The story began with Tobey Maguire, the first actor to bring Marvel’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man to the big screen before the franchise met its painfully awkward demise. Sony Pictures Studio hit the rewind and redo buttons on the teenage superhero using the fresh, young face of Andrew Garfield and replacing Mary Jane with Gwen Stacy; this reboot, though it garnered attention from younger audiences swooning over Garfield, didn’t do as well as the original series.
“But Marvel demonstrates once again that it knows exactly what it’s doing with one of its premier characters: Homecoming, starring Tom Holland in the titular role, is an utter gas, a fast and very funny superflick that inserts Spidey into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe without ever losing sight of what makes him unique and beloved,” said Christopher Orr of The Atlantic.
Marvel decided to try one more time with one of its most popular heroes, introducing the new actor in Captain America: Civil War and giving the audience a taste of what was in store for the web-head. The end credits of the movie clearly announced the arrival of a new Spider-Man series.
The casting decision for the main character was called into question time and time again, but many are saying the British 20-year old, Tom Holland, was born to play the role of the dorky yet sassy high school student with superhuman–or super-spider–powers. Aside from Holland, the movie features a stellar cast including Zendaya, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr., the usual Stan Lee cameo, and an unexpected cameo from Donald Glover, who was fancast to play the role prior to cast announcement.
However, the movie’s plot is being criticized for its risky plot choices. Rather than following Spider-Man’s well-known story, Marvel traded in Uncle Ben, Mary Jane and Harry Osborn for a somewhat fatherly Tony Stark, Michelle, the outcast played by Zendaya, and Ned, the “guy-in-the-chair” and Peter Parker’s best friend played by Jacob Batalon.
Though the movie included tidbits of the storyline every fan knows, this remaster focused on Spider-Man’s role in the larger Marvel Comics Universe and Peter Parker’s journey through high school as a sophomore. Marvel moved away from having an intense focus of his background and the villain of the movie for a new perspective of the identity crisis heroes often face, especially at Peter’s young age.
The plot discusses Tony Stark–who is a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist as well as Iron Man and Peter’s mentor–and not only his role in creating Spider-Man’s suit but also showing Peter that he must be more than the suit in order to be a true hero. Though Tony is often labeled as the antagonist or seen as selfish, there is an obvious attempt to show Tony as a father figure and guardian to Peter.
Meanwhile, Peter is seen skipping school, ignoring class instructions and even ditching his dream girl when he deemed his duties as a superhero as more important, which was almost every time. It is a careless side of him that is rarely seen under the classic nerdy Peter Parker identity. However, his redeeming arc is complete towards the end of the movie when he realizes he is still young and should enjoy his teenage years.
All in all, Spider-Man: Homecoming is a refreshing twist on the well-known web-head, complete with nods to Spider-Man comic books and other Marvel movies. It is a must-watch for any Spider-Man or superhero fan that will leave them wanting more of the endearing personality Holland adds to the boy from Queens.
