Last night Marvel almost made the internet explode when they dropped the first trailer for Captain America: Civil War. One character who we know will be in the movie, but who didn’t show up in the first look (unless you believe some dubious rumors making the rounds), is Spider-Man. We’re looking forward to Wall Crawler’s first MCU appearance for a number of reasons, but one is because he represents something different his fellow superheroes. Tom Holland, who plays the new Web Slinger, broke down one reason why he stands apart from his fellows: his secret identity.
In the process of pumping up his upcoming whaling adventure, In the Heart of the Sea, in which he co-stars with the MCU’s Thor, Chris Hemsworth, Holland spoke to Super Hero Hype. As you can imagine, the subject of Spidey comes up with great regularity, and he talked about how his secret life as Peter Parker makes him different from the other superheroes.
I think one of the most interesting things about Peter Parker for us is that he’s the only person in the MCU now that has a secret identity, so we all know who everyone else is. I think it’s quite interesting to go back to that hiding behind a mask.
While secret identities are a big deal in the comic books, thus far in the MCU, most of the primary players flaunt their true selves for all to see. Tony Stark outed himself as Iron Man right away, and Steve Rodgers is well known as Captain America. But Spider-Man is a different animal. Peter wears a mask and costume to keep the people he cares about safe from harm, safe from those who might seek retribution against him through his loved ones. In this regard, he’s almost has more in common with the street level members of the MCU, like Daredevil.
The secret identity isn’t the only thing that makes Spider-Man different, though, his age also plays a big part. For the most part, the heroes of the MCU are grown-ass men (with a smattering of adult females), but Peter Parker, especially this incarnation of him, is young, just a high school kid trying to make it through puberty and fight crime at the same time.
While we know that Spider-Man will get his own solo adventure in 2017, we don’t know how big a role he’ll play in Civil War. In the comics that serve as the source material, Spidey doesn’t have a huge part, though he’s always around, but he is responsible for a big, powerful moment in the fight for/against superhero registration. It’s a fantastic scene, but Marvel has never been shy about changing the stories from page to screen, so we’re curious if it will make the final cut.
We’ll find out when Captain America: Civil War opens on May 6, 2016.
