The Decline of the MCU's Spider-Man

So the Spider-Man from the Marvel Cinematic Universe started out really great with his first appearance in Captain America: Airport Fight, but over time, they progressively make him worse, and less like Spider-Man.

Let's break it down. Here are all the elements that I believe make up a good interpretation of Peter Parker Spider-Man:

• Was bitten by a radioactive spider, gaining spider-powers
• Motivated by guilt and responsibility from the death of his Uncle Ben
• Has a secret identity to protect those he cares about
• Is nerd
• Does some quips
• Faces everyday problems
• Does not kill
• Occasionally, swings through New York on webs

And that's basically everything.

When we first meet Tom Holland's Spider-Man in Civil War, we see most of these things realized. He's got spider-powers, he's a nerd, is relatively poor having to dumpster dive, so that's everyday problems covered. He has a secret identity stating that Aunt May would "freak," if she found out. There's no mention of Uncle Ben specifically, but we know that Peter is motivated by guilt and responsibility, so that's good. At the airport fight, he doesn't kill anyone and makes some quips. Good. This is Spider-Man.

But with each subsequent movie, Tom Holland becomes less and less like Spider-Man.

Spider-Man Homecoming. This movie probably does the most damage. No mention of Uncle Ben, and this time there's no responsibility or guilt to motivate him either. Instead he is motivated by wanting to become an Avenger. Which leads me to my next point: Holland does not face everyday problems. His main conflict is whether or not Iron Man likes him. That's not relatable. The other conflict in this movie is that the girl he likes, likes him back. Which isn't conflict. What a conundrum! The hot girl likes me!

Now Peter is still technically a nerd, I guess, because he is really smart. But the important part of the nerd factor is that he doesn't fit in. But Peter does fit in here. Yeah, one guy is mean to him, but he has friends. Like, multiple friends. And sure, he quips. But the whole point of the quippage, is that Spider-Man allows Peter to have a confidence that he wouldn't normally have. But this Peter has nothing to worry about, girls like him, he has friends. He's essentially the same character in and out of the suit. And yeah, Peter at least attempts to keep his identity a secret, although he is fucking terrible at it.

The filmmakers are extremely careful to never show Spider-Man swinging through New York, because "we've seen that before." Yea, no shit. Spider-Man swings, that's what he does. Not having him swing through New York is like making a Superman movie where he doesn't fly. What's even the point?

Infinity War starts off promising, but quickly descends into Tom Holland chicanery. Spidey actually swings through New York in this one. It's very brief, but it's a start. And he is motivated simply by wanting to help out because it is the right thing to do. Until Tony makes him an Avenger halfway through, and they treat it like it's a big character moment for him. Also, this is the movie where he throughs his secret identity out the window. Taking off his mask for Doctor Strange, who he just met, and for Star Lord and The Guardians, before he meets them. All while in space. Don't take off your mask idiot! Who knows what kind of alien pathogens exist in Thanos' donut ship? Or if there is even oxygen. Plus, how do you know you can trust that wizard you just met, or the guy pointing a gun at your head? Yeah, May already knows, but you can still tell compelling stories with that dynamic (see the Ultimate comics). The important part of the secret identity is that your enemies don't know who you are. But Peter just tells everyone he meets, before discerning if he can even trust them.

His quips also get more dumb in this one. We get another "that really old movie," which is stupid, because it feels like how old people think teenagers talk. Why would Peter refer to Aliens as an old movie as if it had no relevance when Alien Covenant came out a year before this movie takes place? I can excuse the one in Civil War, because maybe Peter is just nervous to be meeting the Avengers for the first time. But this same joke again? Really?

So at last we arrive at the final nail in the coffin: Endgame. Spoilers I guess. Peter comes back for Endgame, and when he does, he activates instant kill mode. Peter is now a killer. Yeah, you can argue that killing mutant alien dog creatures isn't the same as killing another person, but my Peter Parker doesn't kill. Period. He would find another way out of the situation. And this was the point that I realized, that this Spider-Man isn't for me.

Before this point, I still had hope for the MCU's Spidey. I really like Tom Holland in the role, and if they just changed a couple very minor things, this would be the best on screen interpretation of the character. But clearly Marvel and Sony just aren't interested in doing a version of the character that feels like Spider-Man.

And based on the Far From Home trailers, it looks like Marvel isn't planning on making this Peter more like Spider-Man any time soon. It's not set in New York. He even says that he's planning to take a break from being Spider-Man, because fuck great power equating to great responsibility. Aunt May, didn't freak, and is apparently cool with him being Spidey. And Peter is revealing his identity left and right. "Oh hello, Peter Parker, I'm Mysterio, glad I know your identity so I can kill your family later." It just looks like more of the same. And I don't know if Nick Fury calling Spider-Man a bitch is enough for me to want to watch the movie. Maybe I'll catch it on Netflix. But maybe I won't. Because this version of the character is obviously not for people who like Spider-Man.

On the upside, the main reason I don't really care about the MCU Spidey anymore is that Into the Spider-Verse exists. I don't really need you anymore Tom Holland. I've got Miles Morales.

Into the Spider-Verse is so fantastic, and understands the character so well, and is the most emotional and cinematic Spidey experience since Raimi's Spider-Man 2, that I don't really need to be upset at the MCU's interpretation of the character anymore. I've got everything I need right here. Uncle Ben, great responsibility and one the best web swinging scenes ever. I still get chills every time I watch the "What's Up Danger?" sequence. Speaking of great web swinging, Spider-Man for the PS4 is phenomenal, and another amazing interpretation of the character.

The MCU seems to want to make Spider-Man more appealing to general audiences. But what's crazy, is the things that they are leaving out, the things that make him Spider-Man are what made the character appealing in the first place. You don't need Iron Man to sell your Spider-Man movie. That's like using Green Arrow to try to sell a Batman movie.

To get what the hell I'm talking about, just take a look at the PS4 game's final scene with Aunt May, vs Homecoming's final scene with Aunt May, and you tell me which is more impactful.