Major SPOILERS for Spider-Man: Homecoming ahead!
Spider-Man: Homecoming does a great job of avoiding typical Spider-Man cliches we’ve seen over and over in the previous five films. Do we see Uncle Ben get shot? Nope! Is Peter Parker a photographer? Not yet, though he likes making personal, short films. Does the love interest get taken hostage by the main villain? Doesn’t happen (thankfully)! Is Spider-Man considered a menace to New York? Not in this one. Losing these moments was certainly refreshing and one of the reasons Homecoming is so damn entertaining.
One cliche the film decided to drop, at the very end of the film, is Aunt May not knowing her nephew is Spider-Man. Her finding out in the very last scene was a clever move, one that leaves us craving to see what happens next, while bringing to mind Tony Stark’s intentional reveal of his own identity as Iron Man at the end of that 2008 film. Cinemablend asked Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige about the decision, to which he said:
“J. Michael Straczynski did an issue when he was doing his run of Spidey many years ago where she discovered the secret. I think it was in the laundry or something, and they had a sit-down scene. And probably going back to Spider-Man 2, I would sort of carry that issue around and go, ‘We should do this someday, we should do this someday.’ And it was great luck that it hadn’t been done yet. That was always part of the plan.
And very much like our instinct to say, ‘Let’s have Tony Stark say “I’m Iron Man” at the end. Well, what does that mean for the next movie? I don’t know, but it will force us to do something unique. We did not want to do the secret identity thing at that point in the MCU. And now, same thing. The dynamic now is forced to be something fresh and something unique going forward.”
See? Even Feige compares the reveal to the “I am Iron Man” moment, so I was on the right track, sitting in that theater in complete shock. Likewise, as Feige stated, though this is not a complete lack of secret identity, secret identities aren’t really a thing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Just looking at the Avengers; everyone’s identity seems to be known to the public, except perhaps Ant-Man, whose friends all know, and Doctor Strange, who walks around in costume all over the streets of New York, but isn’t much of a public figure yet.
This twist will certainly make Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 more interesting, but why would May Parker allow her nephew to be involved with the MCU-shattering events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 if she knows the danger. Likely, it is beyond her own, and possibly Peter’s control, as Thanos is coming for the Avengers, and Spidey is now entangled in their drama and threats.
What did you think of this new twist on the Peter and Aunt May relationship? Do you think it was the right move? How do you think it will play out in Spider-Man: Homecoming 2? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!
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SOURCE: Cinemablend