Spider-Man: Homecoming Writers Reveal Villain's Original Backstory

07/12/2017 06:24 pm EDT

The Marvel Cinematic Universe does not have the best record with villains, but Spider-Man: Homecoming took the franchise a step in the right direction. The film's main villain is one who forgoes Asgardian grudges or AI god-complexes. The Vulture is a grounded baddie who thinks he's doing what is right by the little man. However, the Spider-Man movie did not always have the Vulture's backstory aligned so perfectly.

Talking to Yahoo Movies, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein opened up about the writing gig on Spider-Man. The pair discussed how they made the Vulture - AKA Adrian Toomes - a villain fans could sympathize with. To do that, the screenwriters decided they needed to make the iconic baddie more approachable.

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"Once we started talking about Vulture, it was clear that the version in the comics wouldn't do, where he was this bald old man," Goldstein said. "It just never felt terribly scary on film to us. So we thought, 'All right, let's make him more of a middle-aged guy.'"

As the Vulture continued to develop, Daley revealed Toomes was once meant to be a teacher to Spider-Man, but that idea was quickly axed.

"He was still stealing from Damage Control, but we had a different way into it. [Toomes] was going to be [Peter's] teacher, and then we were like, 'No, let's separate him fully from the school --- or at least so it seems.' And that's I think when we decided to make it the love interest's dad," the writer explained.

Of course, there are still some fans irked by the fact that Toomes just happened to be the father of Peter Parker's love interest. Queens isn't so small that the coincidence makes sense, but it is better to have the Vulture be an overprotective parent than a teacher. Fans expect a boy to be at odds with their date's dad at the very least; Having Toomes be a teacher would have just come off as a bit bland.

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A young Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), who made his sensational debut in Captain America: Civil War, begins to navigate his newfound identity as the web-slinging super hero in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, Peter returns home, where he lives with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), under the watchful eye of his new mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). Peter tries to fall back into his normal daily routine – distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man – but when the Vulture (Michael Keaton) emerges as a new villain, everything that Peter holds most important will be threatened.

The cast includes Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Donald Glover, JacobBatalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Tyne Daly, Bokeem Woodbine, with Marisa Tomei, and Robert Downey Jr. It also includes Jon Favreau, Martin Starr, Kenneth Choi, Michael Mando, Selenis Leyva, Isabella Amara, Jorge Lendeborg, Jr., JJ Totah, and Hannibal Buress.

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