Spider-Man has come home to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and we’ve finally got our first look at him in the second full trailer for Captain America: Civil War. A cursory glance seems to have been met with approval from fans. But there are loads of little details that could easily be missed unless you take a closer look.
A much closer look. We noticed ten particulars that speak volumes about Marvel’s take on a cinematic Spider-Man. (In short: it’s a classic suit with modern flourishes.) But some of these details might surprise you.
Here are 10 Revelations From A High-Res Look At Spider-Man’s New Suit!
Mechanical Eyepieces
It’s the part of the suit that grabs you first — probably because the trailer goes out of its way to draw attention to it. At first pass, you might think that Spider-Man’s eyes are emoting, the way that Deadpool’s do in his recent cinematic outing.
A closeup look at the suit, thanks to Disney’s press images, shows that the eyepieces have super thin flaps that expand and contract. It’s hard to tell if they’re metal or rubber or something else, but you can clearly see that they’re separate pieces layered atop one another that slide, extending or retracting, meaning there is a physical element to them, and that Peter Parker’s emotions do not magically change the material make-up of the suit.
The fact that they’re mechanical raises a number of questions beyond the materials used, though. For starters, how does Spidey control them? Are they like sunglasses that auto-tint in direct sunlight? Is there some pressure-sensitive control in his gloves? Also, what purpose do they serve? What advantage do they give Spider-Man? And lastly, how did Peter get his hands on this kind of technology? (Keep reading.)
Belt
Holy utility belt, Batman! Spider-Man is accessorizing with something more than just web shooters these days. We count three tiny capsules attached to the belt’s left side, and we assume his right side holds the same. There could be even more going around in back.
What’s in those capsules? Traditionally, Spider-Man has carried just two disposable items: web shooter refill capsules and Spider-Tracers. The former are what we believe to be on display in the movie. The latter are tiny, spider-shaped devices that Spidey attaches to enemies to track their movements. Sometimes he sticks them on a baddie during a hand-to-hand fight. Other times he uses a launcher built into his web shooters to fire them at a villain from a distance.
Incidentally, in the comics, Spidey’s belt has often had a “Spider-Signal” in the spot where the belt buckle would go. This was something that was kinda/sorta meant to be used in a Bat-Signal-type capacity, but more often than not it was just a glorified flashlight. There’s nothing visible on Tom Holland’s belt to suggest that this Spider-Man will have a signal light.
Web Shooters
Tobey Maguire had organic web shooters. Andrew Garfield had futuristic shooters that should have been far beyond the ability of any teenager to create alone. Spider-Man did do exactly that, however, in Marvel Comics. The shooters have been all over the map in the comics, visually.
The new shooters are big enough to stand out on Spidey’s wrists, but not so much that they look silly. We can’t see the underside, where the actual shooters are, but they appear to be housed in leather straps, not unlike a hipster wristwatch. The effect, once again, blends classic and modern sensibilities.
Tiny Emblem
That has got to be the itty-bittiest little Spider-logo ever. At a distance, it could be nothing but a dot with lines going through it.
Maguire’s emblem (far left) was nice and big, casting an overall round footprint. Garfield’s version (middle) was roughly the same size, but the bottom four legs were stretched down his abdomen. In addition to being significantly smaller, Tom Holland’s version (right top) has a completely different shape. It has a bit of a retro vibe, but it’s got a simplicity that could have been cooked up by Apple designer Jony Ive.
A split-second moment in the trailer shows Spider-Man flipping in the air. It gives just enough of a glimpse of the outfit’s back to see that the rear version of the Spider-logo is much bigger and more traditional. And red.
Subtle Webbing Pattern
When Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man arrived way back in 2002, some fans weren’t thrilled that the web pattern on his costume was made from a separate material than the suit itself. It’s a nit-picky thing, but Maguire’s webs were thick, they were raised up off the surface of the fabric, and they had a metallic sheen about them. The overall effect looked nice on film, but it was nothing like the understated designs comic book fans were used to.
