Right around the time we broke the story that Marvel Studios and Sony had officially struck a deal that would bring Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we hit you up with some story details. We let you know that Peter Parker would be a legit teenager this time around; That the high school setting was going to be a big part of the movie; And that Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark/Iron Man was going to have a big hand in getting Spider-Man ready for life as a superhero. 

At the time, that last part seemed like pie in the sky. All the discussion surrounding Downey Jr. at the time centered on how his future with Marvel seemed a bit cloudy. His contractual commitments had been met, his series of solo films had seemingly concluded, and his price tag had soured to insane levels. So, for some skeptics, it seemed unlikely that Downey Jr. would really sign on for anything particularly significant in the Sony/Marvel production of Spider-Man: Homecoming.

A lot has changed since we broke that story in early 2015. For starters, we’ve learned that Downey Jr. and Marvel Studios have indeed crafted a deal that’s going to keep him around for the foreseeable future. Then we saw how, in a story sense, Marvel Studios made his Tony Stark act as Peter’s liaison into the world of The Avengers. And then- the biggie- our story was confirmed when Downey Jr. was officially announced as a member of the cast for Spider-Man: Homecoming.

The question then became: What exactly is he going to do in Spider-Man: Homecoming?

 

Well, some concept art from Captain America: Civil War teases Iron Man is going to continue to help get Peter ready to be an Avenger one day. In one of the unused designs for the Spidey Signal hologram that Tony left Peter (Tom Holland) in that post-credit sequence at the end of Civil War, we see a message:

The message, from Iron Man to Spider-Man, reads:

“Swing by the tower. Got some new upgrades you should see.”

This confirms that Stark will continue to serve as a mentor for Peter.

As our original report stated, one of the big elements of Stark’s storyline presence in Spider-Man: Homecoming will be him pseudo-auditioning Peter for The Avengers. That’s what makes this next little bit interesting. A source of ours reached out to us earlier this week to let us know that “Iron Man is going to have a big sequence” in the movie. 

So this would imply that Tony isn’t just going to be the Obi-Wan to Peter’s Luke. He’s going to suit up and kick some ass as Iron Man in the film. Might he get involved in the fight to stop Vulture (Michael Keaton)? Might he and Spidey actually fight each other in some sort of neat sequence where Tony wants to see what Peter is made of, ala our original report?

Let the speculation begin!

But our source’s assertion that Iron Man will have a big scene in the film sheds some serious light on what Downey Jr.’s involvement in Spider-Man: Homecoming will be. It won’t just be an extended cameo, or a minor thread meant to connect the film with what we saw in Captain America: Civil War. It’ll be something that makes an impact.

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