Tom Holland Confirms That Spider-Man Has Been In The MCU Way Before Captain America: Civil War, And Here’s How
We Marvel fans all know that due to Marvel selling the character’s rights to Sony back in 1999, it was not until the year 2016 that our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man finally made his MCU debut in the critically acclaimed Captain America: Civil War. While appearing rather late, Tom Holland’s Wall-Crawler quickly becomes a fan-favorite, and is now one of the MCU’s most important superheroes.
It took Marvel Studios eight years to finally make their prodigal son return to the franchise, however, a popular fan theory suggests that Peter Parker has been in the MCU for longer than we’ve thought. In fact, this theory believes that Peter actually appeared in one of the MCU’s first titles, Iron Man 2 in 2010.
And recently, Tom Holland, who portrays the MCU version of Peter Parker, officially confirmed this peculiar rumor to be true, leaving fans baffled and excited. So when exactly did Spider-Man appear in the MCU? Let’s find out.
#1. Spider-Man officially made his MCU debut in 2016.
Source: Marvel
For its first eight years, the MCU must cope without one of its most iconic Avengers, Spider-Man, whose rights still belong to Sony at the time. He finally made his entrance in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, appearing as a member of Tony Stark’s team to stop Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes from reaching the airport.
A huge and epic battle ensued, with Peter Parker easily the highlight of the show. He took the Vibranium shield from Cap, single-handedly battling both Falcon and Bucky, and even engaged a gigantic Ant-Man at the time. Spider-Man quickly rose through the ranks of the fan-favorite characters, and even got his own MCU trilogy in just 4 years.
#2. Spider-Man may have been in the MCU for longer than we think.
Source: Marvel
However, this particular retcon suggests that Spider-Man, or rather Peter Parker, actually made his appearance way back in 2010’s Iron Man 2. Remember when Ivan Vanko launched a full-scale attack at the Stark Expo at the end? Justin Hammer’s robotic drones went rampage and even attacked civilians.
One of them confronted a kid wearing an Iron Man mask in front of the expo, and the kid, showing no sign of fear, courageously put his palm forward as if he were trying to shoot the drone. Tony Stark appeared right afterward and blew the drones to bits using his repulsors, gave the kid a thank you, and then flew away.
Source: Marvel
Many fans insist that the kid wearing the Iron Man mask was actually Peter Parker, who was still very young at the time. While few details prove the theory true, the fact the MCU Peter is also an Iron Man fan and is tech-savvy further cements their belief. They also believe that Tony’s heroic act at the time greatly inspired Peter to be a superhero after gaining his arachnid powers.
#3. Tom Holland himself believes the rumor is canon.
Source: Marvel
Later, Spider-Man actor Tom Holland officially confirmed this retcon to be true in an interview with HuffPost upon the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming back in 2017.
"I can confirm that, that 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." The actor recalled the Iron 2 moment and gave a shocking answer.
Source: Marvel
Of course, this comment by Holland is not to be taken seriously, but it still sent Marvel fans going wild, as it further proves that Marvel Movies are deeply connected with each other and build up to a greater event.
#4. This isn’t the only time the Spider-Man retcon was addressed.
Source: Marvel
This astounding theory was further proven by Jon Watts, who was in charge of the MCU Spider-Man trilogy. Also in a Spider-Man: Homecoming-related interview, this time with Uproxx, the director addressed the retcon, but didn’t give a straight confirmation to the press.
"I was watching all these other movies and being like, ‘What if that little kid at the Stark Expo was Peter Parker? In the Iron Man mask.’ Like, he’d be about the right age for that. And he loves Tony Stark,” shared Watts.
#5. The MCU is famous for these kinds of retcons.
Source: Marvel
This particular retcon is only one of many fun and ridiculous theories about the vast MCU that connect different characters and events together. However, this is one of the only few that got confirmed by one of Marvel’s men or actors, since the others are often debunked. A future Spider-Man 4 movie in the MCU may address this retcon directly, but for now, we’ll have to wait for more good news from Marvel first.
What other popular and interesting Marvel retcon do you know of? Please share with us in the comment section.