I saw the movie last night. It was interesting seeing the spiderman story as an adult. That this was really a story about a young man's struggle for sexual identity was completely lost on me as a child.
I mean, when the movie starts out, Parker can't wait to get into M.J.s pants. Thats all he thinks about. Even after the minor plot detour of him getting bit by a spider and morphing into a superhuman crimefighter, he still can't wait to bag her.
Then he meets the green goblin, and the fireworks fly. One thing leads to another, and they find themselves slapping each other around in a sadomasochistic love scene culminating with the Goblin asking Spidey to be his life partner so they can rule the world together.
Afterwards, Parker -- as Spiderman -- is confused. He doesn't know what to think, or how to interpret his feelings. For the rest of the movie, Spidey is teetering between the kitty and the sausage. Finally, unable to cope with the fact that he might actually be a homosexual, Spidey kills the gay goblin in a symbolic attempt to exorcise himself of his homosexual desires.
But alas, this is not a happy story. Even with the object of his immoral urges destroyed, Parker cannot be happy as a heterosexual. He spurns M.J.'s advances, and instead chooses to continue his life as a sexually repressed superhero so as to avoid exploring the truths of his sexuality -- at least until the sequel.
