Every Sony Marvel movie ranked from worst to best
By Wesley Bell
3. Spider-Man: Homecoming
After the spectacular Marvel Cinematic Universe debut of Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War, fans were excited to get more of the wall-crawler in the franchise. Spider-Man: Homecoming sees Peter seeking more responsibility after getting a taste of the superhero life in that film, so he begins chasing Vulture, a criminal stealing Avengers tech and repurposing it to create street weapons.
Since this Peter exists in a world where he isn’t the first or only hero, we get a version of the character vastly different than previous iterations. We see a kid trying and struggling to live up to his more experienced idols, specifically Tony Stark, who has a supporting role in the story. At one point, Stark shows up to take Peter’s suit away, forcing him to rely on his home-made Spider-Man suit to take Vulture down.
The youthful energy Tom Holland brought to the role helped sell the film as a true coming-of-age story. Although all the first Spider-Man movies are at least partially set in high school, this one arguably captures the struggle of Peter trying to balance his two lives the best out of all the films. In addition to dealing with Vulture and trying to prove himself, Peter is also trying to work up the courage to ask Liz Allen, the popular girl at school, to the Homecoming dance.
Michael Keaton is also perfectly cast as Adrian Toomes/Vulture. The decision to make him a former salvage worker was an inspired choice, and the unexpected twist of him being Liz’s dad was one that no one saw coming but helped make his relationship with Peter even more personal while driving home the themes.
Spider-Man: Homecoming was the first Spider-Man movie made in partnership with Marvel Studios, and it’s immediately clear from the opening minutes that it’s set in the MCU, with the difference felt throughout the entire project. While elements like the web-swinging and the action scenes didn’t quite reach the level of previous films, it was still a great first solo outing for the hero in the MCU.