Spider-man: Far From Home

[selenak]

Watched this one with friends, which meant we could talk about it afterwards; we all enjoyed it thoroughly, including being pleasantly surprised that it managed emotional continuity with Endgame while still being an essentially light hearted summer movie. So far, Tom Holland remains my favourite movie incarnation of Peter Parker. Also, the mid-credits and post-credit scenes this time around were actually quintessential, instead of being addenda in differing degrees nice or pointless.



Incidentally, I wonder how the „everyone in Europe loves Americans“ gag plays out in an US audience? My cinema in in Munich exploded in laughter when Ned said that. Mind you, there were also wistful sighs later when the Dutch characters (who actually sounded Dutch, not fake movie German, and as the credits revealed were played by Dutch actors) were all fluent in English. (We know.) (Explanatory footnote: this is a cliché that’s really true; while in Germany everyone learns at least some English at school, the Dutch who watch English language movies, tv shows, news, undubbed everywhere, not just in the big cities (or now on the internet), are the masters of fluency to a degree we simply as a people can’t match. 😊 )

While I liked the world building nods – when May mentioned having lost her apartment due to being snapped (or rather, as it’s now called, blipped) for five years, and that this is a big problem for a lot of people, I felt smug because I had been wondering about that very thing -, and the emotional continuity, I thought one key premise really did not bear thinking about with earth logic (and maths), to wit: leaving the morals of such a device aside, when is Tony supposed to have given those SI- and drones controlling glasses to Nick Fury to give to Peter? Can’t have been during the five years between the first defeat of Thanos and Scott coming up with a plan, because not only was Peter dusted (and assumed to stay that way) during that time, but so was Nick Fury. Once Tony signed on to the Time Heist, he was busy with that 24/7, and Fury remained dusted along with everyone else until Bruce reversed the Snappening. (Excuse me, Blip.) And in however many hours were between that and Tony’s own death, he had other problems as well. (Not to mention that Nick Fury is about the least likely intermediary to be given such a device, because honestly, is there a reason not to believe he’d keep it to himself based on previous movies?) And… but you know, those were all post-movie thoughts, because while watching, I was too entertained by everything to mind, and I’m not upset about it now, either. Handwavium applies.
This take on the Peter/MJ romance was suitably teenagery without being obnoxious, and I’m pleased she figured out the Spider-man identity on her own. (Okay, the mid credits scene would also ensure we won’t spent the next few movies with tired „Peter wrecks his relationship with MJ because of his secret identity“ plots, but MJ figuring it out first was good for the character.) Romantic rival Brad being the sole character in Peter’s class who used to be younger than the rest of them and now is the same age falls into the „neat world building continuity“ category again; for that matter, I don’t know whether it was intentional, but Happy/May (whether one sided or both sided) to me was a nod in two directions. In the comics, Aunt May has a fling with Original Jarvis just before (the comics version of) Civil War (prompting likeadeuce to joke to me that she wants a special issue titled: Civil War: Aunt May and Jarvis dealing with the fallout for them once Peter and Tony were on different sides in the comics). And Iron Man 3 established Happy as a passionate Downton Abbey fan. Now I stopped watching Downton Abbey in early s3, but fannish osmosis tells me Lady Mary ended up with the chauffeur?

Anyway, loved the use of Happy in this movie in general, and long may it continue. Not least because an adult who doesn’t want anything from Peter while offering emotional support is a good thing. Real Nick Fury might or might not have seen through Mysterio, but he definitely would not have had scruples to emotionally blackmail Peter into helping him with the problem du jour. He’s Nick Fury. Which reminds me: during the movie I was thinking „Samuel Jackson had a bit too much fun with the performance, or maybe it’s hangover from playing younger, looser Nick in Captain Marvel“ and then of course the very last scene told me. Well played, Mr. Jackson. Well played. Also by the scriptwriters, because some of the lines in retrospect can be taken as pointed hints.

As to this movie’s main villain: this version of Peter was due to betrayal by seemingly friendly, admired older guy, and lo, delivery came. There was a lot of meta in the movie’s use of Mysterio – who was wearing a motion capture suit post mid movie reveal as to what he was doing – and the way the Marvel movies themselves are made, complete with emotional manipulation, feeling the need for escalating catastrophes to impress – as well as meta on the increasing difficulty to tell what’s real in an age where everything can be faked. The sequence where Mysterio keeps changing „realities“ on Peter was truly stunning (and gut wrenching) to me, and it also set up the mid credits twist which I should have seen coming, but I didn’t.

Oh, and speaking of: clever update of J. Jonah Jameson and his Spidey-bashing medium of choice. Although, as I told my friends afterwards, I hope they keep Jameson as a true believer in his bashing, as opposed to making him in league with villains, because that’s an important character trait in any incarnation of him.

In conclusion: am still charmed by this corner of the MCU, and will continue to follow it with delight.

Comments

[chelseagirl]

Lady Mary did NOT end up with the chauffeur -- the one who married Lady Sybil and then she died of pre-eclampsia in season 3 because the actress wanted to leave the show?

They did end up becoming good friends, which is not something you might have imagined from the early stages of his romance with Sybil. Lady Mary married an aristocratic race car driver, in the end, which was emotionally difficult for her because of course her first husband died in a car accident, because . . . right. (I was just watching Dan Stevens in the latest episode of Legion, and it strikes me that he didn't seem to start getting a lot of parts until after Downton's run was over anyway, so it's a pity he didn't see it through before moving on -- but then, happy marriages aren't tremendously dramatic, so maybe not.)

[selenak]

Okay, then I have misosmosed. BTW, I'm waiting until this season of Legion is over before watching it, because watching the last one demonstrated to me this is a show I prefer being able to binge.

[jesuswasbatman]

I also saw at least one person going "the real Fury would NEVER have manipulated Peter like that" and put it down to parts of fandom having constant difficulty in accepting a character as being on the side of good without treating him as a perfect cinnamon bun.

And in relation to your personal Marvel favourites, I saw someone else suggesting that Fury being on a space mission with the Skrulls might be a sign of SWORD being introduced to the MCU, after being unavailable due to their X-Men-associated characters.

I would have posted a long piece but didn't have time - the idea of Peter nearly calling in a drone strike on his love rival by accident is really scary when you think about it, and makes me wonder if the traditional "street-level" focus of Spider-Man stories might mean that this series of films is the one that actually questions some of the more authoritarian and capital-l "Libertarian" elements of the MCU again.

[musesfool]

SWORD! That would be fun.

[kore]

I also saw at least one person going "the real Fury would NEVER have manipulated Peter like that"

AAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAH what Nick "I didn't know who to trust" Fury in TWS? Nick "Have some bloodstained playing cards!" Fury in Avengers? Nick "let me turn this alien soldier in while pretending to bond" Fury in Captain Marvel?

And in relation to your personal Marvel favourites, I saw someone else suggesting that Fury being on a space mission with the Skrulls might be a sign of SWORD being introduced to the MCU, after being unavailable due to their X-Men-associated characters.

Yeah, that comics panel was all over Twitter and Tumblr -- that place he was in didn't look like the sub-orbital lab, it was bigger. And it would make sense, if MCU is going to go more cosmic, to have SWORD kind of replacing SHIELD. I don't think it's meant to be a one-to-one correspondence, but more like how "the Raft" popped up in CW.

[kore]

Nick "Let me send the Black Widow to infiltrate your company" Fury, Nick "Let's have Captain America wake up in a fake room" Fury, Nick "well yes I did resurrect you from the dead in a really unethical and dangerous way" Fury -- no no, I'll stop.

[selenak]

The hilarity of any version of Nick Fury being thought above manipulating Peter (or anyone else) was already pointed out, so I shall leave it at using my icon of 1602!Nick. (Who, come to think of it, apprenticed 1602!Peter and pulls a fast one on time travelling Steve Rogers.)

