if they cannot tell good stories now, why should I expect them to tell good stories coming out of it? Give me back the days like the original Hobgoblin saga and the HOBGOBLIN LIVES mini. The days of “The kid who collected Spider-man” and the original MARVEL TEAM-UP. And GIANT-SIZE SUPERHEROES with Spider-man fighting Morbius and the Man-wolf (you want to get a kid to pick up a Spider-man comic, a superhero being attacked by a werewolf and a vampire illustrated by Gil Kane was a sure-fire hit). What made t hem good stories was they were just good stories. They WERE NOT part of a 2 year epic, inextricably tied month in and out to other books or even a slave to past continuity though they were faithful to it and you didn’t have to regularly buy other titles and other characters’ books constantly to get the one.

One of the biggest problems is “family books” ala Spider-man who in addition to various sundry mini-series and guest appearances, at any one time he headlines 4 books. We get this with Batman and Superman, who also draft other titles into their family of books such as BIRDS OF PREY, NIGHTWING, ROBIN, SUPERGIRL, etc. Now, the books in and of themselves aren’t bad and I understand the reasoning and business behind it. But, want to know why I tend to stay away from them? Because, nowadays, marketing is after gouging the fandom for every penny and not trying to market to broader audiences. Thus, every other year, if there isn’t a company event to tie the titles together, the family books will have their own little event, their Hallmark special with a storyline demanding you buy the other titles to understand what the heck is going on in the single title you do get. It has happened every single time I’ve decided to follow a certain creator taking on a book within a “family”.

Quesada’s way of handling it? To do away with those times when you don’t have to get the other three Spider-man books by combining his various individual titles into one and making the book pretty much a weekly. So, hope those kids he’s supposed to be aiming for are up to paying for it every week. I might’ve given the Dan Slott written Spider-man a try, I generally like his work. But, I’m not going to be buying a weekly book where he’s only one of several writers. I just don’t have enough faith in Marvel anymore to make that kind of investment. I’ll keep getting SPIDER-GIRL who just had a ten year anniversary. It’s consistently fun and well drawn even when laying on the melodrama.

**sigh** If Only I Had A Time-Machine

**sigh** If only I had a time machine.

At the end of 2000 and beginning of 2001 the comic book company Marvel's stock was hitting below $1.00 per share.

This was after the acclaimed release of the first X-Men movie.

I remember the late '70's early '80's live action Spider-Man and Captain America shows. This was when I thought Beast-Master was the most awesome movie I had ever seen, and yet I knew these shows were lacking. Spidey would crouch down with palm up, thumb out and middle 2 fingers clutched to his palm. The scene cut to the group of bad-guys standing all in a bunch, then a net would drop on 'em! When Spidey climbed the wall, you could see the rope pulling him up as he waved his arms and legs incongruously with the rate he was "climbing".
I saw the Cormen Fantastic Four ash-can bootleg.

So naturally, I thought: "C'mon, just keep doing what you're doing and stick to the print media. You want to branch out? Fine! Release some novels." 'Cause you know I was going to watch the movies no matter how bad I thought they would be. Any super-hero movie or TV show I have to watch! Call it a compulsion. Remember: I watched the hokey FF movie.

But they plowed ahead (they never listen to me) and for good reason: They're master story-teller's. Some of your favorite movies, in fact, may be comic-book creations and you might not know it, such as the Road to Perdition. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying they're all winners, but the hits definitely out-weigh the flops! In fact I would love to see a great writer and artist to storyboard, team up to redo the flops just to show that it can be done better. Just to say to the mainstream audiences that turn their noses up at comic book movies "Hey! This is what we do!"

Now other comics are making it to the big-screen too, but Marvel is leading the way with their sequels. Just look at what they've got coming: Spider-Man 3, FF 2 Rise of the Silver Surfer (honestly, I thought the first one was a little flat, so this surprises me) not to mention the success they had with the Blade and X-Men series. Also coming is Ghost Rider; and Iron Man, Luke Cage, Deathlok, Gargoyle, Magneto, Namor, Wolverine, Punisher 2, The Incredible Hulk (2008), Ant-Man (2009), Captain America (2009), Nick Fury (2010), Thor (2010), The Avengers (2011), Black Panther, Hawkeye, Shang-Chi, Cloak and Dagger, Power Pack and Iron Fist are all pre-production or otherwise in development stages. And did I mention Marvel's cutting out the middle-man and filming most of these movies themselves at Marvel Studios?

Movie technology has finally caught up to keep pace with the most creative of writers and directors, so with the right combination, there's nothing that can't be done!

Oh, and just in case you're interested, Marvel stock is now over $25 per share! **sigh** I wish I had a time machine.

Spider-Man 3 Premiere's May 4, 2007

Peter Parker basks in the spotlight with his public success as his superhero alter ego, Spider-Man. He plans to propose to Mary Jane Watson. When the police tell Parker and his aunt that new evidence shows Sandman as being responsible for killing Uncle Ben, Parker goes after the alleged perpetrator personally. As Spider-Man, he battles Sandman and his former friend Harry Osborn. During this time, astronaut John Jameson brings an "alien life force" back to Earth with him. The force forms a symbiotic relationship with Peter's costume, influencing his behavior for the worse. As a result, Spider-Man has to fight the villain within, until he finally tears the symbiote from his body. After parting from Spider-Man, the symbiote finds a new host in Eddie Brock Junior, and the resulting merger creates Venom.

Visit the Official Movie Site and the Official Blog for Spider-Man 3 wallpaper, pics, clips, and more.

Cast:

• Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker / Spider-Man: A photographer for the Daily Bugle who leads a double life as the superhero Spider-Man, protecting New York City from crime.
• Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson: Peter Parker's love interest and a Broadway actress.
• James Franco as Harry Osborn / New Goblin: The son of Norman Osborn and Peter Parker's former best friend who believes that Spider-Man murdered his father. After learning Peter Parker is Spider-Man, Harry becomes the New Goblin to battle his former friend directly.
• Topher Grace as Eddie Brock, Jr. / Venom: A photographer at the Daily Bugle. He grows increasingly embittered toward Peter Parker, who beats Brock to photography gigs and has attracted the attention of Brock's girl, Gwen Stacy.
• Thomas Haden Church as Flint Marko / Sandman: A small-time thug who has a wife and daughter. An accident gives him the ability to change his body into malleable sand, transforming him into Sandman. He is now believed to be the person responsible for Uncle Ben's death.
• Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacy: Daughter of a police captain, George Stacy, and a science student of Dr. Curt Connors. She competes with Mary Jane Watson for the love of Peter Parker, her lab partner, despite Eddie Brock, Jr's feelings for her.
• Rosemary Harris as May Parker: The aunt of Peter Parker and the widow of Ben Parker, Peter's uncle. Peter has not told her of his vigilante role in protecting New York City as Spider-Man.
• Dylan Baker as Dr. Curt Connors: A college professor under whom Peter Parker studied and with whom he has maintained a good friendship.
• J. K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson: The aggressive chief of the Daily Bugle. He carries a personal vendetta against Spider-Man, whom he considers a criminal.
• Daniel Gillies as John Jameson: The son of J. Jonah Jameson and an astronaut who was left at the wedding altar by Mary Jane Watson. He brings back the symbiote with him to Earth from outer space.
• James Cromwell as Captain George Stacy: A police captain and father of Gwen Stacy. He shares the news with Peter and May Parker that new evidence indicates that Flint Marko killed Uncle Ben.
• Elizabeth Banks as Betty Brant: The secretary to J. Jonah Jameson at the Daily Bugle.
• Cliff Robertson as Benjamin "Ben" Parker: The husband to May Parker and uncle of Peter Parker. Killed by a criminal with the primary suspect originally being the carjacker. Spider-Man lives by Ben's words: "With great power comes great responsibility." The police find new evidence that indicates that Flint Marko, not the carjacker, had killed Uncle Ben.
• Tim DeZarn as Philip Watson: The abusive father of Mary Jane Watson.
• Michael Papajohn as Carjacker: The criminal who was thought to have killed Peter Parker's Uncle Ben in the first film, though new evidence suggests someone else murdered Ben Parker.
• Willem Dafoe as Norman Obsorn: The deceased father of Harry Osborn who appears to his son in hallucinations.
• Stan Lee has a cameo in Spider-Man 3, as he did in the previous Spider-Man films. Unlike his previous Spider-Man cameos, he has dialogue with Peter Parker in his cameo for this film. Lee has referred to it as his "best cameo" in an interview.
• Bruce Campbell, who has had cameo roles as a wrestling ring announcer in Spider-Man and as a rude usher in Spider-Man 2, returns in Spider-Man 3 with a new cameo.
• Sam Raimi has a cameo in Spider-Man 3 as a Navy admiral.