History YMMV / SpiderMan3

* JerkassWoobie: To an extent, Eddie Brock. While he was a pretty sleazy guy and an [[EntitledToHaveYou entitled]] StalkerWithACrush towards Gwen, the way he begged Peter not to expose him as a fraud did seem genuine. He seemed just as genuinely crushed when he saw Gwen on Peter's arm later, and he's genuinely choking up when he [[MoralEventHorizon prays to God to kill Peter]] after all this. And while Eddie had clearly been trying to muscle Peter out of a job, he only faked his photo of black suit Spider-Man because Peter (while in the black suit) sabotaged him by destroying his camera, with which he had gotten a legit picture. Eddie Brock wasn't a good person by any means, but the way Peter ruthlessly dealt with him under the symbiote's influence turned Eddie into a bigger problem than he otherwise would have been. After Eddie becomes Venom and asks if Peter remembered what he did to him, the way Eddie says it, again, comes off like he's genuinely holding back tears. [[EvilIsPetty Doesn't excuse him trying to kill both Peter and Mary Jane though.]]

** A variation of this trope as when this film was first released, people hated "Emo Peter" due to how awkwardly cringe-y Peter was while under the symbiote suit, and many people labeled him as a MemeticLoser. Years later, thanks to the Bully Maguire meme, people started to like "Emo Peter" a lot more as he basically went from being a MemeticLoser to a MemeticBadass.

* CompleteMonster: [[Characters/VenomEddieBrock Edward "Eddie" Brock Jr.]] is introduced as a [[ImmoralJournalist slimy rival]] to [[Characters/SpiderManTrilogySpiderMan Peter Parker]] for the Daily Bugle job, but [[FromNobodyToNightmare evolves into something truly wicked]] as the film goes on. Established as a selfish, creepy jerk who is obsessed with Gwen Stacy after just one coffee date, Brock is nonetheless eager to photograph her near-death experience to make a profit. After a failed attempt at framing Spider-Man as a criminal and praying for God to kill Peter for exposing this, Brock stumbles across [[Characters/VenomTheSymbiote the symbiote]] and merges with it to become Venom. Immediately trying to devour an entire street of civilians and cops in the tie-in comic ''The Black'', Venom stalks and nearly attacks Gwen in an attempt to make her "love" him, then kidnaps Mary Jane Watson to molest, torment, and use her as a hostage to lure Spider-Man out, planning to decide via coin flip whether he kills her while [[ForcedToWatch forcing Spider-Man to watch]], or does the inverse. Venom leads Sandman in slaughtering multiple teams of cops who try to rescue Mary Jane, and when Spider-Man finally shows up, Venom brutally beats him, tries to murder Mary Jane, and kills his best friend Harry as he watches. In a trilogy populated with tragic, misguided [[Characters/SpiderManTrilogySupervillains antagonists]], Venom is a petty psychopath [[ItsAllAboutMe concerned only with himself]].

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Eddie Brock/Venom is easily the most divisive villain in the trilogy. A lot of fans utterly despise this version of the character due to his large AdaptationalVillainy, being much whinier and more pathetic than his cool comic-book counterpart, and think that Creator/TopherGrace was the wrong person to play Venom. However, he does have a few defenders who think he works well as a HateSink and a [[{{Foil}} good representation]] of what Peter would become if he completely abandoned responsibility and cheated his way through life. What everyone can seem to agree on is that he can't hold a candle to [[Film/SpiderMan1 Green Goblin]] or [[Film/SpiderMan2 Doctor Octopus]]. [[spoiler: It's likely for this reason that he didn't return in Film/SpiderManNoWayHome alongside all the other past Spider-Man movie villains.]]

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Eddie Brock/Venom is easily the most divisive villain in the trilogy. A lot of fans utterly despise this version of the character due to his large AdaptationalVillainy, being much whinier and more pathetic than his cool comic-book counterpart, and think that Creator/TopherGrace was the wrong person to play Venom. However, he does have a few defenders who think he works well as a HateSink and a [[{{Foil}} good representation]] of what Peter would become if he completely abandoned responsibility and cheated his way through life. What everyone can seem to agree on is that he can't hold a candle to [[Film/SpiderMan1 Green Goblin]] or [[Film/SpiderMan2 Doctor Octopus]].

