Every superhero movie has to find ways to uniquely adapt its source material to both provide something unique to moviegoers while also stay faithful to those original stories from the printed page. In Spider-Man: Homecoming's case, it has to put in extra effort since five previous Spider-Man movies have come before in the last 15 years. One of the ways the upcoming MCU movie differentiated itself is by casting Tony Revolori (seen above) as Flash Thompson, a character usually more physical imposing. As it turns out, that won't be an issue for Spider-Man: Homecoming, as the MCU's Flash isn't the kind of bully who beats up his victims.
While speaking with Short List Magazine (via ComicBookMovie), Spider-Man: Homecoming star Tom Holland revealed that Flash Thompson won't be physically harassing Peter Parker, but rather will verbally bully him during the movie. Holland explained:
American high schools are so different to British ones. Bullying wasn't really a thing, so when they cast Flash Thompson they knew they didn't need a 6ft 5in jock to beat Peter Parker up. They needed a rich, smug kid commenting on how bad his trainers were.
In the early Spider-Man comic book stories, long before Peter Parker and Flash Thompson buried the hatchet and became friends, Flash was a jock at Midtown High School who bullied Peter Parker for being studious and a nerd. Flash was nowhere near Peter's intellectual level, but his strength and popularity among the other students made him an unfortunate foil for the teenage superhero while at school. Rather than go the physical route where we'd see Flash literally push Peter around, Spider-Man: Homecoming will have Tony Revolori's iteration of the character making Peter's life hell through verbal taunts, insults, etc.
Bullying comes in many forms, and just because Peter is being physically bothered by Flash doesn't mean that the torment will be any more annoying or hurtful. With social media's prominence nowadays, I also wouldn't be surprised if Flash was cyber-bullying Peter, too. Of course, if Revolori's Flash is anything like his comic book counterpart, that will make it all the more ironic that the guy he's bullying is also the superhero he worships.
Following his MCU debut in Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming will see Peter Parker still getting the hang of being a superhero while also balancing his school and personal life. Besides Flash Thompson, Peter's other classmates in this continuity include Laura Harrier's Liz Allan, Jacob Batalon's Ned Leeds and Zendaya's Michelle. Outside of the classrooms, the costumed Peter will be battling The Vulture and his gang, who have come into possession of advanced weaponry for committing their crimes.
Spider-Man: Homecoming swings into theaters on July 7.
