8 Things Nobody Wants To Admit About MCU Spider-Man

There's plenty to love about the new Spider-Man films, but also a lot not to.

by Ewan Paterson
Marvel / Sony Pictures Releasing

It might seem a little weird to think, but it's been four whole years since Tom Holland's Peter Parker made his debut in Captain America: Civil War. It was a huge surprise at the time, with many writing off the prospect of Spider-Man ever crossing over into the MCU as a pipe-dream, one that had about as great a chance as succeeding as an Avengers/X-Men crossover. (Oh, how the times change.)

Since 2016, audiences have seen Holland suit up as Spider-Man on four further occasions, twice in his own Spider-Man movies (Homecoming and Far From Home), and twice again in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. For the most part, this latest rendition of the wall-crawler has proven a hit with fans, with Holland - buyoued by talented co-stars Zendaya, Jacob Batalon and Michael Keaton - able to capture the youthful energy of Peter Parker in a way previous actors haven't quite managed.

That being said, there are a few things to find uncomfortable about the newest version of Spider-Man. For all that it's been great seeing him on the big screen with Iron Man, Captain America and co., sacrifices have been made. This isn't the Spidey we all knew and loved, but fans seem content enough to ignore that so long as Peter gets to mix it in the big leagues opposite Marvel's other heroes and villains.

There's so much to genuinely like about this new web-slinger, but there are some seriously problematic elements laying beneath the surface.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.