Iron Man & Spider-Man’s MCU Relationship Was Great (But This Part of It Never Made Sense)

The entire Marvel Cinematic Universe owes Tony Stark a debt of gratitude. When he enters that cave in Afghanistan, he sets off a series of events that culminate in the Avengers assembling and battling against all kinds of threats. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows for Tony, though, because as soon as he returns from captivity, he has to deal with Obadiah Stane, who wants the head of Stark Industries gone so he can take over. Stane is all about weapons, while Tony, after seeing what his creations are capable of, turns over a new leaf and tries to protect the world with his Iron Man armors instead of helping destroy it.

The innovation that Tony uses most often in his pursuit of world peace is the Arc Reactor, which he discovers how to miniaturize to power his armors. Every one of Tony’s new creations uses the Arc Reactor in some way, but he conveniently forgets all about it when designing technology for a good friend who needs all the help he can get.

Tony Stark Always Had Time for Peter Parker

After fighting crime with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for a few years, Tony finds himself in need of reinforcements when Steve Rogers and a few others refuse to sign the Sokovia Accords. He needs to bring in Captain America before Thaddeus Ross sends his men after the hero, and the only way to do that is to recruit a young hero from Queens. Spider-Man joins the fray in Captain America: Civil War and immediately gets on Tony’s good side, earning a new suit with all kinds of bells and whistles.

Tony and Peter Parker’s relationship only grows stronger in Spider-Man: Homecoming, which sees Spider-Man, despite making a few mistakes, earn a spot in the Avengers and an even more impressive suit. Peter turns it down initially, wanting to focus on keeping his neighborhood safe, but that goes out the door when Thanos’ Black Order arrives on Earth. Spider-Man fights alongside Iron Man with the Iron-Spider suit, even losing his life on Titan when Thanos acquires all of the Infinity Stones.

For five years, Tony deals with the guilt of losing Peter, so when an opportunity to bring the young hero back knocks on Iron Man’s door, he comes running. The Avengers go back in time, get the Infinity Stones, and bring everyone back, including Spider-Man. Thanos loses the Battle of Earth shortly after and dies, but he takes Tony with him, leaving Peter and everyone else devastated. Being a good mentor, Tony leaves Peter with some additional goodies in Spider-Man: Far From Home that help him defeat Mysterio, but, for some strange reason, Arc Reactors are nowhere to be found, leaving the Wall-Crawler without a full arsenal.

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The MCU’s Tony Stark Keeps the Best Toys for Himself

Despite making Peter two suits and giving him access to a machine to make another, Tony never features a major Arc Reactor in his Spider-Man designs. It’s mentioned that the Iron Spider suit contains “miniature arc reactors” in its design schematics, but we never see Tony convey that to Peter onscreen, or see Peter examine the pivotal technology and make use of it later. Initially, it may be that Tony doesn’t feel like he can trust Peter with the secret of such power, as Arc Reactors can dish out serious damage. However, when everything is on the line in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, it feels like a massive oversight to have Spider-Man jump into battle without Peter also mastering the Arc Reactor’s power.

At the very least, Tony should have shown Peter the ropes when it came to his proprietary technology, especially because Spider-Man has to fight against it in Spider-Man: No Way Home. While trying to help the villains from the other universes, Peter uses a Stark Industries Fabricator, which has an Arc Reactor as its power source. Electro immediately recognizes the power in front of him and steals it to make himself stronger. Peter has trouble holding his own against the electric villain, and it takes Doctor Octopus pulling a fast one to get the Arc Reactor off the board.

Tony does so much good for Peter, acting as a mentor at a time when the young hero needs one. Peter also owes Tony his life, as he would’ve stayed dust if Iron Man hadn’t got off his butt and retrieved the Infinity Stones. Despite all that, however, he lets him down by refusing to fully show him what makes the Iron Man armors truly special.

Do you think Iron Man screwed up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by never giving Spider-Man an Arc Reactor? How would that power have changed Peter Parker’s journey? Let us know in the comments below!