There's a lot that we don't know about the personality and preferences of the newest incarnation of Spider-Man, but as it turns out, the kid is a serious basketball fan. A series of TV spots for Spider-Man: Homecoming created especially for the NBA Finals have begun to air, and we have to admit they're pretty entertaining. In last night's spot, Peter Parker arrives at Tony Stark's place for his NBA Finals party, only to get sidetracked. However, Peter isn't the only one missing the game, as we get a hilarious Marvel cameo out on the street. Stan Lee doesn't just show up in Marvel movies, he also does commercials.
The clip sees Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan catching Peter as he arrives at Tony Stark's home, however, instead of going to the party, Hogan sends Peter on a snacks run, because he's faster than delivery. The snacks are for Tim Duncan, as Tony's party apparently includes a number of NBA stars who aren't actually playing in the finals. Do people who missed the NBA Finals actually go parties to watch the games? I feel like that would just be too painful. Bonus points for the "just the fundamentals" line, as I understand that is a basketball joke.
Unfortunately, Peter gets sent a little off course as some bad guys are apparently using the distraction of the NBA Finals to rob a store, an event which Spider-Man stops to thwart because even though he wants to watch the game, he knows his job is to be a hero first. Of course, the real punchline of the piece is the inclusion of Stan Lee, who says he thinks he recognizes the character that he created back in the 1960s.
This spot that aired last night is actually the second in a series that will continue through the first five games of the NBA Finals, which shows a certain degree of confidence that the series will run to at least that many games. I realize that the history of these two teams in the Finals would indicate that at least five games is likely, but there's still a risk taken here.
The first spot, which was released prior to Game 1, showed Tony Stark himself, Robert Downey Jr, finalizing his invite list to his Finals party, showing how Peter got invited to the party in the first place. Check out that clip below.
While the NBA Finals isn't the first event that one might expect to see do a marketing tie-in with Spider-Man: Homecoming, it is yet another reminder that superhero movies have become part of the mainstream. There used to be a pop culture division between those who read comic books and those who watched professional sports. Today, those people are one and the same.
