Spider-Man: Far from over

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After two painfully-long years since everyone’s favorite web slinger starred in a standalone Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film, Spider-Man, played by Tom Holland, finally swings back to theaters in Spider-Man: Far From Home. The film introduced a new villain and developed existing characters, as well as established higher stakes for the teenage Peter Parker on his school trip overseas. Arguably the most important aspect of the film was that it gave audiences a look at what exactly has happened since the monumental events of Avengers: Endgame and what audiences can expect from future movies and the next chapter of the MCU, which has been dubbed Phase Four. 

Far From Home featured yet another Spider-Man classic villain the master of deception Quentin Beck, aka Mysterio. Played by Jake Gyllenhaal, Beck developed illusion tech which he used to create fake “Avengers-level threats” in Far From Home to stage his own success, when “fighting” these threats. In the heat of all this, Beck also gives mention to a Multiverse, which caught the attention of many Marvel fans. However, this was disproved once it was made clear that Beck’s story of coming through a different dimension was false. However, many fans seem to forget that the MCU Multiverse was first mentioned and solidified in Doctor Strange back in 2016, and the second Doctor Strange movie announced for 2021, named Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, is sure to pave brand new paths for Phase Four to play around with. 

“I remember watching trailers for the new Spider-Man movie and hearing Peter talk about the multiverse and getting excited about all those possibilities with that,” junior Ermias Ketema said. “I was disappointed to find out that all that talk was fake because Mysterio was using illusions and used a script to deceive Peter and the [S.H.I.E.L.D]  agents.”

Contrary to popular belief, Avengers: Endgame was not the last movie of Phase Three of the MCU. Spider-Man: Far From Home was the film that officially concluded the huge build up of 23 MCU movies dubbed the Infinity Saga for a few reasons. Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel, gave insight on why exactly this was decided during an interview. 

We’ve been working for many years on Infinity War and Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home,” Feige said in a released featurette for the film. “Those were the films that were culminating the entire Infinity Saga of the MCU. As we were working on Endgame we realized that the true end of the entire Infinity Saga, the final film of Phase 3, had to be Spider-Man: Far From Home, because — spoiler — we lose Tony Stark at the end of Endgame.”

Despite being introduced relatively recently to the MCU, Peter Parker builds an extremely tenacious and emotional connection with the late genius playboy philanthropist Tony Stark. Due to this unbreakable father-son bond constructed in the later movies of the saga (such as Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and both Infinity War and Endgame), it only felt right to end this giant chapter with how Peter will grow as a hero in the wake of his late mentor.  

“After seeing [Avengers:] Endgame, I was certain that the movie was going to be the movie to tie off phase three,” senior Yonny Belihu said. “[Avengers] Endgame was definitely the conclusion, but Spider-Man: Far From Home felt like the light at the end of a very dark tunnel for the MCU.” 

After two hours of pure Spider-Man action, fans were finally given their classic Marvel end credit scenes which often give great insight for what we can expect in future movies. The first end credit scene showed a breaking news announcement, where J. Jonah Jameson, played by none other than J.K. Simmons appears. Fans will recognize the character from the Spider-Man films Tobey Maguire starred in. As if his cameo this wasn’t enough, we see Jameson release a video edited by Beck moments before his death. In this he reveals Peter’s identity to the world. This could change the way Spider-Man is portrayed in the future.

The last end credit scene depicts Maria Hill and Nick Fury driving, until suddenly the two morph into Skrulls (Shapeshifting alien allies of S.H.I.E.L.D), revealing to audiences that Hill and Fury were never truly in Europe with Parker and his classmates. The film then segues to Nick Fury on a fake beach on what looks like a S.H.I.E.L.D. version of a space station that has Skrulls and agents working together. Fans can relate this to the Sentient World Observation and Response Department (S.W.O.R.D.), which is a counter-terrorism and intelligence agency dealing with extraterrestrial threats to world security and, in the comics, to ensure that the events of Infinity War do not repeat. Many fans can expect to see a lot more from S.W.O.R.D. in future Marvel films, especially throughout Phase Four. 

“It’s pretty crazy to see [Nick Fury] clueless for once in the MCU, after he was dusted in Endgame,” Senior Michael Zuppas said. “ It seems like S.H.I.E.L.D. ran its course for the Infinity Saga, but the threats only get bigger, which makes perfect sense that they took Stark’s advice of putting a suit of armor around the world with this new pace version of S.H.I.E.L.D. (S.W.O.R.D.)”

 After 23 Marvel movies leading up to this conclusion, the whole fandom is really just asking what could be next, and after Avengers: Endgame just beat Avatar for the box office world record, the Marvel fan population only grew. The fact that the Infinity Saga started with the first Iron Man movie back in 2008 and ended with Spider-Man: Far From Home, truly signifies the relationship the two had. Not to mention, Peter Parker was one of the only reasons Tony decided to go back and try and fix things after Infinity War, ultimately sacrificing himself. In Far from Home, Peter not only stepped up as Spider-Man but also as Peter Parker. 

Over the summer, Sony and Disney have failed to reach a new agreement to include Spider-Man in the MCU. For this reason, Tom Holland’s future in Marvel movies is uncertain. It is obvious, though, that despite the change in ownership, his character will continue to develop after the events in Far From Home.

“When we see Peter in [Spider-Man:] Homecoming, he’s trying so hard to fill his hero role and [kind of] messes up a lot as he learns the ropes of being Spider-Man,” senior Evan Walker said. “In [Spider-Man:] Far From Home, Peter starts to realize that he’s actually pretty threatening and a force to be reckoned with, especially as he learns his new spidey sense, he starts to evolve into this character that can confidently be called a [hero].”