Here’s Why Hollywood Will Never Stop Making Spider-Man Movies

 

 In July, superhero fans will be treated to the sixth Spider-Man movie in just 15 years. Spider-Man: Homecoming, which stars Tom Holland, might be the tipping point for superhero saturation. (Actually, maybe that was 2012 reboot The Amazing Spider-Man.) But there's a good reason Sony keeps churning out movies about Peter Parker, the teen bitten by a radioactive spider who must learn that "with great power comes great responsibility."

 

The character swung into the comics in 1962 when Stan Lee and Steve Ditko decided the world was ready for a teenage protagonist who wasn't just the sidekick. The nerdy Peter Parker appealed to adolescent and adult readers alike: unlike the super-rich Iron Man or actual god Thor, Parker is just in high school. He's an orphan trying to balance his schoolwork and crushes with his radioactive spider-induced growing pains and crime-fighting hobbies. His development from shy, floundering teen into wisecracking superhero follows a classic bildungsroman structure that lends itself well to the silver screen.

The first three Spider-Man from the early 2000s, which set a high bar for the many superhero movies that followed, ensnared new fans in Spidey's web. Now, Sony and Marvel Studios have teamed up to make Homecoming, brokering a rare deal between two major studios to revitalize a popular but flagging character. Here's how it happened.