Why Spider-Man: Homecoming Didn't Show Peter Getting His Powers

Peter Parker's first solo MCU film, Spider-Man: Homecoming, didn't show the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man getting his powers, unlike any Spider-Man film that had come before. Tom Holland debuted as Peter Parker in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, assuming the coveted role that had previously been played by both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. Sony's previous adaptations of Marvel Comics' web-slinging superhero had always shown the teenager's initial reaction to gaining his abilities, but Marvel Studios negated this storyline, introducing Peter Parker in the MCU timeline several months after he had acquired his powers.

When Tom Holland was announced to be appearing in a then upcoming MCU release as Peter Parker, many speculated that Spider-Man's origin story would be told once again. However, his appearance in Captain America: Civil War saw the teenage genius already showing off his web-slinging abilities, and Spider-Man: Homecoming only alluded to the fact that a spider had bitten him. This was again revisited during Spider-Man: No Way Home, when Peter suggests he's only had one normal week since his fateful bite. There is, however, a clear reason that Marvel Studios chose to ignore this part of Spider-Man's MCU story.

How Did Tom Holland's Spider-Man Get His Powers?

In a conversation between Parker and Ned Leeds in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Parker confirms that he had been bitten by a spider, resulting in him gaining spider-like abilities. This was reiterated in Spider-Man: No Way Home, although this event has never actually been seen in the MCU.

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In Marvel Comics, Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider at a science exhibit, leading to him gaining the abilities of a spider: enhanced agility, stamina, lightning-fast reflexes, the ability to climb walls and ceilings, and a precognition known as "Spider-Sense." His genius also leads to him developing technology that allows him to shoot synthetic webs from his wrists like a spider spinning silk.

Why The MCU Ignored Peter Parker's Spider-Man Origin

With Tom Holland's character already Spider-Man by the time he appeared in Captain America: Civil War, it seemed like the MCU was content to move on from Peter's origin story this time around. This is exactly what they did with Spider-Man: Homecoming, building from the events of his previous appearance instead of going backwards. Later on, though, key moments of Parker's origin would be on full display in the trilogy.

In the book With Great Power: How Spider-Man Conquered Hollywood during the Golden Age of Comic Book Blockbusters by author Sean O'Connell, director Jon Watts opened up about not showing Spider-Man's origin, including the iconic spider bite. “It was just so nice to skip past it and just deal with more with the repercussions… and just explore it from the perspective of someone else finding out about it and having a lot of questions.”

Despite being reluctant to retell his origin story, Holland's Spider-Man essentially got just that during the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. In doing so, this new Spider-Man trilogy became a giant origin story for the character and a perfect jumping off point for Peter Parker's future. In Spider-Man: No Way Home - The Art of the Movie book Jon Watts talks about this exact idea. "But in the end, you know, it was nice to be able to have everything coalesce into, at its essence, the simple story of Spider-Man. We just really all took our time telling the first issue of 'Spider-Man' — that origin story.”

Showing Spider-Man's Origins Again Would Be A Waste Of Time

While many expected Marvel Studios to adapt Spider-Man's origin story once again for his new home in the MCU, it was perhaps a better choice that this part of Peter Parker's story be avoided. Die-hard fans of Spider-Man (and even more casual audiences) were already familiar with Spider-Man's famous and age-old origin story, so it simply didn't need to be retold for the MCU.

Retelling this story would have detracted from the seamless introduction of Spider-Man into the MCU.

What's more, Parker's origin story had already been told two times in a decade, with 2002's Spider-Man and 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man both detailing the spider's bite. Retelling this story would have detracted from the seamless introduction of Spider-Man into the MCU. It would have been a waste of time to retread these steps, especially since there are many Spider-Man stories that had never been told in live-action, such as Spider-Man being recruited as an Avenger in his MCU debut.

A more refreshing narrative was expanded on in Spider-Man: Homecoming, as Parker came to terms with going back to school after fighting with Earth's Mightiest Heroes, so it makes sense that the web-slinger's origin story was brushed over, allowing Tom Holland to portray a version of the hero with more gravitas and believability, and kick-starting a new era for Spider-Man.

An Upcoming Disney+ Cartoon Is Giving Tom Holland's Spider-Man An Origin

While the main MCU continuity might never reveal the details of Peter Parker's origins as Spider-Man, this story will still be told during Marvel Studios' upcoming animated series, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, initially titled Spider-Man: Freshman Year. Though this version of Peter Parker will be a variant, the series will explore Parker's early high school days and the start of his career as Spider-Man.

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Joining Peter Parker in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is a slew of Spider-Man-related Marvel Comics characters, including Norman and Harry Osborn, Otto Octavius, Amadeus Cho, and Matt Murdock. Spider-Man: Homecomingset the precedent for the live-action Peter Parker, but Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will tell a story that many have been waiting to see.

Why Spider-Man's Second MCU Arc Could Show More About His Origin Story

Spider-Man: No Way Home's ending closes with Peter in many ways being placed back to square one, as a lone vigilante who has been forgotten by his remaining loved ones. As such, it seems likely the story of Spider-Man 4 will see a return to the hero's roots of sorts, featuring a more grounded adventure for the iconic Marvel character.

Spider-Man 4's most popular villain choices are Venom and Kingpin, both of which would tie in well to a scene or moment that shows more about the origin story of Holland's Spider-Man.

With this in mind, the chances of at least some allusions to Spider-Man's MCU origin story are actually more likely in Spider-Man 4 than they were in the original movie trilogy. This is because, while the MCU trilogy wanted to establish itself as its own distinctive iteration of Spider-Man, No Way Home marked a point wherein the series was able to more openly celebrate the character's history, which may allow further installments to detail events that earlier movies like Spider-Man: Homecoming were careful to miss out.

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  Spider-Man: Homecoming

  PG-13 Action Adventure Science Fiction Drama 8/10 69 8.6/10 Release Date July 7, 2017 Runtime 133 minutes

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  • Tom Holland Peter Parker / Spider-Man
  • Michael Keaton Adrian Toomes / Vulture
  Director Jon Watts Writers Chris McKenna, John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, Christopher Ford, Erik Sommers, Jon Watts Budget $175 Million Powered by

  

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• Spider-Man: Far From Home

  PG-13 Adventure Comedy Superhero Action 7/10 Runtime 129 minutes Director Jon Watts Writers Erik Sommers, Chris McKenna Prequel(s) Spider-Man: Homecoming Sequel(s) Spider-Man: No Way Home Franchise(s) Spider-Man

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  • Michael Keaton
  • Tom Holland
  Budget $160 million Powered by

  

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  Spider-Man: No Way Home

  PG-13 Superhero Action Adventure Fantasy 198 9.0/10 Release Date December 17, 2021 Runtime 148 Minutes

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  • Tom Holland Peter Parker
  • Zendaya MJ
  Director Jon Watts Writers Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko Budget $200 Million Powered by

  

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