%% * MemeticMutation:

* {{Misblamed}}: Venom's inclusion in this film, as well as his unpopular portrayal is often blamed on Creator/SonyPictures for shoehorning him into it and making the villain characters feel cluttered as a result. But in actuality, while Sam Raimi didn't want Venom to be in this film, he did want three villains to star in it as the Vulture was originally going to appear in it until he was cut from it. The producer of the film, Avi Arad convinced Raimi to include Venom in the film despite Raimi disliking the character for his "lack of humanity" because Arad felt that Raimi was relying too much on his personal favorite Spider-Man villains and not enough on ones that modern fans were more interested in, which convinced Raimi to include Venom for the film. Due to Raimi's dislike and lack of info on the character, Venom's unpopular portrayal was all on Raimi's head, and even openly admitted that his lack of passion for Venom was the result of his portrayal in the film.

** Was Mary Jane's decision to break up with Peter entirely forced on her by Harry? Or did some part of her genuinely want to end it? While it's implied that Harry forced her to break up with Peter, she and Peter had been having serious problems as a couple throughout the film, and the reasons she gave Peter for wanting to end it ''did'' have elements of truth to them. However, even if some part of her did want to end it with Peter, the pissed off look she gives Harry after the breakup indicates that she at least did not like being coerced into it by a jealous third-party to hurt Peter.

** Also, the issue of whether the film has "too many villains". While pointed out by most to be the single biggest flaw in the movie, some critics have argued that, with the film serving as the conclusion of Harry's character arc, requiring him to commit a HeelFaceTurn to join with Peter, neither Sandman nor Venom alone would be a sufficient threat to oppose both Spider-Man ''and'' Neo Goblin, with the final 2-on-2 battle providing the best balance; in a sense, the film doesn't ''actually'' have three villains, but two villains and one secondary hero who fights against the lead for some of it. Additionally, several well-received Marvel superhero films that came after this one ''also'' featured three or more supervillains,[[note]]Such as Batroc, Armin Zola, Crossbones, Winter Soldier, and Alexander Pierce in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', Bolivar Trask, Mystique, and Magneto in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'', or M'Baku, Ulysses Klaue, and Kilmonger in ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}''.[[/note]] so it's not like there was anything wrong with the concept itself. On the other hand, people still argue the film is still overcrowded, with neither Harry, Brock ''or'' Flint Marko given the full time they needed i.e good idea, bad execution.

** While watching the symbiote take over his mind and making him turn into a jerk is heartbreaking, watching Peter stand up to those who gave him a hard time in the previous films is pretty satisfying to watch, especially the scene where Peter beats up Harry and tells him the truth about how his father never loved him.

** A variation of this trope as when this film first released, people hated "Emo Peter" due to how awkwardly cringe-y Peter was while under the symbiote suit, and many people labeled him as a MemeticLoser. Years later, thanks to the Bully Maguire meme, people started to like "Emo Peter" a lot more as he basically went from being a MemeticLoser to a MemeticBadass.

* ContestedSequel: One of the most definitive examples of this trope. It became the highest-grossing ''Spider-Man'' movie (mostly on the backs of the good-will of the first two films, whereas the bad-will of this film cast a pall on the ''Spider-Man'' reboots that came afterwards) until 2019, when it was dethroned by ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome''. Its overall reception from critics [[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/spiderman_3/ was mixed-to-positive]], but it still earned lots of dissers, particularly among the fanbase. In general, most can agree it's the weakest installment of the trilogy, but the divide lies in whether or not it's because the quality is actually "bad." Many people felt that Harry Osborn and Sandman were impressive in their brief showings while others felt the stories and plots for both were wasted.
* CriticalBacklash: There's been a recent backlash against the film's negative reputation among comic book fans with an increasing number of people saying it's got some very good, even great, elements and is overall a fairly solid film that was simply overstuffed and suffered from [[ExecutiveMeddling interference that the others didn't]]. In particular, the film's CentralTheme about choosing between either revenge or forgiveness has been praised as emotionally poignant whilst also providing an appropriate send-off for the trilogy and Peter's maturation as a hero.

* CrossesTheLineTwice: The Editor's Cut places Peter's infamous walk right after Peter blows Harry up with a goblin bomb. The sociopathic disregard for brutally scarring his best friend is equals horrifying and hilarious.

