In Infinity War, Peter Parker and Tony Stark delivered a loving father/son dynamic… So much so that we wish we could have seen more.
Warning: Spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War below.
Peter Parker and Tony Stark have a touching relationship in Avengers: Infinity War, something we saw brewing since Spider-Man: Homecoming. It seems as if Tony has the son he, surprisingly, always wanted, and Peter has a father figure.
At the start of Infinity War, Tony and Pepper have a conversation about children. While in a park in New York City, Pepper asks Tony for what seems like the millionth time to stop fighting as Iron Man. Tony mentions a dream he had about the two having kids together. Per usual, they don’t have that much time to get into it because Thanos is on his way and all. Still, it’s important that the two had this conversation, let alone at the very start of the movie.
As for Tony and Peter, their time together has been incredibly endearing to watch. It’s easily why these two are in one of the saddest scenes to watch in Avengers: Infinity War.
Much of this has to do with Tom Holland’s representation of Peter Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Holland has quickly become a fan favorite. For me, he’s amazing to watch because he is actually a kid. Most the time, Peter is portrayed by an actor who is almost 30. Watching Peter be portrayed as a teenager makes him more adorable and more innocent.
When Peter meets Dr. Strange for the first time, the awkward teen in all of us could relate when he realized they were using “fake names.” When he gets told off by Tony Stark and/or Iron Man, it feels like a dad teaching his son a lesson. (Plus annoying your dad with pop culture references he doesn’t get is classic).
Thus, to see anything bad happen to him would be heartbreaking. Seeing Spider-Man in his youth, a kid who at the start of the film was literally riding the bus to school, is a completely different experience to Spider-Man actors of the past.
In many ways, we wish Tony and Peter had more time together, in previous films and even in this one. Their relationship was just starting to blossom, so when it was cut short… we honestly couldn’t believe it.
It’s why in Infinity War, when Peter becomes one of the Avengers to fade away, he didn’t just say “Mr. Stark”.
Instead, Peter had an entire monologue about how terrified he was. The fear in his eyes was more real than we could imagine. Honestly, it was downright traumatic and had nearly everyone crying.
Also, the fact that Peter sounded like the Tenth Doctor when he was regenerating didn’t help.
“I don’t want to go,” he says in the arms of Tony Stark.
Tony’s face watching this young hero fade away before him, a hero he took care of like he was his own son, is devastating. It still hurts to think about and who knows if we’ll ever be okay with that vanishing sequence.
Next: Avengers: Infinity War: What does the movie mean for Bucky Barnes?
You can see Peter Parker and Tony Stark in Avengers: Infinity War, in theaters now.