#233 – We Never Missed Peter Parker... Until Now

Welcome back to Marvel Maniac and MCU After Show. This is your host, Eric Cicada, aka Mr. Honest, coming back at you with a Spider man episode. We are inching closer and closer to brand new day as I record this. And today I want to talk about something I realized while watching Spider man far from home. This wasn't something I planned an episode around. It wasn't some hidden Easter egg or a trailer breakdown. Wasn't even something that hit me until I was halfway through the movie. I had one of those moments where I paused and thought, wait a second. I think we've experienced Tom Holland's Spider man in a way we've never experienced any live action Spider man before. And that realization has me more excited for brand new day than ever. For one, I've been on the Tom Holland journey since Civil War in theaters, but 10 years ago, and I cannot believe I'm saying this, it's 10 years later, people's whole lives changed. But the consistency in Peter Parker's character is outstanding. And Tom Holland couldn't have been a per more perfect casting for the part. I was hesitant up until I saw Civil War because all I knew was this is a kid playing Spider Man. Are they gonna rush him into this group? Are they gonna make him an Avenger right away? Questions stacked. Because in all reality, we were putting Spider man in the mix for Spider Man's sake. Right at the end tail of the Infinity saga, where so much is already happening. But I'm sure glad they did the way they did. The Russo brothers never failed to amaze me. So when we first met Peter Parker, it wasn't in a Spider man movie. It was in Civil War. Tony walks into Peter's apartment and Peter gets recruited. And from that point on, we've basically been following Peter's life almost continuously. I really like want you to think about this. Homecoming picks up almost immediately after Civil war, right? And it's Peter trying to prove himself, trying to become an Avenger, trying to balance high school with being Spider Man. Then only a short time later, Infinity war happens. Peter's on a school bus. His arm hairs stand up. That spidey sense knocks into action. The alien ship arrives and he jumps into that action. Then he dies from at least everyone else's perspective. But because p. Peter's perspective is different. He doesn't lose five years. He doesn't experience the blip and the five year gap. He turns to dust and he comes back. An end game is over almost immediately. So we as the audience don't lose Peter for five years. We don't miss him growing up. We don't miss him changing. For Peter, it's almost instantaneous. That's kind of what I love about the big event movies that change the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe world because the five years felt real. End Game did a good job of making that time jump happen. They did a great job of making feel, making us feel the world that has been lived in for five years. You know, the five years later, the big moment, none of us saw that coming when we were sitting in theaters. We, we thought they could have been Fighting Thanos Part 2 Just Hours later from when he did the snap. We, they did a good job at kind of hiding the time travel thing. And I think the fact that all those five years Tony was just thinking about Peter and wishing he could have saved him and, you know, so much regret bringing him into this, I think it's really powerful when Peter does return. And at the same time it's kind of crazy that Peter was never abandoned. He was always there, there right next to Tony. He didn't miss a beat. And that's, that's pretty extraordinary in my opinion. Then we arrive at Far From Home. Now. This movie actually contains the biggest off screen gap we've really had with Peter. The world has started recovering from the battle of Earth from the blip. People have adjusted at least a little to the blip. Aunt May has stories about what happened. The school's functioning again, life is trying to move forward. But even here, the biggest thing Peter does off screen from when we last saw him in Endgame isn't becoming a better Spider Man. It's becoming Peter Parker. Somewhere in between Endgame and Far From Home, he falls for mj. And I actually love that. The biggest unseen development during the home trilogy isn't some giant superhero battle. It's a 16 year old boy realizing he likes a girl. That's Spider Man. And speaking of mj, Tom Holland and Zendaya just work. Whether it's incredible acting, unbelievable chemistry, or simply two performers who understand these characters inside and out, I buy them. I think they're awkward, they're nervous, they're trying to figure each other out. Their relationship isn't loud, it's not over dramatic. It's built on tiny looks, small conversations, little moments where you're wondering, did she mean something by that? Watching those scenes honestly reminded me of being that age. Trying to decode every smile, every compliment, every little sign. Those feelings are universal. That's why Peter and MJ feel so believable. It brought me back to high school. But while Peter is figuring out his feelings, he's still figuring out himself. And I think that's actually what the Home trilogy has always actually been about. People often compare Peter's journey to Tony Stark's. Tony evolves through technology, every