For a while, it appeared that Spider-Man would never become a part of the MCU due to Sony, not Disney, owning the live-action film rights to the character. Thankfully, he eventually joined the franchise at the start of Phase 3 and is now completing a trilogy of his own within the MCU with Spider-Man: No Way Home, and that's not even mentioning all of his other appearances in Marvel Studios movies
Tom Holland's Peter Parker has grown a lot during his time as a teenager on the big screen, from living up to both Iron Man’s expectations and the world’s. Not to mention figuring out whether being an Avenger is the best decision for him and trying to live a normal life.
Here are 20 of the best quotes that exemplify who this version of Marvel’s most famous web-slinger is.
1. "I've been me my whole life, and I've had these powers for 6 months. I read books, I build computers... and yeah, I would love to play football, but I couldn't then, so I shouldn't now." (Captain America: Civil War)
In the first scene viewers were introduced to the MCU’s Peter Parker, they instantly received a taste of his integrity and values. This quote makes it clear he’s been a tech nerd all his life, but given the chance to be a popular star athlete, he can’t bring himself to take the opportunity given that his athletic skills came from a spider bite.
2. “Look, when you can do the things that I can, but you don't, and then the bad things happen, they happen because of you.” ( Captain America: Civil War)
This perfectly explains Peter’s motivations behind becoming a superhero; he feels it is his responsibility to use his powers in the most productive and beneficial way possible. This feels similar to a certain famous quote from other Spider-Man media…
3. “I can’t go to Germany. I’ve got homework.” (Captain America: Civil War)
Another famous MCU Spider-Man quote, this one is an expression of disbelief at the idea of “breaking the rules” and going off on an adventure, even if it is a heroic one.
Peter quickly gets over this, of course, and seems to have a great time fighting as part of Team Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War’s now-famous airport scene, but this shows his priorities of just being a normal kid from Queens trying to do the right thing.
4. "You have a metal arm? That is awesome, dude.” (Captain America: Civil War)
The airport battle in Captain America: Civil War is Spider-Man’s first big fight, and while he holds his own against Team Cap, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t respect the heck out of his opponents, and he shows his appreciation at multiple points of the fight.
As he takes on the Winter Soldier, Spidey can’t help but admire his titanium arm as he holds it off from punching him. The admiration is genuine, but it also catches his opponent off guard and allows him to defend himself…at least until the Falcon shows up and flies the web-slinger out of there.
5. “Hey guys! The illegal weapons ferry deal was at 10:30. You missed it.” (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
Spider-Man, like many Marvel superheroes, is known for his snappy quips in battle, and this one from the ferry fight scene in Spider-Man: Homecoming is simply a classic. It shows he isn’t scared of the bad guys - or at least masks that fear - and surely makes the fight more fun for himself.
6. “I just wanted to be like you.” (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
Spider-Man: Homecoming is about Peter wanting to prove his heroic ability to his own hero and mentor, Tony Stark. The Spider-Man movies in the MCU so far have been about Peter wanting to live up to Iron Man but needing to be a hero in his own right, exemplified by this quote and the response from Stark, “And I wanted you to be better.”
7. “But I’m nothing without this suit!” (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
This quote not only expresses Peter’s misunderstanding of what it means to be a superhero, but his own insecurities as one himself. He doesn’t believe he has what it takes to do good without his fancy Stark tech Spider-Man suit, but proves himself wrong later in this movie…
8. “Come on, Peter. Come on, Spider-Man. Come on, Spider-Man. Come on, Spider-Man. Come on, Spider-Man!” (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
Trapped in a pile of rubble with no one to help, Peter - minus his fancy Spider-Man suit - finds the strength - both mentally and physically - to lift the rocks and get himself out.
While his next step of defeating Vulture may be the more “flashy” heroic moment of Homecoming’s third act, this moment is a favorite of many Spider-Man fans because they believe it captures the essence of the character perfectly: just a kid trying to do the best he can to help people, managing to achieve more than he ever thought possible in the process.
9. “I'd rather just stay on the ground for a little while. Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Somebody's got to look out for the little guy, right?” (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
After spending all of Spider-Man: Homecoming desperate to join the big leagues of superherodom, Peter ends the movie with this decision to remain a hero localized to the New York area. Of course, this soon changes when times get dire in Avengers: Infinity War, but at least Peter had some more time as just a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man to prepare him for more risky adventures.
10. “You can’t be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man if there’s no neighborhood… Okay, that didn’t really make sense. But you get what I’m trying to say.” (Avengers: Infinity War)
Once again, Peter decides he wants to get involved in the Avenging, but this time he has more experience and a more sound reason; if the aliens destroy the world, that will definitely include his typical turf of heroics.