** After he attempted to extract vengeance on Flint Marko for his role in Uncle Ben's death, Aunt May gives Peter a speech about how Ben wouldn't have wanted him to live a second with revenge in his heart, as it has the potential to be a poison that can turn into something ugly, and that it isn't up to [Peter] to decide whether someone lives or dies. [[spoiler:In ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'', Peter ends up stopping his MCU counterpart from murdering the Green Goblin in cold blood out of pure rage and grief from losing ''his'' version of May, clearly desperate to stop his younger variant from going down that path. Thus, he ends up coming around to his own aunt's philosophy about killing others.]]

* ImprovedByTheReCut: The film had an altered yet shorter and improved version called ''Spider-Man 3: Editor's Cut'' with restored music and better focus on character development. It cuts out the much-panned scene where Harry's butler convinces Harry to help Peter save MJ by [[NowYouTellMe only just NOW revealing to him that he had proof of Norman dying by his own hand]], and instead has Harry make his choice all by himself ([[WordOfGod which apparently happened anyway]] [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith because he was just hallucinating his butler]]), making his role in the film's climax much more powerful. It reinforces the belief many hold that there ''is'' a good movie buried inside here, it just got bogged down with all the ExecutiveMeddling.

* JustHereForGodzilla: For all the film's problems, Creator/ThomasHadenChurch was widely praised as a perfectly cast Flint Marko, looking exactly like Sandman and bringing the necessary pathos and danger to the part. Even putting aside Haden Church's performance, the character is often regarded as one of the best written parts of the movie, [[SignatureScene particularly for his origin scene]]. The biggest complaint against Sandman is that he should've been the BigBad instead of Venom.

%% ** Peter dancing in the middle of the street.
%% ** Years later, Peter snapping his fingers during the dance scene led to quite a few jokes about [[spoiler:"[[Film/AvengersInfinityWar balancing the universe.]]"]]
%% ** "You'll get your rent when you fix this damn door!"
%% ** "I'm gonna put some dirt in your eye."

** The symbiote influenced Peter is supposed to be Peter SlowlySlippingIntoEvil and the {{narm}} and lameness of "Emo Peter" is definitely an IntendedAudienceReaction. But given that many audiences had grown fatigued over Raimi's portrayal of Peter as a serious ExtremeDoormat in the previous films (even if Maguire himself was praised for his performance and screen presence), the fact that the one time we see Peter acting somewhat closer to his more rounded comics' portrayal such as him talking back to his landlord and giving Harry Osborn a piece of his mind, it's shown as a case of a Symbiote turning him evil, made many audiences outright root for Peter in that scene for finally showing some backbone, while also making others cite the mixed nature of these scenes as indicative of Raimi's misreading of the character as a suffering superhero monk.
** Many fans especially feel this way about Peter negotiating a higher salary from Jameson. In the comics this happened at the end of the Master Planner arc (considered among the all-time greatest stories in Spider-Man mythos), and it was portrayed as a HellYes moment. The movie makes it seem like this is his StartOfDarkness even if what Peter is doing, calling out Eddie Brock for his unethical work and fighting against Jameson's exploitation, is entirely legitimate. Even Emo Peter's humiliation of Mary Jane which is called out in the film is something that some fans like owing to her DamselScrappy reputation and as a vent towards their non-functional relationship as a couple.
* {{Misblamed}}: Venom's inclusion in this film, as well as his unpopular portrayal is often blamed on Creator/SonyPictures for shoehorning him into it and making the villain characters feel cluttered as a result. But in actuality, while Sam Raimi didn't want Venom to be in this film, he did want three villains to star in it as the Vulture was originally going to appear in it until he was cut from it. The producer of the film, Avi Arad convinced Raimi to include Venom in the film despite Raimi disliking the character for his "lack of humanity" because Arad felt that Raimi was relying too much on his personal favorite Spider-Man villains and not enough on ones that modern fans were more interested in, which convinced Raimi to include Venom for the film. Due to Raimi's dislike and lack of info on the character, Venom's unpopular portrayal was all on Raimi's head and even openly admitted that his lack of passion for Venom was the result of his portrayal in the film.

* OlderThanTheyThink: The portrayal of the symbiote as Peter's SuperpoweredEvilSide actually dates back to its appearance in the popular ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'', 12 years before this movie came out. The symbiote there did make its wearer increasingly arrogant, aggressive and violent.

