I think a semi-reboot is necessary.
Sony could save the Spidey franchise, without any kind of reboot.
---
How to Save The Amazing Spider-Man 3:
Peter, now a college kid living on campus, meets Mary Jane Watson, a wild yet approachable sorority girl. Aunt May has been encouraging Peter to date again after the passing of Gwen, and formally introduces Peter to MJ. Peter is hesitant about dating again, but decides to heed his aunt's request. On a date setup by their respective aunts, MJ decides that although Peter is attractive and pleasant, that her lifestyle is too different from Peter's. In the end, they finish their date merely to please their respective aunts.
As Peter is coming to terms with his new life as a college student, Wilson Fisk is attempting a hostile take over of Oscorp, whose stocks have dropped to abysmal levels due to Electro's connection to Oscorp being leaked to the press. The ailing company is nearly bankrupt because of its association with Dr. Connors' terrorist plot, the sudden death of Norman Osborn and the psychiatric break down of his son, Harry, who gets blamed for the death of Gwen Stacy. The public believes that Harry killed Gwen randomly because she was an intern of the company. Therefore, the public do not know that Harry was the Green Goblin. However, Fisk knows the truth about Harry's actions because Fisk had spies (Alistair Smythe and Donald Menken) that managed to steal away several Oscorp secrets before meeting their end at the hands of Electro. The only loose end that Fisk is unaware of is the connection between Oscorp and Spider-Man, whom seems to be remarkably similar to the freak experiments coming out of Oscorp.
Fisk is secretly at war with the Frederick Foswell (The Big Man) for control over New York City's underworld, and wishes to use Oscorp's bio-research to create a private group of soldiers to take on Foswell's crew. With the Lizard and Goblin in prison and Electro ostensibly dead, Fisk only has one more option to find a template to create super soldiers: Spider-Man. Knowing that Felicia Hardy was once Harry's personal assistant, Fisk coerces Felicia into gathering Harry's files and finding the connection between Spider-Man and Oscorp. In the process of Felicia's investigation, she discovers that Harry was friends with the son of two former Oscorp employees that were later assassinated for trying to flee with the data for the Spider Experiments. Because of this connection, Felicia deduces that Peter is Spider-Man.
Further investigation reveals that Peter's parents had attempted to destroy all sources of their research, save for two items; the first is the laptop we see Richard Parker delete at the start of ASM2, the second is Peter himself, which is the real reason why they left Peter with Ben and May. Peter's parents gave Peter a series of false-inoculations that were in fact serums designed to modify Peter's genetic template and allow him to generate new cells whenever exposed to any life threatening cellular degeneration. Richard had used his own blood for the basis of his research and had concluded that he could administer the serum to Peter without causing him harm. The initial experiment was to bond specific animal traits to a human host so that a human could take on useful traits to treat a myriad of diseases. This much would be congruent with Dr. Connors' pursuits in the first film. Unfortunately, the Parkers soon learned that Osborn not only intended to use this research to cure himself, but to create a super soldier serum to be sold on the black market, where the research would fetch a higher price than standard government contracting.
It was the hope of Peter's parents that they would have been able to expose Oscorp's attempts to weaponize their research and sell it to black market bidders. However, as we saw in the first two films, their plan does not come to fruition and they were subsequently murdered. The spiders remained the only viable data on Richard's work, but without the genetic information hidden away in Peter, there was never any hope of using the Parker's research in other areas. This is why Connors turned into the Lizard when he used what he thought was the completed formula. Without the other half of the research contained within Peter's blood, the formula can corrupt the host. This is also why the spider venom nearly killed Harry and made him go mad, and incidentally why the spider bite granted Peter powers and heightened vitality. Peter is the only one who has undergone the other half of the necessary treatment in order to complete the process. This also explains why, despite Oscorp having a lab filled with the modified spiders, no one else was turned into a "Spider-Man" once bitten. For any other person, the spider-bite is lethal, or highly volatile if someone has been exposed to half of the process (Harry, having not gone through half of the process like Connors, was only saved by the bio-suit he wore as the Goblin).
