Peter Parker’s first MCU appearance was in… Iron Man 2?! (And, yes, that's canon now)

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Yes, you read that correctly. It turns out that whilst the first canon MCU appearance of Spider-Man was in Captain America: Civil War, Peter Parker was around much, much earlier. In Iron Man 2 to be precise – and Tom Holland has even officially confirmed it.

Speaking to The Huffington Post, Tom Holland revealed that a small scene in Iron Man 2 was actually the very first appearance of the boy who would go on to be Spidey. “I can confirm that is Peter Parker,” Holland stated boldly, before clarifying, “I can confirm that, as of today. I literally had a conversation with Kevin Feige only 20 minutes ago. Maybe I’ve just done a big old spoiler, but it’s out there now.”

The scene in question arrives towards the end of the movie, with a kid in an Iron Man mask facing down one of Justin Hammer’s robot army, with the real Iron Man swooping in to make the save, but not before telling the would-be hero “Nice work, kid.”

Those words obviously left an impression – and it’s nice to see Peter Parker was a hero from the very beginning. It reminds me of the young boy Batman saves – and gives his grappling hook to – in Batman Begins. Sure, he grew up to be Joffrey but he was totally meant to become Robin. 

Image: Marvel

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.