* RomanticPlotTumor: The film receives the most criticism on this count, since many fans felt that the second film was a fine conclusion to the romance. The fact that the film had [[FourLinesAllWaiting three other major plotlines competing for screentime]] also caused problems. On the flip side, some thought the romance was ''better'' in the third film because it was more interesting to see Peter and MJ dealing with problems ''as'' a couple, rather than the first two's "WillTheyOrWontThey" drama that everyone knew the answer to.
* RonTheDeathEater: Although being intentionally written to be a flawed and human character (much like Peter is) Mary Jane tends to get far more grief from certain fans [[DoubleStandard even though literally every other character in the movie also makes bad and selfish choices.]] The whole point of the movie was that people need to forgive and understand each other, and the fact that Peter isn't very sensitive to her at the start.
* TheScrappy: Harry's butler Bernard can be considered one, since it was revealed that not only did he [[spoiler: know that Harry's father's death was an accident, but he didn't even bother telling Harry the truth until this film's ''climax'' for some reason.]] UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom right here, people! Of the ENTIRE. FRANCHISE. Though WordOfGod says [[spoiler: he wasn't really there in that scene, and Harry was just hallucinating him]].

** A big sticking point for some fans, even if the character on the whole was praised, was the {{Retcon}} that made Sandman into [[spoiler:Uncle Ben's killer]]. It's not the first time a superhero film did this (Creator/TimBurton's Batman did the same to Joker, and it was criticized even then by many reviewers[[note]]It was an element that DC Comics, normally receptive to introducing elements from adaptations, absolutely refused to incorporate into the character since it drastically undermined the appeal of the Batman-Joker rivalry[[/note]]) but many audiences felt it drastically undercut and ruined Peter's origin from ''Film/SpiderMan1'' (since if the burglar Peter specifically didn't let escape didn't kill Uncle Ben, and it was his getaway partner who did it in panic, then that means that Peter isn't actually responsible for his uncle's death and his entire guilt was misplaced, which ruins the crucial theme from his story). Many also saw it as an inability for Raimi to create a nemesis who wasn't a free agent unconnected to Peter's story and life simply so that they could rehash simple beats. A tendency at Sony Pictures which continued in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'' and which the hacked Sony emails had one of Marvel's own executives call them out on.

** With [[AdvertisedExtra very little screentime]] and a [[WTHCastingAgency questionable casting choice]], the general consensus is that Venom was completely wasted when a whole separate movie could have been made around him. In fact, this ''was'' originally the plan, for the movie to be released in two parts, with the second one being very Venom-focused, but Raimi disliked the character serving in any capacity, either as villain or as anti-hero. The resulting compromise ([[GoldenMeanFallacy Raimi didn't want to use the villain Avi Arad wanted, and Arad still wanted Raimi to continue as did the cast]]) led to Venom being hastily introduced and underused due to Raimi's lack of passion for the character, the planned second film never getting anywhere for at least 10 more years, and the most iconic screen version of Spider-Man's mythos failing to get a proper conclusion. This ends up being [[HilariousInHindsight hilarious]] (or [[HarsherInHindsight harsher]]) in hindsight since two-part movies would become in vogue just a few years later after the ''Film/HarryPotter'' film series did it, and of course ''Film/Venom2018'' turned out to be, unexpectedly, Sony's biggest commercial success with the Spider-Man property since ''3''.

** Not to mention Sandman, who had many of his character arc scenes deleted and his original, much more conclusive send-off changed to one that doesn't answer any questions as to what he's going to do now. Those who liked the character effects also felt that Sandman was a chance to take the story to a new direction in that a villain who was unconnected to Peter's rogues and allowed Spider-Man to be the hero rather than merely an extension of his personal melodrama about daddy figures. The idea that to shoehorn him for the sake of building him up as another ArchEnemy made many people lament its waste.

** While Venom's look was very much well-received, there were two aspects that weren't: him appearing much scrawnier than his comic book counterpart and lacking his trademark dragon-like tongue.
** Harry Osborn's "New Goblin" outfit... which looks nothing like a goblin or anything his father wore. Its just black skating gear with spikes on the right arm and a snowboarding mask.

