Follow Tom Holland’s Peter Parker from ‘Captain America: Civil War’ to ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’

One year after his MCU debut, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man takes centre stage in Spider-Man: Homecoming, his first standalone film. Set shortly after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Tony Stark plays a pivotal role as Peter Parker’s mentor. Homecoming is a coming-of-age story that follows Peter’s struggle to balance ordinary teenage life—homework, academic decathlon competitions, prom—with the responsibilities that come with being Spider-Man.

Along the way, he faces his first major solo adversary: Adrian Toomes, better known as the Vulture (Michael Keaton), a black-market weapons dealer armed with alien technology salvaged from the aftermath of the Battle of New York in The Avengers. The film also expands Peter’s inner circle. Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) plays a larger role as Peter’s sharp-witted guardian, while his best friend Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) accidentally discovers his secret identity and becomes Spider-Man’s self-appointed “Guy in the Chair”. Meanwhile, Zendaya makes her MCU debut as the sarcastic and observant Michelle, who is revealed in the film’s closing moments to go by the nickname MJ—a fresh take on Peter Parker’s iconic love interest.

See more: 8 coordinated, loved-up red carpet looks from Zendaya and Tom Holland’s ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ tour

Tom Holland’s Peter Parker turns up in Avengers: Infinity War to help in the cosmic battle against Thanos. When he lends a hand to protect the Time Stone, he ends up on an alien Q-ship hurtling toward Titan with Iron Man and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). It’s a big day for Peter. Not only does he get to go to space for the first time and meet the Guardians of the Galaxy, but Tony Stark also finally welcomes the young hero into the Avengers.

On Titan, they face off against Thanos, but ultimately fail. The Mad Titan snaps his fingers, and half of the population is wiped out, including Doctor Strange, Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Groot (Vin Diesel) and—to Tony’s horror—Peter. Holland’s heartbreaking delivery of the line “I don’t want to go” as he dissolves into dust in Stark’s arms remains one of the defining performances of Holland’s time as Spider-Man and one of the most devastating endings in the MCU.

Five years after the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War, the surviving Avengers hatch a daring plan to reverse The Blip. With the help of Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and the Quantum Realm, they travel through time to collect the Infinity Stones before Thanos can obtain them. Bruce Banner successfully brings everyone who vanished back to life—including Tom Holland’s Peter Parker—just in time for the climactic showdown against the Mad Titan and his army.

Answering Captain America's iconic call of “Avengers, assemble!”, Spider-Man swings into battle alongside Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and the armies of Wakanda, Asgard and Kamar-Taj. Although Peter shares a touching reunion with Tony Stark, their time together is heartbreakingly brief. After Iron Man sacrifices himself to defeat Thanos once and for all, Peter joins the Avengers in mourning the mentor who always believed in him.

Spider-Man: Far From Home finds Peter Parker still struggling to come to terms with the death of Tony Stark and the legacy he left behind. Hoping to escape both his superhero responsibilities and the expectations weighing on him, Peter flies to Europe on a school trip. His only goal: finally confess his feelings to MJ (Zendaya). His plans are quickly derailed when Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) recruits him to help Quentin Beck, also known as Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), battle a series of destructive creatures known as the Elementals.

Peter soon discovers that Mysterio is a disgruntled former Stark Industries employee who manipulates him into handing over Edith, the powerful AI system Tony Stark left in Peter’s care. Using Stark’s network of weaponised drones and holographic technology, Beck is actually staging the Elemental attacks to present himself as the world’s newest superhero.

Amid the chaos, MJ reveals that she has already figured out Peter’s secret identity, and the two become closer, sharing their first kiss on London’s Tower Bridge after the battle with Beck. However, that happiness doesn’t last for very long. In one of the most shocking MCU post-credit scenes, J Jonah Jameson (JK Simmons) broadcasts doctored footage that frames Spider-Man for Mysterio’s death before revealing Peter Parker’s secret identity to the world.

In Spider-Man: No Way Home—the last of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man “Home” trilogy—Peter Parker’s world is turned upside down, thanks to Mysterio. It’s bad enough that it’s jeopardising his future, but when Peter learns that it is also affecting Ned and MJ’s chances of getting into college, he asks Doctor Strange to use his magic to make people forget that he’s Spider-Man. But when Peter messes up the spell, it ends up opening a rip in the multiverse.

This pulls villains from other timelines into the MCU, namely Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), Electro (Jamie Foxx), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), The Lizard (Rhys Ifans) and Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe). Fortunately for Peter, two other Spider-Men—Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield—arrive to even the odds for the battle ahead.

In true Peter Parker fashion, he stops Strange from sending the villains back to their timelines to face their inevitable demise. He chooses to save them all, but his compassion comes at a steep cost when Green Goblin kills his beloved Aunt May. Just as costly, to prevent the collapsing multiverse from tearing reality apart, Peter makes the ultimate sacrifice, asking Doctor Strange to erase all memories of Peter Parker from the world—including those of MJ, Ned, Happy Hogan and the Avengers.

After being treated to Tom Holland’s Spider-Man nearly every year from his MCU debut in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War to 2021’s No Way Home, fans had a long five-year wait before his big return in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Yet the pause proved worthwhile: it gave both the character and Holland time to grow and mature.

Brand New Day’s Spider-Man is no longer a kid. He has faced incredible loss and, with the world still unaware of Peter Parker’s identity following Doctor Strange’s spell, he begins a new chapter completely on his own. Despite grappling with a broken heart, dealing with extreme physiological changes and facing a formidable new foe, he takes on the difficult and lonely task of rebuilding his life from scratch, embracing the role of New York’s friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man once more.

Alongside Peter’s latest adventure, the film reunites him with MJ and Ned, as well as MCU heroes including Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and the Punisher (Jon Bernthal). It also introduces Sadie Sink’s mysterious new character, whose arrival signals an exciting new direction for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Beyond its thrilling action set pieces, the film has earned widespread praise from critics and audiences for its emotional storytelling and character-driven approach, anchored by Holland’s masterful performance. That acclaim has translated into commercial success: Spider-Man: Brand New Day has broken box office records, surpassing US$1 billion worldwide in just six days—the second-fastest film ever to do so, behind only Avengers: Endgame. Rather than simply continuing Peter Parker’s story, Brand New Day lays the foundation for Spider-Man’s next era in the MCU.

A decade after swinging into the MCU, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man remains one of Marvel’s most beloved heroes. His journey has been defined not only by high-stakes action and iconic villains but also by personal growth, sacrifice and resilience. As Spider-Man: Brand New Day opens an exciting new era for Peter Parker, one thing is clear: his story in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is far from over.

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