The Marvel Cinematic Universe has developed an increasingly complex timeline over the years. The book, Marvel Studios’ The Marvel Cinematic Universe – An Official Timeline, tackles this conundrum. In the process, however, it appears that there is indeed an MCU continuity error with Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Many fans who viewed the movie upon its release in 2017 noticed the error. Only now, however, is the record being set straight. For those unaware, the error can be spotted in the very opening of Spider-Man: Homecoming.
The film begins not long after the events of The Avengers. Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes can be seen cleaning up alien tech left over from the Battle of New York during the sequence. And, as fans know, this event takes place in 2012. It’s the following time card, however, that creates a continuity error: “8 Years Later.”
The correct time card would have been to say “4 Years Later.” After all, the events of Spider-Man: Homecoming take place in the Fall of 2016. And so the continuity error in Spider-Man: Homecoming has been revealed. If that wasn’t enough, there’s even dialogue from Adrian Toomes: “Eight years, not a word from the Feds.”
Now, according to the new book, Miss Minutes may have an explanation while also confirming the error:
“Redline alert! Hi again! Adrien Toomes says the Battle of New York was eight years ago, but that event was only four years prior. This one’s a real head scratcher for us—I reckon an analyst misplaced the case file.”
Of course, it’s not a great explanation. But it’s one that fits in with Marvel’s Multiverse concept and the way that timelines are starting to become unraveled.
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional Marvel Cinematic Universe updates as we have them. In the meantime, it’s interesting to know that Marvel Studios made such a big mistake with their first Spider-Man film, and it’ll be interesting to see what else comes to light.