The Daily Bugle arrives in New York to promote Spider-Man: will the web-slinger become the photographer he's meant to be?
(Image credit: Liberty Mutual)
Many of us are bursting with anticipation to see the latest instalment of Tom Holland's Spider-Man trilogy: 'No Way Home' hitting UK cinemas in just two days! Arguably the most famous fictional photographer-slash-superhero in the world, it's questionable as to why Tom Holland's portrayal of Peter Parker is yet to pick up an actual camera.
Appearing on New York's Upper East Side on Friday, a news-stand was transformed into a modernized "Daily Bugle" outlet, in a fantastically creative PR initiative giving away 3000 limited-edition copies of the fictional publication, associated with previous Spider-Man movies in promotion of the upcoming spectacle.
The previous Spider-Man movie franchises starring Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield both featured the character having a freelance profession as contributing photographer to The Daily Bugle, a well-known news source among Marvel Comics, that paid Peter Parker for images ironically taken of himself as the web-slinger.
Cameras used by Peter Parker on screen in the past include a Canon F-1N with an AE finder used by Maguire, A Nikon F2 by Nicholas Hammond in 1977, and Garfield iconically used a Yashica Electro 35 GSN model in the Amazing Spider-Man movies.
Even rival Eddie Brock, another contributor to The Daily Bugle and eventual host of alien symbiote Venom, is seen shooting on what appears to be a Nikon D50 in Maguire's Spider-Man 3. So why haven't we seen Tom Holland's younger rendition of Peter Parker using a camera, when being a photographer is a pivotal feature of the character's beloved origin?
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The MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) has previously been regarded by many as the one "true" universe, with complications involving character rights and different studios owning them meaning that many Marvel characters cannot exist in the same "universe" on-screen. Popular franchises such as X-Men for example, have never interacted with The Avengers outside of the comics.
What this means for Spider-Man is that his story has been re-told multiple times with different origins and characteristics. Marvel has clearly opted for a more modern Spider-Man in the Tom Holland franchises whereby we see Peter using a phone camera as opposed to a film camera with his background as a photographer completely ignored in the MCU franchise thus far.
The only camera use we have really seen in relation to Peter Parker so far in Tom Holland's trilogy is when poor Mr Harrington drops what looks like a Leica Digilux 3 into the water when on a European school trip during the previous movie, Spider-Man Far From Home, where we also see MJ (played by Zendaya) snapping images on her smartphone from a river boat.
Daily Bugle news stand middle of NYC! They releases Spider-Man newspaper! I will share each page for any fans that missed out. #SpiderManNoWayHome #DailyBugle #SpiderMan pic.twitter.com/T0O88nX1XiDecember 11, 2021
The pop-up Daily Bugle at 86th Street and Lexington Avenue in New York suggests that finally the news outlet has been introduced into the MCU, as we saw during the end credits of Spider-Man Far From Home (sorry for spoilers) where original actor J.K Simmons from Maguire's universe, plays J Jonah Jameson (Daily Bugle editor) and addresses Tom Holland's spidey on a news broadcast. The same actor reprising this same pivotal role has many fans excited for potential multiverse crossovers.
The Daily Bugle had a pop-up in NYC and gave out free newspapers filled with articles about Peter Parker! #SpiderManNoWayHome pic.twitter.com/oghwZaqwuxDecember 11, 2021
An official Daily Bugle TikTok account has been created in another promotional attempt featuring J.K Simmons' portrayal of J Jonah Jameson. The in-universe account is modelled after The Daily Bugle news outlet and features character Betty Brant, classmate of Peter Parker, working for The Bugle as an unpaid intern.
As sad as it may be to admit, magazine and paper journalism is arguably on a slow decline in a modern world full of apps and websites. This may be why the MCU decided to hold off on having Holland's Peter Parker contribute photography to the Bugle until it could enter the MCU in a more modern format. The Daily Bugle's existence in the MCU is extremely promising to kickstart Peter's photography career and suggests that a potential tie-in to Parker's photographic backgrounds will likely occur in future Spider-Man MCU movies.
It is unlikely, however, that Peter Parker will become the photographer he was meant to be in the latest No Way Home instalment with the plot featuring SO MUCH going on from what multiple trailers have so far revealed to us.
The inclusion of The Daily Bugle, even as a small part of the movie, with such a heavy importance placed on the news outlet used as promotional material no doubt has fans and photographers excited to see our favorite web-shooter (pardon the pun) in the upcoming feature arriving to cinemas on Dec 17 (US) and Dec 15 (UK).
Watch the latest epic trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home below:
A staff writer for Digital Camera World, Beth has an extensive background in various elements of technology with five years of experience working as a tester and sales assistant for CeX. After completing a degree in Music Journalism, followed by obtaining a Master's degree in Photography awarded by the University of Brighton, she spends her time outside of DCW as a freelance photographer specialising in live music events and band press shots under the alias 'bethshootsbands'.