** Mary Jane gets the worst of luck in this film; first she gets bashed by critics on Broadway, and gets replaced. Then Harry blackmails her into breaking up with Peter, and is physically hurt and humiliated by Peter (when he's under the influence of the symbiote) in the Jazz Club, when he tries to make her jealous with Gwen, and even ends up hitting her on the jaw when she tries to break up a fight he's in.

* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: Few thought it was ''bad'' by any means, but it was widely considered to be a major disappointment, especially considering it was released on a new console generation. Not to mention, similar to the film it's based off of: there was simply no way it could improve much on ''VideoGame/SpiderMan2''.

** Missing the quick-time event to leap to a woman with unnaturally big eyes stuck in a burning building in the PC version results in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngORPZj4wwY a weirdly silly scene]] where Spider-Man hits the floor with a comical splat, the woman immediately ([[DullSurprise and flatly]]) saying: "I'm going to die.", and the top of the building exploding, all in the span of about three seconds. All factors result in a scene that's utterly ''impossible'' to take seriously.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Eddie Brock/Venom is easily the most divisive villain in the trilogy. A lot of fans utterly despise this version of the character due to his large AdaptationalVillainy, being much whinier and more pathetic than his cool comic-book counterpart, and think that Creator/TopherGrace was the wrong person to play Venom. However, he does have a few defenders who think he works well as a HateSink and a [[{{Foil}} good representation]] of what Peter would become if he completely abandoned responsibility and cheated his way through life. What everyone can seem to agree on is that he can't hold a candle to [[Film/SpiderMan Green Goblin]] or [[Film/SpiderMan2 Doctor Octopus]].

** Harry's behavior throughout the last two films really comes under fire with the WordOfGod confirmation that the entire scene with his butler [[spoiler:was all in his head and seemingly knew that his father died of his own wounds this whole time]]. The fact that he knew this (with ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' even confirming that Norman's time as Gobby was public knowledge after his death) means his ''entire'' crusade against Peter was nothing but petty (since it was already likely [[GreenEyedMonster that his jealousy played]] [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex a part in it too]]), making the scene where "Bully Maguire" mocks Harry and blows up his arsenal of pumpkin bombs with him near it a well-earned dose of karma.

* SoBadItsGood: Over the years, some fans have come to think of the movie as this, thanks to being a FountainOfMemes and its several [[{{Narm}} unintentionally hilarious moments]].

** Missing the quick-time event to leap to a woman with unnaturally big eyes stuck in a burning building in the PC version results in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngORPZj4wwY a weirdly silly scene]] where Spider-Man hits the floor with a comical splat, the woman immediately ([[DullSurprise and flatly]]) saying: "I'm going to die.", and the top of the building exploding, all in the span of about three seconds.

* SignatureScene: Once again, the "I'm going to die" failed mission scene.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Eddie Brock/Venom is easily the most divisive villain in the trilogy. A lot of fans utterly despise this version of the character due to his large AdaptationalVillainy, being [[AdaptationalJerkass much whinier and more pathetic]] than his cool comic-book counterpart, and think that Creator/TopherGrace was the wrong person to play Venom. However, he does have a few defenders who think he works well as a HateSink and a [[{{Foil}} good representation]] of what Peter would become if he completely abandoned responsibility and cheated his way through life. What everyone can seem to agree on is that he can't hold a candle to [[Film/SpiderMan Green Goblin]] or [[Film/SpiderMan2 Doctor Octopus]].

** Eddie Brock was mainly regarded as TheScrappy when the film first came out, with Creator/TopherGrace being seen as a [[QuestionableCasting poor choice for the role]], the character being [[AdaptationalVillainy much more overtly evil]] in contrast to his more [[AntiHero anti-heroic]] comic-book counterpart, and generally just being a [[{{Jerkass}} whiny, cheating, self-centered loser]]. However, as the film became VindicatedByHistory, some viewers have looked back at Grace's Brock and deemed him at the very least an effective villain ''because'' he's such a whiny, cheating, self-centered loser, making him a good {{Foil}} to Peter. While there is still criticism as to how different the character is from the source material, Grace's Brock has gained a couple of defenders since the film's release.

