Marvel's first post-Thanos film has some explaining to do about the world after The Snap.
Major "Spider-Man: Far From Home" spoilers below.
In terms of cinematic stakes, succeeding Avengers: Endgame in the MCU canon might be one of the tallest orders ever placed on young Peter Parker's shoulders. Yet in Spider-Man: Far From Home, director Jon Watts handles the task admirably, giving fans a glimpse at life after Thanos while still telling a Spidey-centric story of Peter (Tom Holland) wrestling with the death of his mentor and the cost of stepping into the heroic shoes he left behind.
The death of Iron Man isn't the only complicating factor for Far From Home. The film's position as the MCU's first post-Endgame installment means it must also address the impact of The Snap and subsequent return of half the universe's citizens, five years after they were turned to dust. It's a massive universe shift, and one that will likely span several of the upcoming Phase 4 films, as Far From Home only touches down briefly on the Snap-termath before jumping into the web slinger's latest adventure.
So, how does Far From Home address the five-year time-jump?
The Snap-induced time-jump, now colloquially referred to as "The Blip," is explored in Far From Home to mostly comedic effect: Snapped-away marching band members reappear in the gymnasium in the middle of a basketball game; one of Peter's classmates is understandably weirded out that his un-Blipped younger brother is now older than he is; poor Mr. Harrington (Martin Starr) got ghosted by his wife, who was only pretending to be a victim of Thanos' genocidal cleansing.
The more dire consequences of The Blip are mostly glossed over here. Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) hosts a fundraiser to help citizens displaced by their own disappearances -- telling the crowd that when she returned home after The Blip, there was a new family living in her apartment -- but little explanation is given as to how world governments or society at large managed the logistics of reintroducing half the world’s population five years later.
Some of those macro effects will surely be dealt with in Marvel's upcoming Phase 4 films, along with further examination of the psychological impact of The Blip on both those who disappeared and those who were left behind. While Marvel fans are still waiting on an official announcement about the slate to come, it's clear that there will be plenty more drama to mine in a post-Blip world.
Did the movie address any of the other Avengers who died during Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame?
It sure did, to the tune of "I Will Always Love You," no less. Far From Home begins with a Whitney Houston-backed montage of fallen heroes like Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Vision (Paul Bettany) that hilariously reveals itself to be an "In Memoriam" segment during the Midtown High School news -- complete with los-res unlicensed stock photos and Comic Sans font.
Mostly, though, the film focuses on Tony. As Peter and his classmates make their way around Europe, the world is seen mourning Iron Man, with murals and candlelit memorials that make it so Peter can't take a vacation from his own grief.
Wait, why was Cap in the In Memoriam? Is he dead?!
I guess? While Tony's death is a large plot point within Far From Home, the film (thankfully) isn't tasked with the burden of explaining what exactly happened to Captain America. (And frankly, we're all still a bit confused about that timeline ourselves.) We'll have to stay tuned for answers about what became of old man Steve Rogers after the credits rolled on Endgame, and how Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) goes about taking up his new mantle.
What's next?
As the post-credits scenes tease, things are about to get a lot more complicated for our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Peter may have proven himself in the eyes of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) -- or, Talos, as it were -- but is he ready to be the next Iron Man?
In a world yearning to fill the void left by the Avengers, Far From Home makes several salient points about why Peter isn't the main man for the job. (The most convincing among them is that he's not even a man yet. He's still in high school!) But by the end of the movie, he might not have a choice, shown in a scene that hearkens back to the final moments of the first Iron Man film. However, while Tony chose to reveal his alter-ego, Peter's secret identity is outed by the villainous Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), who also frames Peter for the climactic attack on London.
So, what does this mean for the future of Spider-Man and the rest of Earth's mightiest heroes? What are Nick Fury and the Skrulls up to in space? Does Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) owe England an apology now that the crown jewels have been destroyed? Far From Home may have provides answers to some of our most pressing queries after Endgame, but it's also the start of a brand-new journey and a new round of questions about what the future of the MCU holds.
Spider-Man: Far From Home is in theaters now.
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