Peter Benjamin Parker also known by his alias, Spider-Man, is a fictional character portrayed by Tom Holland in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, based on the Marvel Comics superhero of the same name. Peter is initially depicted as a student at the Midtown School of Science and Technology who received spider-like and superhuman abilities after being bitten by a radioactive spider.
Peter initially uses his powers to fight crime as a teenaged vigilante in Queens with the help of his best friend Ned Leeds, coming into conflict with Adrian Toomes. He is mentored by Tony Stark who eventually recruits him into the Avengers during Thanos' invasion of Earth. Peter falls victim to the Blip, but is resurrected five years later and rejoins the Avengers. Following Stark's death, Peter is chosen as a successor, bringing him into conflict with Quentin Beck, who reveals Peter's identity to the world, and those who were on his side. Peter elicits Stephen Strange's help to reverse this, which inadvertently causes the multiverse to fracture, bringing alternate versions of Spider-Man and their enemies onto Earth-616, resulting in the death of his Aunt May. To repair the damage, Strange casts a spell that permanently erases not only Beck's victory, but also the world's knowledge of Peter's civilian persona, including his relationships with his girlfriend MJ, as well as his friends and other superhero allies. Four years later, Parker has been anonymously protecting New York City as its celebrated hero Spider-Man, although struggles in his personal life. Due to the arrival of a mutant named Jean Grey, Peter must protect the city with the help of the Punisher. He also discovers that his powers are changing by new mutations.
Holland's version of the character is the successor to the incarnation portrayed by Tobey Maguire in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007) and the incarnation portrayed by Andrew Garfield in Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man duology (2012–2014), both of whom reprise their roles and appear alongside Holland in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). Holland's performance in the role has received positive reviews, with his version of the character becoming a breakout hit among audiences and critics for his supporting role in Captain America: Civil War (2016), before evolving into being one of the MCU franchise's flagship characters by the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and its sequels. Holland won several accolades for his portrayal of the character.
Peter is a central character in the MCU, appearing in seven films . Alternate versions of Peter appear in the Disney+ animated television series What If...? (2021), Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2025–present), and Marvel Zombies (2025), voiced by Hudson Thames.
Fictional character biography Peter Parker's story in the MCU takes place in the Earth-616 universe. The fictional biography below also includes events that happened to Peter from other universes.
Early life Peter Benjamin Parker was born on August 10, 2001, in Forest Hills, Queens, and is primarily raised by his Aunt May, after the passing of his Uncle Ben. At a young age, Peter is saved from Ivan Vanko's robotic drones by Iron Man, fueling his already strong admiration for him.
While attending high school at the Midtown School of Science and Technology in 2015, Peter is bitten by a radioactive spider, giving him superhuman abilities. He becomes the superhero Spider-Man by using his powers for good, and maintains a secret identity so his enemies can not attack his friends and family. At Midtown School, Peter is smart but is frequently bullied by Flash Thompson. He also befriends Ned Leeds, who has been his best friend since they were young. He constructs a homemade Spider-Man suit, designing it as a red and blue hoodie also equipped with his web-shooters.
Avengers' Civil War and The Vulture
In 2016, Peter is living with May in Queens, New York when he meets Tony Stark at his apartment, who reveals that he knows Peter is Spider-Man; Stark recruits him to join his conflict with Steve Rogers and sends Peter to Germany. There Peter is given a new Spider-Man suit designed by him and is brought to the Leipzig/Halle airport to aid Stark and his faction, consisting of James Rhodes, Natasha Romanoff, T'Challa, and Vision, against Rogers' team, consisting of Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson, Clint Barton, Scott Lang, and Wanda Maximoff. Peter is a fan of Rogers despite them being on opposing sides, while Rogers likewise respects Peter's bravery. They briefly exchange where in New York they are from upon fighting. After incapacitating Barnes and Wilson, and helping to defeat a giant Lang, Peter is sent back to Queens.
Two months later, Peter continues to try to balance his life as a high school student and Spider-Man, but eagerly awaits his next mission from Stark and continuously texts Stark's driver and bodyguard Happy Hogan. After Peter returns home from operating as Spider-Man, Ned accidentally learns Peter's secret identity. Peter and Ned attend a school party hosted by his crush, senior student Liz, but leaves early to stop a drug deal by Jackson Brice and Herman Schultz, who planned to sell Chitauri weapons to Aaron Davis. Peter follows Brice and Schultz before being caught by their boss Adrian Toomes, who drops Peter into a nearby lake. Stark remotely saves Peter using one of his Iron Man armors, and warns Peter of further involvement with Toomes. On an academic decathlon trip to Washington, D.C., Peter and Ned disable the tracker on Peter's suit, and Peter intercepts Toomes on a Damage Control truck in Maryland, but gets knocked out and trapped in a Damage Control storage vault. He misses the decathlon, but rescues his class at the Washington Monument after a Chitauri core explodes. Back in New York, Peter captures Toomes' new buyer Mac Gargan aboard the Staten Island Ferry, but Toomes escapes and a malfunctioning weapon tears the ferry in half, which Peter attempts to briefly fix it before Stark arrives and saves the passengers. Stark confiscates Peter's suit as punishment for his recklessness, and Liz accepts to be Peter's homecoming date.
