This article contains Endgame spoilers.
Hello, friends!
As I write this, Avengers: Endgame continues to dominate theaters, heartstrings, and tear ducts. However, on May 6th, the sky parted and from the heavens descended the full trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home. This is the first movie (we presume) in the next saga of films from Marvel Studios in a post-Endgame world. I’m here to break down that trailer and get you ready on what to expect from the highly anticipated Homecoming sequel.
The Legacy of Tony Stark
Several important things happen at different points in the trailer surrounding the impact of Tony Stark’s death. First, the Iron Spider costume. We first saw the MCU take on the Iron Spider costume in Infinity War and again in Endgame. Peter’s usage of the costume pays homage to the late Iron Man. Sure, it’s a strictly better costume than the traditional one, but to me, it looks like Peter wears it to honor his mentor. Second, Peter looks like hell, clearly dealing with grief over losing yet another father figure in his young life. While we don’t know how much time passed between Stark’s death at the conclusion of Endgame and the beginning of Far From Home, it’s clear that Peter still carries a ton of sorrow and grief.
Third, we hear several “new Iron Man” references. Twice in the trailer (including once by Peter himself), people refer to Spider-Man as the next Iron Man. Happy Hogan invokes Stark’s name to inspire the grieving Parker and we even see glimpses of Peter wearing Tony Stark’s signature tech sunglasses and manipulating a holographic web shooter, which draws immediate comparisons to the holograms that Stark used in his movies to model his new armors.
Although we will not see RDJ in this film, his influence will clearly be felt. What I loved about Homecoming was how it felt more like a coming-of-age story than a superhero origin story. We nary heard a word about Uncle Ben, radioactive spiders, or what comes with great power. Spider-Man, as a character, always revolved around the theme of responsibility and answering the call of duty. Far From Home appears to take a different but related approach in the theme of legacy. This is the predominant theme running through the stories of many major heroes including (but not limited to) Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Winter Soldier, and Black Panther. In this trailer, Spider-Man grapples with the weight of responsibility to protect his friends & family and save the world, balancing his own personal desires, and honoring the legacy of Tony Stark. It’s “great power, great responsibility” without actually saying the words. I can get behind that.
Fishbowl Head
Don’t let the giant water monster, sand monster, and molten metal (?) monster fool you; Mysterio is our big bad in this movie. I know, I know, he’s a good guy in the trailer and played by Jake “too-pretty-to-be-a-villain” Gyllenhaal. Mysterio is a classic Spider-Man villain who makes his big screen debut in Far From Home. After Vulture from Homecoming, Mysterio is the second member of the Sinister Six to appear in the MCU. Could this be the setup that I think it is for a post-Endgame crossover Avengers movie? Only time will tell.
What do we know for sure? Marvel Studios went with the O.G. Mysterio, Quentin Beck. This incarnation of Mysterio in the comics was a special effects technician/stage illusionist turned criminal. Marvel keeps a lot under wraps in this trailer, so we don’t really know much about the nature of his powers. We do know that Beck is from an alternate dimension’s Earth and crossed over to our universe as a result of The Snap. He appears to have been a hero on his world, and also appears to have a grasp of some magic and/or energy projection. Considering Mysterio’s comic book origin, I find it difficult to believe any of what I see from him.
What I found interesting was that Beck gave Peter an inspirational speech on the nature of heroism during the trailer. This makes me feel that Marvel will retread a well-received villain origin story from 15 years ago before the MCU was a thing. Remember that in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, Otto Octavius mentors Peter for the film’s first act before his villainous turn as Dr. Octopus and subsequent redeeming self-sacrifice. We also saw similar arcs with Green Goblin from Raimi’s original Spider-Man and The Lizard from Sony’s reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man. Beck presents as a confident, grizzled hero with many years of experience.
Far From Home presents us a Peter Parker sans mentor; Beck can fill that role, only to devastate Peter again when Beck ultimately becomes a villain. It’s a classic trope for Spider-Man, and I believe this is the route they’ll tread.
Alternate Dimensions
With just one line, Nick Fury changes everything in the MCU: “Mr. Beck is from Earth, just not ours.” If Mysterio could skip worlds through The Snap, it’s likely that he’s not the only one. Far From Home can be monumental is how it establishes interdimensional travel in the MCU. This feels like how we get our new crop of villains and heroes for the next 11 years of MCU movies. Notable fan favorite Spider-Gwen resides in an alternate dimension in the comics and appeared in the 2018 animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. I certainly hope the new MCU multiverse means Spider-Gwen is on the horizon. So many weird, fringe characters also have doors opened for them with a multiverse. I’m banking on a multiverse entrance from Ben Reilly, the original Scarlet Spider, or (my personal favorite D-List villain) The Spot.
Another implication of cross-dimensional travel resides with any future installments of the Doctor Strange franchise. In his standalone adventure, Strange squares off against a malevolent interdimensional entity named Dormammu. The entirety of the movie establishes Strange as a safeguard against the horrors of the blind eternities between realities. With people moving from dimension to dimension, it’s possible that Dormammu makes a triumphant return to get revenge against Strange or we open up doors for other villains to walk through. I would love to see Kang the Conqueror rebranded as an interdimensional warlord.
The Black Suit
Spider-Man gets a black suit in this trailer. It looks like it’s just a stealth suit given to him by Nick Fury, but a guy can dream, right? I would love for Marvel Studios do the Venom suit, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen. I’ll just take what I can get, and I think this is the closest we’ll get to see Tom Holland wear the symbiote.
Your Thoughts
What did you think about the Far From Home trailer?! Love it? Hate it? Don’t care? Let us know in the comments! You can find me on Twitter @DanteInformal and @TheGeekEmbassy, and on Instagram at the same handles!
Get your geek on, true believers!
