Spider-Man Homecoming
Written in2017
By Omar Todd
To alleviate all fears and anxieties, let’s start here — it was a good flick! Startlingly self-aware and fun. It stretches the superhero genre… taking it to new meta heights the only way Marvel can. The repercussions of having Spidey in the cinematic universe are yet to be seen, but being Marvel’s flagship character I’m sure they are very excited it’s done well.
Spider-Man is proof of concept for a much larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is a giant plus for Marvel. There were a lot of villains, but it didn’t feel clunky. Cameos only added to the overall feel of the movie. Maybe one day we can see the X-Men and Fantastic 4 playing in the same universe as the Avengers and the rest of the MCU.
Spoilers…kinda
The film starts with a flashback to the aftermath of the battle of New York and Adrain Tombs crew cleaning up remnants of the failed Chitari invasion in the original Avengers. It was great to see a different approach, and that there was no Uncle Ben Death scene. There wasn’t even a mention of Ben though, which I’m conflicted about. On the one hand, that moment has been done to death on screen; almost as much as Bruce Wayne losing his parents. On the other hand, Uncle Ben’s death lends the character of Spider-Man pathos. Even though he has a great tragedy he still a wise-cracking kid who puts on a mask and fights the bad guys. Also, thankfully there is no mention of Norman or Harry Osborn, the Daily Bugle, or Gwen Stacey. They’ve been done enough and this fresh take is entertaining.
Don’t get it twisted though, each scene in the movie is stuffed full of Easter eggs that encompass Spider-Man’s 55-year history, events, and characters that have happened in the MCU. Scorpion, Damage Control, Donald Glover eluding to Miles Morales, Captain America PSA’s, and many others give mention of the ever-expanding MCU.
Michael Keaton is the perfect villain. He fills the screen with menace in every scene he’s in. Tom Holland is marvelous as Peter Parker, his relationship with Ken is particularly fun. Holland’s version is a young high schooler like in Marvel’s Ultimate Comics line made popular by the awesome Brain Michael Bendis. Instead of the older Spidey moviegoers have seen. Hopefully, the success of this franchise will pave the way for more studios to want and play nice with Marvel and Disney. You know, until the ultimate downfall of the superhero gene… which detractors have been predicting since the original Sam Rami Spider-Man.
Overall Spider-Man Homecoming is a great summer movie that the whole family will enjoy. Filled with a John Hughes-Esq teenage drama-dey feel. My only problems with the film are: why is Aunt May so young? Where are the Spidey sense? Also, Ironman’s role could’ve been cut down and I wouldn’t have minded.
Though as a person of color, I hope that eventually, they bring in Miles Morales. In the comics, he became the Ultimate Spider-Man after Peter Parker’s death. It means so much to me as a comic fan that Miles Morales was created. It says a lot about how far creators and fans have come. Though until we see his big-screen debut we’ll have to just make due with The Black Panther, I’ve watched the trailer a hundred times and I still get tingles on the back of my neck.
