[Nerdspresso] Spider-Man Grows Up But Keeps His Sense of Fun

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By Jeff Stanford, Special to Southpoint Access

Spider-Man grows up in his new movie. While the comic books have seen Peter Parker age from a nerdy teenager to an adult, the movies have kept him in stunted adolescence for almost 25 years. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men were barely out of high school, but this latest sequel establishes Peter Parker firmly in his early twenties. 

This change gives us a more confident webslinger, no longer learning the ropes. It also better supports a leading man who doesn’t have to play a teen while pushing 30. Tom Holland has been my favorite wall-crawler of the three actors who have spun webs on film.

His pure joy at playing this character has been evident since he first donned those familiar red and blue tights in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. Each guy has brought something special to the table, but Holland, more than the others ,just really embodies this character for me. 

Spider-Man: Brand New Day feels like a fresh start for this series. In the previous movie, Spidey had Dr. Strange make everyone forget Peter Parker ever existed to repair the collapsing mulitverse. This new flick picks up about four years later, finding Peter disappearing into his work as New York’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. He toils away in his shabby apartment, monitoring police reports, perfecting his spider tech, and zipping off to nab bad guys.