History YMMV / SpiderManHomecoming

** Tony Stark/Iron Man. A common criticism of the MCU-Spidey movies is that Peter is to depended of Tony and that Tony [[CreateTheirOwnVillains is directly or indirectly responsible for the villains']] StartOfDarkness]], like with the Vulture in this movie. They also accuse Tony of [[CompositeCharacter taking on Uncle Ben's role]] as SubstituteParent as well as [[WolverinePublicity being only forced into the marketing of the movie to sell tickets despite not having a large role]]. Fans like that Tony's role as TheMentor helps to cement Peter's role in the MCU as a logical consequence of ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' and also point out that Tony's role in the movie isn't that big and that Peter and Toomes have a more personal connection than Toomes and Stark.

** With ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'' fans who are annoyed that their series got shafted for this film and were also hoping for their series to be integrated with the MCU instead of rebooted.[[note]]Marvel actually did consider doing this, but Sony's executives wanted to replace Creator/AndrewGarfield after he criticized them for the ExecutiveMeddling they did with ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'' -- and given that Kevin Feige had interest in telling more stories with Peter Parker in high school (something ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'' moved on from in its first scene), the decision was made to go for a full reboot.[[/note]]

** After being criticized for a string of fairly forgettable and one-dimensional villains during Phase 2, Marvel gave Adrian Toomes more characterization and depth with many critics calling Toomes' one of the best parts of the movie, continuing the streak of engaging villains that MCU has put out since the start of Phase 3, and he [[spoiler: ''averts'' SuperheroMovieVillainsDie and is only imprisoned.]]
** People who were massively disappointed that Miles Morales didn't get to be the MCU's Spider-Man were pleasantly surprised by a bone that was thrown their way when it turned out that Donald Glover's character is Aaron Davis, and he specifically alludes to wanting to keep his nephew -- who has been confirmed to be Miles -- safe.
** For those who worry about Peter being overreliant with the upgraded suit and web-shooters Stark gave him, the film shows many scenes that prove that he's capable of doing things like still creating and improving his own web fluid despite getting new web fluid, hacking into his own suit and disabling its tracker (with Ned's help), and ultimately saving the day with his old web-shooters and costume.

* SignatureScene:
** The entire action sequence on the Ferry.
** Tony [[WhatTheHellHero chewing out]] Peter after the ferry sequence, partly due to the strong acting and drama, and partly due to [[MemeticMutation the memes the scene spawned]].
** In terms of a non-action scene, [[spoiler:Adrian Toomes finding out that Peter Parker is Spider-Man over the course of the car ride where he takes his daughter and her homecoming date to the dance]] has proven to be one of the most popular scenes in the movie for being incredibly tense and subtle.
** The recreation of the iconic shot in "If This Be My Destiny...!"
** The last showdown between Spider-Man and Vulture on the Avengers plane and the Riegelmann Boardwalk.

** After saving Peter, Tony comments that it's never too early to start thinking about college and mentions he could help get him into MIT, which Peter responds to by telling him he doesn't need to go to college. Combine that with Peter's desire to fully join the Avengers and how he even tells Ned he is prepared to become a high school dropout, [[spoiler:this film becomes much harder to watch when in ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'', Peter is forced to erase all memory of his civilian identity, meaning he can't go to MIT with Ned and Michelle, and he has to drop out of high school to get his own place and study to get his GED.]]

** Fans were thrilled that ''Spider-Man: Homecoming'' would not rehash and do the origin again since fans had already seen the same plot happen twice in both Creator/SamRaimi's and Marc Webb's films and were dreading overexposure and {{Sequelitis}}, and were happy that Marvel found a way to bring Peter into the continuity without doing the origin right off the mark. That said, it ''is'' hinted at when Peter discusses the "stuff going on with Aunt May."
*** Also, the films make changes regarding Peter Parker's background as a high schooler as well as Spider-Man to ensure that these films can be their own thing, as ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' films were criticized for being too similar to the Sam Raimi films as well as making too many callbacks to them, which made those films struggle to have their own identity as a Spider-Man film series.
** The premise being a much more grounded and straightforward story, simply focusing on Peter trying to balance his high school/superhero life, went over well since this part was subject to AdaptationDistillation in the previous ''Spider-Man'' movies.
** Sony, after the conflicting reactions to the ''Amazing Spider-Man'' reboot, choosing to allow Marvel to take creative control over the ''Spider-Man'' franchise (or, at least, the main installments of the film series) was seen as a redeeming move in a large segment of the comic book movie fan community.

