The Amazing Spider-Man : who is the mystery man in the secret end credits scene?

Well, one thing we do know.

The actor who voices the words is Michael Massee, a character actor who specialises in playing bad guys with raspy voices.

But who is he supposed to be?

We reckon that it's Peter Parker's father, who's not dead at all.

Did Richard Parker (Campbell Scott) really die in the plane crash that was supposed to have killed him and his wife (Embeth Davidtz)?

The fiirst half of the movie makes a great deal of the events leading up to their supposed fate but never really revisits the tragedy later.

Could it be that Parker survived, and has been keeping his distance in an attempt to keep his son safe from Norman Osborn's sinister agents?

In Marvel's Ultimate parallel universe old man Parker was the biologist who created a powerful biotechnological suit that later led to the creation of evil Venom, who didn't get the attention he deserved in Spider-Man 3.

Or could the mystery man simply be Norman Osborn, often mentioned but never seen in the movie? Massee's voice sounded a lot like that of Willem Dafoe, who played Osborn in Sam Raimi's earlier Spidey films.

That would signal a return for Osborn's alter-ego Green Goblin in the next movie. There are at least three planned, according to director Marc Webb.

Other than that, of course, the teaser scene could suggest all manner of Spidey's foes.

Mysterio, Master of Illusion, could certainly pull off the vanishing act. So could Sandman, although we really wouldn't want to see more of him after Spider-Man 3.

Fansites are suggesting everyone from Daily Bugle editor J Jonah Jameson to The Hobgoblin, and from The Chameleon to The Jackal.

It's great to be left with a cliffhanger that's a real mystery after the rather more obvious teasers that led up to the Avengers Assemble party piece.

And The Amazing Spider-Man as a whole is a terrific reboot, which we reckon is better than all the Tobey Maguire flicks, even the mighty Spider-Man 2.

Once you get past the inescapable fact that Andrew Garfield is a dead ringer for tennis ace Andy Murray, he makes a great Peter Parker, full of teenage angst and uncertainty.

Emma Stone is suitably photogenic as Parker's first love Gwen Stacey. Such a shame that she gets killed by the Green Goblin in the original comicbooks, paving the way for Pete to meet MJ.

Her death, in Spider-Man No 121 back in June 1973 caused huge controversy and is said by many to have ended the Silver Age. Here was a character who died, and remained dead.

Rhys Ifans managed the right blend of good and evil in Curt Connors, although his CGI monster was as one-dimensional as Incredible Hulk villain Abomination.

Martin Sheen and Sally Field were fine as Uncle Ben and Aunt May, and we even got close to the "with great power comes great responsibility" line.

But Gwen's police chief dad, played by Dennis Leary was no J Jonah Jameson. Never mind, we won't be seeing him in the sequel!

We saw the Amazing Spider-Man at Birmingham's Giant Screen Cinema, which lives up to its name as the biggest screen in the city, and offers a digital picture sharper than its IMAX predecessor.

The shots of your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man swinging through the skyscapers were awesome on the big screen, and the 3D not at all invasive.