It won't be long until Spider-Man officially makes his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, swinging into Captain America: Civil War. Despite the amazing visual of seeing Spider-Man (Tom Holland) interact with the Avengers, his inclusion in the conflict seems a little odd, given that he is only 15 or 16 years old. According to Civil War co-director Joe Russo, there's a very important reason as to why Tony Stark decides to recruit the young superhero, and it has to do with Stark's affection for his friends. “Look, there’s a certain narcissism to the character and Tony doesn’t want to lose this fight, and at the same time I think he also sees Spider-Man as the greatest living non-lethal weapon. If you’re going out to capture a bunch of people who you don’t necessarily want to hurt, you couldn’t ask for a better character than Spider-Man to take with you."
Spider-Man has always been known for his sheer level of power in the comic books; he outclasses many characters in both strength and speed. It's a power Peter often chooses to keep in check, but according to Russo, Stark knows just how strong Peter is, which starts the beginning of a mentor-student relationship. “He does show up and illustrate that Spider-Man, he knows how powerful he is," said Russo. "In a video we see Spider-Man stopping a car moving 40 miles an hour, where he catches it and puts it back on the ground, so I think he believes that he’s taking with him perhaps one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel universe, and I think he feels like the kid will be well-protected under his tutelage. You also find out in that sequence, when things go wrong the kid says, ‘What do I do?’ and Tony says, ‘Keep your distance, web ’em up.’ So he’s obviously mentored the kid for what’s about to go down.”
Given his age and impressionable nature, it makes sense Peter would look up to an Avenger such as Tony. The relationship between Stark and Parker will be also further explored in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming, where Downey was just recently announced to appear. Captain America: Civil War releases May 6th, 2016.
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