With the release this weekend of Jon Watts’ third film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: No Way Home, we may very well be seeing the end of Tom Holland’s tenure as the wisecracking web crawler. Hopefully that is not the case, but if it is I want to take a moment (or a blog, if you’ll so indulge me) to look back at Holland’s portrayal of the character in six Marvel Studios films over the course of five years. In doing so, I want to show appreciation for what he has brought to this incredible franchise by putting a smile on tens of millions of viewers in movie theaters across the world.
So, without further ado…LET’S GET STARTED! Captain America: Civil War (2016) While I was not devoutly in tune with the behind-the-scenes machinations of Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal back in 2015, I know enough about the story now to know that Marvel Studios had a very difficult task before them when Sony Pictures agreed to lend them the character of Spider-Man to their cinematic universe. For starters, it would be the third live-action iteration of Peter Parker in eight years (Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, of course, being the other two) and thus audiences unfamiliar with the intricacies of this franchise might be confused about the relation of his new Spider-Man to his predecessors. Arguably the bigger obstacle ahead of them, however, was finding the perfect young actor to embody the youthful charm of Peter Parker and the physicality and sense of humor of Spider-Man (especially since the prior actors struggled to pull off the duality of this superhero). Needless to say, Marvel Studios was burdened with what may seem easy choices now but were, in fact, seemingly impossible odds back then. And yet, they managed to bring us perfection in the form of the then-19-year-old British actor Tom Holland. His look fits the part so well (even now, despite his voice sounding harsher and more mature, he looks so boyishly young). Furthermore, his diverse background which includes dance, gymnastics, and theater allow him to bring forth a physical vibrancy and agility to the big screen that never feels disingenuous. But, of course, one can only nail Peter Parker/Spider-Man if the performance captures the character’s well-intentioned naïveté and perseverant stick-to-itiveness. And in the very first scene of Peter Parker in the MCU, anyone who was remotely apprehensive about this take on the character came away feeling reassured by Holland’s performance of the writing from Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. How did they pull off this feat? Simple. They did something different. I know it’s crazy, isn’t it? What is fresh about Holland’s take on Spider-Man in the MCU is the fact that all of the required origin story beats established in prior comic book movies, from Richard Donner’s groundbreaking Superman to Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man movie, are either hinted at or simply ignored. In Holland’s first scene in the MCU, he is prompted by Tony Stark to reveal how he received his superhuman abilities but is then interrupted by Stark before he can share it with the audience. Furthermore, he never once says or even alludes to the death of his Uncle Ben or the notion of “with great power comes great responsibility.” Instead, Peter’s superhero philosophy is encapsulated by this one sentence: “When you can do the things that I can but you don’t, and then the bad things happen, they happen because of you.” This scene is so incredible because it allows the audience to fall in love with Holland’s take on Peter Parker before ever seeing him in action alongside the other Avengers. And it makes tease of the human part of Spider-Man’s story being fleshed out in future films all the more enticing. But then Holland gets in the red-and-blue, Stark-made suit, and the Russo Brothers give us some of the best Spider-Man action ever put to screen. As I mentioned earlier, any superhero whose identity is defined by the inherent tension of living a double life (as is the case with Peter Parker/Spider-Man) must be portrayed by an actor who can delineate between each part of the character without either part ever feeling truly separate from the other. Not only does Holland pull off Peter Parker, but he has given us a truly exceptional version of Spider-Man. In a matter of minutes that make up his screen time in Captain America: Civil War, he shows off his strength, fight strategy, and desire to live in the moment as he has so much fun fighting alongside and against the many superheroes we’ve come to know and love from Marvel Studios. In essence, Holland embodies the kid behind the mask as much he does the kid in school wanting to live up to his expectations of himself. From his one-on-two fight with Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) to his heartfelt, friendly exchange with Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) about their shared home, Spider-Man cemented himself into the hearts of fans in this film and made us want so much more from him. Lucky for us, that is just what we got. 