BadCoyoteFunky

With two Spider-Man adaptations in the last fifteen years, one might think the story would get rung dry or run into the ground. However for those who groaned and complained that Marvel’s take on Spider-Man would only repeat the story its two predecessors already told, feast your eyes upon Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”

This new addition to the Spider-Man films, of course, follows the main protagonist Peter Parker and his struggle of balancing high school and a secret hero identity but does not tell his origin story. Figuring almost everyone should already know about Peter Parker’s transformation into the spidey hero, Marvel decided to take a fun detour and skip the origin story to introduce its audience to a new chapter.

Although it does briefly mention the important details of Spider-Man’s beginning, “Homecoming” features Parker trying to prove himself to Tony Stark (a.k.a Iron-Man) in hopes of one day being invited to join the Avengers. Chaos ensues as Parker is faced with stopping the Vulture and his illegal Chitauri-technology powered weapons from “Avengers: Age of Ultron” while also trying to maintain a social life at school.

“Homecoming” is perhaps the best adaptation of the Spider-Man franchise yet.

Although Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield hold their own in the original “Spider-Man” and the later “The Amazing Spider-Man,” “Homecoming” was more entertaining and endearing with the youthful Tom Holland portraying Peter Parker as a relatable, dorky teenager who just wants to discover who he is.

The film has many humorous moments familiar to the Marvel franchise as well as a few somber ones that perfectly illustrate the struggles and responsibilities a hero may have on their shoulders and a fifteen-year-old hero at that. While well-written humor calls for more smiles and enjoyment, having heartfelt, piercing moments that show the price and hell of being a hero only strengthen and add meaning to the story.

Seeing moments of vulnerability in a hero reminds audiences that they’re people too, that even the strongest and bravest fall at times.

Tom Holland certainly shone brightly as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, but the supporting cast also shone. Parker’s classmates greatly displayed the worries and daily lives of teenagers, while the Vulture exhibited villains don’t always do bad things just for the sake of being bad; sometimes villains think their actions are the right thing to do. So with that in mind, “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is a great addition to the Marvel franchise, and by far the superior take on Peter Parker’s story.

Although it is disappointing to see the credits roll after such a satisfying movie, at least there is the comfort of knowing there will be a sequel.