Why This Scene in SPIDER-MAN Homecoming Is Perfect

When it comes to Spider-man films, car scenes actually play a big part in developing and defining what Peter Parker stands for.

Whether it’s lashing out to uncle Ben in their last real conversation before his death, seeing his ghost as he quits being Spider-man or coming home with Tony from his first real mission. Peter speaking to an elderly mentor figure in a car is something that has appeared at several points throughout multiple Marvel movies.

I think this is often used as a framing device because we’re so used to seeing Peter swinging through the air with ease as he glides across the city. Bringing him into a confined space with little or no room to really move somewhat encloses the character and means that he has to face things head-on. Being unable to run away or escape means that it’s in these moments that we see what Peter is truly going through and nowhere is this shown more than in the one during Homecoming.

My Favourite Scene 

For the last week now I’ve been racking my brain to think about what my favourite Spider-Man scene is and I think that the scene where Vulture is driving Peter to the dance comes out on top for a number of reasons that we’ll be going through in this video. It actually shows the difference between Peter and his villains and it works on a lot of levels.

Social Commentary

Ok so the movie as a whole actually has a lot of metaphors for the working class struggle.

We open with Adrian Toomes scavaging for parts in the wake of the Battle Of New York. One thing I’ve always appreciated is that Toomes is a scavenger and he ends up taking on this mantle in animal form when he becomes the Vulture.

This opening should be his ticket out of poverty but instead the fortune he would be facing is overtaken by Damage Control, headed up by Tony Stark. To Toomes, Stark caused the destruction and he’s now profiting from it, further shafting the little guy and adding to his billions whilst Adrian has to live on the breadline.

There’s an amazing shot where we see Stark Tower looming over central station and we pass from that to Toomes and his crew to see them digging in the dirt. On a symbolic level it shows how Stark and people like him tower above everything whilst the rest of us have to put our hands in the mud to pick up their scraps.

The introduction subtly tells us why Adrian is doing all this when he shows us a drawing that his daughter Liz made and though we don’t know the pair are related at this point, it’s easy to see why he turns to a life of crime.

Peter later asks how he could do this to Liz and Toomes says that he’s not doing it to her, he’s doing it for her.

Just before we cut to the title sequence Toomes arrives at his headquarters and says business is good. It’s a very important line and this intro basically has it’s own self contained arc in which we see a super villain origin for a working class man who was beating by the elite turning the situation on it’s side so that he can win too.

It’s important to bear in mind not only for the car scene but Peter’s character too.

Using Peter

Peter, like Toomes was someone that was given things to do whilst the elite needed him. The airport scene at Civil War would’ve gone a lot worse had he not been there but as soon as that was over and Stark no longer wanted his help he was cast out to do things on his own. The majority of the first hour of Homecoming very much has Peter attempting to reach out to him and Happy but because they don’t need him for anything he’s ghosted and told to stop bothering them.

Like Toomes he’s put in a position where he has to do things his own way because sticking to what they say will simply have him stuck as being the bottom rung of the ladder.

Big Twist

Now Peter is idealistic and he desperately wants to be an Avenger. Therefore he attempts to stop Toomes whenever he can and a big gut punch in the film comes when we realise that he’s actually the father of Liz aka Peter’s love interest. There are a couple of clues towards this in the movie and for me it’s up there with the Hydra twist in terms of how unpredictable it was.

It leads to one of the tensest scenes in the film in which Toomes figures out that Peter is Spider-man.

Why Does this Scene Work So Well?

Now this works for a number of reasons. Toomes clearly recognises Peter but he doesn’t know where from. He however begins to piece it all together when Peter’s absences become more and more frequent. He’s left realising that Peter Parker is indeed Spider-man and Jon Watts does a brilliant turn with the lighting here that shows exactly when the penny drops. Toomes is sitting waiting at the red light with it beaming across his face and this then turns to green when Adrian realises what’s going on.

From here Liz is dropped off and Toomes sits in the car with Peter and he gives him an ultimatum.

Now I’m gonna be completely honest with you. There’s been a couple of times where I’ve watched this and I’ve genuinely thought that if I was in that position I’d have probably made a partnership with Toomes and we both could’ve got rich together. If I’d been a high schooler, probably would’ve kept going out with Liz, made a little business with her dad and sat chilling all ignoring the fact that my spoiler sense was tingling.

I guess it’s lucky that I got bit by a radioactive attention seeker and decided to become a Youtuber.

However, Peter and Toomes are very much parallels of one another. This is why the latter gives the former a choice.

Toomes was in Peter’s position once and he sees him as a naive person who was simply trying to make their own way in the world much like how he was.

Doing the Right Thing

In fact, when Peter confronts Toomes later on he very much lays it out that people like them are nothing to the elite. Peter says that Toomes selling weapons to people is wrong and Adrian reiterates the point that that is exactly how Stark made his fortune. He says that people like them have to fight their wars and pick up their scraps and because of this they don’t matter. He is very much warning Peter of what will happen if he doesn’t get wise to the programme.

Juxtaposing this Peter sees Toomes as his own future and what will happen if he refuses to do the right thing.

He’s very much looking at the older man that he could become if he turns against what’s true and though Toomes is living the high life it’s truly doomed to all come crashing down if people like him stand up against it.

Peter’s Character

Toomes threatens to kill him and his family if he interferes with his business again and this clearly shakes Peter to the core. Most would walk away and go to the dance and though it initially seems like this is what Peter is going to do, he still decides to take Toomes down even though it could have massive repercussions due to his identity being out there.

That’s what true heroes do and it’s a defining moment for the character that almost kills him but in the end, he becomes stronger because of it.

Now I know Tony often overshadows Peter in the MCU but this moment is very much a learning experience for him too. He very much realises that the people he’s overlooked are important and he ends up inviting Peter to upstate New York because of the actions he takes here.

However who this is most important for is Peter, a person who up until this point has been cast to the side by the elite but because of this, he hasn’t lost his own moral fibre. Toomes did and he ended up becoming the villain of the story whereas Peter, who is given a similar choice, becomes the hero.

This is where the stakes are arguably the highest for the character and even though a big threat now knows his identity, he still puts his own needs to the side to stop him. It truly is a defining moment for the character and the way that the scene plays out is absolutely perfect because we know that Pete could have easily lost and yet he still charges ahead.

Hero

This is a peter without his tech or allies, taking someone down because it’s the right thing to do.

It really defines not only the character of the vulture but also Peter himself and why with great power comes great responsibility.

Peter could easily use his gifts for his own benefits but instead, he applies them in a way that will help the greater good and because of this, I think it’s the perfect Spider-man scene.