Spider-Man 3

## More Information

*"Whatever comes our way, whatever battle we have raging inside us, we always have a choice. My friend Harry taught me that. He chose to be the best of himself. It's the choices that make us who we are, and we can always choose to do what's right."*
―Peter Parker
***Spider-Man 3*** is a 2007 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero of the same name. The film is a sequel to *Spider-Man* and *Spider-Man 2*. It is the third film in the Spider-Man Trilogy, as well as the final installment in the trilogy.

The film is directed by Sam Raimi, and is written by Alvin Sargent and Ivan Raimi. The film stars Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson, James Franco as Harry Osborn/New Goblin, Topher Grace as Eddie Brock/Venom, Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacy, James Cromwell as Captain George Stacy, Rosemary Harris as May Parker and J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson.

## Synopsis

Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) finally has the girl of his dreams, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), and New York City is in the throes of Spider-mania! But when a strange alien symbiote turns Spider-Man's suit black, his darkest desires come to light changing Spider-Man inside as well as out. Spider-Man is in for the fight of his life against a lethal mix of villains - the deadly Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), Venom (Topher Grace), and the New Goblin (James Franco).

## Plot

Over a year after the death of Doctor Octopus, Peter Parker has finally managed to balance his double life and plans to propose to Mary Jane. One night in a park, while Peter and Mary Jane are on a date, lying down in a huge spiderweb of his, a small meteorite crashes, and a black alien symbiote oozes out, attaching itself to Peter's moped. Meanwhile, escaped convict Flint Marko goes to see his estranged family, mainly his sick daughter, Penny, who he truly cares and is willing to make her healthy again. He later falls into a particle accelerator, which fuses his body with the surrounding sand. This allows him to shape shift and manipulate sand at will, becoming the Sandman. Peter's best friend, Harry Osborn, who seeks vengeance for his father's death, as he believes Peter caused, takes the Goblin Formula, becoming the New Goblin and attacks him. The battle leaves Harry with short-term amnesia, making him forget his vendetta against Peter and his identity as Spider-Man.

   Later, during a festival honoring Spider-Man for saving Gwen Stacy's life, Sandman attempts to rob an armored car, and easily overpowers Spider-Man. NYPD Captain George Stacy informs Peter and Aunt May that Marko is the one who escaped prison two days ago, and the one who killed Ben Parker, while Dennis Carradine was his partner. A vengeful Peter waits for Marko to strike again, which makes the symbiote bond with his costume while he is asleep. Peter discovers that not only has his costume changed, but his powers have been enhanced as well. The black suit also alters Peter's personality, making him more violent, aggressive and spiteful, exemplified by a near lethal attack on Sandman during a sewer battle.

The shift in Peter's personality alienates Mary Jane, whose stage career is floundering, and she finds solace with Harry. Harry recovers from his amnesia, and, urged on by an apparition of his dead father, forces MJ to break up with Peter. After Mary Jane leaves Peter, stating she is in love with another man, Harry meets him at a restaurant and claims to be the other man. Later, Peter finds him at the Osborn mansion. With the help of the black suit, Peter is victorious in a brutal fight, which leaves Harry's face disfigured. Influenced by the suit, Peter exposes and humiliates Eddie Brock, a rival freelance photographer, who has sold fake pictures to the Daily Bugle supposedly showing Spider-Man to be a criminal.

In an effort to make MJ jealous, Peter brings Gwen to the nightclub where Mary Jane works. Peter gets into a fight with the club's bouncers and knocks MJ to the floor. Peter realizes the symbiotic-costume is changing him for the worse and he runs out of the nightclub in shock and horror. He goes to a church bell tower to get rid of the symbiote. Initially he is unable to pull the suit off, as the symbiote fights to prevent it, but the sound of the church bell weakens it, enabling Peter to break free. Eddie Brock is at the same church praying for Peter's death when the symbiote costume falls from the tower and bonds aggressively to Eddie, transforming him into the monstrous Venom. Upset over his terrible behavior, Peter believes he has lost Mary Jane, but Aunt May supports him, telling him he can still try his best to put things right with Mary Jane in time, making him feel more comfortable.