** Eddie Brock was mainly regarded as TheScrappy when the film first came out, with Creator/TopherGrace being seen as a [[QuestionableCasting poor choice for the role]], the character being [[AdaptationalVillainy much more overtly evil]] in contrast to his more [[AntiHero anti-heroic]] comic-book counterpart, and generally just being a [[{{Jerkass}} whiny, cheating, self-centered loser]]. However, as the film became VindicatedByHistory, some viewers have looked back more positively on Grace's Brock and deem him at the very least an effective villain ''because'' he's such a whiny, cheating, self-centered loser, making him a good {{Foil}} to Peter. While there is still criticism as to how different the character is from the source material, Grace's Brock has gained a couple of defenders since the film's release.

* CharacterPerceptionEvolution: A variation of this trope as when this film first released, people hated "Emo Peter" due to how awkwardly cringe-y Peter was while under the symbiote suit, and many people labeled him as a MemeticLoser. Years later, thanks to the Bully Maguire meme, people started to like "Emo Peter" a lot more as he basically went from being a MemeticLoser to a MemeticBadass.

* SoBadItsGood: Over the years, some fans have come to think of the movie as this, thanks to being a FountainOfMemes and its several [[{{Narm}} unintentionally hilarious moments]]. However, as seen right below, there are some fans who think differently.
* SoOkayItsAverage: Although the movie has its fair share of problems, some fans have started to see it as this, contrasting SoBadItsGood. Despite the obvious {{Narm}}, there are still some good scenes (the birth of Sandman and Spider-Man rejecting the Symbiote) that can match the bad ones, making it resemble this trope.

** The symbiote influenced Peter is supposed to be Peter SlowlySlippingIntoEvil and the {{narm}} and lameness of "Emo Peter" is definitely an IntendedAudienceReaction. But given that many audiences had grown fatigued over Raimi's portrayal of Peter as a serious ExtremeDoormat HurtingHero in the previous films (even if Maguire himself was praised for his performance and screen presence), the fact that the one time we see Peter acting somewhat closer to his more rounded comics' portrayal such as him talking back to his landlord and giving Harry Osborn a piece of his mind, it's shown as a case of a Symbiote turning him evil, made many audiences outright root for Peter in that scene for finally showing some backbone, while also making others cite the mixed nature of these scenes as indicative of Raimi's misreading of the character as a suffering superhero monk.

** Harry's behavior throughout the last two films really comes under fire with the WordOfGod confirmation that the entire scene with his butler [[spoiler:was all in his head and seemingly knew that his father died of his own wounds this whole time]]. The fact that he knew this (with ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' even confirming that Norman's time as Gobby was public knowledge after his death) means his ''entire'' crusade against Peter was nothing but petty, making the scene where "Bully Maguire" mocks Harry and blows up his arsenal of pumpkin bombs with him near it a well-earned dose of karma.

* ImprovedByTheReCut: The film had an altered yet shorter and improved version called ''Spider-Man 3: Editor's Cut'' with restored music and better focus on character development. It cuts out the much-panned scene where Harry's butler convinces Harry to help Peter save MJ by [[NowYouTellMe only just NOW revealing to him that he had proof of Norman dying by his own hand]], and instead has Harry make his choice all by himself, making his role in the film's climax much more powerful. It reinforces the belief many hold that there ''is'' a good movie buried inside here, it just got bogged down with all the ExecutiveMeddling.

* ImprovedByTheReCut: The film had an altered yet shorter and improved version called ''Spider-Man 3: Editor's Cut'' with restored music and better focus on character development. It reinforces the belief many hold that there ''is'' a good movie buried inside here, it just got bogged down with all the ExecutiveMeddling.

* SalvagedStory: The ''Editor's Cut'' version of the movie outright cuts out the much-panned scene where Harry's butler convinces Harry to help Peter save MJ by [[NowYouTellMe only just NOW revealing to him that he had proof of Norman dying by his own hand]], and instead has Harry make his choice all by himself, making his role in the film's climax much more powerful. This also might have happened anyway according to WordOfGod, [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith as Harry was apparently hallucinating him being there]] [[EurekaMoment as part of remembering the evidence and realizing the truth]].

** The student in the science class in the beginning who reflected light back into Peter's eyes. Was he a bully or was he actually a friend of Peter's who was just messing with him in the way that friends normally do?