movie. Another suit, another armor, another invention. But Peter's evolution is different. His growth isn't external, it's internal. Homecoming teaches him responsibility. Tony tells him one of the greatest lines in the mcu. If you're nothing without the suit, then you shouldn't have it. That lesson, so powerful, becomes Peter's foundation. Because Tony cares so much about Peter. He's done everything that he could to keep the kids safe in a Spider man suit while he's kind of the one approving his superhero days. And it's his responsibility, in his mind, to keep Peter safe from everything. That's why we get the babysitter or whatever, the protocol that keeps him from going all out crazy in that suit, like with ultimate or Ultra Kill mode but far from home. Test Peter in a completely different way. After Tony is gone and the events of Infinity War Endgame. Peter's grieving Tony. He doesn't think he's ready. He doesn't want to carry that responsibility. So when Quentin Beck comes along, Peter doesn't just trust him because Beck seems like a nice guy. Peter trusts him because Beck represents something Peter desperately wants to believe that someone else can carry the weight. That's why watching Peter hand over Edith is so painful. Every time I watch it, I just cringe because I know everything that's coming. But honestly, I also think Tony put an impossible burden on Peter. Leaving a teenager control over a global surveillance system and weaponized drones. That's just absolutely insane. That's an insane amount of responsibility. So while Peter makes a terrible decision, I also understand why he makes it. Giving the glasses and Edith, even. Even the dad. I'm the hero. He's grieving. He's overwhelmed. He's just a kid. That's why he finds Mysterio to be the hero, the next Iron Man. He's got everyone fooled. So when you're looking at these movies kind of microscopically in the moment, every movie is a huge event because it's a new Spider man film. You're definitely seeing them much more individually instead of seeing the story overall up until where we're here right now. After all that time, kind of getting to process the story of this Peter Parker and the time that has been allotted to him to grow into Spider man, to Become the best version of Spider man and Peter Parker all in the same bundle. And then there's Peter. Spider Sense. Or the Peter Tingle. I do love that joke. But underneath the joke is something really important. Peter has always had this ability. We see hints of it all the way back to Infinity War. His arm hairs stand up before anyone else notices the danger. By the way, such a cool clip. And we do know that that is actually what they did to Tom Holland. Like, they gave him the goosebumps. And those hairs rising up on his arm actually are real. It's not. Not CGI or anything, which I think is brilliant. So Far From Home isn't the origin of his spider sense by any means. It's the story of Peter finally trusting it. Mysterio. He builds this entire plan around deception, illusions, false realities, making Peter doubt what he's actually seeing. By the end of the movie, Peter wins because he stops trusting his eyes. He starts trusting himself. No fancy technology, no Tony, no Edith. And also no web shooters. At this point, he's. He loses those, too. All he's running on is pure instinct. And that's a huge step forward for this version of Spider man and Tony giving Peter the rights to Edith and having him control all of that power. It does make me wonder a little bit about Tony Stark's mindset when he enacted that. Because what he must have had to do was assume Peter Parker. Peter Parker will be saved. And if Peter Parker is saved, I trust him and his pure heart to make the right decisions with this giant system of defense. He is my protege, so he will get it when I pass. And maybe, just maybe, Tony Stark didn't fully realized he was going to die in End Game. Thus, if he died, like many years later, he had it just ready for Peter whenever he did die, Whether it be right after the battle, not ideal for Tony, or a few years later when he's just ready to pass on the mantle and able to explain to Peter why he's giving him such a great responsibility instead of someone like Nick Fury or someone who is a little bit older and wiser, not just a kid from high school who just happens to be one of the greatest superheroes of all time, then no way home happens. And I honestly think that's where the Home trilogy reveals what it's really been doing all along. Looking back, I don't think these are three separate adventures. I think they're one giant origin story. I mean, that's also including his arc and Infinity War and End Game, but the trilogy itself. Also the first Movie teaches Peter responsibility. The second teaches him confidence. And then the third strips absolutely everything away. Tony, May, Ned and mj, his identity, his home, everything. And when the movie ends, Peter finally becomes the Spider man we've always known. Not just Iron Man Junior, not the Kid Avenger, just Spider Man. Now here's why all of this has me so excited. Brand new day will be Tom Holland's seventh appearance on screen as Spider Man. Civil War. Homecoming. Infinity War. End Game. Far from home. No way home. Now this. Think about that. We've. We've never had a live action Spider man with this much continuous