The first Spider-Man: Homecoming trailer has swung into action - and it's shedding light on some of the questions that have been plaguing the fan community for months.
From questions about how much Tony Stark will be in the movie to who Zendaya is playing, let's take a closer look:
0:00-0:32 - The crime fighter hits the streets.
After Civil War and months of crimefighting, Spider-Man looks like he's pretty good at beating up criminals. Homecoming can start with the fun and not be bogged down the way the Amazing Spider-Man movies were. This movie has no need for a scene of Peter discovering his powers or rehashing the death of Uncle Ben.
0:39-52 - The key relationships are revealed.
This quick sequence establishes that Liz Allan (Laura Harrier) - rather than classic love interests like Mary Jane Watson or Gwen Stacy - is Peter's crush in the movie. In the comics, Liz Allan was romantically linked to Peter as well as his bully Flash Thompson, and at one point ended up marrying Peter's best friend Harry Osborn (who is not known to be in this movie).
In the Homecoming trailer, Peter's best friend Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) lends him moral support, while Michelle (Zendaya) has this to say: "You guys are losers."
Zendaya has denied rumors her character is Mary Jane and maintains she is not a love interest. (Of course, M.J. could end up being her initials.) The actress and musician recently described Michelle this way to The Hollywood Reporter: "My character is like very dry, awkward, intellectual and because she's so smart, she just feels like she doesn't need to talk to people, like, 'My brain is so far ahead of you that you're just not really on my level.' So she comes off very weird. But to me, she is very cool because she's deep. She's always thinking about something, always reading."
0:56-1:09: Tony tells it like it is.
In addition to zooming past the origin story, Homecoming also offers the promise of finally giving Peter a mentor who - A) isn't dead (Uncle Ben) and B) isn't destined to become a supervillain (Norman Osborn and Otto Octavius).
1:23-1:30: Spidey's friend learns the truth
Though he's named for the classic comics character, Ned Leeds appears to be serving the same function as the much newer Ultimate Spider-Man character Ganke, the best friend and confidant of Miles Moralis. Ganke was a superhero fanboy who helped teach Miles about taking on the role of Spider-Man. Ned physically resembles Ganke and clearly has the geek thing down with him dropping a Lego model of the Death Star in surprise.
A key part of what made both the Peter Parker and Miles Moralis versions of Ultimate Spider-Man so fun is that they have friends who know they are superheroes - meaning the story can't just depend on the tension of maintaining their secret identities.
1:38-1:53: The Vulture flies in ... and he's on the same team as Donald Glover?
Sam Raimi's first two Spider-Man movies had some of the best-reguarded villains in superhero movie history. There's not enough in the trailer to suggest one way or the other if The Vulture will be able to transcend MCU history and become a truly great villain, but one surprising revelation is that Donald Glover's mystery character appears to be involved with winged bad guy - or at least he is hanging with someone who uses Vulture tech.
2:05-2:07 - Homecoming pays homage to Spider-Man 2.
One of the most enduring images from Sam Raimi's trilogy is Spider-Man stopping a speeding train with his webs - and nearly killing himself in the process. Tom Holland's Spider-Man pulls a similar move to keep a ferry from splitting in two.
2:12-2:13 - Spider-Man and Iron Man Team Up.
This is the shot fans wants. There are three distinct scenes with Tony in the trailer (the limo, one at Avengers headquarters, and this one of the two teaming up). The key will be allowing Peter to prove himself on his own without Tony swooping in to save the day.
Sony and Marvel's Spider-Man: Homecoming will be released on July 7, 2017.
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