NEW GOBLIN & SANDMAN & VENOM
Real Identities: Harry Osborn & Flint Marko & Eddie Brock
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Like I always say, when movies fail, the story is at the root of the problem. Not actors, not directors, not sound design, not costuming. Those can all make a movie not as good as it could be, but they don’t bring it down to a 66% meta rating after the previous had 93% and 90%. The big failing of Spider-Man 3 wasn’t the silly dancing or questionable effects, but trying to cram in too much plot (it’s frickin’ 140 min). Not only is there too much relationship drama, there are too many villains. Sam Raimi made the best lemonade from those lemons as he could, god bless him.
Characteristics and Powers: “New Goblin”, as he’s called in the credits, has inherited the previous Green Goblin‘s stuff. He’s been using the “super serum” but has hopefully perfected it so it doesn’t make you go crazy. This means enhanced speed and strength, plus he’s got all his dad’s old pumpkin slicers. Besides that, he also gets a neat skateboard glider (instead of the old “bat” design) and some kind of greenish sword. But no real costume except some kind of jumpsuit and face mask. So he’s like an inconsistently themed Batman.
Sandman is basically like a T-1000. Now that his body is a bunch of shapeshifting molecules, he can take a lot of punishment. Punches go right through him (when he sees it coming) and he can turn into a giant golem. Problem is he’s got some pretty bad weaknesses–water, which is everywhere, will deteriorate his cohesion.
Venom doesn’t demonstrate too many abilities (which is a deep flaw–the biggest disappointment of Spider-Man 3 is that Venom had so much potential and it was wasted). In the movie, he seems to have copied Spider-Man’s powers of webbing, agility, and strength. Plus claws and a Pac-Man-like head. But it also includes vulnerabilities like loud reverberating sounds and fire.
Relationship to the Hero(es): Green Goblin has the strongest relationship, as he’s been Peter’s frenemy for the past two movies. After learning Peter’s secret identity, Harry takes his father’s mantle and tackles Spider-Man… then immediately and conveniently loses his memory about the last two movies.
Sandman has the second strongest, as he’s responsible for Uncle Ben’s death–the very thing that motivated Peter Parker to become a superhero. This gives Peter the inclination to feed his demons and becomes less of a good guy and more of a vengeance-seeking vigilante. For someone who always touts “with great power comes great responsibility” he sure never learns that lesson.
Venom is just pure evil. Once the symbiote combines with Eddie Brock, all he wants to do is destroy Spider-Man. And he does that by luring him out after, guess what, kidnapping Mary Jane again.
BTW how do Venom and Sandman know to use MJ to lure Peter out? I don’t think either of them ever see him and MJ together.
Goals/Motivation: Everybody wants to kill the Spider-Man, although Sandman is ambivalent on that step. The poor guy just wants money to pay for his daughter’s operation. And because Harry loses his memory partway through, he forgets what he’s doing until the plot needs him to spontaneously recover it (what is this, a soap opera?). So he tries to break up MJ and Peter (taking her for himself). Emo-Peter fights him, scarring him with a pumpkin bomb, making it even more personal. I do like that Harry’s journey mirrors Peter’s as he wrestles with his desire for revenge. Revenge turns us all into monsters. And when Harry forgives Peter, Peter forgives the Sandman.
Relatability: Certainly not Green Goblin. I know I was never born of a rich father who was killed by my best friend, then lost my memory, got it back, tried to break up my impoverished friend’s relationship, then got stabbed by an alien with my own bladed hoverboard.
But when it comes to Sandman, definitely sympathetic there. I guess everyone has that John Q./Taken daydream, especially men and fathers. What would you do if your child was sick or in trouble and no one helps you with it? Sandman is a man in unfortunate circumstances that are not his fault. He’s been dealt a shitty hand and there’s not much he can do about it within the bounds of the law. Sometimes it be like that.
Venom is a good dynamic character in the comics, not in this movie. His purpose is to let Spider-Man indulge his dark side. The selfish side for a selfless guy. He can try to throw it away, but it comes back to bite him.
Fun Factor: Sandman and Venom are good. It’d be fun to be pretty much invulnerable to physical abuse, to reshape yourself into any form, big or small. Knock down a few banks, tear up a few buildings, maybe go down to the beach, see what happens there. And Venom is pretty cool no matter what. I imagine it would be like the games InFamous or The Darkness or Saint’s Row IV. Indulge your evil, embrace absolute power. It explains the Sony movies’ popularity. You get power and a buddy.
Fatal Flaw: These are the first Spider-Man villains to have some frailties. And they are definitely exploited, but that’s not a fatal flaw. The fatal flaw is a defect of character, not the body. For Venom, Eddie Brock is hungry for fame, which is a kind of power. But when he gets the symbiote, hunger becomes addiction. So much that he can’t live without it.
New Goblin sees the people he loves getting hurt and does a heel-face turn. Spidey welcomes him, but Osborn ends up sacrificing himself for his friends. (“I would die for them” — real subtle foreshadowing there).
Sandman’s fatal flaw is thinking that he would never be forgiven for his sins. Once a criminal, always a criminal. That’s certainly what our society says. Everyone thinks he’s a bad person because he did some bad things for a good purpose. Sometimes you have to do that, if you’re desperate. And our country has no concept of forgiveness for criminals. But Spider-Man proves him wrong.
Method of Defeat: Spider-Man encapsulate Venom in a ring of hollow metal bars, since their sound causes pain. Then he throws in a pumpkin bomb to destroy the black oil. But Eddie Brock can’t handle that, can’t live without the alien parasite he met a few hours ago, and dives in, destroying himself as well.
For New Goblin, Harry jumps in front of Peter, taking the blade meant for him, dying the same way his father did, but for a nobler purpose this time. He dies in Peter and MJ’s arms, knowing he overcame his father’s curse.
For Sandman, he tells Spider-Man the real circumstances of his uncle’s death. That he never meant for any of this to happen. Spider-Man forgives him and he… wisps into the air? Did he die? Did he ever save his daughter? Is he going to keep doing criminal things like he does in the comics? Can you arrest a guy made of sand? How’s that police report going to look?
Final Rating: ★★★ all around
