‘Invincible’ Creator Robert Kirkman Delivers a Brutally Honest Verdict on ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’
Robert Kirkman has never been one to mince words, and his latest public commentary is making waves across the internet. The creator of ‘Invincible’ and ‘The Walking Dead’ appeared on The Escape Pod Podcast and offered a genuinely blunt assessment of one of the most divisive superhero films of the modern era.
Speaking on the podcast, Kirkman stated that he rarely voices opinions on films publicly, but made a pointed exception for ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2.’ His take was unambiguous, calling the film an outright mess while also acknowledging that both entries in the Marc Webb era contained genuinely spectacular moments. Notably, Kirkman was quick to separate his feelings about the movie from his feelings about its star, expressing clear admiration for Andrew Garfield as a performer and as a Spider-Man specifically.
The remarks land on familiar ground for critics and longtime fans. ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ is widely considered to be the least-liked of all Spider-Man films, holding a Rotten Tomatoes score of 51 percent, a rating that critics argue gives it a worse reputation than even ‘Spider-Man 3′. Rotten Tomatoes’ critical consensus notes that while the cast is outstanding and the visual effects are top-notch, the film suffers from an unfocused narrative and an overabundance of characters.
The film grossed approximately 716 million dollars worldwide and was directed by Marc Webb, with Andrew Garfield starring alongside Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, and Dane DeHaan. Despite that global haul, it ended its theatrical run as the lowest-grossing Spider-Man film of all time, produced on a budget exceeding 200 million dollars. The commercial and critical shortfall effectively stalled Sony’s planned expansion of the Garfield-led franchise, which had been intended to include sequels and multiple spinoffs.
Garfield himself has spoken openly about the gap between the film that was made and the one he had hoped to make. Speaking with The Daily Beast, Garfield suggested that studio pressure during pre-production, production, and post-production was responsible for undermining the original vision, noting that when portions of a connected whole are removed, the remaining film loses its coherence. His candor at the time was seen as a rare and refreshingly honest response from a major studio lead.
What makes Kirkman’s comments particularly interesting is the lens he brings to the conversation. As the creator of both ‘Invincible’ and ‘The Walking Dead,’ Kirkman is one of the most prominent voices in superhero storytelling outside of the Marvel and DC mainstream, serving as COO of Image Comics and co-founder of Skybound Entertainment.
His perspective on what makes or breaks a superhero narrative carries the kind of industry weight that fans take seriously, and his willingness to distinguish between a great performer and a flawed vehicle for that performer reflects a more nuanced reading than simple dismissal.
The reaction online has been predictably charged, with defenders of the Garfield era pointing out that ‘No Way Home’ helped rehabilitate much of the goodwill that ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ had eroded. Whether or not the film deserves its reputation as the worst of the wall-crawler’s big-screen outings, Kirkman’s verdict is a reminder that even passionate comic book creators are not immune to strong opinions about how beloved characters are handled on screen.
