How much Spider-Man is too much Spider-Man? This was likely on the minds of many when Sony announced their second reboot of Marvel's A-lister in just three years, after the dumpster-fire, universe building disaster than was Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (you'll always get a pass for 500 Days of Summer, Webb), and in the process decimating all of Sony's plans for two more sequels, a Sinister Six spin-off and an... Aunt May spy flick? This planned universe was definitely caught in a tangled web of a mess.

The silver lining out of that announcement was that their third(!) Spider-Man will be part of Marvel Studios/Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), with a young Tom Holland (The Impossible) cast in the role soon after. This culminated in a memorable yet well-received debut in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, as this new edition blended well with the long established Marvel characters right on the get-go. So, with the new Spider-Man: Homecoming following Holland off the heels of Civil War, is this third Spider-Man in 10 years more Sam Raimi's original trilogy or more Webb's Amazing series?

If you've never warmed to the MCU films over the past decade, chances are that Homecoming would do little to convince you otherwise, as it retains most of the pros and (few) pitfalls that is apparent in this billion dollar franchise. Marvel had always preferred to hire indie directors to direct their latest projects, and it's no different with the hiring of Jon Watts to write plus helm Homecoming, having just come off the $5 million-budgeted Cop Car starring Kevin Bacon. The end result is a film with all the makings of a Marvel Studios film, and this new series retains the aesthetics of the Marvel movies with little repercussions for our heroes, for better or for worse. Quips have always been Spider-Man's other superpower since his printed debut, and it's certainly a match made in heaven when combined with level of banter which are omnipresent in the MCU.

Speaking of which, the integration mythos of past MCU's films appear to fit Homecoming like a glove, providing a more complementary relation between the new film and previous entries, rather than just throwing in blatant references for the sake of continuity. Adrian Toomes's turn to crime is deeply rooted from the Chitauri invasion from 2012's Avengers, while his dastardly plans all stem from technology salvaged/stolen from past battles (an Ultron head makes a cameo too). Don't worry, it's not the Spider-Man & Iron Man adventure the trailer had us worried, as Robert Downey Jr. only appears in a glorified four-scenes cameo, for which most were shown in the various commercials. In fact, take out the Iron Man and Avengers angles and you'll still have a pretty solid Spider-Man movie on its own.

Onto the new dude in the suit, this new... new Spider-Man by Tom Holland is an absolute delight on-screen, and by far the best young version of Peter Parker. Don't get me wrong, but each rendition of Spidey thus far has brought something to the table. You could argue that Tobey Maguire is great as an "Adult Parker", while Andrew Garfield shines as a "Boyfriend Parker", but it'll be interesting to see whether Holland could snatch these (hastily thought of) accolades in future sequels.

The lack of an origin story, which is pretty unnecessary by now, meant that this rendition of the web crawler does not have the weight of a dead Uncle Ben or his parents on his shoulders, and for once we get a Peter Parker who's definitely enjoying his superhero life, and one that we actually see converse through his school life and his crime fighting duties. Thankfully, Holland's rendition comes off as uncertain, stubborn yet equally eager, energetic and enthusiastic, while Parker's personality seem to trade seamlessly between his alter-egos (you'll notice the mega bump in confidence when Maguire dons the suit in the original).

What really sets this new Parker apart from those before him are his interactions with practically everyone in this film, from his young Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) to Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), and it is with his peers that serve as Homecoming's better moments. Parker's classmates are given a 2010-esque makeover, focusing more on diversity in not only ethnicity but also in personality, while straying pretty far from their comic book counterparts.

Parker's best friend Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) is his best friend as well as confidante to his secret identity, and has perhaps the funniest lines and scenes in Homecoming. The stereotypical meathead bully Flash Thompson now a cynical, compensating nerd played by The Grand Budapest Hotel's Tony Revolori, while Zendaya's Michelle is equally narcissistic as she is sarcastic. We don't see these classmates all too often outside of Ned, but given that Homecoming takes place during Parker's sophomore year, they'll likely is plenty of sequels to get reacquainted with these colourful characters.