** Marvel's decision to focus on villains who hadn't already been used in the previous movies like Vulture and Shocker, especially after ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'' was criticized for rehashing the Osborn saga which was dealt with in the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy''.

* IdiotPlot: The movie pretty much wouldn't have happened if Happy Hogan had been staying in connection with Peter rather than ignoring him, which eventually leads to [[spoiler:Peter trying to handle things on his own in Washington D.C. and then on Staten Ferry]], or if [[spoiler:Brice hadn't shown a dangerous weapon in public to a drug dealer that wants only a quiet weapon for stakeouts.]]
** Cap lecturing the audience on patience becomes funny after ''Endgame,'' in which he had to wait five years to [[spoiler: figure out how to defeat Thanos]], and then it turns out that he'd waited [[spoiler: more than twice that to get back to Peggy]].

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** Fans were thrilled that ''Spider-Man: Homecoming'' would not rehash and do the origin again since fans had already seen the same plot happen twice in both Creator/SamRaimi's and Marc Webb's films and were dreading overexposure and {{Sequelitis}}, and were happy that Marvel found a way to bring Peter into the continuity without doing the origin right off the mark. That said, it ''is'' hinted at when Peter discusses the "stuff going on with Aunt May."
*** Also, the films make changes regarding Peter Parker's background as a high schooler as well as Spider-Man to ensure that these films can be their own thing, as ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' films were criticized for being too similar to the Sam Raimi films as well as making too many callbacks to them, which made those films struggle to have their own identity as a Spider-Man film series.
** The premise being a much more grounded and straightforward story, simply focusing on Peter trying to balance his high school/superhero life, went over well since this part was subject to AdaptationDistillation in the previous ''Spider-Man'' movies.
** Sony, after the conflicting reactions to the ''Amazing Spider-Man'' reboot, choosing to allow Marvel to take creative control over the ''Spider-Man'' franchise (or, at least, the main installments of the film series) was seen as a redeeming move in a large segment of the comic book movie fan community.
** One complaint about ''Civil War'' was how Tony effectively drafted Peter [[ChildSoldiers (at the age of fifteen)]] into joining a war he had no personal stakes in. Not only does ''Homecoming'' confirm that Tony wouldn't have brought Peter into the fight if he believed Team Cap had intended any serious harm, but the film goes out of the way to depict Tony acting a lot more cautious and protective of him -- urging him to stay out of trouble and making it clear that he isn't joining the Avengers, at least not yet.
** Another complaint about ''Civil War'' and Spider-Man is that given his belief that people like him with superpowers are at fault if they do nothing it is out of character for Peter not to be on Captain America's side. This movie fixes this by establishing that Peter was kept in the dark about what the fight was about and Tony just drafted him and told him that Cap "went crazy".
** Marvel's decision to focus on villains who hadn't already been used in the previous movies like Vulture and Shocker, especially after ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'' was criticized for rehashing the Osborn saga which was dealt with in the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy''.
** After being criticized for a string of fairly forgettable and one-dimensional villains during Phase 2, Marvel gave Adrian Toomes more characterization and depth with many critics calling Toomes' one of the best parts of the movie, continuing the streak of engaging villains that MCU has put out since the start of Phase 3, and he [[spoiler: ''averts'' SuperheroMovieVillainsDie and is only imprisoned.]]
** People who were massively disappointed that Miles Morales didn't get to be the MCU's Spider-Man were pleasantly surprised by a bone that was thrown their way when it turned out that Donald Glover's character is Aaron Davis, and he specifically alludes to wanting to keep his nephew -- who has been confirmed to be Miles -- safe.
** For those who worry about Peter being overreliant with the upgraded suit and web-shooters Stark gave him, the film shows many scenes that prove that he's capable of doing things like still creating and improving his own web fluid despite getting new web fluid, hacking into his own suit and disabling its tracker (with Ned's help), and ultimately saving the day with his old web-shooters and costume.

