Why Homecoming Matters So Much

Do you mind if I give you just a taste of how excited I am for this incarnation of Spider-Man, coming to theaters in just under two weeks now? How important this is to me?

Peter Parker, since the incident, has occasional extreme sensory overload- senses dialed up to 11, as he himself puts it. The goggles on the costume Tony Stark designed for him dilate when things get too extreme, which filters out excess sensation and help Spider-Man focus, especially in combat. A justified, visual representation of Spider-Sense, and a justified representation of Spider-Sense in general, which plays out the natural consequences of how such a thing would work. That is the coolest greatest thing in the world.

Spider-Man is, from what I can see, the first MCU superhero to wear an actual costume- Cap wears a uniform, Iron Man wears armor, the Vision that's his skin, but Spidey's the first to wear tights. Everyone's got a gimmick, right? But it also makes sense considering where Parker's coming from in terms of physical sensation- dressing in a form-fitting onesie, he's getting a hug from all sides, which should, I don't know, soothe his senses, calm his overstimulation? Just a theory, but one which I think makes a lot of sense, and which is very precious to me.

I was browsing the YA section of the library, yesterday when I checked out all those books- I could not relate to the high school dramas even remotely. Not with teenagers. Especially not with millennial ones. But I see myself in Peter Parker, oh, so much. I didn't realize how important representation is until this. 

(I mean, he's a dumpster diver! You don't see that every day!)

It's nice to be able to connect to Calvin in Calvin and John in I am Not a Serial Killer and Michael in The Hollow City- and I mean, really nice, I cry during those books, freely- but seeing this kind of thing on film, on the big screen, on a big-budget summer spectacle release... it touches me in ways I can't articulate. Even if Peter Parker is technically probably neurotypical, or at least was up till the spider bite and is now who-the-heck-knows. 

Superheroes are something that everyone can connect with intrinsically- power, responsibility, it's something we can intuitively grasp as true and important. But seeing a superhero who represents you, in some way, beyond that, is... I thought that Wonder Woman was a pretty good okay enjoyable solid movie, but women I know were crying as they walked out of it, it touched them that deeply. Friggin' nobody isn't psyched for the Black Panther movie, but I can only imagine how special it must feel if you're actually black.

And that's, just, some of the excitement I feel for the Spider-Man movie. Let's hope it's a good one. Nobody better spoil anything, and I mean like, any of it.