Chapter 185: Shocking Premiere Scene! The Ceiling of Superhero Films!

*Spider-Man 1* made Sony a killing,

so for the sequel they naturally wouldn't cut corners—a 200-million-dollar budget is a big splash no matter when you spend it.

*Spider-Man 2* starts right from the opening, where even the logo animation has been remastered in high definition—pure, unapologetic flexing of cash.

First comes Columbia Pictures' traditional "Torch Lady," but this time there's an extra Easter egg.

The Torch Lady makes her slow entrance, but a single strand of webbing shoots out and sticks to the torch,

and Spider-Man swings in from off-screen, planning to swing away on the web,

only to find the Torch Lady is nothing but a flimsy cardboard cutout—Spider-Man yanks her to the ground and is left standing there awkwardly.

Then he pulls on the web and swings off quickly to the right of the screen.

This was Columbia Pictures' first time, on Xu Can's suggestion, slipping an Easter egg into the opening; it later became their tradition and kicked off a wave of Hollywood opening-credit Easter eggs.

The audience in the theater all smiled knowingly.

【Sony Pictures · Starlight Pictures】

【Marvel Studios】

After the opening logo, the film uses a rapid montage of comic panels to quickly walk the audience through the plot of *Spider-Man 1*.

"With great power comes great responsibility."

"Peter, you actually…"

"Oh-ho-ho, little bug, which one do you choose to save?"

"This is my gift—and my curse."

"Who am I? I am Spider-Man."

【Director: Mark Wei Bu】

【Screenplay: Xu Can】

【Starring: Xu Can, Emma Stone】

The comic-book little bug shoots a web and swings—the scene cuts and instantly switches to the real world!

Spider-Man, in his classic suit, is weaving between the skyscrapers of Manhattan, New York!

The opening uses the upgraded SpyderCam 2.0 right away! The visual effects are a clear step up from the first film!

Right from the start, fans are shouting with excitement!

"This is a New York Times No. 1 helicopter live report—a truck carrying plutonium from the Osborn Group has been hijacked!"

"Two-oh-three" "Police are in pursuit! The suspect's name is reportedly Aleksei, code name Rhino…"

Spider-Man fans were stunned—the big villain from Spider-Man, the Rhino from the Sinister Six, shows up right at the start?

At this point the Rhino is still human; he's hijacked a truck and is trying to escape, but Spider-Man climbs up onto it.

"Hello there, sir, I'm your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Hey, hey, hey, you're speeding."

"Oh? You don't know how to drive a truck? Let me teach you?"

Spider-Man's motormouth kicks in, and he shows off his gift for gags right on the villain's face.

The opening sets a light, cheerful mood—who could have guessed how heavy the film's tone would later become.

After Spider-Man and the villain trade quips, he uses a series of fancy web tricks to stop the truck from causing any greater harm, captures the villain Rhino alive, and saves New York City once again.

In the middle of saving New York, Spider-Man even has to pick up his phone to take a call from Gwen.

Blonde Gwen in her graduation gown is absolutely gorgeous—she's waiting for Peter to show up, but Peter's busy saving the world.

At the very last second, Peter swings in on a web, just in time to catch the last line of Gwen's speech, and the two share a kiss.

Stan Lee makes another cameo, shouting from the audience.

"I know him! He's Deadpool!"

One little Easter egg has the theater audience in stitches again.

At the graduation ceremony, the intimate moments between Gwen and Peter are basically force-feeding the whole audience dog food.

The love in their eyes is obvious to anyone with eyes.

"There's no way they're just acting!"

Since Tay-Tay secretly caught the premiere of *La La Land* last time, she shows up at this premiere screening too.

Seeing Xu Can and Emma's kiss scene on screen, Tay-Tay is now a perfect storm of fire and ice.

"WTF?!! They obviously never broke up! Asshole! Xu Can, you big jerk! I'm breaking up with you the second we get home!"

"But… they're really shippable. When we kiss, is it ever this sweet?"

Tay-Tay's confidence is completely shaken, her heart a tangled mess of sourness and thrill.

But right after that, the couple hits a snag.

Just like at the end of the previous film, Peter sees Chief George's shadow everywhere, as if warning him to keep his word.

Gwen is angry.

"Why do you keep going back and forth? We've talked about this so many times."

"But I can't forget what your dad said—he's everywhere, and I promised him."

"This is our relationship. It has nothing to do with him."

"I can't face myself…"

"Don't you love me?"

"I do, but I'm afraid you'll be in danger too."

"I don't care! I can protect myself, and I believe you can protect me too!"

"But…"

"OK, I've had enough. Let's break up."

Seeing this scene, Mei Mei didn't know why, but she felt it was satisfying, and at the same time, very regretful.

"Good! You should break up! You two shouldn't be together!"

"But... Gwen and Peter really are a shame."

Mei Mei felt she was about to have a mental breakdown.

……

Emotionally frustrated, Peter was likewise running into life's hardships.

His university tuition required Gao Ang's fees, and he also had to pay rent in New York, so he could only work hard part-time jobs to earn money, and had to cope with difficult coursework.

These alone were enough to crush an ordinary person, but Peter still had to play Spider-Man, striking down crime high above the city at night.

Peter was now just an 18-year-old young man; the endless pressure made him simply unbearable.

Finally, one night, Peter was preparing to capture a criminal.

He shot out a web, but grew dizzy and lightheaded, crashed into a billboard, and fell from over 30 meters high onto the ground!

"Oh, my back!"

Having no choice, Spider-Man could only carry his bag and take the subway home.

On the subway he was surrounded by onlookers, the scene was once quite awkward, making the audience burst into laughter.

On the other side, Peter's university physics professor Otto was lecturing on nuclear physics.

The two discussed controlled nuclear fusion for a while in class, and Otto invited Peter to serve as his assistant, participating in controlled nuclear fusion research.

Harry Osborn was also present; he had taken over his father's enterprise and was funding Professor Otto's research.