“Yes,” you say. “Of course Spider-Man has already been in the MCU. They introduced him in Captain America: Civil War.”
Indeed, Tom Holland first donned the Spidey suit in Civil War but in a recent interview, Holland seemed to confirm a popular fan theory that Peter Parker made his debut long before that. The theory is that the kid at the end of Iron Man 2 with the Iron Man mask who stands up to one of Ivan Vanko’s drones is a young Peter Parker.
“I can confirm that as of today,” Holland said in the interview. “Maybe I’ve just done a big, old spoiler, but it’s out there now. It’s cool. I like the idea that Peter Parker has been in the universe since the beginning.”
This is one of more popular fan theories floating around the internet, and for good reason. Peter, being the child prodigy and lover science that he is, would definitely be drawn to the Stark Expo and getting to see a hint of his heroism at a young age is a nice touch.
It should be noted, however, that Holland back peddled a bit in a later interview, saying Kevin Fiege (head of Marvel Studios) gave him permission to say the first statement but Fiege never confirmed that it was true.
“Retroactive Continuity” or “retconning” is when a current story, in some way, changes the way we read or view a past story. It happens all the time in the comics, much to the chagrin of many comic fans (just ask one about Spider-Man’s clone saga if you don’t believe me).
This wouldn’t be the first retcon for the MCU either. Over the years, there have been smaller moments here and there that give new meaning to previous films. The biggest retcon, of course, was the revelation that Hydra had infiltrated SHIELD in World War II and has been working secretly since. Captain America: Winter Soldier not only set the course for future MCU movies, but also cast some of the older movies in a new light, including some characters that we thought were good guys.
So, where do we stand with this new theory? It seems that Fiege, who has final say over the MCU, likes the theory but is not ready to make it 100% official. I like the theory too, so I say it’s confirmed until Fiege says it’s not. What about you? Do you like this theory?
What fan theory would you like to see confirmed in the MCU?
Watch the final trailer for Spider-Man Homecoming and then go see the movie this weekend: