Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS for Spider-Man: Far From Home ahead.
Spider-Man: Far From Home writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers explain why Peter Parker's Spider Sense was renamed as the "Peter Tingle." Marvel Studios' version of the web-slinging hero debuted back in 2016 via the Joe and Anthony Russo-directed Captain America: Civil War. Since then, Tom Holland has reprised the role four more times, the latest of which is his second solo adventure. Given this, the franchise has had time to develop the character in a way that both felt fresh yet familiar.
Aside from skipping the traditional origin story, one of the most discussed aspects about this current iteration of the role is his supposedly lack of the iconic Spider Sense. There were hints of it in previous films but there was never any explicit depiction that Holland's iteration indeed has it. That's until Far From Home made it an integral part of its narrative. However, fans may notice that it's no longer called its original name, which apparently was a deliberate move from the movie's writers.
Speaking with The Wrap in celebration of the release of Far From Home, McKenna and Sommers recall what prompted them to change Spider Sense to "Peter Tingle." It turns out, they were set on tackling this specific skill of the friendly-neighborhood hero, but they didn't want to be too explicit about its name. "We were always struggling to be a little more nuanced about it or a little sideways about this special power of his without being on the nose and calling it ‘Spider Sense,'” McKenna said. Sommers chimed in and revealed they tried to rack their brains for options before choosing "Peter Tingle."
“Well do we call it nothing? What do we call it? Do we go for something that’s more of a joke name? And I assure you, we went around and around and tried all different kind of things.”
“We definitely had some scenes where Happy (Jon Favreau) was stumbling through different descriptions of trying to think of a thing to call it himself. We liked Peter Tingle because it’s like your aunt calls it something, and that’s the last thing you want it called, so then, of course, she doubled down and that’s what she’s calling it, and she tells someone else, and that’s what they’re calling it. It’s very authentic teen life.”
Aunt May (Maria Tomei) is the first person to reveal the new name of the Spider Sense in a Far From Home TV spot, and apparently, she was also the one who coined it. In the film, there's a scene that she and Peter discuss how this particular skill works, and there were a couple more times that it's hinted. But it was during Spider-Man's final battle sequence with Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) that this capability came in handy. And with how that whole sequence played out, most will agree that it was for the better that Marvel Studios held off fully exploiting this element of the hero's skill set.
With the Peter Tingle fully operational, there's a myriad of cool action set pieces that Marvel Studios can do with Spider-Man. And since he now fully embraces the responsibility of being a hero, he needs to take advantage of all his special powers to fulfill his job efficiently. Over his five outings, the franchise slowly honed his capabilities, the same way they developed his character, which makes fans so invested in him. As he enters an uncharted territory following the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, it'll be interesting to see what other adventure lies ahead for the young hero.
Source: The Wrap
