Part of what makes cinema such a fun and exciting medium has been how many different genres could be explored in any backdrop and -- when made well -- can work perfectly. Comic book films are a great example of this because they often begin with a foundation of heroes going through internal and external struggles that require perseverance. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has also mastered telling these stories through different genres or settings. For example, Iron Man 3 was a film about trauma set during Christmas. But, before the MCU came to be, Spider-Man gave fans an ideal film to watch during Thanksgiving.

Sam Raimi's 2002 Spider-Man starring Tobey Maguire was a hugely transformative film for the comic book movie genre, as it captured all the fun and wonder of the comic books without relying heavily on the camp. Instead, it focused on a grounded story about a young man being faced with problems and responsibilities only he can face. Furthermore, it offered Willem Dafoe and his iconic turn as Green Goblin, aka Norman Osborn. But these elements aren't what makes the film the perfect Thanksgiving movie. In reality, it's one scene that captures how the entire film fits within the holiday.

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How Thanksgiving Plays Into Spider-Man (2002)

Spider Man Thanksgiving scene

Spider-Man features a tense scene over Thanksgiving dinner that directly followed a heated battle between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin. After the wall-crawler rejected the Goblin's offer to join him as a criminal, he swore that Spider-Man would regret it. Once Norman reached Harry and Peter's apartment, he was greeted by Aunt May, Harry and Mary Jane, with Peter running late. Before the dinner started, everyone thought they heard Peter upstairs, but only Norman, whose superhuman senses tipped him off to something odd, felt that Peter may be hiding. The scariest part was that his hunch was right as Peter waited outside of the balcony to change his clothes.

The dinner got even tenser as Norman acted as if the Goblin persona was just behind his eyes, and Peter, finally at the dinner, accidentally revealed a wound he got from his fight with the Goblin. To everyone at the table, he told them that a bike messenger had knocked him down, but Norman had finally figured out that Peter and Spider-Man were the same people. The scene ended with Norman storming out before dinner had started, but the scene's events were only the first layer of why it was important, effectively setting it up as a Thanksgiving film.

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What Makes the Thanksgiving Scene So Important

Peter Parker Tobey Maguire

At a glance, the scene is filled with layers. The most apparent is the fact Peter and Norman are wearing each other's colors, showing how intertwined the two are. The scene, however, also uses the backdrop of Thanksgiving to show a deeper meaning of the holiday as well. While everyone is together, they don't know everything about each other's lives or their pasts. Mary Jane and Harry, for example, have no idea of the feud between Peter and Norman. There's also the larger implication tied to the first Thanksgiving, with two sides largely opposing in beliefs and intentions, breaking bread and having a meal. The scene shows the tension and togetherness that comes with the holiday and uses it to build a larger conflict that would pay off in the third act.

Ultimately, Spider-Man is still an action film, first and foremost. But by tying the film to Thanksgiving, it allows fans to see Peter's most important values take center stage. More than anything, he wants to be with the people he loves and see them safe and happy -- a common desire for everyone on Thanksgiving. But that can't always be the case, as shown by Norman in the iconic dinner scene. While dinner itself didn't go as planned and caused more division than unification, Spider-Man is still the perfect Thanksgiving film to watch because it shows that family isn't easy, but it's worth fighting for.