** Tony Stark is shown struggling in his newfound role of being a mentor figure to Peter including looking out for his safety and wanting Peter to be better than him. Unfortunately Stark's personality quirks manifest throughout the movie as we see that he doesn't keep up regular communication with Peter, his face to face discussions are filled with snark, he consistently underestimates Peter's enthusiasm and desire to prove himself, and gives the Spider-suit mentoring protocols patronizing names like "training wheels" and "baby monitor". All of which add up to leave Peter and the audience feeling like Stark doesn't really understand him. Plus making it appear to Peter that he was not taking his claims seriously and didn’t inform Peter that he was passing information to the authorities that can take care of Toomes for him which led to the disaster on the yacht. Not to mention it was basically his fault that Toomes turned to crime in the first place.

** Tony Stark is shown struggling in his newfound role of being a mentor figure to Peter including looking out for his safety and wanting Peter to be better than him. Unfortunately Stark's personality quirks manifest throughout the movie as we see that he doesn't keep up regular communication with Peter, his face to face discussions are filled with snark, he consistently underestimates Peter's enthusiasm and desire to prove himself, and gives the Spider-suit mentoring protocols patronizing names like "training wheels" and "baby monitor". All of which add up to leave Peter and the audience feeling like Stark doesn't really understand him. Plus making it appear to Peter that he was not taking his claims seriously and didn’t inform Peter that he was passing information to the authorities that can take care of Toomes for him which led to the disaster on the yacht.

** Is Tony's claim that Captain America went easy on Spider-Man really the truth, or just a {{Gaslighting}} trick used by TheMentor to reign in his plucky over-eager student so as to ensure his authority is not challenged? After all, Tony has well-known ControlFreak and manipulative tendencies, and he misled Peter about the airport battle (saying that Steve went rogue rather than the full details of the Sokovia Accords) and in the end, [[spoiler:passed off Peter's rejection of the Avengers as a SecretTestOfCharacter on Peter's suggestion]].

** Creator/MichaelKeaton, an actor who formerly played [[Film/Batman1989 Batman]] [[Film/BatmanReturns twice]] in live action movie, being cast in a [[Franchise/MArvelCinematicUniverse Marvel movie]] was already this due to the quote ''[[Film/TheDarkKnight "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain"]]'', but it became even funnier after Creator/ChristianBale who played Batman in Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy was cast as a villain in ''Thor: Love and Thunder.''
** Michael Giacchino went from scoring a film starring a former Batman to scoring the next Batman film.

*** ...and this wouldn't be the first time Keaton played a guy in a [[Film/BirdmanOrTheUnexpectedVirtueOfIgnorance bird costume]].
*** ...''and'' Michael Giacchino went from scoring a film starring a former Batman to scoring the next Batman film.
** This isn't the first time a character played by Michael Keaton worked with [[Videogame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII a guy named Mason]].

----

** Michelle is supposed to be seen as a lovable, snarky HollywoodNerd that the audience is supposed to sympathize with because she doesn't have friends, and she does openly express horror and concern for her decathlon team at the Washington Monument. However, other than that, most of her screen-time consists of her belittling and mocking people with a haughty and condescending attitude for no reason (especially considering that all the students, aside from Flash, are pretty nice people who haven't done anything to deserve it), so it's pretty understandable why she doesn't have any.

** There's Ned's insistence that the world, or at least Peter's closest associates, should know he's really Spider-Man, especially seeing as this is a world that isn't exactly packing secret identities for the heroes. Peter repeatedly turns it down despite wanting to go big as an Avenger, citing the dangers involved with this. [[spoiler:As ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' shows, Peter's identity being publicly known to the world at large combined with the FrameUp by Mysterio from the [[Film/SpiderManFarFromHome film in-between]] basically ruins Peter's life, making him ProperlyParanoid two movies in advance.]]

** While the movie avoids falling into familiar territory by not showing Spidey's origin, it also makes his motivation for being a hero unclear if one sets aside ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' (which alludes to his motivation more or less being the same as it was in the comics), due to lack of explicit follow-up or acknowledgement. Is he doing it [[GoodFeelsGood just because it's the right thing to do]], because of [[ComesGreatResponsibility the iconic lesson]] that [[MyGreatestFailure the death of his]] -- [[TheGhost still unseen and unnamed and only indirectly alluded to]] -- [[PosthumousCharacter Uncle Ben]] taught him, or because [[IJustWantToBeSpecial he really just wants to be like the Avengers whom he idolizes, especially Iron Man]]? This is muddled by the [[DestructiveSaviour collateral damage and civilian endangerment]] he causes, unlike most other versions of Spidey, and while Iron Man calls him out on it, he's only told to become a better hero. [[spoiler:And in a pivotal moment, this is what motivates him instead of the responsibility theme, though a third interpretation exists where "being a better hero" and "being responsible" are one and the same.]]

