I’m a very competitive person.

Sometimes this plays in my favor.  Other times … it does not.

Recently I’ve become preoccupied with challenges on the Peloton and in doing so, have so fully exhausted myself that I had to take a time out.  Recognizing that need was difficult; actually doing it was nearly impossible.  I will push myself past all my limits in a fruitless attempt to prove that I can do anything I want.  But the truth is, if I do anything I want, there will be consequences, a balancing out.  My body can’t sustain hours of cardio and strength workouts every day indefinitely.  It just isn’t equipped to do that.  And even if it was, it means I can’t do anything else with any degree of efficiency (& this, I have learned clearly over the past few weeks).

So today, the third day that I struggled to get out of bed, I decided to rest.  And I spent the day on the couch watching Marvel movies.

Recently, John + I decided to purchase all the Spider-Man movies in a bundle pack, because even though we own the two newest (of the MCU) we didn’t have either Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield’s movies.  And we like binge-watching so this seemed as good a thing to binge as anything, considering that characters from both those franchises are rumored to be featured in the newest MCU installment (tentatively scheduled for release in December of this year).

We weren’t always MCU nuts, but once we went down the rabbit hole, we really committed.  So this newest purchase wasn’t outside the realm of things we would do.

Having now watched all seven movies (recently) I can understand why the MCU might have picked the villains they picked to re-introduce.  And seeing the different iterations of Peter Parker is fascinating in the progression of the character.  Could Tom Holland’s Spidey be as good as he is had Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield not preceded him?  I’m not sure.  I like how each Spidey is his own unique interpretation of the character.  But there are also so many similarities in the interpretations that are kind of fascinating.

To begin, I loved the Tobey Maguire movies when they came out.  Revisiting them was nostalgic, but it also highlighted to me how weak he was as an actor, and certain compromises that seem to be made in Spidey to accommodate for that.  Andrew Garfield, a much stronger actor, made Spidey funnier, more nuanced, and altogether more Marvel (for lack of a better descriptive word).  The second “Amazing Spider-Man” (which suffered a little from the same disease as the third Tobey Maguire Spidey … aka, too many stories happening to do them all justice) was actually pretty powerful in its portrayal of Electro, the love story of Gwen and Peter and Gwen’s ultimate demise.  My heart still stopped watching her fall and that final moment when Peter’s web caught her but she was too close to the ground.  Oof.  I loved the humanity of Sally Field’s Aunt May (and Martin Sheen’s Uncle Ben) and all in all, I much preferred those two movies to the first three.

And that brings us to Tom Holland and the behemoth that is MCU.

Do I think Spider-Man: Homecoming is the best movie ever?  No.  It’s not even the best Spidey movie (I reserve that for Far From Home).  But it so significantly improves upon all that came before it that it’s hard to compare.  To begin, the ages of the main characters are much more realistic than 27-year-old Tobey Maguire playing a high schooler.  Tom Holland is a delightful blend of funny, insecure, intelligent and awkward that makes his portrayal of Spider-Man utterly enjoyable.  And the supporting cast —- Flash and Aunt May (who doesn’t love Marisa Tomei?!?) and Ned and MJ ….  all brilliant.  Jake Gyllenhall’s Mysterio is amazing — a crazy blend of mentor and villain and mastermind and insecure megalomaniac.  And Michael Keaton as Vulture in Homecoming?  Loved it.  Loved it even more re-watching it.  They just elevated the game to a whole new level.

Anyway.  That’s what I was up to today.  That, and discussing with John the pitfalls of my Peloton obsession.  Oh well.  I guess I just have to keep learning the same lessons over and over until I get it.  Life, right?

Xoxo, g