Just as last year’s Spider-Man reveal during the Civil War trailer rocked the world with its intriguing sense of self, so too this year are we forced to bow down at the extent of how wonderful the world could finally be with the release of the Spider-Man: Homecoming trailer. With Sony finally handing over the reins to Marvel, at least partially, we’ve now entered a realm in which we care about our Peter Parker. Partly because of the excellent portrayal by Tom Holland, but also due in part to the fact that they’re not shoving another origin story down our throats, and instead focusing on the young hero’s journey to becoming a super.
After fighting alongside Iron Man during the Civil War battle, young Spidey now has to come to terms with the fact that yes he has powers, but he also must learn to navigate them while navigating the fragile social parameters of being an awkward teenage boy. While this isn’t new as far as the Spidey timeline goes, it is refreshing to see Peter struggling with an internal fame and loyalty that he’s only briefly had. Holland is playing him closer to the quippy smart mouth we know and love, while also capitalizing on the fact that he’s an actual real life teenage boy, playing an actual made up teenage boy. Who would have thought that could ever work?
Earlier uproar concerning the casting of young feminist icon Zendaya seems to be for naught, as she is slated to play Michelle, the seeming balance in the friend circle that Peter find himself in, rather than Mary Jane as previously “feared.” Perhaps this new generation Spidey will help break the mold concerning race continuity; though fanboys and girls all over the internet may take issue with Spidey’s romantic interest Liz as she is neither fair skinned, nor red headed, or even- gasp- blonde. It doesn’t really matter, because overall if a black female lead is of any concern then this will definitely lead to some grotesque hashtag campaign reaffirming that you’re right, this isn’t the Spider Man film for you.
The promise of Tony Stark coming in as a sort of mentor to young Spidey paired with a Michael Keaton villain and Spidey web wings is almost too much to handle. So far the action scenes played out in the trailer were very Marvel, including a resistance from the police force in regards to Spider Man’s existence in the first place. This could take us to the Civil War peak with Peter revealing his identity to the world as a part of registration compliance, an effective tactic that could tumble the MCU right along with the comics.
If Holland and co can pull off half of what little they did with his Civil War appearance, then there’s no question that this is the Spider-Man we’ve all been impatiently waiting for. There’s a lot riding on this Spider-Man film, and dammit if we won’t go down with the ship to watch it live or die by the MCU hand.
Spider-Man: Homecoming arrives in theaters July 7, 2017.
