Sam Raimi trilogy. While more are beginning to appreciate The Amazing Spider-Man due to No Way Home, the way in which they are labeled in the film's script shows one of the core problems with the Amazing series.
Spider-Man: No Way Home follows the MCU's Spider-Man as he comes across two multiversal variants of himself, played by Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield. These two characters are actually continuations of their respective Spider-Man franchises. The original Spider-Man trilogy from the 2000s is directed by Sam Raimi, and the Amazing Spider-Man series from the mid-2010s is directed by Marc Webb.
's script is full of surprises, and one neat detail is how the Spider-Man variants are labeled. Maguire and Garfield's characters are referred to as "Raimi-Verse" and "Webb-Verse" Spider-Man and Peter Parker, named after the directors of each series. Fans have referred to Maguire's films as the Raimi-Verse for a while now, but the Webb-Verse label is not commonly used. This can be largely attributed to the fact that Raimi's films feel like a director's vision, while the Webb films just feel like studio cash grabs. Consequently, the use of the Webb-Verse label inadvertently highlights a long-held criticism of the series, especially when compared to Raimi's more cohesive vision.
While both Raimi and Webb have made great films in the past, the former tends to have a much stronger directorial vision than the latter. Electro's terrible electronic music scenes feel more like Sony trying to appeal to young audiences than an artistic choice. Moments such as these are littered throughout the two films, meaning that they do not feel like Marc Webb movies.
Referring to Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man as being from the "Webb-Verse" highlights how little Marc Webb there is in the films. Sometimes it feels as if he was only hired for being named Webb rather than being an inspired choice who would bring something new to the table. Sam Raimi is directing Doctor Strange 2, whereas most would be indifferent if Marc Webb directed an MCU film. Even though No Way Home's script refers to the Webb-Verse, the Amazing Spider-Man films are too bland to deserve that title.
