Spider-Man is now a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, officially, but apparently he has been there in spirit for the past seven years. Well, his alter-ego Peter Parker has, anyway. According to Tom Holland, who plays Parker/Spidey in the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming, the character is on screen in 2010’s Iron Man 2.
The actor, who began his portrayal of the superhero in last year’s Captain America: Civil War, revealed this information to The Huffington Post (with clarification by io9). It’s technically still not confirmed officially by Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige, but Holland says he’s been given approval to spread the idea around.
Here’s the deal: fans have been theorizing for a while that a little boy in a scene at the Stark Expo is a young Peter Parker. He’s in Queens, is into science, and he’s about the age that Holland’s version of the character would have been at the time. When Marvel made the deal to bring Spidey into the MCU, those fans speculated that it could be finally made true.
Watch the scene here:
Because this is mostly fan service of Holland’s own devise, there’s no acknowledgment in Homecoming. No line where he as Parker tells Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, that the elder hero saved the kid from an enemy drone robot way back when. It’s pretty perfect that it’s Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) who wound up his mentor in the MCU, though.
Maybe deep down, Marvel has always just been the best fit for Parker as a wide-eyed kid, as the buzz on Homecoming after the first screenings have championed the movie for its portrayal of the teenaged Avenger in training. Here is some of that good word of mouth:
Spider-Man: Homecoming is a blast. It has an innocence that differentiates it from the other MCU movies but plenty of fun & spectacle too.
— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) June 24, 2017
It's a real delight and a lot of fun, his world feels rich & detailed, Keaton is ??& Holland is a charming Spider-ManBoy #SpiderManHomecoming
— jen yamato (@jenyamato) June 24, 2017
#SpiderManHomecoming is fantastic. Perfectly cast. Does an impressive job of balancing superheroics & high school drama.
— Angie J. Han (@ajhan) June 24, 2017
And this Peter just loves being Spider-Man more than anything. Pure joy. His catchphrase should be "With great power comes great FUN."
— Mike Ryan (@mikeryan) June 24, 2017