Tom Holland Confirms Fan Theory: Yes, That Was Peter Parker As A Little Boy In 'Iron Man 2'

Praised and beloved ever since he made his debut in Captain America: Civil War, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man will soon burst back onto our screens in Spider-Man: Homecoming, alongside the patriarch of the #MCU: Iron Man. As we know Peter Parker and Tony Stark teamed up to tackle Team Cap in Civil War, but did you know that these two superheroes actually met each other in another Marvel movie? Indeed, Tom Holland has just confirmed a long-standing fan theory, one that suggested that Peter had been in the MCU for many years already—and that we’ve already seen him.

We’ve Seen The MCU’s Peter Parker Before – In Iron Man 2

Cast your minds back to the end of Iron Man 2, particularly the climatic showdown at the Stark Expo between Tony Stark and remote-controlled Hammer drones piloted by Whiplash. There’s a standout moment where—in the midst of all hell breaking loose—a heroic little boy in an #IronMan costume steps up to take on Ivan Vanko’s drones. Thankfully Stark briefly pops out of the sky to obliterate the drone (with a “Nice work, kid,” to sweeten the deal) and soars off to continue saving the day. For a number of reasons, fans speculated that that little boy might have been a very young Peter Parker.

But thanks to #TomHolland, who hilariously can't keep a Marvel secret to save his life, we no longer have to wonder! Speaking to Huffington Post, Holland confirmed the identity of that unknown child once and for all:

“It is Peter Parker…I can confirm that as of today. I literally had a conversation with Kevin Feige only 20 minutes ago. Maybe I’ve just done a big, old spoiler, but it’s out there now…”

Whallopin’ websnappers! How terrific a titbit is this? The more cynical readers out there might assume that this is simply Holland having fun on the promotional tour, yet Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau has since corroborated this story.

Wow, that line in Spider-Man: Homecoming takes on a whole new meaning now doesn't it? And what’s even cooler is that it’s not the first time that this kind of confirmation has happened. Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 went out of its way to canonize the fan-theory that Stan Lee’s cameos were all connected by some greater power, and this addition proves just how considerate and responsive the studio is to their fan base. Sure, #Marvel and Favreau didn't know that they would get access to using Spider-Man back when they were filming Iron Man 2 so it’s a little bit of retroactive continuity-editing on their part, however, it’s nevertheless an awesome little detail which adds to the richly embroidered tapestry that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Plus Peter’s brief appearance in Iron Man 2 totally fits in with Spider-Man’s portrayal in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Certainly, whilst Tony Stark is the one who recruits him in Civil War, it’s clear that Peter has long stood in awe of the genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist; the toy mask and repulsor gauntlets in Iron Man 2 only serve to emphasize that even more. Plus the fact that as a small kid, he stood up to a tall, scary robot is very in keeping with his courageous character, even if Peter bites off a little more than he can chew.

Without Iron Man's timely intervention in 2010, baby Peter would probably have been squished, and in Spider-Man: Homecoming it seems that Stark will be on hand to save Peter once again, since Spidey's honorable intentions on the ferry appear to cause calamity. But whilst his inexperience is certainly showing, Peter's is still a great hero; at at the end of the day #SpiderMan is just a guy who wants to help others and stop them from getting hurt. But what did long-time Spidey fan Tom Holland think about this?

“It’s cool. I [really] like the idea that Peter Parker has been in the universe since the beginning.”

Don’t we all Tom…don’t we all? And of course, we really don’t have to wait long to see this iteration of Spider-Man back in action. Spider-Man: Homecoming is swinging into theaters on July 7th, 2017.

[Source: The Huffington Post]