😊 Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) With such a fantastic first outing as Spider-Man, how could Marvel Studios outdo themselves with their first solo film for Holland’s take on the teenage web crawler? Simple: they, along with the creative team led by director Jon Watts, gave us Spider-Man: Homecoming which to this day remains (in my humble opinion) one of the best comic book movies ever made. Influenced by the coming-of-age films of John Hughes (The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), Watts and producer Kevin Feige sought to emphasize the importance of Parker’s growth as a young man as equal to that of his up-and-coming as a superhero. This approach shows just how much faith people should have in the creative team at Marvel Studios. By making Homecoming a film about adolescent problems as much as it is about superhero antics, Holland is able to truly ground the character in a universal relatability that lives up to the promise that other Spider-Man films have stumbled in their attempts to do. Much of the teenage charm of Homecoming comes from Holland’s chemistry with Peter Parker’s best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and his crush Liz (Laura Harrier). Regarding the former, Batalon and Holland have such fantastic comedic timing that their interplay makes for an incredibly fun bromance competitive with the other amazing relationships of the MCU (from Tony Stark and James Rhodes to Thor and Loki). Regarding the latter, I appreciated seeing a different love interest for Parker aside from the classic choices of Mary-Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy. It felt like a believable and natural differentiation without ever drawing attention to it. And of course, Liz’s burgeoning romance with Parker is central to the plot, but I’ll get to that later. As far as Parker’s character arc in Homecoming goes, Holland explores any young person’s naïve desire to make a difference in the world and how such determination often conflicts with the grueling realities of the world around them. Whenever Parker reaches out for affirmation from Tony Stark or Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), he more often than not is rejected yet doesn’t understand why during the first two acts. It is only when he gets in over his head during the riverboat scene (forcing Iron Man to come and help him) that Parker begins to truly understand the often-severe stakes and life-threatening risks of the superhero life. Needless to say, Holland effectively pulls off Parker’s journey realizing the need to focus more on being a “friendly neighborhood” superhero at this point in his life. Not, of course, without the help of Robert Downey, Jr. playing a side of Stark that fans of the MCU had not yet soon. He allows the audience to see Tony Stark as a mature mentor and father figure to Parker which not only serves Holland’s performance but is a powerful reminder of just how much Stark has been through since RDJ’s first outing as the character in 2008’s Iron Man. Simply put, I know that some people criticize how much Holland’s version of Spider-Man is tied to Iron Man’s character but I think the pros definitely outweigh the cons and I challenge anybody to put forth a convincing argument to the contrary. 😊 At the end of the day, however, the best element of Homecoming might just be the incredibly personal and genuinely unexpected twist regarding its main villain Adrian Toomes/Vulture (Michael Keaton). While the MCU has done major twist reveals like this before in films like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, I don’t think such a reveal has ever been handled better than in this movie. There are no obvious allusions or foreshadowing to the fact that the father of Peter’s crush has tried to kill him multiple times, which is an example of just how strong the writing is. I vividly remember being in the theaters on opening night soaking in the audience’s simultaneous shock and awe when Holland opens the door with a grin on his face only to be faced with Keaton standing there to greet him and immediately sink into himself. At the heart of Spidey’s conflict with Vulture, however, is their mutual love for Liz but their polar opposite outlooks on what doing good means putting them at odds with each other. In that respect, Keaton remains one of the best villains of the MCU precisely because his relationship with the hero is not defined by malice, jealousy, or pure hatred but respect and admiration regardless of any ideological or ethical differences of opinion. I could go on and on about Homecoming because it simply is one of my favorite comic book movies of all time. But it also may very well be the best iteration of Spider-Man in film that we’ll ever get (at least for the foreseeable future). And if that’s the case, I feel that Homecoming is an exceptional achievement of cinematic storytelling worth being the standard bearer for how Spider-Man can be done in the movies. Avengers: Infinity War (2018) With a brief yet memorable introduction in Captain America: Civil War and a fantastic first solo outing in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Tom Holland’s third performance as Spider-Man (in only two years, remember) was in the Russo Brothers’ superhero epic Avengers: Infinity War. While Peter Parker is by no means the central focus of this film’s narrative, he is certainly an enjoyable part of the incredible ensemble “assembled” (😊) here. With virtually every character that he interacts with in Infinity War, from Tony Stark and Doctor Strange to the Guardians of the Galaxy, Holland injects his youthful presence into some dramatic and intense