Spider-Man 3: Tobey Maguire's Original Symbiote Suit Was Truly Disturbing

"Spider-Man 3" may not have been the grand finale to Sam Raimi's superhero saga that fans were hoping for, but it nevertheless acted as the cinematic debut of plenty of elements and characters from Spider-Man's comic book adventures. Amongst these was Spider-Man's black suit, first introduced in 1984's "Amazing Spider-Man" #252 and making its chronological debut in the Marvel Universe in "Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #8" later that year.

A mysterious symbiote from outer space follows Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) home one night and proceeds to transform his suit from its classic red and blue coloration to an almost completely black look. However, it soon becomes apparent that the transformation is more than just a surface-level makeover. The suit increases his power and strength. However, it also turns Peter into an especially volatile and aggressive individual. He is thankfully able to overcome the symbiote, tearing it off with the help of the deafening sounds of a church bell. The bad news is that it finds a new and less redeemable victim in Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), who is transformed into the villainous Venom.

For many audiences, the black suit in "Spider-Man 3" was their introduction to the classic Spidey look. But before this version was made, Sam Raimi and company made an effort to produce a more comic-accurate outfit for the film. Unfortunately, the result proved that some things just don't translate from the comic pages to the big screen.

Twitter user @EARTH_96283 shared photos showcasing an early version of the black symbiote suit featured in "Spider-Man 3." The costume here differs drastically from the final suit. While the costume used in the movie is essentially a one-for-one replica of Tobey Maguire's traditional look, with only its black coloring differentiating it, these preliminary designs are a whole different animal. Complete with a jet-black appearance, the costume does away with the patterning and detail of Maguire's classic suit for something more accurate to the streamlined look of the comic version of the black suit.

There are enough meme'd and made-fun-of elements from "Spider-Man 3," and it's more than likely that this suit would've been a part of it all had it been approved. Looking more like The Gimp from "Pulp Fiction" than anything replicating Spider-Man, it's ultimately that stretchy, leathery texture that is the costume's undoing. It's plain uncomfortable to look at, and more than likely would've been a challenge to film practically.

Nowadays, modern CGI could likely pull this off in a similar manner that Tom Holland's slicker Spider-Man suits have been executed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But Sam Raimi would have likely wanted at least some practical scenes with the outfit. Combined with the general awkwardness of CGI from that time, it's likely that this costume would have been the laughingstock of the trilogy. Ultimately, we may have Raimi's storytelling decisions to thank for keeping this skin-crawling look from violating our corneas.

There's no explicit reason out there as to why Sam Raimi and company chose to ditch the sleek black design of Spider-Man's symbiote suit for the final look we got in "Spider-Man 3"– although it probably doesn't take more than one glance of the costume to make an educated guess. However, Raimi's vision for how the symbiote would tie into Peter Parker's journey throughout the film ultimately inspired the final design.

In a 2007 interview with iF Magazine, "Spider-Man 3" co-producer Grant Curtis shared that the team was initially looking through images of black-suited Spider-Man for inspiration. Despite the many interesting ideas at hand, Raimi wanted to meld the character's story as opposed to making something cool-looking for the sake of it. "Sam thought this was already an interesting progression for a character," Curtis stated. "But, to also say that the symbiote has a fashion sense; is another jump that you would have to take as well .. we just decided that the symbiote would engulf the current suit and there would be subtle changes to the suit. It really came down to not being a symbiote with a fashion sense; it is there to control Peter Parker and his actions and his thoughts." Whether you love or hate "Spider-Man 3," Sam Raimi's love for the fan-favorite superhero always shines through.