After two attempts at a franchise, Spider-Man: Homecoming finds Peter within the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is drawing from the classic comics this time around. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko started their Amazing Spider-Man run in 1963 and their work is being used as inspiration for the first version of the character Marvel Studios has any input in. Tom Holland’s Peter Parker debuted in Captain America: Civil War and will be the youngest iteration of the character ever put to screen.

Much like the Lee/Ditko run, in Homecoming Peter is just a high school kid trying to balance being a superhero and keeping up with school. His costume bears the distinct influence of the ’60s comics (see the Ditko eyes and web-wings on display in the Homecoming trailers), and this is not at all by accident.

Homecoming director Jon Watts spoke to EW about his first installment in the MCU and what sets his version of Spider-Man apart from those that came before. He made it clear that the the early Spider-Man comics are a big influence and the reason behind his film featuring more Spidey one-liners and high school troubles. However, when it comes to how this changes the MCU, its all about perspective. EW also released a new still from the movie, as you can see after Watts’ quote below:

Homecoming’s influences from the early comics do not stop with Spidey’s look or personal life. Vulture was the first big villain that he faced in this run, which is exactly who his solo film sets him out against. Michael Keaton will be bringing the character to life in Homecoming, but he will have a much different costume than the feathered look he sports in the comics. Instead, Vulture is backed by The Tinkerer and a highly-advanced tech suit.

We’ve seen the Marvel Universe from the very dramatic penthouse perspective of Tony Stark; now we see what it looks like on the ground through the eyes of a 15-year-old.

Once the film is released, there will likely be even more similarities between Homecoming and these comics. Liz Allan (Laura Harrier) appears to be Pete’s love interest here, and even though Flash Thompson (Tony Revolori) has yet to debut, his bullying of Peter will be present in the film. That said, Watts, Sony, and Marvel did make a few other changes to this version of Spidey, with Aunt May being significantly younger, making Ned Leeds very Ganke Lee-like, and having Tony Stark be Peter’s mentor. Hopefully, the infusion of classic material and the updating for the MCU’s world will blend together seamlessly here.

Source: EW

  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Release Date: 2017-05-05 spider-man homecoming Release Date: 2017-07-07 Thor: Ragnarok Release Date: 2017-11-03 Black Panther Release Date: 2018-02-16 Avengers: Infinity War Release Date: 2018-04-27 Ant-Man 2 Release Date: 2018-07-06 captain marvel Release Date: 2019-03-08 The Avengers 4 Release Date: 2019-04-26