Spider-Man is undoubtedly the most famous character to have come out of Marvel Comics and, in many ways, Stan Lee's ultimate legacy. As such, the character has seen more adaptations than any other Marvel hero across cartoons, games, and blockbuster franchises - three of which just came together in epic fashion for Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Many fans' relationship with the web-slinging hero stems from Tobey Maguire's iconic two-decade-old portrayal of Spider-Man which spanned across a whole beloved trilogy. But since these films do come from a very different era, there are several major ways in which they differ from modern blockbusters.
Not only is the VFX far behind what is seen on even television today, but some elements of the writing don't exactly match modern standards and culture, which has led to one joke being removed from a recent airing.
Spider-Man Cuts Tobey Maguire's Gay Joke
During a recent airing of 2002's Spider-Man on British TV channel ITV2, a gay joke - made by Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker - was cut from the broadcast.
The joke, which many find to be homophobic, can usually be found during Spider-Man's cage fight with Randy Savage's Bone Saw as he pokes fun at his costume after jumping onto the rails away from the fight with the line "That's a cute outfit. Did your husband give it to you?"
However, Twitter user PaperPlaneTF shared a video from the ITV2 broadcast, revealing the line had been cut, and now ends at "That's a cute outfit:"
The original scene can be seen below:
How Humor Has Changed since Maguire's Spider-Man?
In the modern era of film and TV, it's far from uncommon to see problematic scenes and episodes being scrubbed from existence altogether. As tolerance and understanding of different lifestyles have continued to grow over the years, what's considered to be acceptable humor has clearly changed dramatically.
An arguably homophobic joke such as this one may have been socially acceptable two decades ago, but nowadays, a comment such as this would never make it into a modern high-budget blockbuster, especially not one from Marvel.
As of now, this British broadcast of Spider-Man is the only case of this scene being removed that has been spotted so far. Although, there is a strong chance that more instances of this will follow in the near future, particularly when these movies eventually come to Disney+.
Spider-Man is available now for digital and physical purchase, while also streaming on select services.
