Tom Holland, star of the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming, has confirmed a rumor that Peter Parker was previously in a Marvel Cinematic Universe film.
Iron Man 2
The film in question is Iron Man 2. The scene that is referenced is where several Iron Man-like robots are targeting the public. A kid in an Iron Man mask and light up gloves tries to take on the bad bots. Tony Stark appears behind him and blows the robot away, but acknowledges the kid.
Confirmation
According to Newsarama.com, Holland told Huffington Post that he talked to Marvel Studios exec Kevin Feige and Feige said it’s ok with him that the kid is Peter Parker. It’s not known how much of this history will be essential to the upcoming movie. But, it makes Spider-Man a more established character in the MCU.
At the time there was no way to reference Parker because Sony had the rights to the character in films. Spider-Man has been referenced vocally by Hydra in Captain America: The Winter Soldier before appearing in Captain America: Civil War. Both the Iron Man reference and Cap reference make it very fitting that both characters appear in the new Spider-Man movie.
What This Means For the MCU
Spider-Man having made a “cameo” before his time means there could be references to others that will be confirmed as time goes on. The other implication is the amount of time that has taken place for the MCU. In comics, it’s a bit ambiguous how time progresses. Decades for us can be like 5 years for comics. But, for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s clear now that time progresses the same as it does for us. Peter Parker is a young child in Iron Man 2, which is 7 years ago. Now he’s a teenager in his own film. What’s good is that Marvel Studios can show that heroes age, and we may see some retire as filming goes on.
What do you think about the Peter Parker appearance? Let us know in the comments!