Spider-Man 2Save

We open two years after the original film. Peter Parker is having a bad week. He works as a pizza delivery driver and cannot keep up. He is failing his physics classes at Columbia. The Daily Bugle pays him a pittance for Spider-Man photos. His Aunt May is about to lose her house to foreclosure. Mary Jane is dating astronaut John Jameson (J. Jonah's son). And Peter's superpowers are randomly failing — he cannot stick to walls, his web-shooters jam, his strength comes and goes. Something is psychologically wrong with him.

Cut to: Dr. Otto Octavius, a celebrated scientist working at Oscorp on fusion energy. Otto has invented four mechanically-actuated robotic arms attached to his spine — to handle the dangerous fusion reactor. The arms have their own AI but are normally controlled by an inhibitor chip in Otto's spine. He demonstrates the technology to the public, with Peter and Harry Osborn in attendance. The reaction goes wrong. Otto's wife Rosie is killed in the explosion. The inhibitor chip is destroyed. The arms take over Otto's mind.

Otto, now calling himself Doctor Octopus (Doc Ock), needs to rebuild his fusion reactor. He robs banks to fund his research — including one bank where Aunt May is opening a foreclosure-extension account. Spider-Man arrives to fight Doc Ock at the bank. Doc Ock takes Aunt May hostage on the side of a high-rise building. Spider-Man and Aunt May escape together via webbing.

Peter's superpowers continue to fail. His college thesis advisor flunks him. MJ, increasingly suspicious that Peter is hiding something, gets engaged to John Jameson. Peter realizes his powers are tied to his happiness — and his unrequited love for MJ is psychologically blocking them. He decides to quit being Spider-Man entirely. He throws his costume in a trash can in an alley — the film's iconic 'Spider-Man No More' beat. He shaves, gets a new haircut, gets his physics grades back, becomes a nicer person. The relief is visible on his face.

Manhattan gets steadily worse. Doc Ock's fusion reactor is reactivated by his AI-controlled arms. The energy field begins to pull all metal in midtown Manhattan toward it. People panic. Peter sees a child fall from a building. His Spider-Sense returns. He instinctively saves the child. He realizes he cannot quit. He retrieves the costume from the trash.

Spider-Man and Doc Ock fight across a moving elevated train in midtown — one of the most-celebrated action sequences of the 2000s. Spider-Man stops the runaway train at the cost of his secret identity. The passengers, seeing his face for the first time, gently lay him down across the car seats and promise to keep his secret. 'He's just a kid. No older than my son.' The scene became the most-discussed emotional moment in any 2004 superhero film.

Doc Ock recaptures Spider-Man and brings him to MJ as collateral. Peter, in front of MJ, confesses his identity. The trio escape to Doc Ock's reactivated fusion reactor on a riverbank. The reactor is about to detonate. Peter convinces Otto — buried under his AI-arm conditioning — to remember his wife Rosie and what she would think of his current actions. Otto regains control of his arms. He uses his own strength to grab the reactor and drag it into the river — sacrificing himself to neutralize the explosion. 'I will not die a monster.'

MJ, recognizing what Peter has just told her, breaks off her engagement to John Jameson. She arrives at Peter's apartment in her wedding dress. She tells him: 'I think I can love you. Let me try.' Peter agrees. The film closes on the two of them at the window. Peter's Spider-Sense activates: police sirens, a faraway scream. He has to go. MJ smiles. 'Go get 'em, tiger.' Peter leaps out the window. The film closes on Spider-Man swinging through the New York skyline. Spider-Man 2 grossed $789 million globally on a $200 million budget — slightly less than the original but with significantly higher Rotten Tomatoes scores (94% vs. 89%). It remains, for many critics, the highest-rated Spider-Man film of any era and the gold standard for superhero film sequels.