Oh, I love the idea of them introducing SWORD and a version of Abigail Brand. Given Carol Danvers is now one of the MCU lead characters, and the Guardians are ongoing, more space based movies are more likely than not, and this would be an ideal point.

[kore]

Ooh, introducing Abigail Brand would be neat, since she was not only in Captain Marvel, but Ults Abigail was part of HYDRA but recruited by undercover Fury. I'd love to see her join the MCU, maybe as a prelude to Alpha Flight.

[callmesandyk]

In my middling full theater in the US, I wasn't the only one laughing at the "they love us" line. But I laughed really hard.

[ironymaiden]

It got a solid laugh from a full theater in Seattle. But now that you mention it I would be curious how it played in other regions.

[musesfool]

It got a big laugh in midtown Manhattan as well!

[lizbee]

It got a massive laugh in Melbourne, Australia!

[maidenjedi]

Huge laugh in central Texas.

[ratcreature]

I assumed the transfer of the glasses must have been part of Tony's likely very complex will somehow, and as he set up who would handle what, that maybe Shield/Fury were set as executors to handle some of the iffier tech. So they were in a vault somewhere. As to why he didn't keep them, maybe once he got them it was Skrull!Fury already?

I mean, what I was baffled by is why Tony would once again set up some killer tech "protection" outside of any government oversight, when he had come around to the idea that maybe his unilateral private robot armies aren't so well received for a reason, and to work within the systems.

[selenak]

Yes, which is why I wrote "all morals aside", because in terms of where the character is in Endgame, it's, shall we say, bewildering.


(Then again: the Spiderman: Homecoming opening scene of Tony dropping Peter off in New York post Leipzig airport fight was both a logistical and emotional headache to place as well, because post Leipzig Airport fight Tony in Civil War was busy bringing Rhodey somewhere to be operated on, then getting the news re: Zemo's hotel room which make him conclude there is something to the "Bucky was framed" Theory after all, then he visits the Raft, then he directly goes to Siberia. Presumably he could have dropped off Peter while also organizing Rhodey's transport back to the US (though honestly, if anything like RL applies Rhodey would have been operated on in Rammstein, and I think the last dialogue between Natasha and Tony post operation takes place at the CIA in Berlin Station they were at earlier), because post Siberia he was definitely not in a shape to do anything off the sort, but at that point (i.e. post air port fight) he had his arm in a sling and a black eye, not to mention hardly a joking mode like the one the Tony from the Homecoming opening scene has. I guess he faked it for Peter's benefit and applied make-up?)


Back to Far From Home: I completely buy Tony having a complex and detailed will left, but that actually argues against him having included any provisions re: Fury and Peter at all, since, again: they were dead during the last five years. (Which is why I buy him not having left Peter anything else - leaving Peter stuff wasn't an option anymore.) And there simply wasn't time to compose a new will during however many days pass from the other Avengers visiting the Lake house to Tony's death. (Unless we're meant to believe he left a note saying "if Nick Fury comes back from the dead, he's supposed to hand over those glasses I left with SHIELD to the also back from the dead kid"?

[ratcreature]

I think even though Tony moved on somewhat, he probably didn't consider the vanished irreversibly dead, and would have had provisions for dying with them gone as well as different instructions if they were restored if he died, just to cover his bases. I mean, it is not that usual to write your will with flexible if then provisions, so that you don't have to rewrite everything for somebody else having died in the meantime, but can just say stuff like "if Uncle Wilbur is still alive when I die, he gets my bottle cap collection, if he's dead it should go to Cousin Clotilde" or something like that.

[moon_custafer]

it is not that usual to write your will with flexible if/then provisions,

Yeah – off-topic and depressing, but I read an article earlier today about a 1930s case in which an heiress brought suit against her mother for having her sterilized while she was still *just barely* under the age of majority (21 years) and mom had the power to make medical decisions for her. Her argument was that as the will had stated her 2/3 share of the estate would revert to her mother should she die childless (not sure what would happen if she outlived her mother, probably it would go to the mother’s next-of-kin?), this was a blatant attempt to wrest back control of the money.

