How long does it take to clean up a disaster area after the Avengers, or members of Marvel's mightiest superhero group, wage war against the forces of evil? A deleted scene from Jon Watts' Spider-Man: Homecoming has some of that answer, as Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and his classmates were originally going to witness the cleanup from a Captain America: The Winter Soldier battle as they headed to Washington, D.C. for the big debate. Check this clip out:
This might seem a little bit confusing, as the events of Spider-Man: Homecoming took place after Captain America: Civil War, when Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) first introduced Spider-Man as a member of Team Iron Man. And yet, when Peter (Tom Holland) and his classmates head to D.C. for a class field trip, Michelle (Zendaya) points out that Damage Control is still cleaning up the fallen Hellicarriers that Cap downed as part of the finale of The Winter Soldier. She makes reference to Damage Control, the organization that Stark creates to facilitate the clean up of Marvel battles... and the group that the Vulture (Michael Keaton) is stealing from. That last line from Peter also is supposed to be foreshadowing for the warehouse in which Spider-Man will get stuck after he gets trapped in a Damage Control truck.
Is the scene necessary? Not really. For the most part, Spider-Man: Homecoming did an outstanding job of peppering in references to the Marvel Cinematic Universe without having to beat people over the head with the knowledge that this single story is part of a larger whole. In addition, the gym teacher already got in a good jab at Captain America being a "war criminal" for his rebellious action in Germany, so there's no real need to pile on the American hero by pointing out the damage that he did in D.C. by means of stopping Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford) and rescuing Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan).
Spider-Man: Homecoming is officially hitting Digital on September 26 and will follow on Blu-ray and DVD starting on October 17. As for The Avengers, they will come together next summer for Avengers: Infinity War, battling Thanos (Josh Brolin) and his minions when they come to our planet. I imagine that's going to create a LOT of busy work for Damage Control. If they're still cleaning up the attack on D.C., it might take them decades to properly tidy up after Thanos has had his say. To see all of the Marvel films that are due in theaters after Infinity War, peruse our official guide to Upcoming Marvel Movies.