11. "Oh, we're using our made-up names? Um. I'm Spider-Man then." (Avengers: Infinity War)
Peter’s still not quite up to speed on all things Avengers (though not even Iron Man is aware of everyone in Avengers: Infinity War) but he’s doing his best. And really, the Master of the Mystic Arts just happening to also have an actual doctorate in neurosurgery was pretty unlikely.
12. “Mr. Stark, I don’t feel so good.” (Avengers: Infinity War)
To see Peter go from showing no fear while fighting Thanos to quaking at the prospect of dying was heartbreaking, but shows that despite all the heroic feats Peter has accomplished in these movies up to and including Avengers: Infinity War, at the end of the day he’s still just a kid in need of guidance and comfort. Thankfully, Tony was there for him, though he was understandably pretty spooked too.
13. “Please, I don't wanna go. I don't wanna go. I'm sorry.” (Avengers: Infinity War)
Thanks to his Spidey Sense, Peter could feel that he was about to disappear in what he later learned was The Blip, and that led to his rambling apologies to Tony for not being able to stop it as he turned to dust before his eyes.
Even though it wasn’t his fault, he knew Tony wasn’t happy with him being part of the mission to space in the first place, so his final words were apologies to his mentor and fellow Avenger.
14. "Hey! Holy cow! You will not believe what's been going on. Do you remember when we were in space? And I got all dusty? And I must've passed out because I woke up and you were gone. But Doctor Strange was there right. And he said 'It's been five years. Come on, they need us.' And he started doing the yellow sparkly thing that he does. What are you doing? Oh...this is nice." (Avengers: Endgame)
Peter’s first words to Tony after returning during the big battle at the Avengers Compound were rambles as well, but much more positive ones as he explained his return. However, it’s the “this is nice” that really stands out here, as it shows Peter’s surprise and happiness at finally receiving a true hug from the man in the metal suit.
15. “We won. You did it, sir, you did it. I'm sorry… Tony…” (Avengers: Endgame)
Unfortunately, soon after that hug came Tony’s version of the Snap, and Marvel fans know what that resulted in. Once again, Peter apologizes to him, but in a parallel of the infamous Infinity War scene, this time it’s Tony dying as a devastated Peter looks on. Also of note, Peter finally refers to him as "Tony" in this scene, rather than the formal "Mr. Stark" he usually uses.
16. “I mean, if it was really that important, he’d probably call someone else, not me.” (Spider-Man: Far From Home)
Oh, Peter. Still so humble after fighting Thanos - multiple times! - and helping to save the universe. Even after all of that, he is still in disbelief that Nick Fury would be seeking out the aid of the teenaged web-slinger, but he is indeed doing just that in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
17. “Sir, look. I really want to help, I do. But if my aunt finds out I left my class trip, she’s going to kill me. And if I’m seen like this in Europe, after the Washington Monument, my whole class will figure out who I am, and then the whole world will figure out who I am. And then I’m done.” (Spider-Man: Far From Home)
Far From Home sees Peter struggle to balance his “normal” life with his superheroes more than any other MCU Spider-Man movie, and this quote sums that up succinctly. Peter is telling who he believes to be Nick Fury (but is actually Talos) why he can’t get involved in any missions while on vacation…only to get involved with the mission fairly quickly after these words leave his mouth.
18. "I didn’t think I was going to have to save the world this summer. I know that makes me sound like a jerk, I just, I had this plan with this girl that I really like, and now it’s all ruined." (Spider-Man: Far From Home)
Peter expresses a similar sentiment to Mysterio that he did to the phony Fury, but this time it’s all about MJ Jones. Peter’s feelings for MJ seemed to pop up out of nowhere at the beginning of Far From Home, but such are teenage romances.
This is a particularly noteworthy moment because it is one of the few times Peter says something selfish, even though he is aware he is doing so. Every hero deserves a break, but Peter’s trip to Europe, unfortunately, isn’t that time for him.
19. “Everywhere I go, I see his face. And the whole world is asking who is going to be the next Iron Man? I don’t know if that’s me, Happy; I’m not Iron Man.” (Spider-Man: Far From Home)
From Captain America: Civil War through Avengers: Endgame, Peter’s goal as Spider-Man in relation to Iron Man was to impress and be like him for the sake of his approval. But in Spider-Man: Far From Home, the whole world is wondering who will be the “next Iron Man”, and the pressure Peter is feeling to fill those shoes is enormous.
20. "Oh, I love Led Zeppelin!" (Spider-Man: Far From Home)
This is a fun little line after a musical callback to Iron Man in the form of AC/DC’s “Back in Black”, but it is also an important moment as it shows that, as Happy just told him, Peter - who clearly doesn’t know his heavy metal bands - isn’t Tony, and that’s okay.
Spider-Man: No Way Home will see Peter dealing with a combined regular and superhero life and is likely to ditch the Iron Man references, making it the logical next step in the series.
