Avengers: Infinity War Trailer Is Out – With A Dash Of Spider-Man

27 Comments

1. Wanted to post that both Zac and George were right. They have said this MANY times on the podcast. Last weekend I HAVE witnessed it. To make this post short. I took my family to “Breakfast with Santa”. For everyone there I had a classic Spider-Man suit and dressed up. Everyone was impressed and thankful that Spider-Man showed up. Was having a good time…until a mother with her boy came up to me. She asked if her son could get a picture and I Kindly obliged.

   After the picture was taken the boy turned to me and asked “Did Tony send you here?”

   Even though the mask hid my expressions, I rolled my eyes. The younger generation are so focused on “Homecoming” that they are assuming that Spider-Man is now “Tony’s sidekick” or “ultimate fanboy intern.”

   I kept my cool and responded. “Nah, I’m my own man. Made my own suit and all. I don’t need Ol’ Shell head to send me anywhere.”

   They ARE out there.

2. I mean his Spider-Man suit in Homecoming is already armor pretty much. This is like an alternate DLC color edit costume in a video game to me. Personally I don’t like this costume but I didn’t like the one in Homecoming either. The best one on screen was in Amazing Spider-Man 2. Despite it being a terrible movie.

3. That trailer DOES look yummy.. and did they just Yelena Belova Black Widow?

4. First off, can I just say that it’s so friggin REFRESHING to read a comments thread on the Internet in which two people who completely disagree are doing so in an intelligent, informed, and respectful manner. *sigh* I love this website…

   Secondly, my problem with the suit is not so much with it’s practicality or precedence in the comics.Yeah, it makes sense that Spidey would armor up against Thanos, I guess. I don’t like the look, but, eh, OK, I guess I accept it. And, yes, there is precedence in the comics, “My Enemy’s Enemy,” “No One Dies,” “Ends of the Earth,” etc. I’d argue though that “It’s OK to do something in the movies because it was done before in the comics” is not a strong argument though. I’d point to the actual story of the latter three listed as an example.

   (Dan Slott, BTW, used this argument in defending the dimension-hopping nuttiness that was “Spider-Verse” against people who said that it was fundamentally not a Spider-Man Story because of said-nuttiness by saying, “Well he did it all the time in Marvel Team-Up when I was a kid so you’re wrong!” OK… but do those Marvel Team-Up stories really capture the essence of Spider-Man? Mmmnope.)

   My issue with MCU Peter Parker is that he is essentially a sidekick, which IS contrary to one of the core precepts of Spider-Man. Lee/Ditko went against the grain, back in the day, by making a teenager the protagonist, and not the sidekick, in his own book. For all his merits, that’s one of the major reasons why I am not settled with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. It’s why, and George has said this better, elsewhere, and plenty, I am not a big fan of “Spider-Man Homecoming” and not a fan of “Infinity War’s” Spider-Armor:

   Not because it is without precedence (although the precedence is weak), or because I think it’s ugly (I do, but to each his own), but because it, once again, makes Peter Parker into Tony Stark’s sidekick. And I HATE that. Because. That’s. Not. Spider-Man.

5. How come Black Widow and Hawkeye don’t need armor but Spider-Man does? Stark may have made a couple things for them, but ihe didn’t make them a damned armored suit.

6. The glowing eyes SCREAM Parker Industries….
   … and how can anyone be angry at Mr SCIENCE!!!

7. ” What I’m saying *is* ridiculous is the notion that Peter Parker needs to suddenly rely on techno suits (especially Stark crap) in order to face down a serious menace. I have decades of comics that back me up. Hell, I can even point to the Raimi movies in which Spidey could just go beat ass as Spidey and didn’t need to slip into power-armor. Hell, even the misguided Garfield Spider-movies went forward and got better with the costume, not backwards and worse.”

   I don’t think it’s ridiculous because there are decades of comics that have Peter use suits to face down serious menaces. I’ve been throwing those examples out there. I don’t think the implication in the trailer is that he can’t fight these guys without Stark tech because we’re not seeing him fly around shooting missiles like IM or WM. But the main thing we keep circling back to is that he’s fighting friggin’ THANOS THE MAD TITAN! That’s just in a different league than Green Goblin or the Sandman or Don’tyouknowI’mElectro. It’s entirely plot-implicit from what the trailer shows that he’s utilizing some sort of defensive boost to take on guys NO ONE has fought before. And the comic book comparison to the times he didn’t use armor don’t track because

   A) different writers portray his time-to-plan differently,
   B) He’s never gone blow-for-blow with Thanos and won in a straight up fight, and most importantly…
   C) Times where he has faced Thanos he’s died!

