Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Spider-Man Character Review
*Contains Spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home*
First and foremost I would like to say that this is not a review for Spider-Man: No Way Home but a review for the character’s impact and his character arc within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Hi, I’m the APC Enthusiast and today I will be reviewing the MCU’s rendition of Peter Parker played by Tom Holland.
Like many other fans, I was very disappointed when Mark Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man series was canceled. For a while we had no idea if the hero would get another live action installment. It wasn’t until a little over a year later that the MCU announced Holland’s appearance in the 2016 Captain America: Civil War as the new Spider-Man. Since we weren’t given a lot of information about his appearance, no one was able to make any solid judgments on his performance until we saw him fighting alongside Team Iron Man.
At first glance, most fans did not like Tom’s version of Spider-Man because they thought he was too childish and too much like Iron Man. Fans even went as far as to call him “Iron Man Jr.” Without the appearance of Uncle Ben, this occurrence could not have been avoided. In most versions of the character, Uncle Ben is the foundation for him becoming a hero in the first place. Without that base he would have to find some other hero-like figure to look up to. Because of how the teams in Captain America: Civil War were set up, if not Iron Man, then he would have become Captain America’s apprentice. All of this to say, Spider-Man’s relationship with a more mature hero was inevitable.
This article isn’t to say Spider-Man fans were wrong. In fact, they were completely right, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the MCU made a mistake by excluding Ben from Peter Parker’s story. Something a lot of fans don’t realize is Ben wasn’t just Peter’s reason for becoming Spider-Man but his famous words, “With great power come great responsibility,” soon became something the hero lived by. As the character’s personality progressed during his first two solo films Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home we see him becoming more and more like the late Tony Stark, so much in fact, that they start to show parallels of the two heroes within the movies.
It’s not until the latest movie that we begin to see him becoming more of his own hero. I wasn’t sure how this would work out at first, especially since the MCU wouldn’t confirm their appearance within the movie, but having Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Men appear within the movie was the perfect way to help Tom’s Peter Parker grow into his own hero. From the scene where Andrew and Tobey help Tom cope with Aunt May’s death to the part where Tobey has to stop Tom from killing Willaim DaFoe’s Green Goblin. Even the small conversation they had about the villains they’d fought in their respective universes was enough to help Tom grow and understand what it truly means to be Spider-Man.
The aspect of Peter’s character that makes Spider-Man so popular is the fact that everyone can relate to him because he’s just a guy who can never catch a break. No matter what happens he’s always willing to brush it off if it means the people he fights to protect are safe in the end. Because of this one detail, I think Spider-Man: No Way Home had the perfect ending conclusion for his character arc. Even after losing his mentor and his Aunt, he was still willing to sacrifice everything to save everyone. This compassion for others forced him to live in a world where no one knows who Peter Parker is but everyone knows Spider-Man.
It has been confirmed that we’ll get three more Spider-Man movies meaning this is only the beginning of the MCU’s Spider-Man story. This is also the start of Peter’s story within a college setting which opens doors for the appearance of characters like Gwen Stacy, Miles Morales, and maybe even the appearance of Tom’s own Sinister 6. Overall, I’m glad to say that Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is no longer Iron Man Jr. but another addition to the legacy of the Amazing Spider-Man!
That is all for this week. If you enjoyed this post please share it with your friends and family. I’m the APC Enthusiast and I’ll see you next time. Bye!
Commentgreat Great analogy!!!😊
Insightful analysis! While I haven’t seen the new Spider-Man movie, this article has made me curious to watch it. Hearing about the different characters and the effect they have on Peter Parker’s development was interesting and will cause me to look at the movie from a new angle. Great well written article.
Though not a huge spidey guy, I really liked this movie, and I think part of it had to do with how they brought together the spider man I grew up with (in a sense) and the significant changes this one had without Uncle Ben. I forgot how instrumental Uncle Ben was in shaping Spider man. I loved Spider man as a kid and I liked him in Civil War, but not like I liked him as a Kid and in a way I am starting to get that back with the last movie. So I am looking forward to the next Spidey movie.
I really like how you break down the traits of the characters and movie development. This post was really inspiring!
I was an avid reader of Spider-Man comics growing up and I had always seen him as a hero that learned from his own mistakes and not really being mentored by any other heroes. Because the new MCU Spider-Man seems so much younger I see how they are really working to develop that angle though. Thanks for taking the time to explore how Marvel is making the character more accessible to younger audiences by doing that. I also wonder about other directions a more modern Spidey might go in. For instance Tony Stark is the only hero who seems to explicitly convert his scientific knowledge and know how into wealth perhaps this new younger rebooted Spider-Man who has Stark as a mentor and has access to his company may get a chance to do some similar things in the future.