On Thursday, we got our first look at the new version of Spider-Man that will appear in Captain America: Civil War, the result of an agreement between Marvel and Sony. (Marvel can use the character in its films and will produce Sony’s next Spider-Man film.)
As you might expect, fans responded enthusiastically to the new Spider-Man (played by Tom Holland). For one thing, seeing him share space with Marvel heroes like Captain America and Iron Man is yet another example of comic books come to life on the big screen. But it was also exciting to see the character (given the nickname of “Underoos” by Tony Stark) with a new look, courtesy of Marvel.
Not everyone was crazy about the redesigned costume. Some thought the outfit looked too smooth, lacking the Kevlar or basketball-like texture that we’ve become accustomed to seeing on movie superheroes. Maybe the somewhat cartoonish look was a result of unfinished digital effects, something that would be refined in the final product seen in theaters on May 6. Or perhaps it was the result of seeing those CGI renderings on a YouTube video, where the resolution isn’t as sharp.
Likely anticipating the criticism or maybe quickly responding to online chatter, Marvel and Disney sent high-resolution images of the new Spider-Man to several outlets, including BIRTH.MOVIES.DEATH., that provide a much better look at the new costume. In particular, the image makes clear that the outfit does indeed have texturing to it. But from a distance, perhaps the costume looks “smooth” because the web design is etched or inked into the material, rather than a raised, separate piece laid over the suit.
Perhaps more importantly, the hi-res image shows how Spider-Man’s eyes appear to move. The eyes aren’t an animated flourish, as we saw with Deadpool, but actually a mechanical feature of the lenses on the mask. The lenses have shutter-like functions that allow them to open and close. (If you listen closely when the eyes shrink during the trailer, you can hear the shutters work.)
Maybe we’ll see if there’s actually a practical, functional aspect to those lenses in future films. Presuming that the suit is designed by Tony Stark, an explanation might be forthcoming. But at the very least, the lenses allow Spider-Man’s eyes to display some reaction and emotion, much like how they’re often rendered by artists in the comic books.
You can see the full hi-res image at BIRTH.MOVIES.DEATH, in which you may also notice that Spider-Man has clips on his belt, presumably where cartridges of his web fluid would go. It’s too bad that his wrists aren’t visible in the image, so we can see whether or not he’s wearing web shooters on the outside of the suit. But if you watch the trailer and pause in the right places, he appears to have devices on his wrists.
Now that Spider-Man has been revealed, we’ll likely see more of the character’s suit in the weeks leading up to Captain America: Civil War‘s release. But Marvel has certainly provided enough to tantalize fans and viewers in the meantime.
