With SPIDER-MAN:HOMECOMING set to web-swing it's way into theaters next month, I'm more than a little surprised that it took this long for the nature of Zendaya's role to be revealed. In the months leading up to the film's release, Zendaya's character has been known to us all simply as Michelle. Now, thanks to the recently released junior novelization of the movie, we may have a confirmation on her identity, and it's not as a Mary Jane Watson stand-in like so many had thought.
The following paragraph of this article contains character spoilers for SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING!
As it's been revealed in the book, the full name of Zendaya's character is Michelle Toomes. That's right, she's related to Michael Keaton's character Adrian Toomes aka The Vulture. One would go so far as to assume that she's his daughter. So far, we've not witnessed any scenes in the varying trailers of Keaton and Zendaya sharing the same screen, though perhaps Sony and Marvel have been holding off on the reveal in the hope that the character's identity would not surface until closer to the film's official release. Honestly, I give all of those who are close to the film credit for keeping this reveal a secret for as long as they did. Now that we know the deal, it will be interesting to see how Michelle and The Vulture's familial ties play off of one another as the events of Spidey's latest adventure unfold.
The best part about this news is that we won't have to wait long find out the answers to all of our now burning questions. Familial love has always been an important part of the Spider-Man mythos, and that extends to the franchises villains as well. For now, there's no telling what sort of trouble Michelle's character might bring for Peter, as he fights to find his way in a world filled with more experienced heroes.
SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING starring Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Martin Starr, Chris Evans, Donald Glover and Jon Favreau will swing into theaters on July 7th.