The newly-empowered Eddie finds Sandman and suggests that they join forces to defeat Spider-Man. The pair use Mary Jane as bait to force Spider-Man to confront them. Peter approaches Harry for help, but is turned down. However, Harry learns the truth about his father's death from his butler Bernard. Realising he was driven in a misguided attempt to avenge his father, Harry arrives in time to rescue Spider-Man, teaming up against Venom and Sandman. Harry manages to defeat Sandman by using his missiles to break Sandman into glass, from the extreme heat. As the fight progresses, Venom attempts to impale Peter with the glider, but Harry sacrifices himself and is fatally wounded, much to the horror of Peter. Peter recalls how the church bell's toll weakened the symbiote, he clangs two pipes and forms a ring around Venom to weaken the alien, by clanging several pipes together. Peter frees Eddie from the symbiote and throws a pumpkin bomb at the symbiotic just as Eddie attempts to rebond with it, killing him and destroying the symbiote, much to the horror of Peter, despite everything Eddie had done to him.

After the battle, a redeemed Marko tells Peter that he had no intention of being a criminal and it was out of a desperate attempt to save his daughter's life. He adds that he only wanted Ben's car, but as Ben was trying to reason with him, Carradine came up with the cash and bumped into Flint, accidentally shooting Ben, which had not only haunted Peter, but Flint as well. A compassionate Peter forgives Marko, who accepts then dissipates and floats away. Harry shares a moment with his best friends before forgives Peter and dies, much to the sadness of Mary Jane and Peter, both of whom are at his side. After Harry's funeral, Peter and Mary Jane begin to mend their relationship and share a dance together at the Jazz Club.

## Cast

* Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
* Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson
* James Franco as Harry Osborn/New Goblin
* Thomas Haden Church as Flint Marko/Sandman
* Topher Grace as Eddie Brock/Venom
* Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacy
* James Cromwell as Captain George Stacy
* Rosemary Harris as May Parker
* J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson
* Ted Raimi as Hoffman
* Dylan Baker as Curt Connors
* Elizabeth Banks as Betty Brant
* Bill Nunn as Robbie Robertson
* Cliff Robertson as Ben Parker
* Theresa Russell as Emma Marko
* Perla Haney Jardine as Penny Marko
* Willem Dafoe as Green Goblin/Norman Osborn
* John Paxton as Houseman
* Michael Papajohn as Dennis Carradine/Carjacker
* Joe Manganiello as Flash Thompson

## Appearances

### Locations

* Earth
	+ United States of America
		- New York
		- New York City
		- Times Square
		- Manhattan Memories
		- Peter Parker's Apartment
		- Mary Jane Watson's Apartment
		- Osborn Penthouse
		- The Daily Bugle Tower
		- Columbia University
		- May Parker's Apartment
		- The Jazz Room
		- Central Park

### Events

* Attack on Peter Parker
* Skirmish in the Bank Truck
* Duel in the Subway
* Duel at the Osborn Penthouse
* Battle at the Construction Site

### Items

* Spider-Man Suit
* Green Goblin Armor
* Goblin Glider
* Pumpkin Bombs
* Razor Bats

### Sentient Species

* Humans
* Alien Symbiote

### Creatures

* Birds
* Dogs

### Mentioned

* Ben Parker
* Oscorp
* Norman Osborn
* Doctor Octopus (image)

## Production

Production of the film took place from January to July of 2006 in New York City, Cleveland and Los Angeles. During pre-production, director, Sam Raimi did not want Venom to be included in the film, due to not being a huge fan of the character. However, producer, Avi Arad and Sony pushed Raimi to add Venom in the film as a sort of fan service. That said, fans did not like how Venom was treated in the film and how the director was forced to add something he didn't want to include.

## References

The Spider-Man Trilogy Wiki has a collection of images and media related to **Spider-Man 3**.

## External Links

* Spider-Man 3 on Wikipedia
* Spider-Man 3 on IMDb
* Spider-Man 3 on Disney+