   I’m not suggesting that Peter should be wearing this forever, but it’s not the same thing as the Iron Patriot suit from IM3 which was a crass redesign and little else. But this looks to me like a defensive strategy more than an advertisement for Stark, and I just keep finding it pedantic and fussy to bring up times where Peter didn’t use any sort of tech advantage against Thanos because it’s not as though he was super-better for it. I mean, Stan Lee had Peter wearing ugly rubber gloves to fight Electro in ASM #4 Would I prefer that Peter made this suit himself and not RDJ? Sure, but that’s not the world we’re working with, and, FWIW, it’s better looking than the Iron Spider costume, which was just Stark’s ego splashed all over it from head to toe.

   “Tell me… did Tony build EVERYONE new costumes, or is it just Spidey getting special treatment? Seriously, at this rate Peter should change his last name to Stark!”

   Stark redesigned all of the Avenger’s costumes in Age of Ultron, so this isn’t just a thing they’ve done with Spider-Man.

   “I DON’T like the new costume, now come at ME, Donovan.”

   That’s fine! You do you!

8. Tell me… did Tony build EVERYONE new costumes, or is it just Spidey getting special treatment? Seriously, at this rate Peter should change his last name to Stark!

   I DON’T like the new costume, now come at ME, Donovan.

9. I’m not saying fans who like different costumes are shallow. To be clear those are your words, not mine. There will always be those who prefer iconic heroes to be presented as they appear most of the time and there will always be others who prefer a new outlandish, different look each time or at least more frequently. Maybe looking at Spidey, aesthetically speaking, as a male Janet Van Dyne. I’m not one of the latter but those folks are about to get a feast. More power to ’em. I’ll have plenty that fits me better in Infinity War, like Wanda and Vizh.

   I’m also not framing this as “out of character.” In fact heading off to face Thanos, even alone, fits perfectly with the character. What I’m saying *is* ridiculous is the notion that Peter Parker needs to suddenly rely on techno suits (especially Stark crap) in order to face down a serious menace. I have decades of comics that back me up. Hell, I can even point to the Raimi movies in which Spidey could just go beat ass as Spidey and didn’t need to slip into power-armor. Hell, even the misguided Garfield Spider-movies went forward and got better with the costume, not backwards and worse.

   “Also, it’s nice to see Don commenting on Spider-Man stuff.”

   I agree 😀

   “That being said…if the Russo’s portray Spidey’s skills and effectiveness better then Homecoming did, and only have him relying on the armored suit so he can survive hits from Thanos, then I can probably live with it.”

   This is my hope. I will never like that costume; it’s ridiculous and laughable. A pig which will wear no lipstick. But story-wise I have more faith in the Russos, though their ideas of Spidey in the MCU aren’t flawless. While I enjoy their work, they also had Spidey swearing in Civil War and trying to crawl all up inside Stark’s backside. But even with that I trust their instincts more than I do John Watts.

10. Personally I think Spidey wearing a heavily teched-out Stark-brand Supersuit kind of deflates the fact that he, ideally, should rely more on his natural skills and intellect, even against bigger foes.

    That being said…if the Russo’s portray Spidey’s skills and effectiveness better then Homecoming did, and only have him relying on the armored suit so he can survive hits from Thanos, then I can probably live with it.

11. Wasn’t Spider-Man killed in Infinity War? And killed again by Thanos in Spider-Man #17?

    Seems to me like he really should’ve worn armor.

    Him fighting Juggernaut and the X-Men isn’t the same thing as fighting a guy whole solo’d the entire Marvel Universe. Spider-Man out-fought Firelord, he’s never out-fought Thanos.

    It’s okay not to like the costume, but c’mon. Don’t hand me this stuff about shallow fans only wanting surface level eye candy. Spider-Man looks more like Spider-Man than any of his other armored costumes, and he’s seen taking the initiative in this trailer. Framing this whole thing as being out of character is ridiculous.

12. So we’re using the Schumacher Batman films as a benchmark now? God help us all.

    Disliking a terrible suit is nitpicky? Guilty as charged then! Color me old fashioned but I guess I just prefer Spidey stories where he doesn’t have to use A.I. designed by someone else or armor.

    Taking down Juggernaut, Firelord, the X-Men on more than one occasion… never needed armor or extra-tech.

    Going against Thanos in different cosmic events? Never needed armor or extra-tech.

    But whatevs! I get that there are fans who apparently prefer a Spidey that doesn’t even really look like Spidey. Going off the trailer there will be lots of eye candy for them in Avengers 3. Time for them to live the dream!!

