Warning! Spoilers for W.E.B. of Spider-Man #4 by Marvel Comics
Harley Keener is carrying on Tony Stark's legacy in the pages of Marvel Comics, as he just showed off his newest invention to Peter Parker and some of the rest of the smartest teens in the Marvel Universe. Keener, who debuted in Iron Man 3 in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is part of Stark's new W.E.B. program, where he revealed a stun blaster gauntlet that would make Iron Man proud.
This week, Marvel Comics introduced Harley Keener as a comic book character for the very first time. Originally, Keener appeared in Iron Man 3 (played by Ty Simpkins), where the smart youngsters helped Tony Stark build himself back up after his entire life came literally crashing down. The character wasn't based on anyone from the comics. Simpkins also appeared in Avengers: Endgame at Stark's funeral, suggesting that the character's story isn't done in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the new W.E.B. of Spider-Man comic, Keener officially makes his first comic book appearance.
In W.E.B. of Spider-Man #1 by Kevin Shinick, Alberto Alburquerque, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Travis Lanham, Peter Parker arrives at the W.E.B. (World Engineering Brigade) facility, which Stark created to give some of the most gifted youngsters in the Marvel Universe a place to be creative and design new tech and inventions. Parker's fellow W.E.B. members include Squirrel Girl, Lunella Lafayette, Onome, and Harley Keener. While Keener and Peter disagree about who's truly Iron Man's right-hand man, Harley shows off one of his latest inventions to prove he belongs.
Keener shows off a gauntlet he calls a "Spunner." The device is a stun blaster that uses non-lethal pellets created from potatoes (which is a nice reference to his potato gun in Iron Man 3). Those potatoes ultimately charge the device's blaster. It seems Keener has put the tech that Tony Stark left him at the end of Iron Man 3 to good use, as he was clearly inspired by the Avenger.
Harley's invention might not be as high-tech as some of the other W.E.B. member's creations, but it shows his creativeness and why he was invited to the program to begin with. Tony Stark would certainly be proud to see Keener continue on his quest to build and create things in the name of science. It will be fascinating to see what else Harley Keener can make given he's now working with top tech and some of the smartest teen minds in the Marvel Universe. W.E.B. of Spider-Man #1 is in comic book stores now.