Andrew Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man series may not have ended in a trilogy, but it surely won a lot of hearts for his portrayal of Peter Parker. There are not a lot of Marvel heroes with a tragic story like the beloved webhead, but he still manages to smile through the clouds of sorrow.
Something that every Spider-Man tale has in common, other than his suffering, is that he is an orphan, having lost both his parents at a young age. Not much is known about them through the films, just that they were scientists and worked for a secret organization. However, a deleted scene from TASM 2 changes a lot of things.
The alternate ending, if kept, would have softened the heartbreaking blow Peter received when Gwen Stacy died and would have given him the much-needed motivation to wear his iconic mask back once again.
Peter Parker’s Father Was Alive In Alternate The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Ending
In the pivotal scene of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man came dangerously close to saving Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy from falling, but in the end, did not succeed. Following their reconciliation and future plans, Peter was shocked to witness her passing and began to question whether being Spider-Man was worth the price he and his loved ones would have to pay. That would have been settled, sort of, by the fact that Peter’s father was alive.
A five-minute deleted scene (see YouTube) featured Garfield as Peter Parker, who was shown choosing to give up being a webslinger and coping with the death of his girlfriend. But his father, Richard Parker, who had supposedly died, paid him a visit while he was grieving at the cemetery.
The realization that his father was still alive seemed to shake Peter to his core.
Given that his father said the well-known line in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 extended cut, Peter would be well-motivated to take on the Spider-Man role once again.
Additionally, it suggested that Peter would end the film on a more optimistic note. Consequently, a happy ending to the prematurely canceled franchise would have resulted from his reunion with his father.
Garfield, 40, has previously expressed concerns about studio interference in the film. In an interview with The Daily Beast, he stated that while he “genuinely loved” the original script, “certain people at the studio [Sony Pictures] had problems with certain parts of it”.
How Would the Alternate Ending Have Affected Spider-Man: No Way Home?
Spider-Man being an orphan from the beginning of his story has been common in all media, from comics to shows to movies. All three live-action Spider-Men share that trait too, which just makes their backstory even more tragic. However, Richard Parker being alive would’ve added another dimension to Peter’s story, more specifically, all three Peter’s stories, if they had met in Spider-Man: No Way Home after that alternate ending.
Andrew Garfield’s Peter might’ve accidentally slipped that information to Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland’s versions during one of their friendly chats, which would’ve shaken the ground beneath them. The two would’ve wanted to know more about their father from him, what their father is like, and what made him disappear and hide all those years ago.
In some versions of Spider-Man, the Parker couple worked as scientists for a secret division of SHIELD. This would’ve motivated both the Spideys to seek out their parents. While Holland’s version might have an edge in this regard, as he already knows about the existence of SHIELD and still has links to it thanks to his time as Iron Man’s protege, Maguire’s version will first have to look for his version of SHIELD, if it exists.
Richard Parker being alive would’ve changed all three Spider-Men’s stories quite significantly, leaving space for plot development in future films. Hopefully, this overlooked aspect will be explored in future MCU movies!