5) The Character Adds Much-Needed Levity
Despite a few lighter moments (Stan Lee’s cameo is arguably his best so far), Civil War isn’t exactly a laugh riot. This is the film in which everything you’ve watched come together over 12 movies falls apart, where much-loved characters turn their backs on each other or beat one another bloody. Things aren’t always rosy in Civil War. So, you take whatever humor you can get to lighten to mood. Thankfully, Peter Parker shows up around the halfway point to considerably brighten up proceedings.
[zergpaid]Parker’s introduction scene, in which he and Tony Stark meet for the first time, plays out like a farcical comedy (Peter attempting to hide his alter-ego from both Stark and his Aunt May, and failing completely to fool the former). In the crunching airport showdown, meanwhile, Spider-Man provides irreverent, pop culture-referencing laughs to ease the tension, trying his best to impress “Mr. Stark” and talking way too much for a combatant in a danger-filled crunch match. He is, along with Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang/Ant-Man, the light in all the gloom.