Determining Spider-Man’s first MCU appearance seems easy and obvious, but an odd retcon complicates what Peter Parker’s official debut actually was.

Spider-Man famously made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, but an odd and complicated retcon makes it unclear if this is actually true. Having sold the film rights for Spider-Man to Sony in 1999, the MCU was stuck without one of Marvel’s most famous heroes for the first eight years of its shared universe. It was a big moment, then, when Tony Stark recruited Peter Parker to help him fight against Team Captain America in the latter’s third MCU film. Spider-Man was an instant hit and has continued to be a staple of Marvel’s post-Endgame cinematic universe.

However, despite not officially being able to use Spider-Man before Civil War, an unofficial but popular retcon spread through the Marvel fandom and MCU creatives that gives Peter Parker an appearance six years earlier in 2010’s Iron Man 2. The theory has never been confirmed on-screen, but it’s been perpetuated by Tom Holland, who also claims MCU head Kevin Feige is in on it, too. However, Marvel’s upcoming official timeline will definitively clarify if Peter Parker is actually in Iron Man 2 or not.

Peter Parker’s Iron Man 2 Cameo Retcon Explained

Late in Iron Man 2, Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) reveals that he’s programmed Hammer’s Iron Man-like drones to follow his command, and he uses them to launch an all-out assault on Tony at the Stark Expo. This, of course, puts the civilians attending the event at risk, including a kid wearing a toy Iron Man helmet. The child, whose face isn’t shown, takes an Iron Man stance in a show of bravery, however misguided. Right as a drone is about to attack the child, Iron Man swoops in, destroys the machine, and gives the kid a quick thank you for trying to help out.

The scene was initially little more than a classic “hero inspires others” moment, but Spider-Man actor Tom Holland later claimed that the kid is Peter Parker. In an interview with HuffPost leading up to the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Holland directly expressed, “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.” The comment may or may not have been intended as a joke, but it fueled the fires behind the Easter egg theory.

However, the story’s legacy doesn’t end there. The story was also given credence by MCU Spider-Man trilogy director Jon Watts. Also touched on in an interview leading up to the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Watts spoke with Uproxx about the theory and how he mentally worked in other elements of his movie into the MCU’s past. He explained, “I was watching all these other movies and being like, ‘What if that little kid at the Stark Expo was Peter Parker? In the Iron Man mask.’ Like, he’d be about the right age for that. And he loves Tony Stark.” Of course, it’s never directly confirmed in any Spider-Man movie.

How Marvel Will Finally Set The Record Straight On Spider-Man In Iron Man 2

The MCU is no stranger to fun theories and head canon explanations that tie different characters and events together, but several of those will either be directly confirmed or denied soon. An official MCU timeline will be released in October 2023 that promises to explain the history of every character, event, and item of importance in the MCU. Complete with detailed timelines and infographics for Marvel’s major players, the somewhat awkwardly titled Marvel Studios The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline will either include Peter’s appearance at the Stark Expo or, by omission, confirm that the supposed cameo never really happened.

While time will tell which direction Marvel chooses to go with Spider-Man’s backstory, it seems unlikely that the studio will confirm Peter was in Iron Man 2. While the timeline matches up for Peter to be about that age, and the meeting acts as a nice bit of foreshadowing for their mentor/mentee relationship in later films, real-world business would make the decision difficult. Sony still owns the movie rights to Spider-Man, so confirming his appearance in another project would be a breach of contract and likely create big problems without a sizable financial deal. It’s more likely that Peter’s secret MCU debut will remain a fun story for fans.