• Thu. Nov 21st, 2024

   Oh, you thought Spider-Man died in “Infinity War?” Come on, this is Marvel. Character deaths and resurrections are as common as the most common cold. Indeed Spider-Man is alive and well in the trailer for his second standalone MCU movie, “Spider-Man: Far From Home.”

   How he is alive after “Avengers: Infinity War” and before “Avengers: Endgame” remains to be revealed. With the title “Far From Home,” I initially believed this film would take place within the soul stone.

   But little did I know that by far from home they really meant Spider-Man does Europe. Nonetheless, Spidey is back and appears to be better than ever in Marvel’s newest trailer.

   Right off the bat, it’s made clear that the relationship between Peter Parker and Aunt May is much better post the events of “Spider-Man Homecoming,” the previous film.

   Peter’s secret identity was accidentally revealed to her at the end of that film. The trailer also shows a new potential romance, as there is a weird flirtatious exchange between May and Happy Hogan, the head of security at Stark Industries.

   We then find out that Peter and his high school friends are embarking on a school trip far from home to Europe: Venice, Italy to be exact. And Peter has decided to leave his iconic suit behind, believing that Europe doesn’t need a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

   While touring the city via boat and/or bus, Peter and MJ seem to be growing closer than ever as flirtatious tensions rise between the two. All seems well for Peter and best friend Ned when suddenly, their trip is hijacked by the notorious Nick Fury. Fury complements Spidey on his gifts and asks if he’s ready to step up and face a new dangerous threat.

   Three mysterious monsters, one of which resembles the Sandman, are wreaking havoc throughout Europe and Peter Parker is forced to suit up in a new costume to fend off these monsters and save his friends. We are also treated to the long awaited film debut of longtime Spider-Man villain, Mysterio.

   Since his appearance in the canceled “Spider-Man 4” never came to pass, fans have been clamoring for infamous baddy to make a cinematic appearance. And luckily, it looks like we are finally going to see it, just maybe not in the way we thought.

   Rather than attacking the webhead, Mysterio instead fends off a giant water monster, telling Spidey he wants no part in the action. The three elusive figures of fire, water and ground are most likely the elementals, however, I hope that this could lead to a Sandman appearance in the future.

   But the real star of this trailer is Mysterio himself. Unlike so many other Marvel characters who are visually butchered in the MCU, Mysterio appears to have kept his iconic design from the comics and TV shows.

   Not much is known about the character and whether or not he will be a friend or foe for our favorite wallcrawler. However, what was shown definitely shows a great deal of potential for this new villain.

   Another interesting observation is the Lack of Iron-Man, who had a huge presence in the first MCU Spider-man movie. Tony Stark is not once mentioned, so it appears as though Marvel might be breaking away from the teacher/student relationship between Tony Stark and Peter Parker, which I was never that keen on.

   It’s not that the two weren’t an entertaining pair, but I simply don’t believe Stark was a proper substitute for the mentor character of Uncle Ben. One of my biggest complaints with the otherwise excellent “Spider-Man: Homecoming” was Peter’s motivation being him trying to impress Mr. Stark and prove he can be an Avenger.

   Now this is an identifiable motive for a teen and it kinda worked for the film it was in, but it wasn’t as strong or personal as his original motive in the comics and other movies.

   Hopefully, this film will see Peter Parker as less of a superhero trainee like he was portrayed in previous films, and more of a strong standalone hero like he has been in past incarnations.

   All in all, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” appears to be a step in the right direction for the character. With bigger threats to fight (hopefully on his own), and potentially more drama, all while keeping the teen comedy tone of the series consistent. This Spider-Man sequel might just be the one to launch Spider-man from a minor MCU character to the larger than life hero he is meant to be.

   Spider-Man will be swinging into theaters July 5 this summer, and it will be interesting to see not only when this takes place on the MCU timeline, but if this film can potentially ring in a new era for both the character and Marvel as a whole.

Samuel Claude
Associate Editor