scenes to offer much-needed levity (I particularly enjoy his back-and-forth with Peter Quill/Star-Lord about Kevin Bacon and his awkward first official meeting with Strange). Furthermore, his upgraded “Iron Spider” suit and his web-slinging abilities culminate in some of the coolest action choreography of the film (most notable his Aliens-inspired plan to take out Ebony Maw in space and his portal-jumping, ass-kicking assault against Thanos on Titan). As a character, however, Parker is more than just a swinging-and-punching quip machine in Infinity War. For the Russo knew what they had in terms of his father-son relationship with Tony Stark established in Civil War and developed in Homecoming. They pull at our heartstrings earlier on in the film when Peter achieves his lifelong dream of finally (officially) being made an Avenger by Stark. This is such a great moment for Spidey in the MCU as it not only serves as an emotionally satisfying affirmation of Parker’s admiration for Iron Man, but the way that Robert Downey, Jr. performs that initiation as a moment of nervous reluctance only makes Peter’s tragic demise during the climax of Infinity War all the more devastating. Now sure, there were many fan-favorite characters that Thanos managed to snap away into dust (from Sam Wilson and Wanda Maximoff to Groot and Nick Fury). But (in my humble opinion) it is Parker’s slow-yet-assured dusting in the arms of Stark that packs the biggest wallop to my tear ducts since my initial viewing of this movie in theaters. To highlight why I think this is the case, let me briefly criticize 2018’s Black Panther. To be clear, I have no substantive qualms with the late Chadwick Boseman’s performance as T’Challa/Black Panther in the MCU. That being said, we had just as much (if not more) screentime with his character than with Holland up to that point but I did not feel that gut-wrenching heartache upon seeing him dust away in Infinity War. But why is that? I think that it all goes back to the climactic scene in Spider-Man: Homecoming when Parker has seemingly been defeated and crushed under rubble by Michael Keaton’s Vulture. When he feels powerless to do anything himself, his dust-covered lungs cough out a high-pitched scream for help. Think about that for a second; a superhero capable of holding up vehicles with his own two hands and fighting off the likes of the Avengers cries out for help. Watching this induces the audience with such a strong empathy for Spidey for one reason and one reason only: he’s just a kid. And that is what we feel during Infinity War when not only we realize that he’s about to fade out of existence but that he feels it coming on it before it actually happens. And the knife-to-the-heart cherry on top is watching Stark—defeated and deflated by Thanos’s victory—look into this boy’s eyes as he apologizes for not living up to his mentor’s expectations of him. If you watch that and feel nothing, than I guess you simply have no soul. 😊 Avengers: Endgame (2019) While Spider-Man has less screentime in Avengers: Endgame than in the prior film, he arguably has a more significant role in the plot. Specifically, his presence in Tony Stark’s final character journey of this film hovers over the approximately two hours and twenty minutes before he finally returns to life (along with all the other snapped-away heroes and their allies). When we examine Stark’s character arc in Endgame, it is the culmination of his journey in the MCU since Iron Man back in 2008. He started out in that film as a selfish, narcissistic asshole that lacked any empathy for those who suffered at the hands of that which gave him his abhorrently excessive billions. But throughout his time in the cinematic universe, he has proven to have—as Pepper Potts might put it—grown a heart. And by the time of the five-year time jump in Endgame, he initially shows a resorting back to that selfishness by refusing to help Steve, Natasha and the others undo Thanos’s actions out of fear that doing so could also undo the time he’s had being a father and living a peaceful life. But all it takes to remind him of what it means to be a true superhero is seeing a photo of Peter Parker in his lakeside cabin. It is Spidey’s innocence and promise for a future as a great hero and person that causes the spark in Tony’s mind to decide and seriously commit himself to finding a way to fix everything. Thus, with Parker’s seeming death in Infinity War, Stark is ultimately propelled by his love for his young superhero-in-training to his fate sacrificing himself for the sake of the universe. But, of course, the Russo Brothers cannot kill off Iron Man before giving him the reunion between him and Parker that we were waiting for since the end of Infinity War. Simply put, I am on the verge of shedding tears (albeit of joy this time) every time I see Tony reunite with Peter amidst the battle against Thanos. Finally, he reciprocates the hug that Parker tried to give him back in Homecoming which just goes to show how much Stark cared for him in the end despite never saying it out loud. Separate from his relationship with Stark, Spider-Man has some brief but thoroughly enjoyable interplay with the many other Avengers fighting alongside the main team during the climactic battle in Endgame. I always grin when Captain America—after referring to Parker as “Queens” —throws Thor’s hammer Mjolnir to Spidey so that he can web onto it and escape Thanos’s soldiers. Furthermore, I always laugh when he’s nearly suffocated holding Stark’s gauntlet with the six Infinity Stones before being saved by Captain Marvel and can only muster: “Hi, I’m…Peter Parker.” To cap off his ensemble appearances (at least for now) in the MCU, Holland appears at Stark’s funeral alongside Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). And what is clear based on his placement in the crowd of attendees is that Marvel Studios is positioning their version of Spider-Man to be one of the most important Avengers in the post-Endgame world. Only time will tell if that comes to fruition. