Warning: This post contains spoilers from “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”
We’ve long known that Iron Man Tony Stark would be the reluctant mentor to Peter Parker in Sony’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”
We expected the eye-rolling, some fancy upgrades to Spidey’s equipment and other luxurious perks of Parker’s “Stark Internship” — his cover for spending so much time with the wisecracking billionaire.
What we did not expect was any significant character development for Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), especially in a reboot that belongs to the webslinger. But that’s precisely what director Jon Watts provides in his contribution to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The redhead queen of the Stark empire, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, returns in a last-minute “Homecoming” cameo that tells us some key things about Stark’s trajectory as we brace for the next Marvel superhero orgy, next May’s “Avengers: Infinity War.”
We last saw Stark and Potts, nicknamed #Pepperony by Paltrow, survive the Ben Kingsley’s villain Mandarin in “Iron Man 3,” but their romance was on the rocks by the time of “Captain America: Civil War.”
In that Disney-led blockbuster, it’s heavily implied the two are on their way to a messy breakup. Pepper will no longer tolerate his self-destruction, Tony confesses to Chris Evans’ Captain American. Paltrow didn’t even appear in the film — and her real-life assertions that she’s done with acting did not inspire confidence that Pepper would ever return to the franchise.
But there she is at the end of “Homecoming,” and not unlike Spider-Man’s suit, Pepperony get a major upgrade: a marriage proposal.
To spare you big spoilers, we’ll simply say that in the final moments of the film Stark calls a press conference for a big announcement that does not come to fruition. Pepper panics, and demands that Tony and his sidekick Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) give her some news she can feed to the hungry reporters.
Tony asks Happy if he still has “the ring” he gave him, and Happy produces a big diamond he says he’s been keeping safe “since 2008” (when the first “Iron Man” film was released, and Marvel Studios as we now know it was born).
It also means that Iron Man is a loner no more, raising the stakes should anything happen to his fiancee, or threaten a world where they might live out the rest of their love story.
What do you think of Pepper Potts’ return? Tell us in comments.
18 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Main Characters Ranked (Photos)
Here we are, with "Spider-Man: Homecoming," the first "Spider-Man" movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Let's celebrate with a deep dive into the characters, and figuring out who's the best in this new world of the Webslinger. Warning: some spoilers ahead.
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18. Other Shocker (Logan Marshall Green)
Rule of thumb for being part of a criminal gang that sells comical alien tech: don't threaten to blackmail the guy in charge.
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17. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.)
Just as bad of a dad as his own dad was. But probably funnier, I guess.
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16. Mr. Harrington (Martin Starr)
Maybe the guy who doesn't know the Washington Monument was built by slaves shouldn't be in charge of the academic team.
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15. Happy (Jon Favreau)
The absolute worst nanny ever.
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14. Liz Allan (Laura Harrier)
Liz is just not enough of a nerd for Peter.
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13. Aunt May (Marisa Tomei)
Aunt May may be hot now, but she's still a total mom at heart. See: her joke about larb.
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12. Coach Wilson (Hannibal Buress)
Everyone needed a Coach Wilson in high school -- the kind of teacher who's just like "hey don't do that, that's bad" but then doesn't really pay attention to whether you listened.
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11. Flash Thompson (Tony Rivelori)
The best kind of bully: one who has a thoroughly great time being mean.
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10. The Tinkerer (Michael Chernus)
We should all approach our work with the sort of excitement that the Tinkerer feels while he's soldering weird alien stuff together.
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9. Betty Brant (Angourie Rice)
Betty is hilarious -- but there's not nearly enough of her. Remember, last year Angourie Rice was stealing scenes left and right from Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe in "The Nice Guys."
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8. Karen (Jennifer Connelly)
Easily the best disembodied voice in the entire MCU.
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7. The Shocker (Bokeem Woodbine)
Tough not to relate to the absolute glee he expresses while using outlandish alien weapons.
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6. Ned (Jacob Batalon)
Spidey's best friends does a lot of normal best friend things, like being extremely excited that Peter has spider powers and knows rich people like Tony Stark. Also they built a LEGO Death Star together.
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5. Captain America (Chris Evans)
Look, if you have to watch dopey educational videos at school, you could not possibly do better than the ones Captain America does as an outstanding running gag in "Homecoming."
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4. Aaron Davis (Donald Glover)
Just wanting a gun to stick people up with rather than some crazy alien thing that would send them back in time gives Davis a weird sort of mundane nobility in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Also we like him because Donald Glover is good.
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3. Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland)
Not quite the wise-cracking Spidey we know best, but maybe this screen incarnation of Peter Parker is even better: wide-eyed, clever, and happy to be able to help wherever he can.
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2. Vulture (Michael Keaton)
One of the best and most human villains in the MCU, pitting the bitterness of a Trump voter against the optimistic liberal ideals of Spider-Man. Keaton is an absolute marvel (no pun intended), managing to switch between charisma and an intense amount of menace at ease.
Sony
1. Michelle (Zendaya)
The totally chill, deadpan, inscrutable Michelle is just the best, especially in contrast to all the other kids being super talkative and neurotic.
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”Spider-Man: Homecoming“ is here, but which characters do we like the most?
Here we are, with "Spider-Man: Homecoming," the first "Spider-Man" movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Let's celebrate with a deep dive into the characters, and figuring out who's the best in this new world of the Webslinger. Warning: some spoilers ahead.