In 2016, we got our third on screen rendition of Spider-Man, with his debut in Captain America: Civil War. Considering that there had already been 2 before him within just the last decade, there was a lot of ground already covered. So when it came time for this new Spider-Man’s solo film, was it able to set up something new and original?
Short answer: Yes. But original doesn’t always mean better.
In Civil War we got our first look at Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.
Tony Stark just shows up at his apartment, telling Aunt May he came to talk to Peter about his “Internship”, which Peter plays along with when he walks into his house and sees Tony and Aunt May talking in his living room.
Tony and Peter go to Peter’s room to talk, and that’s when Tony reveals he knows Peter is Spider-Man.
But then Tony asks Peter why Peter puts his life on the line fighting crime every day. And this is the part of the scene that gives me chills, because you can tell Peter just lost Uncle Ben without Ben’s name even being mentioned.
When Peter answers the question there’s no flashbacks or cuts to nice background music.
It’s just his speech as soft piano music fades in as it’s his words are left to resonate with the audience.
“When you can do the things that I can, but you don’t, and then the bad things happen, they happen because of you.”
The speech sums up his entire character motivation for the upcoming trilogy.
But this article isn’t about that scene in the near-perfect Civil War Movie.
It’s about Homecoming.
I LOVED Spider-Man in Civil War, so if Homecoming were to keep the character consistent with his last appearance, that would be great.
But did it?
In Spider-Man: Homecoming, the character of Spider-Man is portrayed as a young and inexperienced superhero who is still learning the ropes of being a hero. He is not yet part of the Avengers and is trying to balance his superhero duties with his responsibilities as a high school student.
One of the most significant character developments in the film involves Peter’s relationship with Tony Stark. Tony serves as a mentor to Peter and gives him a new suit with advanced features. However, Tony also challenges Peter to be a better hero and to take his responsibilities more seriously. Later in the film, when Peter tries to take on Adrian Toomes/Vulture (played by Michael Keaton) on his own, Tony takes away the suit, forcing Peter to rely solely on his own abilities.
This scene says a lot. It’s when Peter realizes he’s alone.
He won’t be supported by anyone or anything, but he still has to fight the good fight.
No suit, or superhero to help him stop The Vulture.
He has to do it alone.
He’s only 15, but he has to take responsibility and do as much good as he can.
The film also introduces a number of supporting characters, including Peter’s best friend Ned (played by Jacob Batalon), his love interest Liz (played by Laura Harrier), and his classmate Michelle (played by Zendaya). These characters add depth and nuance to Peter’s world and help to flesh out his personality and motivations.
He keeps constantly chasing after the Vulture and his goons for the entirety of the movie, even when everything is telling him to stop.
He’s told to stop by Tony Stark, but he doesn’t.
He gets his suit taken away so he can stop, but doesn’t.
He get’s threatened by THE VULTURE himself, told to stop, but he DOESN’T
One of his biggest goals of the movie was going to Homecoming with Liz as his date.
And he finally GETS IT.
But he’s forced to LEAVE Homecoming to fight The Vulture.
Which leads to one of the most memorable and powerful moments in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Spider-Man FAILS. He wanted to beat The Vulture, but The Vulture escaped and dropped a building roof on Peter, leaving him to die, trapped under the rubble.
He struggles, but an entire building was dropped on him, he can’t escape.
He calls for help, hoping there’s anyone out there to help him.
He loses hope as he’s forced to realize how alone he truly is.
No one is there to help him, he’s being left to die as The Vulture gets away with his crimes.
The only person left to stop The Vulture is trapped under a building with no help.
But then Peter looks down at his reflection in a puddle of water and sees Spider-Man looking back at him. He sees the only person who can stop The Vulture, himself. And that’s when he realizes he DOESN’T need help. He has to take responsibility and deal with it himself.
Tony’s iconic speech echoes in the back of his mind
“If you’re nothing without the suit, then you shouldn’t have it”
He needs to stop The Vulture, and he CAN stop The Vulture, because he’s Spider-Man.
Injected with inspiration and adrenaline, he slowly begins to lift the rubble, rising up, squating, and finally lifting it all, throwing the rubble and standing free.
This scene is a direct reference to a classic moment in the comics where Spider-Man performs a similar feat. In the film, the scene serves as a powerful representation of Peter’s resolve and strength of character.
Then he stops the bad guy and all that other good stuff of course.
The Vulture actually almost gets away AGAIN, and Spider-Man gets completely beat up again, and was already out of energy after having a building fall on him. But The Vulture’s wings actually catch on fire, so Peter could have just sat on the ground and waited for him to blow up while he was trying to get away.
But instead he makes the effort to swing him down, saving The Vulture’s life, despite The Vulture trying to kill him and dropping a building on him.
The Vulture ends up arrested and in prison, he’s asked by another Spider-Man villain (Mac Gargon, the Scorpion) who Spider-Man is, as the Scorpion is filled with rage and wants to act out on his revenge once he gets out of jail. And I love how The Vulture tells The Scorpion “idk”. It’s great to see gratefulness from someone who was SAVED by Spider-Man, especially from a villain. It really shows some humanity to The Vulture, showing that he isn’t just pure evil. The Vulture respects Spider-Man and shows gratitude.
Spider-Man then is invited by Tony to join the Avengers, but declines to focus on being the “friendly neighborhood” Spider-Man. Hey, I would have declined to after all the dumb stuff Tony was doing earlier.
All in all, Spider-Man Homecoming was pretty good. I still wanna know how Peter was able to run immediately after lifting a building that just fell on him. He has got to have one of the fastest health regenerations in Marvel history. Other than that I thought it was pretty good. Lemme know in the comments, do you think it’s cash or trash? And head over to the Fan Area Forums page to get the convo started.