[ratcreature]

Wow, that is awful. Did the mother argue some eugenics reasons, that were all the rage back then to justify sterilizations? I mean, I wonder what the pretense was for why a doctor would even do this to a childless woman, because my mother for example really wanted to be sterilized for birth control but just could not get any doctor to do it before her third child, no matter what she wanted.

[moon_custafer]

Did the mother argue some eugenics reasons, that were all the rage back then to justify sterilizations?

Yep. Insisted her daughter was feeble-minded, promiscuous and degenerate, etc. The daughter countered by bringing evidence the mother was controlling and abusive. The general public basically went “Wow, they’re BOTH awful! Probably just as well one had the other sterilized.” Basically the scandal ruined both of them and the only clear winner was the eugenics movement, who (according to the article) could now point to the case as evidence that *environment* could also make someone an unfit mother who ought to be sterilized for her own good and the good of society….

[kernezelda]

There was a big eugenics push in the USA in the 1930s; it inspired the Nazis. Here's a link to the article: https://narratively.com/the-curious-case-of-the-socialite-who-sterilized-her-daughter/

[kore]

he probably didn't consider the vanished irreversibly dead, and would have had provisions for dying with them gone as well as different instructions if they were restored if he died, just to cover his bases. I mean, it is not that usual to write your will with flexible if then provisions, so that you don't have to rewrite everything for somebody else having died in the meantime

....oh wow, that whole "bring everyone back from the Snap BUT keep everyone from the last five years around too" would create a whole new clusterfuck in terms of wills and bequeathed property/stuff and so on, wouldn't it. They couldn't have just left half the world in legal limbo -- maybe there was kind of a mass "everyone presumed to have died during the Snap" legal category?

[ratcreature]

Yeah, once they somehow coped with the immediate impact of all these people suddenly reappearing and wanting to eat and stuff, sorting out property is going to be an ongoing nightmare. Though the courts etc. were probably still in a backlog from all vanishing, so there probably wasn't a settled status, and most of the redistribution of all the suddenly available extra stuff/land/buildings probably happened informally amidst the economic collapse Endgame glossed over.

So likely on paper ownership for all but the most high profile things didn't even change. And of course it's going to be worst in the most unstable places. Like maybe the US can sort out its records eventually, but if in some developing country with weak government and precarious social cohesion, suddenly half the subsistence farmers vanished, and good arable land or ownerless goats or such were there for the taking, they probably won't give that windfall up easily, just because some previous owner shows up who likely doesn't have paperwork for their claim either. In places that previously had a good community network it might work out, because the vanished and remainers know each other, but not in any unstable places.

[kore]

And of course it's going to be worst in the most unstable places. Like maybe the US can sort out its records eventually, but if in some developing country with weak government and precarious social cohesion, suddenly half the subsistence farmers vanished

Oh ghod, what a fucking nightmare.

Why, WHY did they keep the five-year timeskip (well no, I know, to give Tony "raised stakes" and probably to prepare for the Young Avengers). Typically I can cheerfully ignore canon and cherry-pick what I want, but what with the Snap, the five-year skip AND the Avengers all dying/scattering, and this being the climax/big finale of the MCU as I know it to boot....it's not even anything I really want to engage with, much less fix.

[ratcreature]

Yeah. I mean, the really heartbreaking legal problems are going to be the custody cases for quite a while. Like say, the parents both got snapped, but a baby or small child wasn't, and miraculously it was found quickly enough, and survived the immediate chaos, but then no other immediate family could be found. But going with a good case scenario, it got set up with foster parents, there are bound to be a number of devastated ones whose baby got snapped after all, and everyone rallies in a crisis etc. Then years pass, the snap looks to be permanent, despite some superhero attempts, so there's probably going to be adoptions, and people expect to keep those kids.

Then five years later the first parents reappear. Do they get their kid back, even though it had a different set of parents for five years and doesn't know them? There's going to be legal custody cases en masse.

