Spider-Man: Homecoming

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Infinity Saga

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Edit Coming 04/20/26

May this film serve as a perpetual reminder to "never say never" when it comes to Hollywood. Not only did Marvel get the rights to Spidey's name, but they rebooted the character for the second time, making his third time a hugely successful charm.

Immediately following the events of 'The Avengers', we meet Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) who is part of a clean-up crew, gathering alien parts from the Battle of New York. When the task is taken over by Stark's Department of Damage Control, he is put out of work. Enraged by this, he persuades his employees to keep whatever they have collected in order to make some high tech weaponry to sell on the black market.

Eight years later, we are introduced to Peter Parker by way of phone video, recapping his cameo in 'Civil War'. When Tony Stark drops him off at his aunt May's apartment in Queens afterward, Peter becomes very excited about potentially becoming an Avenger. However, Stark and his assistant, Happy, are very insistent that he's not quite ready for the "big leagues" yet, and he should stick to being a "friendly neighborhood Spider-Man" for the time being. Eventually, Peter learns of the high tech weaponry being sold on the black market, and tries to take matters into his own hands, especially after he learns that a major heist is to take place during the move from Avengers Tower to a more secluded facility.

To say that this is the greatest 'Spider-Man' film to date, all depends on what you're after. I would say if you want the origin story done well, stick to the first 'Spider-Man' starring Tobey Maguire. All the right pieces are there, and it's better than 'The Amazing Spider-Man' in my opinion. BUT if you're looking for a new, fresh take on the character without the need for a full origin story, I'd have to say this is the film for you. This IS still an origin film, to be sure, but it's about how Spidey gets to be an Avenger as opposed to how he becomes Spider-Man in the first place.

Anyway, back to THIS movie. For some of the big fans out there, some alterations were made to the character so he could fit into this universe a little better. A few examples include the lack of the portrayal of his "Spidey Sense", his Stark technology suit that talks to him much like a Jarvis (he calls it "Karen"), and even a few character changes might be irksome to some (Flash Thompson is portrayed as more of a jerky teen than the classic muscle-bound bully). But I have to say, personally speaking, I came to let these things slide very easily.

It's important to remember that up until this point, a handful of very powerful heroes has emerged, including Iron Man, Cap, Hulk and Thor (to name a few). Some have literally just gone through the events of 'Civil War', which gave the Avengers a lot to think about when it comes to great power and great responsibility. This, in turn, effects Parker, as Stark is very adamant about him using his powers lightly and when necessary, hence the scene from the trailer where Stark talks to Pete, saying "if you're nothing without the suit, you shouldn't have it at all". I like this, 'cause it's the "with great power comes great responsibility" concept without having to be those exact words from Uncle Ben. It's a neat, more subtle way to do portray that aspect of Spider-Man.

Going back to the details of the Spidey suit tech along with his lack of abilities, I have my own theories as to why they did this. It's my opinion that the movie is trying to make Parker feel like a total superhero rookie. With everyone else, they got their powers, and they could just be heroes right away. With Peter Parker, this is still a 15-year-old boy in high school, and with that should come a bit of irresponsibility (trust me, I know how that sounds) as well. But we're never shown Uncle Ben giving him that famous quote we all know and love, so for all we know, in this adaptation, this is just a kid who found out he could do some awesome stuff. He's super thrilled about it like any teenager discovering he or she had super powers SHOULD be, and with that comes the lesson that he should be more responsible with his abilities, and this goes back to Stark sort of being his mentor, and what he tells him about the suit.

As I said before, whether you enjoy this incarnation of the character or not will largely depend on what you're after. I personally find that this is the best way they could have gone about it for this particular universe. Despite anything changed or lacking, I can honestly say none of it hurt my feelings, being a huge Spider-Fan. The portrayal of the character himself was far more than what I could have hoped for from either Maguire or Garfield (each in their late 20s at the time of their respective portrayals). Here we have an honest-to-God teenager playing a teenager, and he's totally solid as both identities.

This was only my second viewing of this, but I still loved every minute of it, not changing my mind on a thing. I wondered if the whole lack of Spidey-sense would get me this time around, but not really. You kinda have to look for it, but it's seemingly there at several points. Plus, we ought to know he has them by default, even if they aren't shown, because in 'Civil War' he tells Stark "it's like my senses have been cranked to eleven". Combine that with the 'Infinity War' trailer that literally shows it, and we have a problem patched up, in my opinion.

​​5/5

MID-CREDIT SCENE: Toomes is approached by one of his former buyers in prison, who Spidey caught earlier. He questions Toomes about Spider-Man's real identity, but he denies that he knows anything.

POST-CREDIT SCENE: A Captain America video comes on, and it turns out to be a gag about being patient only to have what you're waiting for lead to a disappointment - a self-jab at Marvel's post-credit sequences.

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