Tony Stark’s relationship with Peter Parker has become an incredibly important part of the MCU. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man was first introduced in Captain America: Civil War being tutored by Stark, with that mentorship continuing through Spider-Man: Homecoming and Infinity War.
Stark’s death in Avengers: Endgame didn’t halt that, either, with much of Far From Home being about how Peter deals with Tony’s legacy. On top of all that, if it weren’t for their relationship, it’s doubtful that Stark would have committed himself to Endgame‘s time travel shenanigans.
With all that going on, the moment where Tony and Peter reunite on the battlefield during the climax of Endgame brought a tear to my eye. While from Spidey’s perspective he’s only been gone a short time, Stark has spent years mourning him. So when he finally returns, Tony can’t help but give him a sincere and emotional hug, a huge weight clearly having been lifted from his shoulders.
Now, in the writer’s commentary from the digital release, Stephen McFeely explains how important this moment is, saying:
“Yeah, this gets a big moment of cheer. There’s so much going on here. He gets back the kid that he lost. He never hugged that kid before. There’s actually a great joke in the beginning of Spider-Man [about it].”
He’s right. It’s a great scene, paying off multiple years of character development for Stark and giving his impending sacrifice more impact.
While I must admit that I wasn’t entirely on board with Far From Home nudging Peter Parker to become Tony Stark Jr., I can’t deny that the pair’s relationship has benefited both characters. Tony Stark has had someone to be a good role model for in the MCU and Peter has an example to try and live up to. But with the ending of Far From Home being a cruel inversion of the famous Iron Man ending, where Spidey goes from here should be truly fascinating to watch.
