"Nowadays, Superhero sequels are, for the most part, aimed at hardcore fans who have the pre-awareness and commitment to follow confused storylines across past, present and future. Fan theories crudely engulf the screen as characters form alliances and separate out as they would in a soap opera. And this is not down to narrative necessity, but to create new thrills that are often as ephemeral as they are nonsensical. In that sense, Spider-Man 2 belongs to a bygone era of franchise blockbusters. But this also comes down to ideology. Perpetually jolly, the film refuses to adopt the de rigueur misanthropy and pessimistic view on humanity articulated by the Ayn Rand-infused opera stylings of Batman V Superman. While Parker and Octopus are portrayed as similar but on different sides of the law, the latter is by no means the ‘dark side’ of the former. There is no sense of true, straightforward evil in the world of Spider-Man 2. Rather, we are presented with misguided, heartbroken and desperate people who have lost all sense of scale and responsibility. The moment when Doc Ock finally comes to his senses is all the more moving precisely because of how badly he has acted previously. That Parker/Spider-Man would give him a chance to act like the kind human being he once knew makes for a heartbreakingly beautiful moment. It exposes the film’s sincere belief in humanity, the spirit of community and forgiveness. It is not because people are weak that Spider-Man must fight crime (see: The Dark Knight), but because he is the single individual given the (super) power to stop those who have strayed too far to be saved by a simple act of kindness. He is here when the empathy of people such as the doomed Uncle Ben of the first film, and the second’s moral arbiter, the lovely Aunt May, fail to bring desperate people to their senses."