When Felicia discovers all of this, she realizes that it would put Peter and all of New York in danger were she to hand over the data. When she returns to Fisk, she attempts to lie and say that she found no conclusive information aside from data suggesting that the Spider Experiments are linked to the creation of the Goblin and the Lizard. However, Fisk informs Hardy that he knows she is lying because he had her followed by the Vulture, whom saw Hardy give a flash-drive to Ben Urich, a reporter at the Daily Bugle.
The Vulture, an impoverished Adrian Toomes, had his flight suit designs stolen by Osborn and integrated into the glider technology that we saw Harry use in the second film. Toomes, having already been fired from Oscorp because of his complaints about having his technology stolen, had no way to directly spy on the company, which is why Hardy was needed. Toomes allied himself with Fisk on the promise of being able to take down Oscorp and receiving a "generous" research stipend once Oscorp comes under Fisk's control. For having lied about the missing data, Fisk has Vulture drop Felicia's father from the top of a building while she watches.
Meanwhile, Urich goes to Foswell, who also works at the Bugle as a reporter, and begins sharing some of the larger details about his new expose on the atrocities going on at Oscorp. However, what excites Urich the most is his opportunity to fulfill his longtime goal of conclusively proving that Wilson Fisk is The Kingpin of Crime. Urich explains that he has a source that is willing to divulge key information about Fisk's efforts to take on New York's other prominent crime lord, The Big Man. As Urich has this conversation with Foswell, Peter, who is also employed at the Bugle, eavesdrops on Urich and Foswell's conversation. Peter decides that he should pay Urich a visit as Spider-Man, to find out more details on what Urich knows. Unbeknownst to Peter or Urich, Foswell is Fisk's criminal adversary and is planning to have The Enforcers kill Urich and take his flash drive. Unbeknownst to Foswell, Fisk is sending the Vulture to do the exact same thing.
Urich heads down to his car and encounters Ox, Fancy Dan and Montana. As Ox begins breaking Urich's hand, Toomes swoops in and manages to repel the trio. Thinking himself saved by the Vulture, Urich prematurely begins to thank Toomes, who then pierces Urich's shoulder with the bladed tip of his glider wings. At this point, Spider-Man intervenes, and after a five-way battle between himself, the Vulture and the Enforcers, manages to escape with Urich and the flash drive. Spider-Man is able to convince Urich to surrender the flash drive, on the promise of keeping it safe and ensuring that Fisk will be brought to justice.
Peter returns to the hidden lab in the abandoned subway station and reviews the data on the drive and finally gets some closure about his life as Spider-Man and the loss of his parents. Included in the data is a video of Richard giving the "great power" speech, while acknowledging that he learned it from his brother Ben. It is because of Ben's philosophy, that Richard decided to take action against Osborn. Peter, now remembering the loss of Ben and the legacy of his spider-powers, is now fully committed to living out the philosophy of Ben Parker so that he may honor both his uncle and his father. Thinking about his Uncle Ben, Peter decides to visit May's house to check in on her.
Shortly after Peter's arrival, Felicia shows up at Aunt May's house. Knowing that Peter is Spider-Man, Felicia hopes to get his help. After Peter is initially freaked by Felicia's revelation, Peter pretends to take Felicia on a date so that the two of them can get out of the house and not incur further suspicion from Aunt May. Aunt May eventually feels at ease that Peter is dating someone, even if they are a little older, as it suggests that Peter is getting over Gwen.
With the drive now useless to Fisk, as Spider-Man is aware of the data and what Fisk is after, Fisk now needs Spider-Man brought in with less discretion.
Fisk sends the Vulture to assault a large crowd that has gathered downtown at a local store, to meet a famous actor. Noting how Spider-Man rushed to the defense of New Yorkers in the past, whenever a villain assaulted large crowds, Fisk hopes that Toomes' assault will have a similar effect.
Meanwhile, Foswell has an epiphany about Peter Parker's relationship to Spider-Man. Because Peter is too unassuming, Foswell doesn't believe Peter to be Spider-Man, but because Peter is the one taking most of the Bugle's Spidey photos and because Spider-Man conveniently intervened on behalf of Urich just after Foswell and Urich's conversation, Foswell concludes that Parker must have been eavesdropping on their conversation and that Peter must be aligned with Spider-Man, either as business partners, friends, an informant etc. This assumption convinces Foswell to seek out Peter Parker in an attempt to draw out Spider-Man. Foswell, having had casual conversations with Peter in the past, knows that Peter is currently a student of ESU and sends the Enforcers to set fire to a sorority fundraising gala being hosted at ESU. Knowing that Peter lives on campus, Foswell hopes that the immediate threat will draw him out and allow the Enforcers to take him down.