** After attempting to extract vengeance on Flint Marko for his role in Uncle Ben's death, Aunt May gives Peter a speech about how the latter wouldn't have wanted him to live a second with revenge in his heart, as it has the potential to be a poison that can turn into something ugly, and that it isn't up to [Peter] to decide whether someone lives or dies. [[spoiler:In ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'', Peter ends up stopping his MCU counterpart from murdering the Green Goblin in cold blood out of pure rage and grief from losing ''his'' version of May, clearly desperate to stop his younger variant from going down that path. Thus, he ends up coming around to his own aunt's philosophy about killing others.]]

* {{Narm}}: Missing the quick-time event to leap to a woman with unnaturally big eyes stuck in a burning building in the PC version results in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngORPZj4wwY a weirdly silly scene]] where Spider-Man hits the floor with a comical splat, the woman immediately ([[DullSurprise and flatly]]) saying: "I'm going to die.", and the top of the building exploding, all in the span of about three seconds.
** At one point in the fights against Venom and Sandman at the end of the PS2/Wii version, Venom tells Sandman that Spidey “took his daughter and he killed her” in the most fake shocked tone ever in an attempt to make Sandman go all out. Spidey following up with “What?” is understandable but Sandman actually ''believing'' Spider-Man, of all people, would kill a little girl makes it even more silly. And then, after transforming into his giant sand form, he demands Spider-Man to give back his daughter as if he just forgot Venom said he killed her.

** Changing who killed Uncle Ben (and how it happened) can be seen at striking at the heart of Spidey's origin and character. While some miss that and others say it gives a new angle on his characterization.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: Upon getting possessed by the symbiote, Peter starts turning into a {{Jerkass}} of the highest order. Granted, he went too far when he accidentally hits Mary Jane, but a lot of his other actions were very justifiable--he chews out his landlord for demanding rent when he refuses to fix his door (which he has every legal right to do), he exposes Eddie Brock (who's even more unpleasant) as a fraud for a serious breach of photojournalism ethics by doctoring stolen photos, and he stands up to his MeanBoss J Jonah Jameson and gets both a huge pay raise and a proper job so he can pay his bills properly. And Harry, his supposed "best friend" who's been blaming him for his father's death for years while being a whiny prick about it? Peter slaps the guy with some well deserved karma and a big old pumpkin bomb explosion right to his face, all while mocking how pathetic his obsession with killing Spider-Man is. Really, Peter's just [[GrewASpine finally standing up for himself]] and not being an ExtremeDoormat to everyone.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: Upon getting possessed by the symbiote, Peter starts turning into a {{Jerkass}} of the highest order. Granted, he went too far when he accidentally hits Mary Jane, but a lot of his other actions were very justifiable--he chews out his landlord for demanding rent when he refuses to fix his door (which he has every legal right to do), he exposes Eddie Brock (who's even more unpleasant) as a fraud for a serious breach of photojournalism ethics by doctoring stolen photos, and he stands up to his MeanBoss J Jonah Jameson and gets both a huge pay raise and a proper job so he can pay his bills properly. And Harry, his supposed "best friend" who's been blaming him for his father's death for years while being a whiny prick about it? Peter slaps the guy with some well deserved karma and a big old pumpkin bomb explosion right to his face, all while mocking how pathetic his obsession with killing Spider-Man is. Even embarrassing MJ and dragging poor Gwen into it was too far, but considering she had NoSympathy for his plight for ''two whole films'' and acted like he didn't care about what she was going through when his situation was far worse, up until he hits her, all he's doing is just a harmless dance. Really, Peter's just [[GrewASpine finally standing up for himself]] and not being an ExtremeDoormat to everyone.

** Mary Jane when Peter kisses Gwen Stacy upside down at the parade. We're supposed to see Peter as wrong for doing that in front of Mary Jane and think Mary Jane has the right to be mad at him for it, and indeed Peter wasn't sensitive to how it might make Mary Jane feel since he felt his wedding proposal could make it all a moot point anyway. However, Mary Jane harps on the fact that the upside down kiss that Peter gave Gwen was "OUR kiss", conveniently forgetting that she herself in the previous film kissed her fiance, John Jameson, in the same way that she kissed Peter in the first film. Along with how later on she almost cheats on Peter with Harry, it can easily make her come off as a jealous {{Hypocrite}}. When Peter embarrasses her at the night club, she acts indigent about the whole thing, but it's really more of a taste of how she's been dunking on him at his worst moment thrown right back at her, only getting any sympathy back when he hits her on accident.