** A contingent of the film's critics feel that the refusal to at least briefly mention Uncle Ben and the [[ComesGreatResponsibility lesson and overall motivation Peter got from his death]] removes substance from Peter's character; at worst, the film giving him DestructiveSaviour tendencies in his eagerness to prove himself to Tony Stark and the Avengers may feel out of character from his appearance in ''Civil War'', given what (we assumed) happened offscreen. While Stark urges him to be a better hero in response, the connection of the power/responsibility theme to [[MyGreatestFailure Peter's greatest failure]], causing Uncle Ben's death, is missed. Others are just glad to have an arc for the character that doesn't fall back on that part of the backstory, making the film feel fresher compared to the previous ''Amazing'' reboot.

** After saving Peter, Tony comments that it's never too early to start thinking about college and mentions he could help get him into MIT, which Peter responds to by telling him he doesn't need to go to college. Combine that with Peter's desire to fully join the Avengers and how he even tells Ned he is prepared to become a high school dropout, [[spoiler:this film becomes much harder to watch when in ''No Way Home'', Peter is forced to erase all memory of his civilian identity, meaning he can't go to MIT with Ned and Michelle, and he has to drop out of high school to get his own place and study to get his GED.]]

* FunnyAneurysmMoment:
** During the quiz on the bus on the way to Washington, one of the questions is about the moons of Saturn. Come Avengers: Infinity War: [[spoiler: Spider-Man dies on Planet Titan, named after one of the moons of Saturn.]]
** Harrington's saying that he couldn't bear to lose a student on a school trip [[BlackComedy again]] becomes this after ''Endgame'' confirms that [[spoiler: many students, including Ned, died on a field trip thanks to Thanos' snap.]]

