Spider-Man: Homecoming not only brings Peter Parker (Tom Holland) into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it also takes him back to his roots as a struggling high school student. High school can be just as tough to go through as fighting against The Vulture, but at least you can deal with coming of age when you have your best friend by your side. Thankfully, Peter has Ned (Jacob Batalon) to help him through this adventure.
Both Peter and Ned are fellow geeks, and based on the footage released from the film, Holland and Batalon have turned their onscreen friendship into a real-life one. Just from the trailers alone, we get a sense that Ned is going to serve more than just some fun comic relief in Peter’s life, and will be there for him when he needs someone to talk to on the struggles of balancing responsibilities.
According to Batalon, he believes that Ned is not only a best friend to Peter, but also a sidekick to him. In an interview with Yahoo! Movies, Batalon discussed the importance of Ned’s role:
“I think the sidekick makes the number one look good. That just means he’s the one in charge, like he’s the one to make sure he’s number one.”
Batalon was also asked about whether Ned is the “true hero” of the film, to which he responds in laughter:
“There’s moments where it’s a clear-cut answer.”
Being a teenager who also happens to be a potential Avenger can be incredibly frustrating. It is obvious that being the superhero that everyone loves is more alluring than being a dweeb at school who gets picked on all the time. But it is always important to remember that all that matters is who sees you for who you are – regardless of your quirks. It seems that Ned is the perfect best friend for Peter for those reasons.
Spider-Man: Homecoming swings into theaters on July 7, 2017.
Source: Yahoo! Movies
