Spider-Man’s relationship with Iron Man was significant throughout the MCU, but it’s even more fascinating when analyzing their heroic arcs.
The surprise ending of Spider-Man: Far from Home is even more groundbreaking for how it compares to Iron Man’s arc throughout the MCU. Since his introduction in Captain America: Civil War, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man fell into the role of Iron Man’s protégé, perpetually stuck in his shadow even after the hero’s noble sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame. Yet, that’s part of why the MCU’s Spider-Man have done so well. They established a strong connection to the franchise as a whole by building up a relationship between Peter Parker and Tony Stark – something necessary for a character like Spider-Man who has a tenuous connection behind the camera.
While this relationship helped set Holland’s Spider-Man apart from previous regimes and integrate him as one of the franchise’s central figures, Iron Man was still a problem for Spider-Man. Essentially, Peter spent most of his time paying the consequences for Tony’s actions – from Vulture’s vendetta in Spider-Man: Homecoming to Mysterio’s plot for revenge in Spider-Man: Far from Home and how that resulted in the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. It’s interesting to consider how Spider-Man will continue to progress in the MCU, especially given his secret identity has been restored and further prospects that Iron Man could come back as part of the ongoing Multiverse
Still today, Iron Man’s ending still remains one of the most important and iconic moments in the entire MCU. It set the stage for what to expect from the franchise when it comes to world-building, narrative structure, and character development. When it comes to Spider-Man, however, while audiences naturally must know who is behind the mask, it’s essential to his character that the world doesn’t. As such, Spider-Man: Far from Home complicated things by playing with Iron Man’s ending. Unlike Tony, who willingly revealed his secret identity, Peter’s was exposed. His agency in experiencing a heroic life of his own was stolen from him by Mysterio.
This ending is quite interesting to consider in context to Spider-Man: Far from Home’s central focus. The film witnessed as Peter struggled with the legacy of Iron Man – not only what his actions and loss meant for Spider-Man as a hero, but also Peter as a young man. Spider-Man: Far from Home’s ending then immediately placed him on an even more similar path to Tony’s as he confronts what kind of hero he wants to be and how that might compare to Iron Man’s choices