* WhatAnIdiot:
** The beginning of the movie reveals that Tony recruited Spider-Man to help with a "crazy" Captain America. After the mission, and Peter's been badly concussed, Tony tells Peter to call Happy as a liaison guy. Happy is less than amused since Peter took an embarrassing video of him and he has to move Avengers headquarters upstate.\\
'''You'd Expect''': That even with the Civil War fracas that Tony and Happy would keep tabs on Peter and prepare him for more challenging missions than bicycle thieves in Queens. Avengers headquarters would have a training field, and there is lots of weird stuff happening all over the country. Or, even better, recruit Pepper for her advice and help since she knows how to ground uncontrollable people. If no one is available, Tony could find someone who would be a more suitable liaison.\\
'''Instead''': Tony and Happy leave Peter in the lurch, neither returning his calls or texts for two months. Happy refuses to listen when Peter reports the high-tech bank robbery. Tony appears via a remote suit when the Vulture nearly drowns Peter, and pretty much shuts him out of the strange case. Peter is understandably annoyed that both men are treating him like a kid; while he is one, he is also more than capable. When he realizes that Peter disabled the suit's tracking device and is going after the Vulture alone at Staten Ferry, where the FBI are waiting, Peter hangs up on him while preparing to attack. Spider-Man and everyone on the ferry nearly die from the ensuing fight. In the call, Tony ''says'' he's worried he's becoming like his late, distant father, and he wants to do better, but it's already too late. All he can do is show up and mitigate the disaster.
** Peter also wants to become an Avenger. Tony refuses and wants Peter to stay "close to the ground".\\
'''You'd Expect''': That Tony would explain that since Peter is a minor, if he joined the Avengers he'd have to sign the Sokovia Accords. Since he's a minor, that would mean Aunt May would have to sign for him. This is a plausible explanation, since Peter doesn't want Aunt May to know. It's obvious by the end that Tony can override this legal problem, but Peter doesn't know that.\\
'''Instead''': Tony just goes BecauseISaidSo. Peter thinks that he has to prove to Tony that he's good enough to be an Avenger. This leads to the Staten Ferry fiasco, and to him getting locked into a Damage Control warehouse.
** Peter wants to tackle something a little more challenging than grand theft bicycles, as well as prove himself to Tony for the awesome factor of being close with other heroes, but can't find anything simply patrolling the streets of Queens.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Peter would start patrolling worse neighborhoods in New York, which are many now thanks to the destruction caused by the Incident, where he can probably stop more serious, but still not very dangerous to him crimes and/or try to reach out to publicly known heroes like Matt Murdock and Luke Cage, who have both tackled real supervillains and huge crime syndicates, despite having only a fraction of his power. That way, he'd be earning himself a rep quickly, and could even prove himself to Tony by having his own sort of-Avengers team.\\
'''Instead:''' He keeps patrolling Queens and helping old ladies who buy him churros, and then calls Happy and Tony to tell them about his mundane adventures everyday, ensuring they don't take him seriously. A real threat in the form of Vulture's weapons eventually leads him to make himself known and he proves himself, but nearly dies several times in the process, and gets no help from the other New York heroes.
** After school, Peter changes into his Spider-Man suit so he can go on patrol and stuffs his street clothes and personal items in his backpack.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Peter would use his powers to go up to one of the building roofs and leave his backpack there where no one will find or reach it, like in the comics.\\
'''Instead:''' He leaves his backpack next to a dumpster in the alley and by the time he gets back, it's been stolen.\\
'''Worse:''' This is the ''fifth time'' it's happened. And Peter's not an idiot.
** After skipping the Prom, Peter tracks down Vulture [[spoiler: who is revealed to be Liz's dad Adrian]] to his hideout and learns that he's planning to rob a Stark Industries cargo plane. Pete confronts Vulture and webs his left hand to a table to keep him from moving. While he's webbed up, Adrian tries to justify his crimes with a speech about how the rich "don't care about people" like himself and Peter.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' That Pete wouldn't waste time listening and web up Adrian's other hand and his feet [[ShutUpHannibal (and maybe his mouth so he can shut up)]] and ''immediately'' call the police, pretty much defeating him right there.\\
'''Instead:''' Peter gets distracted and stalls long enough for Adrian to summon his Vulture suit.\\
'''The Result:''' Vulture uses his suit to collapse the building and trap Spider-Man underneath the rubble. Pete only survives due to his super-strength and sheer willpower. He does eventually catch Vulture, but only after an insanely dangerous battle aboard the cargo plane that nearly gets both of them killed.
** Tony returns the suit he gave to Peter, who doesn't want Aunt May to know his superhero alter ego.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Peter to close and/or lock his door when putting the suit on in case Aunt May comes in.\\
'''Instead:''' He leaves it wide open, allowing Aunt May to see him wearing the suit and letting her know he's Spider-Man.

** Similar to the above, there's the part where he tells Peter, "What if you had died? That's on me." [[spoiler:In ''Infinity War'', Tony has to watch as Peter disintegrates in his arms.]]
** Peter's rejection of Tony's offer to become an Avenger becomes significantly darker to see after''[[WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021 What If...?]]'' shows [[spoiler:an alternate timeline where Peter holds onto the guilt of not accepting it in wake of a global ZombieApocalypse.]]
** After saving Peter, Tony comments that it's never too early to start thinking about college and mentions he could help get him into MIT which Peter responds to by telling him he doesn't need to go to college. Combine that with Peter's desire to fully join the Avengers and how he even tells Ned he is prepared to become a high school dropout, [[spoiler:this film becomes much harder to watch when in ''No Way Home'' Peter is forced to erase all memory of his civilian identity meaning he can't go to MIT with Ned and Michelle, and he has to drop out of high school to get his own place and study to get his GED.]]

** Michelle by the end of the movie admits that she does have friends: everyone on the quiz team, Peter, and Ned. When they go on a class trip in the sequel, she's toned down her snark quite a bit and enjoys spending time with everyone.

** A marketing-based variation. How some people felt about the ad campaign giving away not one, but two of the Captain America PSA, as they felt as though they would have been better suited as surprises akin to the character's "cameo" in ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld''. Luckily, it turns out that those weren't the only PSAs.

*** ...and this wouldn't be the first time Keaton played a guy in a [[Film/{{Birdman}} bird costume]].