Upon finishing their conversation about all that Felicia knows about Fisk's plans, Peter and Felicia look up and see a news cast about the Vulture's assault on the celebrity gathering, and then see a separate report about the sorority fire in which everyone is locked inside the burning building while emergency workers are being kept at bay by a small group of criminal soldiers (the Enforcers). Peter remembers that Mary Jane is attending the gala, and wishes to go help his friend, but at the same time, he realizes that Toomes could cause far more damage in a shorter period of time if left unchecked. At first, Peter doesn't know which decision to make, until Felicia proposes that she help the fundraiser attendees escape the fire while Peter handles the Vulture. Unconvinced of the effectiveness of such a plan, and remembering what happened the second time that Gwen helped peter fight a villain, Peter is vehemently opposed to the idea of having Felicia assist him.
Felicia then proposes a plan in which Peter get's Felicia to Fisk Towers, where she can abscond with a prototype stealth suit, code named "Black C.A.T.S" (Covert Apparatus for Terrestrial Surveillance), one of Fisk's early attempts at creating technology for industrial espionage. With the suit, Felicia would be able to sneak in unnoticed and rescue the gala attendees. Additionally, the suit comes with retractable claws for scaling flat surfaces,a retractable zipline for rapid transport in urban environments and moderately enhanced strength.
With no other choices and little time, Peter takes Felicia and swings toward downtown, the location of the celebrity gathering and Fisk towers. Once Felicia is placed near a ventilation shaft atop Fisk towers, Peter heads off to battle the Vulture. In battle, Toomes notices that Spidey doesn't naturally produce webs, but rather creates them with a device. Toomes then recognizes the synthetic webs as modified Oscorp tech, and as the handy work of Richard Parker. Knowing the fate of the Parkers, as he was employed at Oscorp when their murders were carried out, Toomes deduces the connection between Peter and Spider-Man. Toomes proposes that he and Peter team up because of their shared suffering.
Peter is at first adverse to Toomes proposal, but upon hearing Toomes personal story of suffering at the hands of Norman Osborn, Peter begins to consider the merits of teaming up with Toomes, whom he sees as an individual with the similar passion for redemption as his own. Peter believes that he may be able to steer Toomes toward a better path in the same way that Captain Stacy had helped him transition from vigilante to hero. Once Peter offers to help rehabilitate Toomes, Toomes rescinds his offer, perceiving Peter to be too weak of heart to do what is necessary to seek retribution against Oscorp. Toomes then comments that such fanciful thinking is likely what cost Gwen Stacy her life when Peter was confronted by Harry Osborn. An enraged Peter proceeds to thrash Toomes and destroy the anti-gravity unit that powers the wings. As Toomes falls from the sky, Peter has flashbacks about a falling Gwen. Even though Toomes has stirred his fury, Peter is committed to not allowing someone else to fall to their death. Peter successfully catches Toomes at the end of a long web line. As Peter pulls Toomes up, Toomes laments that he is without purpose if he can not have his revenge against Oscorp. With prison being his ultimate fate if pulled all the way up the web line, Toomes sees the other end, the fall downward, as a release from his hellish life. Toomes slashes wildly at the web line and continues his descent until he hits the pavement and dies.
Peter's anger subsides and is replaced with anguish as he chooses to feel guilty about Toomes' suicidal actions. However, Peter can not mourn for long as he remembers that Felicia was on her way to help rescue the attendees of the sorority gala. Peter zips toward ESU as quickly as he can. Meanwhile, on scene, Felicia has successfully obtained the suit, and has made her way to ESU, where SWAT and firefighters are being repelled by Foswell's men. Felicia activates the stealth suit and manages to make it past the Enforcers and into the gala hall. Using the retractable zipline and the enhanced strength offered by the suit, Felicia manages to rip open the hall doors, which had been welded shut by the Enforcers. With the attendees fleeing the smoke and flames, the Enforcers turn their attention toward the fleeing. Felicia charges into action and manages to best Fancy Dan and Montana, but is given a difficult time when facing Snake Marston, Ox and Hammer Harrison. Spidey arrives in time to even the odds, and Felicia and Peter successfully subdue the Enforcers and save the gala attendees.
