Peter Parker aka Spider-Man might be one of the youngest heroes in the MCU, but he is also one of the smartest. He has shown his intelligence, not only in his various scientific achievements but also in how he operates as a hero. It is often his mind that saves the day as much as his superpowers.
However, Peter is still a young kid and sometimes he makes foolish mistakes when trying to prove himself as a hero. In these instances, he is able to make it out alive thanks purely to luck. This balance between Spider-Man's smartest decisions and lucky moments makes him a fun hero to follow.
Brilliant Plan:
Taking Out Ebony Maw
Though he tries to be the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, Peter's heroics eventually lead him into space in Avengers: Infinity War. But even though he is out of his element, Peter is able to think on his feet to take out the villainous Ebony Maw.
As Maw has Doctor Strange held captive, even Iron Man can't figure out a way to save him. However, Peter uses his movie knowledge to come up with a plan inspired by Alien. Peter has Iron Man blast a hole in the ship which sucks Maw out into space as Peter saves Doctor Strange.
Using His "Tingle" To Outsmart Mysterio
Though he first presents himself as an ally to Peter, Mysterio ends up being a formidable enemy who challenges the young hero in impactful ways. After being put through Mysterio's haunting illusions, Peter begins to question what is real and what isn't.
But when he has to face off with Mysterio in the climactic battle, Peter realizes he has a way to defeat the trickster. Relying on his spider-sense or "tingle," Peter is able to see through all the false threats and take out Mysterio.
Taking Down Giant-Man
It seems that one of Peter's most underrated assets as a hero is his love of movies. Once again, referencing a movie helps him to overcome a dire situation. In fact, he is able to find a way of taking down Giant-Man when all of the other members of Team Iron Man fail to.
Despite being a new member to the team and the youngest of all the Avengers, Peter remembers the Battle of Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back and comes up with a plan of using his webs to trip the oversized Scott Lang.
Using Math To Beat Doctor Strange
Though Peter is often treated like the younger brother by some of the other Avengers, he could certainly go toe-to-toe with some of them. However, when Peter faces off with Doctor Strange in Spider-Man: No Way Home, it seems like he is out of his league.
Strange uses his astral projections, his Cloak of Levitation, and even the Mirror Dimension to battle Peter. However, Peter remarkably is able to see a mathematical aspect of the Mirror Dimension and uses it against Strange to get the best of him.
Curing The Villains
While Peter's youth sometimes makes him a reckless and naïve hero, it also gives him a sense of optimism some of the older heroes lack. This aspect of him can be best seen in Spider-Man: No Way Home when he sets out to, not defeat the multiverse villains, but cure them.
That pure approach to being a hero is very endearing, but it is also impressive that he is able to achieve it. While he gets some much-needed help to cure them all, Peter is able to fix Doc Ock's issues all on his own.
Got Lucky:
Attacked By Shocker
The friendship between Peter and Ned is one of the best in the MCU and Ned seems to take genuine pride in being Peter's "guy in the chair." But there was one moment when Ned had to step up and actually save Peter's life on his own.
After Peter is ambushed by Shocker at the school dance, he loses his web-shooters and is totally defenseless. It might have been the end of the wall-crawler had Ned not shown up out of nowhere and used the web-shooter to stop the villain.
Thrown In A Lake
Though he briefly gets to fight alongside (and against) the Avengers in Captain America: Civil War, Peter spends much of Spider-Man: Homecoming trying to prove himself as a big-time hero. However, he often just shows that he is out of his league.
During Peter's first encounter with Vulture, he is dropped in a lake and is wrapped up in a parachute. He could have easily drowned had Iron Man's remote suit not managed to get there in time and rescue him.
Destroying The Ferry
In Peter's quest to prove himself worthy of being an Avenger, he makes a lot of questionable choices, but his antics on the ferry are completely irresponsible. Thinking he can make a name for himself by taking on Vulture alone, Peter makes a mess of it in a huge way.
Not only does he ruin a police sting that would have caught the villain, but he causes the ferry to be destroyed and almost costs the lives of all the people on board. Once again, Peter is lucky that Iron Man was keeping an eye on him and saved the day.
Getting A New Suit
Though Peter ends up being more useful in space than expected, the fact that he thought it would be a good idea to go on this intergalactic mission in the first place is baffling.
When fighting alongside Iron Man, Peter seems to get caught up in the moment and pursues the spaceship into the upper atmosphere. However, he fails to consider that he can't breathe in space and nearly falls to his death. The fact that Iron Man had a new space-ready suit for Peter is pure luck.
Finding Out Mysterio Was The Bad Guy
Another sign of Peter's age is how easily he can trust someone. He spends the entire runtime of Spider-Man: Far From Home getting conned into believing that Quentin Beck is a good guy and ends up handing over some very dangerous tech to this man he hardly knows.
Despite his spider-sense, Peter would have remained completely oblivious to Beck's evilness had it not been for a random accident. When walking with MJ, Peter accidentally activates a piece of Beck's illusion equipment, showing him that he is a fraud.