[kore]

....AUGH

(I thought for sure Tony was going to have to give up his happy marriage and family to save everyone else's, which would have been a real bummer, but also "now that he's been educated in the ways of the heart he's no longer reluctant to sacrifice himself" &c &c and it would've been a parallel with Nat. But no! We just HAVE to have Morgan Stark apparently. I might write a fic where he does meet up with older Morgan in Soulwhateververse and she tells him she doesn't want to live at the expense of other people.)

(Or of course they could have JUST NOT HAVE A FIVE YEAR TIMESKIP AT ALL. siiiigh)

[ealgylden]

Then again, Morgan isn't the only new person to enter the world in those five years. In fact, as people recovered from their trauma, rebuilt their lives, reallocated resources, etc., the world may have been moving into a baby boom period by the time the team was ready to fix things. Tony gets the blame for being selfish, in movie and out, but that's unfair; he wouldn't be remotely unique in not wanting to unmake his kid. There are millions of other Morgan Starks out there, whose lives are equal to the disappeared. How do you choose who gets to live at whose expense?

[musesfool]

I enjoyed the movie a lot, though some of it just doesn't work for me - first and foremost, replacing Uncle Ben with Tony Stark as the father figure Peter doesn't want to disappoint (blargh), but also, Tony leaving EDITH to Peter instead of Pepper or Rhodey. Though given the givens, he might not want Rhodey to have it if it then has to be turned over to the military. Otoh, the fact that he basically recreated Project Insight as a private sector thing is...disturbing, given the results of AOU etc. Even in death, Tony's not allowed to complete his character arc but still has to revert to making the same mistakes again? Idek.

I do want to know how they're going to handle the mid-credits reveal, though. It broke my heart repeatedly in that small space - first the false accusations and then the identity reveal. Oh Peter.

[kore]

Otoh, the fact that he basically recreated Project Insight as a private sector thing is...disturbing, given the results of AOU etc. Even in death, Tony's not allowed to complete his character arc but still has to revert to making the same mistakes again? Idek.

Yeah, it was like the writers/directors really sort of went back to the past for him as well as Steve. Which I know was mostly because they were heavily leaning on the nostalgia and also mirroring IM a lot, but it also felt like the growth both characters went through was just shut off.

[moon_custafer]

Is it possible Tony made the will just after CW, and the events of IW and Endgame left him and Pepper so stressed/busy that she never got around to reminding him to update it? That might explain why it used earlier!Tony logic.

ETA -- No wait, that still wouldn’t explain him trusting Fury to hold it for him. would probably make it even less likely.

[kore]

Is it possible Tony made the will just after CW, and the events of IW and Endgame left him and Pepper so stressed/busy that she never got around to reminding him to update it?

.....hmmm maybe? That doesn't sound like Pepper, tho....

that still wouldn’t explain him trusting Fury to hold it for him. would probably make it even less likely

It does sound like it was a posthumous gift (Even Dead....) but yeah, why Fury?

[vaysh]

I pretty much enjoyed the movie as much as you did, and yes, kudos to the screenwriters for how they scripted both Nick Fury and Mysterio. I absolutely loved the meta of the lasered realities, and hope somebody does something clever with it in fanfic. :)

[selenak]

Same here! Mind you, I expect most Writers to first go with the angst of poor Peter immediately post movie, being on the run etc., but hopefully later there'll be an Inception Fusion and other concepts picked up.

[jesuswasbatman]

I don't think that Peter will necessarily end up "on the run" in the "wanted for murder" sense, as he has a lot of powerful friends who will trust him over the Mysterio fake video. If anything, the worst thing might be if anybody decides to go after his friends/relatives out of revenge or malice - the post-credits scene of Homecoming implied that Toomes thinks that it would be beyond the pale, but it's been left carefully unclear for future films which of Spider-Man's major comics villains this Peter has already encountered.

Of course, the next film might reveal that Fury, totally-non-manipulatively, suggested to Peter that he might want to go somewhere beyond Earth orbit until the controversy blew over...