Although the Vulture is dead and the Enforcers are under arrest, the Kingpin remains a looming threat because of his efforts to takeover Oscorp. Peter and Felicia return to Fisk towers to bring down the Kingpin, as Felicia is willing to testify against Fisk once he is captured. Peter and Felicia arrive to an already expectant Fisk who knew that Hardy had come to steal the suit. Fisk allowed Felicia to steal the suit so that the Enforcers would not have an opportunity to capture Spider-Man before the Vulture could attempt to do the same.
Fisk then commands Felicia to leave and for Spider-Man to stay behind so that Fisk's R&D department can begin researching the means of replicating the process that created Spider-Man. Feeling confident that the Fisk has no real means of enforcing such a demand, Peter and Felicia attempt to double-team Fisk. In response, Fisk activates a fail-safe on the Black C.A.T.S. suit, which causes the collar of the suit to constrict Felicia's throat. Peter attempts to help Felicia remove the collar, but soon learns that touching the collar releases an electric shock that could prove lethal if too many shocks are administered by failed attempts to remove the collar. Peter then attempts barter with Fisk, volunteering to stay and even help with the research so long as Fisk stops hurting Felicia.
Fisk expresses that he had no real intention of letting Felicia live, as he had bombs planted in her apartment, which would have killed her once she opened her door. Fisk initially offered to let her leave in order to get less resistance out of Spider-Man, but since Spider-Man already chose to resist, there was no need to maintain the illusion of Felicia's safety. Peter leaps into action against the Kingpin, expecting Fisk to be an easy target. Peter finds that Fisk is a formidable fighter and that his bulky size is attributable to near pound-for-pound muscle. With time running out for Felicia, Peter stops attempting to physically challenge Fisk and instead webs his mouth and nose shut, effectively suffocating Fisk. An enraged Peter spears Fisk as Fisk struggles to remove the webbing. Peter puts Fisk in a choke hold that accelerates Fisk's blackout, until Fisk finally loses consciousness. Peter gets hold of the remote to Felicia's suit and deactivates the fail-safe. After tearing the webbing off of Fisk's nose, Peter attends to Hardy, who at this point appears to have not survived the constriction collar. After several attempts at resuscitation, Peter believes all is lost, until Felicia gasps and takes a deep breath.
Three weeks later, Wilson Fisk is to stand trial for industrial espionage and his connection to the Vulture. The Big Man, now reigning over all of Wilson's old territories, is locked in a territory war with L. Thompson Lincoln (Tombstone). Urich, no longer satisfied with his expose on Wilson Fisk, is now devoted to finding out the identities of the Big Man and Tombstone. Urich, this time, shares his desires with Peter, explaining that he hopes to put an end to organized crime in New York by rooting it out the shadowy figures responsible. Peter responds by commending Urich for having such admirable desires, professing that if more people were like Urich, there would be no need for Spider-Man. Peter then gives Urich a paraphrased version of the "great power" speech, which encourages Urich to press forward with what he is doing, despite having some reservations about Urich once again becoming the target of crime lords.
MJ shows up at Peter's job, hoping that Peter will give her a second chance at making a better impression. Her near death experience at the gala has given her a new outlook on life and she wants to get to know Peter a bit better before assuming that the two of them wouldn't make a good couple. Urich returns Peter's kind words by reminding Peter that life is short and that fighting evil is a wearisome job that requires people to allow more light into their life. Of course, Urich is referring to the work of being a reporter, but Peter takes the advice as encouragement to not become so lost in being Spider-Man, that he forgets to enjoy being Peter Parker.
Peter and MJ begin making date plans when Peter hears the wail of sirens and makes an excuse about hoping to catch some good photos to sell JJJ. As Peter swings into action, he finds Felicia, in a modified version of her stealth suit, already swinging in the same direction. Felicia states that she has taken a liking to the thrill of costumed life and hopes that it gives her more opportunities to run into Peter's alter ego. Just then, Peter sees a group of Tombstone's men shaking down a mom and pop corner store. Felicia nods and the two separate. Felicia follows the sirens as Peter descends upon Tombstone's men.
*ROLL CREDITS*
