Warning: SPOILERS for Avengers: Endgame are ahead!
Avengers: Endgame might be the biggest, most action-packed movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet, but it’s Spider-Man: Far From Home that’s officially wrapping up Phase 3 of this franchise. It’s been two years since Peter Parker was directly in the spotlight for Spider-Man: Homecoming, but the teen hero was also present for most of Avengers: Infinity War and made a triumphant return in Endgame’s climax with the rest of the heroes who had been dusted.
Rather than opening on a traditional Friday as is customary, Spider-Man: Far From Home opens in theaters tomorrow, and if you’re eager to catch it on the big screen as soon as possible, then obviously you won’t have time to re-watch certain Marvel movies for preparation. Not to worry though, as we’ve put together the three most important things to remember before you sit down to watch Far From Home.
Aunt May Knows Peter Is Spider-Man
For the majority of Spider-Man’s comic book history, May Parker hasn’t known that her nephew is a costume-wearing, web-spinning vigilante. Rather than keep that ignorance intact for the MCU Spider-Man film series, Spider-Man: Homecoming decided to rip off that figurative band-aid when the story concluded.
During most of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Aunt May was understandably worried about Peter, from how the “Stark internship” was stressing him out to his repeated absences from school to how he’d leave the apartment at night. Things got especially tense when Aunt May didn’t know where Peter was during the Staten Island Ferry incident and demanded to know why he’d been behaving so strangely lately. Not wanting May to know about his superhero life, Peter informed her he lost the Stark internship, and that seemed to suffice.
Alas, Peter’s stalling was only temporary, because at the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming, as Peter was putting back on his classic Spidey suit that Tony Stark returned to him, he was unaware that Aunt May was still in their apartment. Her response to learning that her son was the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man was, well, expletive-laden.
Since Aunt May wasn’t around for Avengers: Infinity War or Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home marks the first time we’re seeing her now living her life knowing Peter is Spider-Man. Interestingly enough, judging by the trailers, she seems to be perfectly fine with her nephew’s crimefighting activities, even going so far as to pack his suit for his trip to Europe even though Peter wants a break from the superhero life.
Knowing about Peter’s secret identity has also opened up a romantic opportunity for May, as now she knows Tony Stark’s former bodyguard and right-hand man, Happy Hogan. It will be interesting to see just how close these two get and if Happy will go from being Peter’s friend/mentor to new uncle.
The Dusted Didn’t Age
Going into Avengers: Endgame, it was expected that all the heroes who were turned to dust at the end of Avengers: Infinity War by Thanos’ Infinity Stones-powered snap would be brought back to life. Marvel remained cagey on the subject, but when you have new Spider-Man, Doctor Strange and Black Panther movies on the way, it’s basically guaranteed that resurrection is coming.
Sure enough, after Avengers: Endgame’s main heroes retrieved the Infinity Stones from different points in time, Hulk channeled their power through Tony Stark’s nanotech Infinity Gauntlet, and one snap later, he brought back those who disappeared five years earlier. He walked away with a damaged arm for his effort, but it was worth it to restore half of all life in the universe.
Now let me clarify something: Hulk didn’t change any history when he brought the dusted back. It’s not like he made it so that Thanos never committed genocide; those five years with the survivors picking up the pieces still happened. So for the folks who disappeared and then reappeared, they’re the same age and now have to resume their lives half a decade later despite it feeling like no time passed for them.
For Peter Parker, that means he has to resume high school, despite the fact that the classmates of his who survived Thanos’ snap are adults in college. Fortunately, he’s still surrounded by familiar faces in Spider-Man: Far From Home, as Ned, MJ, Flash Thompson and Betty Brant are attending the trip to Europe with him, indicating they were also snapped out of existence.
Since Aunt May was also a victim of the Snap, presumably we’ll see how she’s been coping with this new status quo. It’s one thing to be a student and just go back to school upon being brought back, but for an adult, one would imagine it’s even harder getting back into a normal rhythm after being gone for five years.
Peter Is Still Grieving For Tony Stark
For over 10 years, we watched Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, protect the world and grow into a more selfless individual. In the fallout of Avengers: Infinity War, he finally settled down with Pepper Potts and they had a daughter named Morgan, and initially he had no interest in helping out with the Time Heist. But ultimately Tony’s heroic tendencies won out, and in the end, he sacrificed his life by using the Infinity Stones to wipe out Thanos and his forces.
Although Uncle Ben did exist in the MCU, Tony Stark served as Peter Parker’s main father figure in this franchise. You could tell Peter was devastated to see Tony die in Avengers: Endgame, and in Spider-Man: Far From Home, he’s still grieving the loss of his mentor. It’s possible he may even feel responsible for Tony’s death.
Peter is honoring Tony Stark in Spider-Man: Far From Home by still using the Iron Spider suit at the beginning of the movie and later putting on the special glasses that once belonged to the billionaire industrialist. It also looks like the lad learned a thing or two from Tony on the engineering/inventing side of things, as he’s built his own technologically-advanced Spider-Man suit.
In one of the Spider-Man: Far From Home trailers, Peter talks about how the world needs the next Iron Man, making it seem like he’s ready to carry on that mantle. Since this is a Spider-Man film series, we can reasonably assume that Peter won’t be donning one of Tony’s old suits in the future, but Far From Home is definitely taking the time to honor Tony’s legacy before we move into the next chapter of the MCU. Since Peter was so close to the man, it’s important he achieve some sort of closure.
Before you go to see Spider-Man: Far From Home, make sure to read CinemaBlend’s review of the movie, and if you’re curious about what Marvel movies are coming down the pipeline, look through our comprehensive guide.
