List of accolades received by the 2002–2007 Spider-Man film series
The first film in the franchise, "Spider-Man", was released to US theaters on May 3, 2002. Its story follows Peter Parker (played by Tobey Maguire), a high-school student who turns to crime-fighting in New York, under the alias of Spider-Man, after developing spider-like powers. The film sees him develop friendships with Harry Osborn (James Franco) and his love interest, Mary Jane Watson (portrayed by Kirsten Dunst). "Spider-Man" was praised for staying faithful to the comic series and for being an enjoyable movie, with Joe Morgenstern of "The Wall Street Journal" finding the film to be "unusually good" for its genre. Raimi's 2002 release topped the box office with ticket revenue totaling to $114.8 million. By the end of its theatrical run, it had grossed over $820 million.
Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man
In the early 1970s author and literary agent David Obst suggested to Marvel Comics publisher Stan Lee and DC Comics editorial director Carmine Infantino that there should be a feature film crossover featuring Marvel's Spider-Man and DC's Superman characters. However, there was already a Superman movie planned by Warner Bros. (the first Superman movie in that franchise), and a series of Spider-Man TV movies, so instead the two companies settled for an oversize comic book entitled "Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man: The Battle of the Century." The comic was published in 1976 and featured the two title characters, Mary Jane Watson and Lois Lane, J. Jonah Jameson and Morgan Edge and the villainous Doctor Octopus and Lex Luthor. It was the second time the two U.S. comic book giants published a joint venture, the first being 1975's "MGM's Marvelous Wizard of Oz".