Later, while on his way to pick up Liz for the homecoming dance, Peter discovers Toomes is Liz's father and Toomes also deduces Peter is Spider-Man. Toomes gives Peter one final chance to not interfere with his business out of gratitude for Peter previously saving Liz's life, but Peter abandons Liz to stop Toomes from stealing a Damage Control cargo plane that is shipping equipment from Avengers Tower using his homemade suit. When Toomes' Vulture suit is damaged, Peter saves his life, but leaves him in a web for the DODC and Hogan to arrest. The next day at school, Liz is angry at Peter for abandoning her before tearfully informing him that she and her mother will be moving away since Toomes is imprisoned. Hogan brings Peter to Avengers Compound, where Stark congratulates him on defeating Toomes, admits he underestimated him and offers him a place in the Avengers, showcasing the newly developed Iron Spider armor with it. Peter declines the offer, preferring to focus on local activities in Queens. When Stark returns the Spider-Man suit to him, Peter puts it on, at which point a shocked May learns he is Spider-Man.
Joining the Avengers and fight against Thanos
In 2018, while headed on a field trip, Peter sees the Q-Ship above New York City and asks Ned to cover for him as he leaves the school bus. As Spider-Man, he helps Stark fight Cull Obsidian and follows Ebony Maw—who had captured Stephen Strange–to his spaceship. This prompts Stark to fly into space and rescue Peter, sending the Iron Spider armor to Peter. He and Stark rescue Strange and kill Maw, and Stark officially declares Peter an Avenger. The spaceship lands on the planet Titan, where Peter, Stark, and Strange are confronted by some members of the Guardians of the Galaxy, before they realize that they are both on the same side: stopping Thanos. Thanos eventually arrives and Peter helps subdue him along with Stark, Strange, Peter Quill, Drax, and Mantis. However, Quill attacks Thanos, making Peter lose his grip on removing the Infinity Gauntlet. Peter rescues an unconscious Quill, Drax, Nebula, and Mantis after Thanos throws Titan's moon at them. Thanos leaves and is successful in disintegrating half of all life, including Peter, in the Blip.
In 2023, Peter is restored to life and is brought via a portal to the destroyed Compound to assist the Avengers and their allies in defeating an alternate 2014 Thanos. Peter reunites with Stark, who later sacrifices his life to save the universe; Peter attends his funeral and returns to high school, having a heartfelt reunion with Ned.
European vacation and Mysterio
Eight months later in mid-2024, Peter goes to a charity event that May is putting together as Spider-Man but leaves it abruptly due to still reeling from Stark's death and getting asked a horde of questions. He decides to take a break from vigilantism and goes on a school trip to Europe with Ned and other classmates, where he plans to reveal his romantic feelings towards his classmate Michelle "MJ" Jones. In Venice, Peter and his classmates are attacked by a water monster but are saved by Quentin Beck. Peter is approached by Nick Fury, whose calls he had been fielding and who appoints Beck as his teammate in battling further element-based monsters (the "Elementals") throughout Europe. Fury gives Peter "E.D.I.T.H.", an artificial intelligence created by Stark to give to Peter. After defeating the Fire Elemental in Prague, Peter feels he "isn't ready to be the next Iron Man" and gives E.D.I.T.H. to Beck, who unbeknownst to Peter is a former disgruntled employee of Stark's.
Peter goes on a walk with MJ, and reveals his attraction to her, while MJ is able to deduce Peter's identity as Spider-Man. The pair discover Beck used holographic projectors to visually create the Elementals, and Peter goes to Berlin to warn Fury about Beck's deception. Beck catches wind of this and traps Peter in multiple illusions, and while impersonating Fury, tricks the latter into telling the names of the students that know his fraudulence. Peter is hit by a train and left for dead in the Netherlands, but calls Hogan and creates a new suit for himself using Stark's technology as he enters London to stop Beck, who has created an amalgamated Elemental using Stark Industries drones. Ned and MJ evacuate the students and fight with Hogan while Peter destroys those drones and approaches Beck. Beck attempts to kill Peter using the drones, but Peter manages to get a drone to shoot him, Beck beginning to bleed. Peter gets E.D.I.T.H. back, as Beck seemingly dies, and disables the drones. Peter and his classmates return to New York City, with he and MJ planning a date the following week.
Exposed secret identity and multiversal crisis