Michael Keaton is a fine addition to the storied franchise. Much like Jeff Bridges in the original Iron Man, the seasoned actor brings plenty of gravitas and tension to a role that admittedly looks bloody silly in the comics, as the former Beetlejuice is now playing his third flight-based character after Batman and Birdman. One memorable scene at the end of the second act really showcases the veracity and terror that Keaton can bring to the screen. Even if he does become a one-off villain, he was certainly one of the more memorable, even if that bar is still *shockingly* low in the MCU's Hall of Baddies. While the Vulture does command a presence whenever he's on screen, it's still nowhere as storied or layered than the likes of Willem Dafoe or Alfred Molina preceding him.

Spidey's rogue gallery is also present, but are presented as more of a support unit for the Vulture than full blown super villains integral to the plot à la Spider-Man 3, played by the likes of  Bokeem Woodbine (Fargo), Logan Marshall-Green (Prometheus, also discount Tom Hardy), and Donald Glover (The Martian; Childish Gambino). Glover in particular steals the show in one confrontation with Spider-Man in an empty parking lot.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is a noteworthy entry into the Marvel Universe, but while it couldn't match the dizzying heights or scale of Raimi's Spider-Man 2, arguably the gold standard of Spider-Man flicks, Homecoming's emphasis on the 'FUN' side of being the web-crawler is an enjoyable romp, and the new set of heroes and villains rarely put a foot wrong. Tom Holland's Spider-Man is one for the ages, and one that's likely struck a web cord with audiences  to embrace in the long haul. For Sony, maybe third time really was the charm? Hell, there was one blatant Sony product placement in sight this time around, and that's already a 'Stark' improvement.

After Captain America: Civil War got Marvel Studios' Phase 3 slate of franchise films off to a flyer, matters now turn to another one of Marvel's classic comic characters Stephen Strange, whose last real-life portrayal coming all the way back in a 1978 television film! Scott Derrickson, known for his work in the horror film circuit, with Sinister & Deliver Us from Evil under his resume, is tasked with introducing Doctor Strange, with his mystical powers into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and while last year's Ant-Man benefited from its Avengers connection, can Doctor Strange pull a rabbit out of the hat with a new horizon for the franchise into the realm of magic?

Right from the get-go, Doctor Strange treads very closely to the usual origin story beats, and more particularly in tandem with the original Iron Man way back in 2008, with the film beginning with your egotistical protagonist (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) whose accident puts him on a path to help others with the assistance of irregular abilities. Sounds like someone took the Iron Man script and labelled a sticky note saying "ADD MAGIC!" (no discredit to the writers here).

Comic book movies are a dime a dozen these days, with one released pretty much every season in a year. Back in the early days (till this year anyway), these films' premises were simple yet effective: it was always the case of good guys vs the bad guys. This doesn't seem to be the case anymore, with the desire for more convoluted plots and an array of characters, fueled by the success of 2012's The Avengers, has prompted film studios to craft up fresh takes on these fabled comic characters, often resorting to their long list of comic iterations for a hint of inspiration.

We've already seen the first of these, Warner Bros' Batman v Superman serving up an overstuffed and frankly depressing take on their planned DC Comics Universe, with that film also failing to consolidate itself in terms of box office receipts after a lofty opening. Thus, a month later on, we now have our second seismic Hollywood face-off of 2016, pitting the Captain of America against the Man of Iron in Captain America: Civil War.

Directed by Antony and Joe Russo, the 13th Marvel Cinematic Universe entry aims to follow up on the events of 2014's The Winter Soldier (which the Russos' also directed) as well as last summer's Avengers: Age of Ultron, and like Dawn of Justice, both films tackle the nature of a superhero's responsibilities on civilian casualties amidst their display of strength in saving the world, resulting in a  divide of super-heroic proportions. All of these, whilst introducing a third Spiderman in less than a decade, seems like an almighty feat indeed, but did the Russo Brothers' second Marvel feature do a better 'clash of the superheroes' depiction than Zack Synder's DC offering?