Spider-Man's Newest MCU Suit Is More Important Than You Might Think
Like most superheroes within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland) has undergone some pretty radical costume changes since his first appearance in the franchise. Spider-Man's outfit has grown steadily more sophisticated since his cutoff sweatshirt and oversized goggles in "Captain America: Civil War." Holland's Spider-Man actually goes through four different costume changes during "Spider-Man: No Way Home."
In the film, we see him don the Iron Spider suit, a black and gold suit, a "combined" suit influenced by all his previous costumes, and another self-made suit in the final scene. In the behind-the-scenes book "Spider-Man: No Way Home — The Art Of The Movie," Marvel Head of Visual Development Ryan Meinerding revealed that the hand-sewn final suit is actually extremely important; it represents Spider-Man's journey throughout the MCU.
"It's a classic red-and-blue suit with a spider that feels more grown-up — a little bit influenced by the spiders that he saw on Tobey [Maguire] and Andrew [Garfield's] suits," said Meinerding. "The pain that he's been through losing both Tony and May and then losing his friends at the end has allowed him to get to a place where he is not just the friendly neighborhood kid Spider-Man." Meinerding went on to say that this more mature suit represents how Holland's Spider-Man has become a classic, fully-formed character in his own right and how his journey has helped him find this new identity.
Tracking Tom Holland's costume through the years
As described by Ryan Meindering, the MCU's newest Spider-Man suit symbolizes Peter Parker's journey from plucky neighborhood vigilante to battle-hardened superhero — similar to the more mature costumes of previous live-action Spider-Men.
While this new look will likely be the one we see the web-slinger don in "Spider-Man 4," it's worth reflecting on the wide variety of suits that Spider-Man has used en route to this classic costume. After meeting with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in "Captain America: Civil War," Peter Parker is given an upgraded suit with a small spider in the middle and vibrant blue-red coloring. Parker wears this throughout "Spider-Man: Homecoming" (excluding a brief return to his homemade outfit) before being gifted the Iron Spider suit for "Avengers: Infinity War."
The Iron Spider suit effectively grants Parker the nanotech adaptability of Iron Man's armor, allowing him to sprout enormous metallic legs when necessary and use a variety of gadgets and special powers. "Spider-Man: Far From Home" introduced two more suits to Holland's Spider-Wardrobe: a black stealth suit designed by SHIELD and a self-designed suit that uses Stark's technology but adopts a red-black color scheme. Considering all of the dramatic costume changes that Spider-Man's had in the MCU so far, it'll be interesting to see how many more suits he gets in the franchise.