"Retcon", or retroactive continuity. It's changing an event from the past so it makes sense in the present. Comic books do it all of the time, much to readers' chagrin. So it was only a matter of time before the Marvel Cinematic Universe picked up on it, but I don't think anybody would have thought Tom Holland would be the one to do it.
Holland has confirmed one of the longest-running fan theories around ,that the little kid in the Iron Man mask from Iron Man 2 was actually a young Peter Parker. Y'know, the one who stands up to one of those Hammer drones? Why would anybody come up with that theory in the first place? Because the kid's age was right, the Stark Expo was in Parker's hometown of Queens, and he would be a dorky tech kid. The scene also showed the kid's extraordinary bravery.
Here are Holland's comments to HuffPo...
“It is Peter Parker. I can confirm that, that is Peter Parker. I can confirm that as of today. I literally had a conversation with Kevin Feige only 20 minutes ago. Maybe I’ve just done a big, old spoiler, but it’s out there now. It’s cool. I like the idea that Peter Parker has been in the universe since the beginning.”
I guess this is kinda cool? Ultimately it means nothing unless it's addressed in the movies, but for fans who are obsessive about continuity this will be a nice Easter Egg for them when they go back and rewatch Iron Man 2. Does anybody go back and rewatch Iron Man 2?
Admittedly, I am one of those people obsessed with continuity, and yet this does nothing for me. Probably because it feels like something Holland just made threw out there on the spot, and...oh, well he kinda did. Here's what he said to io9 a little while later...
"It’s funny, I literally had a conversation with Kevin like 20 minutes before [The Huffington Post] interview and he didn’t confirm it, I took it upon myself just because I thought it would be a good story and it’s exploded."
Nice story, bro. Don't expect to see this referenced in Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 7th.