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) To expand on my initial thoughts from my super-sized blog about the MCU’s “Infinity Saga” as a whole, I was somewhat disappointed by 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home in terms of where Holland’s version of Spider-Man was taken. Much of this has to do with how this film compares to the incredible work done by Holland, director Jon Watts and the entire cast and crew on Homecoming, but for now I’ll mention the positives about this film. Having seen the film twice, I think that my favorite aspect of Far From Home is the way that Watts directs Parker’s burgeoning—but appropriately awkward—romantic relationship with Michelle/MJ (Zendaya). It seems that this element of the film harkens the most back to his John Hughes-inspired tone of Homecoming, which I think works incredibly well. Of course, the charmingly off-kilter dynamic between Parker and MJ could not work without the committed performances of both Holland and Zendaya, respectively (in retrospect, not surprising given the fact that they are now dating in real life). By the film’s end, I am happy that their relationship has evolved in the way that it has and I am very much looking forward to seeing more of their rapport in Spider-Man: No Way Home. In terms of the main story, I think that Watts’ approach to Far From Home is actually a pretty creative and intelligent inverse of Spidey’s thematic journey in Homecoming. Whereas Parker’s ambitions to be an Avengers-level superhero are stifled by Stark’s mentorship in the latter, his longing for some semblance of normality in the former is constantly diverted by the escapades of the illusions of Quentin Beck/Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal). In the wake of Thanos’s war on the universe in Infinity War and Endgame, Watts seemed to know that the best direction to take the story of a teenage superhero who suffered through all of that intense action and trauma was to ground his motivations in wanting nothing more than to live something of a regular adolescent existence. Unfortunately, I don’t think this vision is pulled off completely effectively which gets to my main criticisms of Far From Home. Namely, I felt that taking Parker away from New York City for the majority of the movie confirmed many of the harsher fans’ critique of Marvel Studios’ take on Spider-Man by plucking him out of his “friendly neighborhood” environment and sending him on a European summer vacation that just felt like a somewhat uninspired excuse to blossom his romance with MJ. Furthermore, Watts’ handling of Parker feeling the burden of being “the next Iron Man” in the wake of Stark’s death came off to me as relatively cheap compared to Holland’s dynamic and relationship with RDJ in prior movies. It feels like in this film there was just too much telling us how much Parker’s relationship to Stark means to him rather than showing us. Don’t get me wrong; Far From Home is by no means a bad superhero movie. In fact, I think that it’s quite a good one. I love Jacob Batalon’s use as comedic levity throughout the runtime, Gyllenhaal commits to the two-faced nature of Mysterio, and Samuel L. Jackson and Holland both bring their A-game (as always) to Nick Fury and Spidey, respectively. I just think that this movie (in some ways) pales in comparison to Homecoming. But when the film’s incredibly exciting post-credits scene unmasked Spider-Man, I was never more excited in that moment for a sequel to an MCU film than sitting in that theater thinking to myself: “What the f**k happens now?” Let’s hope that No Way Home lives up to the hype. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) [NOTE: This blog contains spoilers for “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” You have been warned.] Coming off of Far from Home, I was very worried that Marvel Studios would make a follow-up film that would not realistically address the drastic consequences of Peter Parker’s identity being revealed. Furthermore, once the trailers for No Way Home came out, I became incredibly nervous about Jon Watts, Kevin Feige, and Amy Pascal repeating the Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 mistake of “villain overload.” So, did No Way Home live up to the hype? Simply put… YES!!! 