But Sony’s treatment of Spider-Man continues to be so hamfisted (not to mention blatantly fuelled by financial motivations) that there will be concerns about whether even Marvel’s golden touch can restore Peter Parker’s alter-ego to his rightful place in the pantheon of 21st-century comic-book heroes.įirst of all there’s the rumour, largely fostered by comments from the film-maker himself, that Sony forced director Sam Raimi into including multiple villains in Spider-Man 3 – ultimately leading to an unbalanced plot that left fans and critics unimpressed, even as the movie itself scored a franchise-high $890m worldwide. The best of both worlds for fans, you might think.

Now Sony, which has struggled with its own superhero saga ever since 2007’s Spider-Man 3 was barracked by critics, has struck a deal to allow the masked wallcrawler to appear in a Marvel film without (apparently) undermining its ongoing rights to keep delivering separate solo Spidey films.

But with the Disney-owned studio having since proved via the $1.5bn The Avengers that it can take the ensemble comic-book movie to hitherto unimagined heights of popularity, attitudes have shifted.

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