As soon as Spider-Man was officially announced for Civil War, pretty much every Marvel fanboy had to go change his panties. It’s understandable; he’s one of Marvel’s biggest characters, and most had been waiting a very long time to see him in the MCU where he belongs.
But comic fans, for the most part, aren’t very good at leaving well enough alone. We want bigger, better, faster, more powerful – and we want it now. So it’s no surprise that, about five minutes after the announcement, the internet was collectively clamoring for the Iron Spider.
Pretty much the same reaction was brought on by the news that General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross would be an important character in the film. Because, while Ross himself is an imperious, power-abusing tit, he is also the man who becomes the Red Hulk.
Short version: Ross is, of course, the father of Betty Ross, who is the ladylove of one Bruce Banner, aka the Incredible Hulk. Not knowing the creature’s identity at first, Ross is intent on capturing the Hulk, or even killing him. His belief is that the Hulk is simply too dangerous to be allowed freedom. Of course, once he finds out that Banner is Hulk, his mission becomes a full-blown obsession. He believes he is protecting his daughter, which most fathers will go to great lengths to do. And Thunderbolt is no exception to that rule – he willingly exposes himself to gamma radiation, turning himself into the Red Hulk, to give him the power to defeat his nemesis.
The Iron Spider, you’ll recall, was an armor built by Tony Stark for Peter Parker to use during the Civil War comics. It was red and gold, like Stark’s Iron Man armor, but personalized for Parker’s abilities. It’s bulletproof, can see in infrared and ultraviolet, has a cloaking device, and allows the wearer to breathe underwater. In short, it’s awesome, and we wanted to see it used.
As it turns out, the Russo brothers did too. Both the Red Hulk and the Iron Spider were considered by the directors to be included in Civil War. Sadly, the canvas was simply too crowded.
We consider everything, obviously, but with so many characters in that movie as it was, to try and entertain adding another character, and to get to the Red Hulk you have to add a backstory. You have to substantiate the narrative to get to that. Ross, on our list of priorities, he was there sort of on the government’s agenda, and not to add another complicated super-powered character to the mix.”
But just because these characters weren’t used in Civil War, don’t count them out just yet:
We had a board when we started this process, of the movies with these Avengers characters that have ever graced the screen in a Marvel film, and a list of the characters we have at our disposal that haven’t graced the screen,” Joe Russo says. “We spent six to eight months crafting stories around the cornucopia of characters at our disposal, so anything is possible. We Consider everything.”
Do you wish these characters had been included in Civil War? What do you think our chances are of seeing them in future Marvel films? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: CB