13. What does it matter tho? Batman didn’t wear sonar nipple armor when fighting Riddler and Two-Face in the comics like he did in Batman Forever, or frosty chocolate armor when fighting Mr. Freeze in the comics like he did at the end of Batman and Robin, or Night-Owl armor in the comics like he does in the third act in Justice League, but are any of those worth bringing up?

    It’s not even as lame as those instances. Spidey, from what we see, is the first line of defense and he goes toe-to-toe with Thanos. Why does him wearing armor matter when the circumstances absolutely warrant it? It’s not like he’s fighting the Circus of Crime at a gas station. This is a really nitpicky hill to fall on a sword. In my opinion.

14. I’m not saying he hasn’t had other armored costumes or powered variants. Of course we’ve seen that – but almost always contained in his own book and not Thanos-level threat. But the argument here was “world threat level” stuff so he goes and upgrades his suit. Yet in the very stories this movie is inspired by and pulls stuff from he showed up in his regular suit. Specifically when Thanos was involved.

    More than once, no less!

15. What? No it’s not. He’s had several costumes for jumping into fights with bad guys. He’s worn an Electro-proof suit from ASM #425. The WEB #100 armor, the Stealth suit from the Massacre two-parter. Whether you like it or not, that’s absolutely something the character’s done, and to say he shouldn’t be doing it here because he didn’t in the comics is silly because Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and Jim Starlin’s Spider-Man are versions of the character with completely different levels of experience.

16. Yeah… it does make sense that when Thanos is threatening the universe, Spider-Man would want to get some sort of armor or powered suit. Just like he did the first time threatened the Marvel Universe in Infinity Gauntlet, when Spidey… er… when Spidey…

    Oh. Wait. Right. He showed up in his normal suit. No Stark tech, no jackassy glowing eye lenses. Just plain, classic Spidey skill & know-how. And then he did it again in Infinity War.

    Sorry but the “Spidey would power up!” argument on this – especially Thanos, when we’ve already seen the like go down in the comics – is patently fallacious.

17. I don’t care for another Tony Stark Supersuit but at least the Russo’s will probably give Spidey a better showing here then he did in Homecoming.

    Also, it’s nice to see Don commenting on Spider-Man stuff.

18. Eh, I’m fine with it too. Bit too shiny and not sure what’s up with the glowing eyes, but it doesn’t bother me ultimately. If it provides better defense beyond his normal suit it makes sense to bring it out for a situation like this. At least design wise it’s not red and gold like the Iron Spider costume.

    I’m curious if he swung by to get it himself or if Tony brought it. I feel like Tony would try to keep him out of it if he could, but then he might also consider it an all hands on deck situation.

    I’m liking what little we see of Thanos thus far, but I wish he was dressed more like he’s been in other films. The no helmet and bare arms look is a bit odd to my eyes. I find myself really hoping they end the film on the finder snap.

19. It’s cool to me that for a World-Ending level threat, Peter would armor up like in Web of Spider-Man #100. And this looks better than both that Silver Armor and the Iron Spider suit from the Civil War comics. It has a very Alex Ross look to it, although I’ll say that it looks completely CGI and fake.

20. @Donovan Grant

    Oh that’s it! I’m switching to #TeamShag!

21. I agree with Don, tbh. For a Thanos level threat? It doesn’t hurt to have all the bells and whistles of a Stark suit. Don’t like it, but I can’t fault them for it. I don’t mind the design either, it reminds me of Spider-Ben. The glowing eyes aren’t needed and it looks too metallic for my tastes, but hey, armor.

22. I actually like the suit. I hated the way it looked at the end of Homecoming, but in action, it just looks so clean.

23. I don’t hate the suit. Not keen on how metal it looks though. Spidey kicking it in an alt suit is a common theme in the comics, so I am OK with this. I presume the movie explains why he uses it. My guess is he goes up against the aliens in the invasion after the bus scene we see and his suit either gets messed up or he needs some extra tech to handle Thanos. I just HOPE that Pete is the one that adds the tech he needs to the new suit and not Tony.

    He better be back in the classic duds (or some close variation of them) in the solo Spidey sequel.

24. Don it’s like the concept artists for the suit didn’t know they were designing a look for Spidey and thought they were working on Jack Kirby’s New Gods.

25. I like the costume. COME AT ME BRO!

26. Wasn’t the whole point of the ending of Homecoming that Spidey rejected the flashy tech suit from Stark?

    Oh, and that every male Peter knows thinks Aunt May is hot.

27. Great…now he even looks like Ironmans sidekick. Spidey with all his powers needs a high-tech suit but Cap can walk around in his normal costume…