Just how “normal” will Peter Parker’s life be after ‘Avengers 4’?
Let’s kick off Avengers: Infinity War week by looking for as many nuggets of information about our favorite Marvel superheroes as we can find. Or at least focus on the shiny new ones that will be leading the next phase of Marvel’s never-ending cinematic universe. One of these heroes happens to be Spider-Man (Tom Holland), one of the freshest offerings in recent MCU memory.
As reported by io9 last year, Spidey will kickstart the fourth phase of the MCU with his next standalone film, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming. Despite the chaos that will totally ensue during Infinity War and the untitled follow-up Avengers 4, the character can be expected to return to high school and complete his junior year in Queens after it’s all over. However, io9 has now further revealed that coming home a second time may not be all that’s in store for the superhero’s alter ego, Peter Parker, as he juggles everyday life and his duties as an Avenger.
Specifically, Peter’s story is about to go global. According to producer Kevin Feige:
“We start filming early July. We film in London. We shot [the] first film in Atlanta. And we shoot a lot of films in London but there’s another reason we’re shooting in London which is, yes, Spidey, of course, will spend some time in New York, but he’ll spend some time in other parts of the globe.”
While this news certainly paints the Homecoming sequel as a seemingly different beast from its predecessor already, consider the fact that Peter has such a close bond with Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, who is the textbook definition of a global superhero. The Tony/Peter dynamic proves to be an important familial relationship in Homecoming, in which Peter learns that with great power comes great responsibility — although not in so many words, of course. Several characters will retire after Avengers 4, and whether that includes Tony is anyone’s guess for now. However, even if that is the case, I doubt Peter would lose the tech or the ability to travel somewhere new on his next adventure (although imagine what an angsty story losing the gadgets would be).
Feige has delivered mixed messages during the Infinity War press junket this past weekend, though. In an interview with IGN, he mentions that Peter will make another stab at a “normal life,” whatever that entails in the aftermath of an intergalactic space war:
“What is it like to try to go back to a normal life after what happens in this movie [‘Infinity War’]? Not to mention what happens in the next [‘Avengers’] movie.
“It’s fun to see that, because [Peter] can represent, you know, the world as a whole, as they try to move forward. And you can do it in a way that is tonally unique, and tonally different than, certainly, the two ‘Avengers’ films that people are about to see.”
As per Feige’s characterization, Peter is truly an everyman. One of the best parts about Homecoming is the fact that the film brings the character back down to earth after he got to run with the Avengers in Captain America: Civil War. Peter, much like the audience, is thrown for a loop when he was just minding his own business, being a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Peter comes down from his cloud nine eventually, choosing to just be a kid again for a while.
And part of being that regular teenager means hanging out with school friends, not superpowered individuals, for a change. Ned (Jacob Batalon) and Michelle (Zendaya) can probably be expected to appear in the Homecoming sequel — or, at least I want them to. They really drive the point home that Spidey does his best work on his old stomping grounds. Ned, the guy in the chair, is not just the comic relief or an inept best friend; he saves Peter on more than one occasion in Homecoming. As for Michelle, aka MJ, the will they/won’t they nature of her relationship with Peter is balanced out by the fact that she keeps him in check constantly; she is an actual match for him.
Where will these characters substantially fit into the global narrative Feige is teasing? Peter’s story is definitely not just established by his actions as a solo hero, because Homecoming determines that he shines with the help of his friends or his mentors. These smaller narrative beats are crucial to Peter’s character development and should be prioritized over any international traversing.
However, there’s no reason to fret entirely. The Marvel camp has proven itself adept at crafting bigger storylines while staying true to vital character dynamics; the Captain America series — or at least the first two films in that series — is a good example of this. Overall, Feige and Co., which includes Homecoming director Jon Watts, who will be returning for the sequel, can likely be trusted to further extend Peter’s story in a way that will not disappoint.
Related Topics: Marvel, Spider-Man
