After five Marvel movies, Spider-Man: Far From Home will finally see the MCU’s version of Spider-Man become a proper web-slinger. That’s right: the character journey of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is building to a head.
So far, the MCU has attempted to give us something we’ve never properly got before; the story of how Peter Parker learns to become Spider-Man. Previous film versions have generally jumped straight in, showing the origin before having Spider-Man stand a fully-rounded hero; although the Raimi films riffed on the question of how Peter fired his (biological) webbing, he seemed to learn skills like web-swinging with prodigious speed. Tom Holland’s iteration of the wall-crawler is a lot more grounded, and has been given the time to grow into his superhero identity. He’s been making countless mistakes along the way, notably struggling to acclimatize to his hyper-senses. It’s been an exciting journey, one that is going to pay dividends in the long run.
Related: Spider-Man Theory: How Peter Gets The Black Suit In Far From Home
A new Spider-Man: Far From Home set video shows Peter (in costume) and his classmate MJ meeting on a Manhattan street and going for a swing. It’s a fun video, suggesting that the film will see Spider-Man and MJ get rather up close and personal (it’s unclear whether or not MJ knows Peter Parker is Spider-Man). But it also clues us into just how Peter’s growing as a superhero.
Simply put, MCU Spider-Man hasn’t done much web-swinging so far. There wasn’t any in Captain America: Civil War – the airport battle happened in a comparatively small area – and in Spider-Man: Homecoming, we swiftly learned that the MCU’s version of Spider-Man just wasn’t particularly adept at using webs to travel just yet; he didn’t make it to Manhattan, and whenever he was swinging through Queens it was comedic. Jump ahead to Avengers: Infinity War, and Peter was a little more skilled, although New York’s hero really coming into his own was only hinted at in the Manhattan sequence. And, given Spider-Man is presumably dead for the bulk of Avengers 4, it’s unlikely he does much more web-slinging in that film either.
We now know that the Spider-Man of Far From Home is a competent web-swinger who will be making his way around Manhattan with a love interest in tow. That’s some classic Spider-Man at last, which makes sense as part of the grander MCU plan. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter only had his powers for a few months; Spider-Man: Far From Home is set “minutes after” Avengers 4, meaning he has been doing this for a couple of years now. And, considering Spider-Man’s going to be a headline hero going into MCU Phase 4, it’s about time for him to become more well-rounded.
Some viewers were disappointed at how clumsy Peter was in Spider-Man: Homecoming. But that clumsiness was important; it allowed Marvel to show Peter’s personal journey, as he grows increasingly comfortable with his powers and becomes the Spider-Man we know and love.