[kore]

when is Tony supposed to have given those SI- and drones controlling glasses to Nick Fury to give to Peter? Can’t have been during the five years between the first defeat of Thanos and Scott coming up with a plan, because not only was Peter dusted (and assumed to stay that way) during that time, but so was Nick Fury. Once Tony signed on to the Time Heist, he was busy with that 24/7, and Fury remained dusted along with everyone else until Bruce reversed the Snappening. (Excuse me, Blip.) And in however many hours were between that and Tony’s own death, he had other problems as well. (Not to mention that Nick Fury is about the least likely intermediary to be given such a device, because honestly, is there a reason not to believe he’d keep it to himself based on previous movies?)

Not to mention this is also the Nick Fury who lived through Project Insight, seeing how terribly destructive that kind of project he came up with really was, and the WSC trying to bomb New York, and the whole Ultron mess....even if Feige et al just want Tony to kind of have convenient amnesia about how "a suit of iron around the world" repeatedly blew up in his face -- literally! -- it's hard for me to believe Fury wouldn't try to keep that secure. I mean, how long does he have Roland's horn in the form of Carol's pager? ....anyway.

And not to diss Peter, but it's really hard for me to think after Endgame that Stark wouldn't leave that kind of tech to Pepper, since he built her a suit and she's apparently still running SI? (not sure about that) Unless it was part of a long-range plan for Peter to get EDITH later, in which case Tony might have decided that around when he made the Iron Spider suit. But Peter turns that down, and Tony's definitely still trying to send Peter home and keep him out of the line of fire in IW. Tony's so traumatized by Peter's death at the end of IW, too, and it's one of the first things he says to Steve -- "I lost the kid." And in Endgame he flat out refuses to help until he can make the time heist as safe as possible.

during the movie I was thinking „Samuel Jackson had a bit too much fun with the performance, or maybe it’s hangover from playing younger, looser Nick in Captain Marvel“ and then of course the very last scene told me. Well played, Mr. Jackson. Well played. Also by the scriptwriters, because some of the lines in retrospect can be taken as pointed hints.

I remember watching that scene in the trailers where Peter's asking about who else could help out, and thinking "WTF why are they writing Hill and Fury so broadly?" Hill especially seemed off. But no, that was on purpose! Heh.

There was a lot of meta in the movie’s use of Mysterio – who was wearing a motion capture suit post mid movie reveal as to what he was doing – and the way the Marvel movies themselves are made, complete with emotional manipulation, feeling the need for escalating catastrophes to impress

Hah, I've seen thinkpieces on how this film plays a lot on Faux News and faked reality and so on, but I don't think I've seen people compare it to the MCU process itself! Nice. (And going by that, it's really likely Mysterio isn't dead, since death infamously almost never sticks in MCU.)

[selenak]

I thought the Mysterio-as-director/Producer/star movie (specifically MCU movie) meta was definitely intentional - he all but yells "cut" in the big reveal scene, and the motion capture suit we see him in from this point onwards is instantly recognizable if you've seen any DVD extras from LotR onwards.


BTW agreed re: both Nick Fury's and Tony's character developments making the handing over of such a device (if Tony creates it this late in the game) even less likely, but like I said - even letting the moral aspect completely aside, I'm stuck with the logistics as to when and how, given the dusted-ness of both Peter and Fury during the last five years of Tony Stark's life...

[kore]

Yeah, like maybe ratcreature's point about EDITH going to Peter as part of Tony's will is right? And SHIELD/Fury were his executors....but no, that part still doesn't work, not for me. I can't see Tony trusting anyone but Pepper with that kind of stuff. And even if that's just my bias....Tony hasn't trusted Fury since IM2. He openly spied on and rebelled against Fury in Avengers, he's still angry at Fury in AoU and that includes Hill ("She's all yours, apparently") and one consistent thing about Tony all through the MCU that if he feels his trust is betrayed, he almost never gives it back (he's still accusing Nat of "playing both sides" in CW). He doesn't even make up with Steve until way into Endgame. Do we ever even see him and Fury reconcile? (In the IW stinger, Fury asks "Still no word from Stark?" but other than that I don't recall them being in any contact at all.)