😊 Why? Let’s dive into it, shall we? Unquestionably, the weakest part of No Way Home was the first thirty-ish minutes. And that’s saying something, because I found the beginning to be great story wise. I greatly appreciated the fact that Jon Watts did not simply brush over Parker’s identity being revealed to the world. Rather, he showed us how this uproots the lives of Parker, Aunt May, Happy, MJ, and Ned from all of them being questioned by the authorities to having to move out of their apartment to simply get off the grid from the press and the public who have quickly taken sides over whether or not Spider-Man is actually a murderous criminal. That being said, the first act is somewhat poorly paced and offers little clear hints as to how much time passes unless the plot of Far from Home is fresh in your mind (for context, it’s roughly four months from the end of summer to near Christmastime). But, fortunately, the funny back-and-forth between our principal cast is enough to keep you engaged long enough for the meat of the plot to get going. And once it gets going, man does it go! It is Peter’s decision to receive help from Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to erase the world’s memory that causes everything in the multiverse to go incredibly haywire. Specifically, his unintentional tampering cause villains who have fought Spider-Man in alternate universes (i.e. the Raimi trilogy, the Webb duology) to enter the MCU and track down Holland’s Spidey. From the get-go, Holland’s interaction with these Raimi-Webb villains is just fantastic. Despite the trailers focusing on it too much, his fight on the bridge with Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina) more than delivered in terms of both the action and the banter. (Side Note: I LOVED how effectively the Raimi villains were adapted from the 2000s in terms of their dialogue and mannerisms). Furthermore, I appreciated how Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) fit his character arc in Spider-Man 3 by helping Spidey against Electro (Jamie Foxx) before being duped himself into being captured like the other villains, such as Dr. Curt Connors/Lizard (Rhys Ifans). But, without a doubt, the standout villain performance in No Way Home is Willem Dafoe returning as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin. Bringing with him the dual-personality insanity from the Raimi trilogy, Dafoe not only has some of the best lines of the film but also some of the most intimate and visceral action sequences with Holland’s Spidey. His turn at the end of the second act, which incites (most of) the other villains to turn against Spider-Man, works so well as the critically tragic downturn that allows the audience to feel the weight of Peter Parker’s decision to follow his heart and try to cure them of the source of their evil. Which brings me to what, in my humble opinion, puts No Way Home over the top as the best Spider-Man movie. Instead of simply bringing these villains back as an entertaining gimmick, the creative teams at Sony and Marvel Studios used Spidey and Strange’s competing moral compasses to remind us of the pure heart that is Peter Parker before ripping his heart out by killing Aunt May as an example of the consequences of his poor decisions. To be clear, I was more entertained by Dafoe’s villainy but I think Marisa Tomei wins out as the best supporting performance. It is her character’s powerful hold over her nephew’s desire to do good that acts as the catalyst for the tragic story of Peter Parker in this film. And I’ll admit that her death in Holland’s arms pushed me to the verge of tears. From there, No Way Home just gets better and better. Now having lost his sole-surviving parent figure, he nearly gives up all hope for these displaced villains before Ned and MJ (and a couple of other Spider-Men 😊) bring it back by reminding him of what it means to make a loved one’s sacrifice mean something. Which gives us an incredibly action-packed, emotional, and satisfying third act where Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield team up to cure the villains before preparing to send them back to their respective universes. And the fight is fantastic (particularly Doc Ock’s turncoat role as the fourth-wheel of the Spidey trio who helps them out), but for me it truly is the way the story resolves that puts No Way Home over the top. And I LOVED that Holland’s Peter Parker concocts the horrifically tragic, but ultimately necessary, decision to erase everyone’s memories of him in order to save their lives. Without a doubt, Holland’s Spidey becomes one of purest heroes of the MCU by giving up his relationships with MJ, Ned, and Happy in order to save their lives (not to mention the multiverse). All in all, Spidey’s journey in No Way Home was pulled off so well in spite of all the inherent storytelling obstacles in Marvel’s path that the movie has no better place than as the best Spider-Man film. Period. And while I absolutely anticipate Sony and Marvel Studios continuing to work together to create a follow up of one of the best comic book movies ever, I think that Watts, Holland, and the entire cast and crew did a damn near-perfect job wrapping up Spidey’s character arc in the MCU if indeed it is his last film. What is your favorite Tom Holland appearance as Spider-Man? Do you want to see Holland portray the wisecracking web crawler in the future or a new actor take up the mantle in live action? What opinions of mine do you find absolutely ridiculous? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, this has been… Yours Truly, Amateur Analyst
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Austin McManusI have no academic or professional background in film production or criticism; I simply love watching and talking about movies. Archives
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