The Iron Spider armor first showed up at the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming when Tony Stark offered a spot on the Avengers team to young Peter Parker. Peter declined but we’ve seen that he’s using Tony’s Iron Spider armor in the trailers for Avengers: Infinity War. There must be some reason for Pete’s change of heart about the suit but why is it such an important part of Spider-Man’s legacy and what can it actually do?
Let’s dive into the history of the Iron Spider armor and what advantages it offers Pete.
Spidey’s Got a Big Closet
First off, it’s important to understand just how much Spider-Man’s variety of costumes plays into the legacy of the character. Not only has redesigning the basic outfit of Spider-Man been a time-honored tradition in comics, cartoons, and film, but Peter Parker’s status as a scientific genius has also led him to create an immense variety of different types of suits. He’s had a special insulated rubber suit for battling Electro, an armored suit to protect against heavy-hitting enemies, a stealth suit that renders him practically invisible for sneaking missions, and the famous symbiote suit that he got during the Secret Wars.
Those don’t even begin to scratch the surface of Spidey’s obsession with superhero fashion. So, it’s nice to see that the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the character is doing something that the other cinematic incarnations of Spider-Man haven’t really tapped into: Spidey’s penchant to switch up his uniform.
And that’s where we start to get into the Iron Spider.
Civil War
In the comic event Civil War, Spider-Man originally sided with Tony Stark when it came to the idea of superheroes registering their identities with the federal government. When he did, Tony gave Peter a brand new outfit that was partially modeled off Tony’s own Iron Man armor. It was dubbed the Iron Spider and it was a radical new look for Spidey.
The Iron Spider armor wasn’t just a new outfit. It was the most sophisticated uniform Peter ever received. It had a huge list of defensive capabilities like heat-resistant Kevlar micro-fiber and a mask filter that featured nuclear, biological, and chemical filtration as well as an eight-minute supply of emergency oxygen.
The most obvious new feature of the Iron Spider armor was the mechanical spider-arms. These had cameras in them that transmitted to Peter’s heads-up display. They also allowed for faster mobility and enhanced Spidey’s attack range. He could also use them to help lift any additional weight that his superhuman strength couldn’t do on his own.
Eventually, Peter changed sides in the conflict and fought against Iron Man. It was then that he retired the Iron Spider armor. So, how could that play into the MCU’s version of the iconic suit?
A New Spin
To be honest, Captain America: Civil War already used this story as an inspiration for their introduction of Spider-Man. In that movie, Tony met up with a street-level Spidey and gave him a brand new suit outfitting with a whole bunch of new technological features. That was explored even further in Spider-Man: Homecoming when Peter unlocked the suit’s full potential by hacking into it.
Now, Avengers: Infinity War promises us an even more advanced Spidey suit to check out. We haven’t seen much of its functionality in the trailers but there are a few hints at what to expect. The biggest one has been the glowing eyes on Peter’s mask. Though they might just look like an aesthetic choice, it’s very likely they are feeding some new kind of heads-up display to Peter. Maybe they allow him to see infrared or other kinds of light spectrums?
The big question is if we’ll get to see those classic spider-arms pop up. Nothing in the footage has shown that off but leave it to some promotional art to reveal a big part of the puzzle. We won’t link to it here but there is some promo art that shows four spider-arms popping out from the back of Pete’s suit. Exactly how they’ll be used in the film remains to be seen.
There will probably be some more surprises in store with the Iron Spider armor but we’ll have to wait until Avengers: Infinity War opens around the globe on April 27.