Maybe we're supposed to think that Tony's rural retreat in Endgame means he literally left all his Iron Man stuff to someone else, or multiple people. But that still seems dodgy, and anyway, he's making a suit for Pepper and seems to have the same kind of VR computer lab whatever setup there that he did in Stark Tower. He doesn't like giving up control over or responsibility for anything.

[kernezelda]

This is assuming that Nick Fury/Talos knew what the glasses were before giving them to Peter. I've seen meta to the effect that like Ironheart/Riri Williams, the glasses might have been a vessel for a Tony-AI, i.e., a guide and companion to Peter as Jarvis was to Tony. I very much doubt that Fury would not have examined the glasses if he was able to do so, to detect some kind of programming, at the least, and I also doubt he would have any inkling that Tony Stark, as irresponsible as he could be, would leave an orbital weapons platform in the hands of a minor, no matter how good-hearted that minor is. IMO, Fury didn't know.

[jesuswasbatman]

Forgot to mention about the Dutch characters speaking English - the usual Dutch response when complimented on their language skills is "we're a small country and nobody else can speak Dutch, what do you expect?".

[davetheanalyzer]

I did like the movie. This seemed to continue the writing of Homecoming where even bit characters get fleshed out through dialogue and their actions (i.e. the hint of Flash’s relationship with his parents). I find that challenging to do. I found the Ned and Betty romance and amicable breakup amusing, and as well the Spider-Monkey bit. Though it makes sense there would be superheroes in places other than America (i.e. Wakanda).

I did like the Peter and MJ romance. We didn’t get a peak of what got him interested but that can naturally occur off-screen. I like how MJ helped put together the revelation about Mysterio. With her and Ned with Peter, I’m sure they could figure out mysterious quite well. Also liked how her sarcasm is a result of social awkwardness. I did note how she quickly retreated in her confrontation with Peter on at least on either her crush or knowing he was Spider-man. I can’t quite remember which.

That Mysterio is a piece of work. That illusion technology will make a nightmare out of news reporting if it becomes too widespread. I wonder where his crew went after he died (But is he dead?)? Did they all continue to spread misinformation on Spidey with their honor? I do wonder with him threatening them with death for the slightest mistake if they will all be loyal. I wonder if Peter will go on the run, or if his name will be cleared but his identity can’t be unrevealed (That is going to make some awkward conversations with Flash with his Spiderman adulation).

[pujaemuss]

Okay, so how's this for handwavium? The Project Insight EDITH drones were constructed circa IM3/AOU sort of time as Tony's ultimate backup plan - an Iron Legion that goes on after his death. He shelves it after CA:TWS and AOU show how badly that would be received, but of course he doesn't destroy it - they might need it one day.

After Homecoming, he rewrites the code for the glasses to key it to Peter. It's the backup plan for the world without Iron Man and who would he leave it to but the superhero he' training. He's not going to die for years and years though, so Peter will be old enough by the time it actually comes up.

After his death, Fury's not an executor, nor is he given the glasses. He takes them - Fury never believed Insight was wrong, just held in the wrong hands (ie. ones that he didn't control). He wants the option back in play, as he's down several heroes and Earth still needs protecting.

Sound plausible enough to hold a tiny bit of water?

Also, I'd just like to note that I'm not over JK Simmons being recalled as J Jonah Jameson. That was glorious.

Puja

[selenak]

I'm thrilled he's back, too! How old is he, btw, i.e. can he play the role through the next decade?

Also, I'll buy your handwavium. Sounds possible to me.

[pujaemuss]

Google says 64, so easily young enough to do another film or three if he fancies it. He's set up to be a secondary antagonist for a lot of Avengers if they want to lean into the Alex Jones conspiracy theory angle and have him be anti-establishment-supers, or they could keep him just anti-Spidey and save him for SM3.

PJW