What is Spider-Man’s role in Captain America: Civil War?

With Captain America: Civil War only three months away, hype for the launch of MCU’s Phase III is in full swing. One question, however, has plagued fans the world over as they sift through all the new content: Where is Spider-Man? Despite the fan outcry and J. Jonah Jameson memes, it seems that Marvel is keeping from prematurely shooting their web, so to speak. They’ve done a very careful job of withholding any and all material related to him in Civil War, following the acquisition of the character. Once the iconic role was filled by relative newcomer, Tom Holland (The Impossible, In the Heart of the Sea), it was only a matter of time before we finally got to see how he fit into the grand scheme of everything. The first trailer, however, had a very deliberate absence of red and blue spandex. Pouring hours over the pics and footage, no one has been able to eek a single shot of Spider-Man thus far.

This begs the question: Why are they hiding him?

The simple answer could be that after all the legal trouble they went through just to acquire him in the first place, it makes sense Marvel would attempt to build a tremendous amount of hype around the character as insurance to make sure it was worth the effort; get people so excited that the end result makes fans sacrifice their wallets to the god of geeks.

It’s also possible they’re allotting the maximum amount of time to get the vile taste of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 out of everyone’s collective mouths so we’re more willing to accept another Spider-Man reboot so soon after the first. There’s really no evidence against any of this, but perhaps these notions are more incidental. It’s entirely possible his role in the Civil War overall explains the decision to conceal him from the public eye.

In the 2006 series, Spider-Man’s role was pivotal. After a catastrophic fight between the New Warriors and the villain, Nitro, leaves many civilians dead, the Superhuman Registration Act is created, dividing the world of heroes. S.H.I.E.L.D. (Team Stark) and White Star (Team Cap) are desperate to garner as many allies and resources as they can. While Spider-Man had no real involvement on the political side towards the beginning of the war, he was eventually given a pretty enticing care package by Iron Man in an attempt to gain his allegiance. He was offered protection for his family, as well as a brand new bio-mechanical super suit, dubbed the “Iron Spider”. In exchange, he would have to come out with his identity publically and side with Stark, standing in favor of registration. Unfortunately, hacking into the suit’s tech, Peter finds the suit is equipped with tracking and monitoring devices, protocols to destroy him in the event he goes against Stark, as well as intel proving S.H.I.E.L.D. had been rounding up superhumans who resist registration. This led to Spider-Man switching sides and joining Captain America and his resistance.

Bearing this in mind, it justifies why Spider-Man has been left out of the promotional material so far. All the posters and marketing have centered on the “Choose a Side” motif, showing who will fight alongside which hero. Spider-Man is essentially neutral for most of the event, which means showing him on any particular side would give away too much. There hasn’t been any official confirmation of the suit he’ll use, but it could mean he’s also going to switch to the Iron Spider suit at some point, and the studio wants to keep that for a big reveal moment. The big issue, however, is why Stark wants Spider-Man in this version of the story. It was already announced that the MCU Spider-Man will still be in high school, having only been active for a few years, still naïve and unsure of himself. One of the incentives that could be dangled in front of young Peter Parker could be the promise of notoriety, giving Stark a new young, likable hero to help him win over the public. The idea that no one knows who he is yet would explain why he hasn’t been featured in the context of this universe. Civil War will in turn act as Spider-Man’s big coming out party for both the MCU and in the real world.

In all fairness, keeping Spider-Man a secret is a very intelligent, tactical maneuver. His involvement with the Superhuman Registration Act (aka the Sokovia Accords) might come as a surprise to fans if his role unfolds as more of a pawn in Starks dealings, as opposed to a willing ally. Being duped would mean that he’d have to prove himself as a real hero by fighting back for what’s right, truly earning his place in the Marvel universe. It’s probable Marvel wants to avoid the same mistakes Sony made by rebooting the franchise so abruptly, giving fans a chance to truly like and care about this latest incarnation of the hero without forcing yet another Spider-Man movie on everyone. It still remains to be seen how this new Spidey will fair to the community at large, but the choice to showcase him in the MCU’s darkest hour might be the best decision yet; one that’s well worth the smoke and mirrors.