Now that Spider-Man: Homecoming has finally landed in cinemas, a lot of us have already seen the highly-anticipated movie. And if you’re one of those people who’s had the privilege of checking it out, you’ll no doubt know that one of the most memorable parts is its shocking, hilarious final scene.
We follow Peter Parker as he returns to his apartment in Queens and then stares out of the window in his Spider-Man suit… cue Aunt May walking past to discover that her nephew is a superhero. “What the f–?” she manages to say, before the end credits kick in.
It’s a great sequence and should have some major repercussions for the sequel. Speaking to Cinema Blend, Marvel chief Kevin Feige explained the thinking process behind this scene and why they made such a bold change to the usual Spider-Man status quo.
“J. Michael Straczynski did an issue when he was doing his run of Spidey many years ago where she discovered the secret. I think it was in the laundry or something, and they had a sit-down scene. And probably going back to Spider-Man 2, I would sort of carry that issue around and go, ‘We should do this someday, we should do this someday.’ And it was great luck that it hadn’t been done yet. That was always part of the plan.
And very much like our instinct to say, ‘Let’s have Tony Stark say “I’m Iron Man” at the end. Well, what does that mean for the next movie? I don’t know, but it will force us to do something unique. We did not want to do the secret identity thing at that point in the MCU. And now, same thing. The dynamic now is forced to be something fresh and something unique going forward.”
Like Feige says, this is the first time we’ve seen Aunt May find out the truth about Peter in the movies. Although, it was hinted at in both the original Spider-Man trilogy and The Amazing Spider-Man films that May might possibly have secretly worked it out.
It’s also interesting that Feige has been wanting to adapt this moment for so long, but it’s probably for the best that it didn’t happen before. After all, this fresh take on the material fits Homecoming‘s ethos perfectly.
Some of the movie’s best bits were the interactions between Tom Holland and Marisa Tomei’s May, so it should be fun to have the character brought in on Peter’s secret in future instalments. Feige’s point about the scene mirroring the famous ending to 2008’s Iron Man is a good one, too. For some reason, the MCU just isn’t big on keeping the hero’s identity a secret. If not to the world at large, then definitely not from their loved ones.
Spider-Man: Homecoming is in cinemas now and if it’s more coverage you’re after, here’s our review.
