Captain America: Civil War — When does Spider-Man show up?

It was a huge deal when Marvel got the rights back for Spider-Man, and the race to get him into the cinematic universe has been ticking down to his first appearance in Captain America: Civil War. But when did he show up exactly and what did he do?

It was a good day in superhero land when Marvel got back what was rightfully theirs. This good day was followed with a mixed-emotions day a little over a year later when Marvel debuted a new Captain America: Civil War trailer that featured everyone’s favorite web-slinger and his goofy eyes.

In an already massively stacked roster, Spider-Man was brought in to provide a fresh perspective on the Avengers as someone who didn’t have a personal stake in the team’s history.

So once Marvel let the cat out of the bag, audiences speculated endlessly on just how much of the web-crawler we’d be able to see. It would be Tom Holland’s first impression on the franchise, so it helped that he got several glowing reviews before the film’s release. But we’ve been duped by Disney cameo lengths before, where the studio makes us believe we’re going to get a “generous” amount of screen time, but the audience ends up having to wait until the end for a split-second shot. Luke Skywalker, I’m talking about you.

But rest assured, you don’t have to wait for the climactic fight scene to get your first taste of Peter Parker.

Warning: Spoilers ahead! If you just want the short answer, speed-scroll until you see Tom Holland/red smoke and then you’re good. 

First appearing in a scene where Tony Stark goes to recruit Peter Parker at his house and they geek out over tech-type things, we learn that Peter Parker has been Spidey-ing around for nearly six months. If you can think back to last year’s Ant-Man, Pete got name-dropped by a reporter when she says something like “we’ve got guys who can crawl on walls,” so thank goodness, Marvel totally swung past the origin story — because if you don’t already know how Spider-Man came to be, you’ve got a lot more things to scratch your head about in this film.

It’s a more touching scene than I was expecting it to be. We were already an hour into the film and the storyline was becoming a little more convoluted and emotional. In-between Tony’s remarks about Peter’s “unusually attractive” Aunt May and poking fun at Peter’s low-end tech — “What’s this, thrift shop… Salvation Army?” — the audience immediately sensed not only Spider-Man’s admiration for “Mr. Stark,” but Tony’s similar fascination with the teenager. They have so much in common already, but the bond was  amplified by Peter’s explanation of why he became Spider-Man:

"“When you can do what I can and you don’t… that’s when the bad things happen.”"

This introductory scene alone reminded me of all the reasons why Spider-Man has always been a fan-favorite. So much so, he’s been brought to life onscreen in three different iterations in 15 years.

But this might be the best Spider-Man we’ve seen yet. Tom Holland expertly channels Tobey Maguire’s broody introversion and Andrew Garfield’s zing equally in every scene. He truly nails every wise-cracking line, and that’s one of the best things about Spider-Man — he’s the lovable nerd who webs up his enemies and makes fun of them at the same time.

We also get a quick look at Peter’s homemade (“It’s not a onesie.”) Spider-Man suit, which Tony makes quick work of before giving him a new, more technically-finessed version. “You’re in desperate need of an upgrade. Systemic, top to bottom.”

But again, it was such a geeky scene to watch Pete explain that the moving eyes are needed to help focus his heightened senses along with providing an animated addition to his body language. At first, I wasn’t feeling it, but once I saw it smoothed over in the film, I was all for it. The shuttering motions were executed really well.

Now, this scene.

Yeah, the big fight.

Big in terms of quality and quantity. I mean, wow. And with so many seasoned vets taking the stage, one might not expect Spider-Man to somewhat steal the show, but he totally did. Iron Man called him in (“Underoos!”), and as soon as he landed, he just started talking, talking, talking (“I could’ve stuck the landing better.”). Obviously, Tony gave him some tips beforehand, like going for Captain America’s legs, but on the other hand, Spider-Man really held his own. He might’ve been the youngest, but he relentlessly got underestimated. He tied up Bucky and Falcon, caught the truck that Captain America dropped on him, and brought down Giant Man via a somewhat unnecessary reference to Star Wars. I understand they’re the same company, but all he had to do was mention Star Wars and everyone would’ve followed with the AT-AT-style wraparound.

For Spider-Man, it wasn’t about hand-to-hand combat. It was the web-swinging, wall-crawling, funny quips (“Are those carbon fiber?”) and sheer enthusiasm. He really wanted to be there and he really wanted to make a good impression on Tony Stark.

I was sad to see him go after the fight when Tony said, “Go, or I’m calling May.” Holland delivered so much on behalf of the character, his absence left a hole in the rest of the scene.

As someone who sat in the “Miles Morales plz” camp all the way up until I saw Civil War, I’m reluctant to admit how great Spidey did or impressed I was by how the Russo Brothers handled his arc. Now that I’ve seen the movie, I’m actually excited to see him next in Spider-Man: Homecoming. July 2017 can’t get here fast enough. 

So, here’s the short answer:

When does Spider-Man show up? About an hour into the film.

How long do we see him? About 10 mins one-on-one with Tony Stark and another 10 mins in battle, plus a brief end-credits scene.

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