Marc Webb’s reboot had Andrew Garfield clad in a radically different suit. The webbing was downplayed this time, but the suit looked like it was made from genuine basketball skin, so nobody noticed the webs.
The suit that Tom Holland wears appears to use simple black stitching to create a far more minimalist pattern than we’ve seen before.
Separate Pieces
Tobey Maguire wore a suit that was presented to viewers as though it was made of multiple pieces. He removed the mask and tossed it aside on camera many times. The gloves and boots were shown to be detachable at various times as well. Andrew Garfield’s two suits were presented as more or less single-piece unitards, which is more in keeping with what most of us think of Spider-Man’s outfit being.
Tom Holland’s suit has that single-piece appearance — with at least one exception. The boots are separate pieces, or at least they’re being presented that way. It’s imperceptible in the trailer, but a close-up zoom shows that the boots are slightly raised from the pants around their top edges. Combined with built-in soles, the overall impression is that they’re real boots that aren’t sewn to the suit.
Materials
There are a variety of fabrics and materials used in this new suit. The pants section (the blue parts) look as though they’re made from traditional spandex, but the upper body, sleeves, and boots are made from something different. They have a canvas-like texture to them, into which the aforementioned black stitches are sewn to create the webbing pattern.
But there’s something else on the suit, too: the black highlights on his arms and legs. They have a smooth, shiny appearance that make them look like leather. Or they could be vinyl, or pleather, or something else along those lines.
Fabric has never really been an issue in the comics. All we know about it is how easily it tears, which it tends to do a lot. The one time we learned about what his suit was made of was when Tony Stark made him the “Iron Spider” armor. It reportedly had seventeen layers!
Big Muscles
Speaking of layers, actor Tom Holland is very athletic and certainly toned, but he doesn’t sport muscles quite as big as Spider-Man is showing in these photos. Look at those triceps — they’re enormous! No, it’s obvious that Holland is following the time-honored tradition of wearing a padded muscle suit beneath his Spider-suit. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
We’re mentioning it because it’s so noticeable, and frankly more than we expect to see from actor Tom Holland, who’s just 19 years old. He’s playing a character much younger — this version is said to be about 15 or 16 — but despite the actor or character’s age, we suspend disbelief because of the whole “super-powered spider bite” thing, which gave Peter Parker his super strength. So he may still be a boy, but he’s showing off the body of a Spider-Man. And that requires a little help.
It’s Classic
The entire look is more evocative of Spider-Man’s classic comic book appearance than any he’s sported on film thus far. Take a look at the images above. It’s in the little things.
The boots are a perfect example. Yeah, the black leather stripe is modern touch, but look how tall the boots are. They extend fully over his calves, unlike past boots that are maybe half as tall. The eyes’ size and shape are almost a perfect copy of Spidey’s iconic appearance from his debut way back in Amazing Fantasy #15.
Made by Stark Tech?
The retractable lenses, the utility belt, the bits of leather, the clean, streamlined overall design… Is there any chance a young teenager could actually construct a costume of this quality?
Arguably, neither could the Peter Parkers played by Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield. But this suit’s fine detailing and mature sensibilities, not to mention its high-tech bits, screams Tony Stark. Sure, it’s not the Iron Spider armor seen in the comics (above left), but that suit also debuted in conjunction with the Civil War storyline, so this could be the closest thing we’ll get. After all, it wouldn’t do to have Marvel’s new big-screen Spider-Man show up in a suit that Joe Q. Public wouldn’t understand.
Imagine a scene somewhere in Captain America: Civil War where Tony Stark, having heard about the exploits of a teenager in Queens with spider powers, tracks down Peter Parker and visits him and his Aunt May at their home. Peter’s shocked to find that someone’s discovered his true identity, but Stark isn’t interested in exposing him (unlike his agenda the Civil War comic). He simply wants him as an ally. “And hey, Peter, sign on and I’ll have my people create a modern uniform for you that makes your homemade costume look like yard sale Underoos.”
Boom.
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Any other details that we missed? Let us know in the comments!
