Captain America: Civil War is tearing a swath across the box office in a sea of amazing reviews. While many new elements were introduced in the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, no greater splash was made than by Tom Holland as the new Peter Parker, the Amazing Spider-Man. Peter interacting with the rest of the heroes in the Avengers is a sight that many thought we’d never see, but times have changed and Sony’s partnership with Marvel Studios has made many a fanboy dreams come true. While Peter was certainly made the better for meeting with Tony Stark during Civil War, in the comics, Spider-Man was given a much grander upgrade. The “Iron Spider” made its debut during the Marvel Comic Civil War storyline, and there’s always the possibility that it will make its debut in the films moving forward. In this article, we’ll take a close look at the origins of Spider-Man’s Tony Stark-influenced armor and its appearances through numerous storylines.
Does Whatever an Iron Man Can
As some background to where Peter Parker was at in the comics during Civil War, he was climbing his way up the corporate ladder! Accepting a position in Stark Industries directly under Tony Stark, thanks in part to his career as your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and in part due to his genius, Peter was on top of the world. He was a full fledged Avenger, his wife (Mary Jane) and Aunt May lived with him in Avengers Tower, and he was pulling in money like he never had before. Everything came tumbling down when the Superhero Registration Act was proposed in halls of the United States Congress. Attempting to stave off the new law, Tony Stark and Peter Parker traveled to Washington D.C. and testified. Unfortunately, an old Iron Man villain, the Titanium Man, attempted to assassinate Tony, leading Congress to believe that the Act was a necessity.
Stark had actually put together the assassination attempt himself as he was in favor of it from the start! With everything coming to a head, Tony decided that Peter needed an upgrade following some disastrous fights that Spider-Man had in the recent past (one in which he straight up dies during a fight with the incredibly powerful Spidey villain, Morlun). Taking the original design for Spidey’s costume and adding some “Iron Man flair” to it, the Iron Spider suit was born. It’s a near perfect combination design-wise of both the Spider-Man costume and the gold and red of Tony Stark’s armored suit. Tony created the suit to also strengthen the bond between both Peter and himself, knowing that he would need Spidey’s help in the superhero war to come.
Swiss Army Spider
On top of giving Spidey an entirely new look, the Iron Spider suit gave him a slew of new abilities and gadgets to use at his disposal. The most visually striking of these new mechanisms were the “waldoes”, three large “spider-legs” protruding from Spidey’s back. Making him look closer to Doctor Octopus, these legs gave Peter an added versatility and some additional strength to boot. The suit also made Spider-Man bullet proof and gave him some abilities you’d see from a typical Iron Man comic rather than a web slinger book. On top of all his regular Spider-abilities, Parker could also fire repulsor rays from his chest symbol in a similar vein as Stark.
The biggest ability that the new Iron Spider armor granted Spider-Man was the ability to fly. While not being able to soar through the heavens with rocket propelled hands and feet, Peter could glide through the streets of New York City. A long running part of Spider-Man’s costume were the “web pits”, webbing that was underneath Spider-Man’s armpits to create a cool visual. With the Iron Spider armor, this design was used to beneficial effect as it allowed Parker to control his gliding, making him an airborne spider that would be a handful for villains.
Iron Spider: Coming to a Theater Near You?
While in the comics, the Iron Spider suit was short lived with Peter rejecting the suit following his fallout with Tony Stark, it did make a few more appearances down the road. The teenage hero, MVP, wore it for a little bit in the Marvel comic, Avengers Initiative. In the cartoon, Ultimate Spider-Man, the young super genius Amadeus Cho wore it after Peter had decided to go with the standard red and blue spandex. The suit has definitely made the rounds but will it make it to the Marvel Cinematic Universe? We’ll throw out a tiny warning for folks that minor spoilers for Captain America: Civil War are incoming for the rest of this article.
Obviously, the Iron Spider suit doesn’t make a full appearance in the latest entry into the MCU though Tony Stark does help Peter out big time before the full out Avengers’ brawl. Supplying Peter with his tried and true red and blue costume we know so well, versus the homemade costume that young Parker makes himself, helps to show the relationship that the two science geeks may have moving forward. Robert Downey Jr. has already been confirmed for the upcoming 2017 Spider-Man: Homecoming film from Marvel Studios, sure to offer something of a mentor role to the young “Spider-Boy”. It’s certainly within the realm of possibility that Tony Stark puts his design skills to good use and creates a costume for Peter that looks closer to the Iron Spider suit we’ve seen before.
Captain America: Civil War has landed, and with the introduction of your friendly neighborhood wall crawler, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will never be the same.