Ever wondered what Spider-Man looked like before Tony Stark gave him an upgrade? New toys tied to Spider-Man: Homecoming, coming in July, have revealed Spidey’s low-grade DIY costume from last summer’s Captain America: Civil War. And surprisingly, it looks like Peter Parker took inspiration from an old friend, Ben Reilly, the original Scarlet Spider.
In addition to Spider-Man, Vulture, and a huge city playset, one of the new toys from Hasbro is an action figure of Spidey’s homemade outfit he wore prior to the events of Civil War: Blue sweats, a sleeveless red hoodie, large silver web shooters, a full mask, and safety goggles. It’s a slapdash costume made from stuff a teenager from Queens would have in his closet, but comic book fans might recognize the whole piece as an homage to Ben Reilly, aka Scarlet Spider, from the 1994 Clone Saga storyline in The Amazing Spider-Man.
It’s the hoodie that sells it, even if the reds and blues are inverted. Ben Reilly, a clone made by the evil Jackal, donned a costume with a blue hoodie over a red suit. It’s a stripped-down piece from Peter’s classic, complex costume, but because of Ben’s own notoriety, his hoodie is also iconic among fans. In the MCU, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) pre-Stark looks uncannily like his comics clone, just with a red hoodie instead.
Check out the toy below, along with a comparison of the Scarlet Spider, who returned in Dead No More, the current arc in Dan Slott’s The Amazing Spider-Man.
Left: Ben Reilly's Scarlet Spider from 'The Web of Scarlet Spider' #1; Right: Peter's homemade costume show in 'Civil War.'
Spider-Man: Homecoming will be released July 7.
