Spider-Man got his first big-screen adaptation thanks to Sam Raimi back in 2002, but he briefly shared the screen with footage from another Sam Raimi movie, which happens to be his first superhero movie. After a very long wait, during which the project changed directors and thus the story changed too, Spider-Man finally made his big screen debut in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, which went on to become one of the most influential movies in the superhero genre and of the decade. Spider-Man is credited for redefining the modern superhero genre and the summer blockbuster, and it made way for two sequels, simply titled Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3.
Spider-Man explored the origin story of the title hero, following high school senior Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) as he is bitten by a genetically engineered “super-spider” during a school trip. After that, Peter develops spider-like superhuman abilities that he decides to use for good, becoming the superhero (or menace, depending on who you ask) known as “Spider-Man”. The audience saw the horrible side effects that the spider bite had on Peter before he got superpowers, and it’s in that feverish sequence where a shot from Sam Raimi’s first superhero movie, Darkman, can be found.
Sam Raimi’s First Superhero Movie Explained
Back in 1990, Sam Raimi directed and co-wrote the superhero movie Darkman, based on a short story he wrote that paid homage to Universal’s classic horror movies from the 1930s. The concept of Darkman emerged after Raimi was unable to get the rights to The Shadow, a character created by Street & Smith and Walter B. Gibson, so he decided to create his own superhero. Darkman is the story of Dr. Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson), a scientist developing a new type of synthetic skin to help burn victims, but struggles to get past a flaw that causes the skin to disintegrate. Meanwhile, his girlfriend, attorney Julie Hastings (Frances McDormand) finds an incriminating document that the city’s crime boss, Robert G. Durant (Larry Drake), also wants. This leads Durant’s men to attack Westlake, burning his hands and dipping his face in acid, leaving him severely disfigured. A treatment to cure Westlake from his injuries fails but makes him develop superhuman abilities but with the side effect of rendering him mentally unstable and borderline psychotic, and consumed with vengeance, he goes after those who disfigured him.
Darkman was a critical and commercial success, with critics praising its gothic elements and graphic look. Darkman’s success made way for two direct-to-video sequels, titled Darkman II: The Return of Durant and Darkman III: Die Darkman Die (neither directed by Raimi), as well as comic books, video games, and action figures. However, despite the character’s success, Neeson didn’t reprise his role in the sequels, with Arnold Vosloo taking over.
Why Spider-Man 2002 Used Footage From Raimi’s Darkman
Footage from Darkman came in handy when Raimi was working on Spider-Man. For the feverish sequence where Peter returns home after being bitten by the spider and has hallucinations/nightmares, and later wakes up and he’s pretty much a different person, Raimi originally intended to shoot new material, but budgetary restraints led him and his crew to get creative with what they already had, and so editor Bob Murawski ended up cutting together shots from Spider-Man’s opening sequence along with one shot from Darkman and one from Lucio Fulci’s 1981 movie The Beyond. The result was a nightmarish scene that truly reflected what Peter was going through, and it was a fun Easter egg for Sam Raimi’s fans who are familiar with Darkman.
