Marvel has announced that Spider-Man: Homecoming will get an official prelude comic. Signs point to it taking place after Spidey’s gotten his powers, possibly between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Spidey’s solo debut, which would be more than welcome. Because there is no reason to see Uncle Ben die again.
Marvel Comics posted details about the prelude comic on Amazon, which is set to come out two weeks before Spider-Man: Homecoming. The description is a little vague on the details, but it looks like the comic will take place after Peter Parker has already become a super-powered crime fighter. It also mentions Aunt May, but no Uncle Ben, which implies that he’s already (thankfully) kicked the bucket.
You adored his introduction in Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War, you can’t wait for his Hollywood Homecoming – now really get to know the Spider-Man of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in this prelude to his big-screen solo adventure! By day, young Peter Parker attends high school and lives with his Aunt May. By night, he fights crime with wall-crawling powers and web-swinging tech – and he’s destined to one day have an amazing, spectacular, sensational reputation as his neighbourhood’s friendly hero! Join Marvel’s Spider-Man as he makes his first tentative web-swings towards a blockbuster future!
From the looks of things, this follows the path that Spider-Man: Homecoming is taking, skipping the standard origin story path and is instead starting out with a teenaged Spider-Man who’s already familiar with his powers. Given the fact that this is the third iteration of Spider-Man in less than a decade, it would be a welcome relief to jump past the sob story to focus on where Peter is now and where he’s going.
I get it, Uncle Ben’s death is sad. He was a key figure in Peter’s life, and his death motivates the web-slinger to fight for good instead of himself. We all get a little choked up when we hear Ghost Ben lament, “With great power comes great responsibility.” But much like the overdone death of Bruce Wayne’s parents, there are only so many times we need to see Uncle Ben die to understand that it’s a bad thing.
This time, let’s skip the origin story we’ve seen a hundred times and instead focus on Michael Keaton as The Vulture. Seriously, could there be a better casting for that role?