Easily one of the most exciting aspects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 3 was the inclusion of the Amazing Spider-Man (Tom Holland) into Marvel’s ever-growing pantheon of superheroes – a product of a paradigm-setting deal between Sony and Marvel. And the character’s MCU debut in Captain America: Civil War certainly didn’t disappoint, establishing the youngest Peter Parker yet, and doing so in a way that jives with the sudden introduction of a whole score of other “small-time” heroes, including Ant-Man, in whose movie Spidey was first alluded to.
And perhaps the most tantalizing bit of foreshadowing was in Civil War’s after-credit sequence that showed Peter playing around with the brand-new, state-of-the-art Spider-Man suit that none other than Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) had built for him. Now, as filming on Spider-Man: Homecoming continues, director Jon Watts has started to open up about the Stark suit (… well, a little bit, at least).
Speaking with Comic Book, the filmmaker coyly hinted that there’s more under the spider-hood than meets the eye:
“Well, the suit that Spidey was given in Civil War is a Stark suit, so you have to wonder, with a Stark suit, what else can it do?”
Admittedly, it’s a very brief statement, but it simultaneously confirms the fan theories that Tony assembled quit a powerful suit for his new protégé to utilize on the mean streets of New York. Watts’ comments also hint at many a possibility to come; not only in Homecoming, but also in the character’s future MCU appearances (almost definitely in the the two-part Avengers: Infinity War films – the names of which are not final yet).
So, what kind of surprises can Watts and crew line up for Homecoming? Allowing for the possibility that Marvel Studios can come up with something entirely new, the most obvious piece of tech would be the so-called Spider tracers, which are exactly what they sound like: tiny tracking devices that allow Peter to follow his target (usually baddies who unwittingly lead him back to their secret lairs). Although a self-designed item in the comics, he sometimes fires them out of his web-shooters, which provides the opening for Iron Man to come in.
Other possibilities include the spiffy light located in Spidey’s utility belt that can serve many different functions, such as a flashlight, an ultraviolet light projector (for crime-scene investigations), and a Batman-esque signal, which he can project onto walls to scare thugs away. Not to mention, there could be different variations on the webs that he flings out of his shooters (which are stored away in his belt); and even Spider-Bots, which Doc Ock designed when he was temporarily Spidey in the Marvel Comics Universe – and which act essentially as drones, allowing the Superior Spider-Man to keep tabs on New York City at all times. (Okay, yes – this isn’t technically part of the suit itself, but their transmitters/receivers could be.)
It’s also possible Watts’s comments are a little misleading, and when he speaks of the “Stark suit,” he doesn’t mean the one we see in Civil War, but another, brand-new one that is donned in Homecoming. One of the biggest pieces of speculation in the lead-up to the latest Captain America’s release was that we’d see the (in)famous Iron Spider armor that was originally debuted during the 2006 “Civil War” comics storyline. Therein, Tony creates the suit for a Parker who opts to publically endorse his faction in the conflict.
Iron Spider is, essentially, an Iron Man suit through and through. That suit includes (some) bulletproofing, a mask that can allow Peter to breathe underwater and to see in various spectrums (including that nifty UV), the ability to hover or glide, and, even, three additional, robotic “spider-arms,” which can be utilized in combat or in exploration (they’re equipped with cameras, allowing Spidey to peek around corners).
NEXT: Spider-Man: Homecoming Comic-Con Footage Description
Doctor Strange opens November 4, 2016; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – May 5, 2017; Spider-Man: Homecoming– July 7, 2017; Thor: Ragnarok – November 3, 2017; Black Panther – February 16, 2018; Avengers: Infinity War Part 1– May 4, 2018; Ant-Man and the Wasp – July 6, 2018; Captain Marvel– March 8, 2019; Avengers: Infinity War Part 2– May 3, 2019; and as-yet untitled Marvel movies on July 12, 2019, and on May 1, July 10, and November 6 in 2020.
