Just when we had gotten to predict what storylines Spider-Man could have in Sony’s Marvel Universe after learning he might be gone for good, the character returned to the MCU. This sparked a number of fan appreciation posts and responses for Spidey, which makes us want to commemorate him as well.
With this in mind, the best way to pay tribute to Spider-Man in the MCU would be the recall the best moments he was part of. After all, had he not won us over in these scenes, then we wouldn’t have been waiting anxiously for what MCU’s Spider-Man 3 holds for the future. Here are 10 of the character’s best moments in the MCU.
The Real First Appearance
This was a retcon over a scene from Iron Man 2, but it speaks so much volume over Spider-Man’s character that it made total sense to make that kid out to be a young Peter Parker. It showed that, even as a child, Peter had the superhero spirit.
As it happened, Hammer Drones surrounded the Stark Expo, with everyone except for the young Peter Parker evacuating. This boy, who had on an Iron Man mask, would raise his hand to emulate the beams that emitted from Iron Man’s armor, which was when the real Iron Man came along to save him. Despite facing what was certain death, the child Peter Parker showed that he was always Spider-Man even when he hadn’t gotten his powers.
His First Superhero Scene
Now, this was a scene that told us everything we needed to know about how the teenage Peter Parker was, with his enthusiasm at joining the airport fight in Captain America: Civil War perfectly contrasting the tension that was there.
It was also the most anticipated scene from the film since it was the first time fans got to see Spider-Man in his full costume within the MCU. Thankfully, the execution was perfect, and the following bumbling attempts from Spider-Man to come across as one of the gang only made it better.
When He Realized He Didn’t Need The Suit To Be A Hero
All of Spider-Man: Homecoming went by before this point with Peter desperately trying to be like Iron Man. Despite Tony warning him that nothing good comes out of chasing some fantasy, Peter still had this idea in his mind.
This was why he began crying like a child when trapped under rubble, as he’d become used to being rescued by Iron Man. However, he found it in himself to overcome that boyish fear, reconciling his vulnerability with the superhero mentality that he brought out to power the rubble from above him and save his life.
Overcoming Mysterio’s Illusions
Even though Peter wasn’t to blame for the death of Iron Man, he felt some kind of responsibility for what happened, even apologizing to Tony before he died. In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Mysterio played into this insecurity of Peter and projected Tony’s death in the worst ways to find an opening to kill Peter.
However, Peter would bring out his Spider-Man persona and utilize his spidey-sense to weed out the real Mysterio. It was an incredible achievement when one considers how Mysterio’s illusions seemed impossible to overcome. With this act, Peter was able to both defeat Mysterio and bury his own demons.
Ditching Homecoming To Stop Vulture
If you think about it, there was no need for Spider-Man to go up against Vulture at all, seeing as there were bigger heroes out there and Spider-Man’s assistance was never asked for by anyone. And yet, he ditched his big romantic moment with Liz because he knew the power of responsibility.
While viewers would’ve liked to have seen Peter get together with the girl he’d been crushing on the whole movie, he instead headed out to confront the Vulture. We never got to hear Uncle Ben’s immortal words in the MCU, but Spider-Man’s move to fight Vulture made it clear he embodied those words.
Saving Everyone In The Washington Monument
This would’ve been a cakewalk for any other superhero, but Spider-Man was way in over his head when he headed into the Washington Monument to rescue his classmates. It was also done at a time where going through with this meant getting public exposure, making the risk all the more noteworthy.
Even though he did manage to save the day, Spider-Man was not once at ease during this mission, as he stumbled and collapsed the whole time. But this is what separates him from the rest of the heroes, as his constant mishaps only enable him to learn and grow.
Turning Down Tony Stark’s Invitation
Character development is key even in a superhero movie, and we got to see this in spades in Spider-Man: Homecoming, where the titular protagonist started out wanting nothing more than to be a part of the Avengers, only to turn the invite down by the end of the film.
It was the right choice too, since it didn’t only apply in-universe, it was also a message to the youth watching that you don’t need grand achievements to feel like a hero - it’s how you perceive yourself that matters. Making it an even bigger deal was that it was Tony Stark whom he was turning down, although this act only made Tony respect Peter even more.
Verbally Burning Star-Lord
We all thought Tony Stark was the one who had the best quotes and quips in the MCU, but Star-Lord managed to give him a run for his money in Avengers: Infinity War, that is until he brought up the topic of Footloose in front of Spider-Man.
Believing that the film was still the greatest to be ever released on Earth, Star-Lord was left speechless when Peter burned him by hitting back that Footloose was never a good film to begin with. It was here that fans realized Spider-Man had managed to emulate Iron Man like he’d always wanted, what with the effortless burn he doled out to Star-Lord.
The Hug With Tony
The MCU is filled with loving moments between characters, but you’ll be surprised to find out that hardly any of these people engage in hugging each other. We didn’t get to see characters like Thor, Captain America, or Iron Man hug it out, which made the sight of the latter embracing Spider-Man something truly special.
By this point, there were enough hints that Tony really did consider Peter as his son, but it was him going for the hug that sealed the deal. Peter’s effect on Tony was complete here, seeing as Tony had denied him a hug back in Homecoming; this showed that not even the great Tony Stark was immune to the likability factor of Spider-Man.
Not Wanting To Go
Of course, we all loved that hug mainly because we’d seen Spider-Man die at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. Fans weren’t sure if Spider-Man was one of their absolute favorite characters before watching the film, but found out that really was the case when they heard him weeping that he didn’t want to go.
Despite most of the other superheroes also dying, it was the sight of the helpless Peter Parker struggling to stay alive that got the tears rolling from most fans. To top it off, even in his last thoughts Peter didn’t want to disappoint Tony, meaning that nice guy quality of his was never going to go away.