storytelling. Not Toby, not Andrew. We've watched this Peter grow for six movies. Almost every major lesson, almost every defining moment, almost every victory, almost every mistake, we've been there until now. Because for the first time going into brand new day, years may have passed. We actually might be meeting Peter Parker, who has been living his life without us being able to watch his every move on screen. Maybe he's become New York's friendly neighborhood Spider Man. Maybe criminals recognize him as the webhead like they do in the games, in the book, comic book, source material. Maybe he's settled into routines. Maybe he's more confident, or maybe he's even quieter. Maybe he's finally become the Spider man that only experience can create. And honestly, I think that's incredibly exciting. It is kind of the start of a new journey for Peter, which makes me happy. And it means we'll get even more and more of him as time goes on. They're going to make him do it till he's 90. Like Wolverine maybe. I don't know. I don't like looking that far ahead because I want to enjoy the moment. And this all is so exciting because I don't know what's going to happen. I don't. And honestly, I don't want to. I want to walk into that theater and meet a Peter Parker who has been growing all the while we were away. When I first started this re watch, I thought I was just revisiting some great Spider man movies, but instead I realized something I've never articulated before. We've almost never missed Peter Parker's life. We've grown up with him movie after movie, moment after moment. And now for the first time, Marvel has the opportunity to let us catch up with him instead of following him every step of the way. And I mean, I'm pretty sure it's confirmed that there is no instantaneous, like, moment to moment. Like, we're not going to follow Peter the minute his life Fell apart kind of in the way where he had to make everybody forget him. There's going to be a real life time jump, almost the exact time as the last movie came out. Till now, Peter's been operating in real time as Spider man. And that's a new beginning. Honestly. That's maybe a really brand new day, really means a new beginning for Peter Parker, a new beginning for us as an audience and as a Spider man fan. I don't know how to even express my excitement more than making this little episode a few weeks that I could barely even wait. It's the beginning of the month, the end of the month, the movie comes out and wow. I mean, I'm just happy to be a superhero fan right now, especially a Spider man fan. And honestly, I cannot wait to see Meet the Spider man we've been missing. And seeing how he goes about being Spider man after this amount of time, it kind of blows my mind as a viewer. Seeing our young Peter Parker from Civil War grow up into his own man and becoming the literal definition of Spider Man. It's inspiring, and it also makes me feel older. And not that that's a bad thing, but I was an adult when he came on screen as Spider man for the first time, and I am further into adulthood now, 10 years later, as he's going into his seventh appearance on screen and his fourth mainline movie. Had no idea he would make it this far. Always dreamed that he would. And I wonder what he's been doing as Spider man while operating alone, without Stark tech, just on his own, with his own gut instincts. It's more akin to the comics. People even in the fan base love Spider man the way he is, as Tom Holland, you know, portrays him, but wants him not to have all the Tony Stark access, less access to technology, less kind of let's build a suit in an airplane type of thing more. Here's Peter making his suit from a sewing machine. And this reminds us a lot of Tobey Maguire, Spider man, maybe even a little bit of Andrew Garfield. And I like to see Peter in this spot because it's putting him in a spot similar to where we start off with these other Spider men, except for this whole backstory just kind of in our. In the back of our minds. And that holds a lot of weight. And that's what makes the MCU such a beautiful, amazing thing when it comes back around and. And continuous storytelling is able to develop over time. I love it. I'm crazy about it, and I'm very, very happy that this movie is coming out. I've enjoyed talking to you about Spidey. I'm not sure how many more Spider man episodes I'll make before Brand New Day, but I'm Spider man obsessed right now, so don't be surprised if there's maybe even one more. Join our Discord server in the notes section of this episode. We want to talk about Spider Man. We could talk talk about Spider Man. You can email me at marvelmaniacpodgmail.com your thoughts, your theories, your thoughts about this Spider Man's journey overall and where you may be able to you would hope it would go for another trilogy. Being Brand New Day is the first of this new trilogy. We'll see Brand New Day rolls off the tongue. Now it sounds just right. Sounds perfect. I'm ready for this. Are you ready? I'd ask you to rate the show. Do the five stars, do the thumbs up, write the review. It gives us even more opportunity to meet more people and talk about great power and great responsibility and all that good stuff. This has been Eric Cicada, aka Mr. Honest. I'm Marvel maniac and MCU after show and until next time, Avengers disassemble.