Marvel Studios doesn't often make mistakes, but Spider-Man: Homecoming featured a major timeline blunder. Taking us back to the events of The Avengers in order to reveal why Adrian Toomes became The Vulture, the movie then jumped eight years into the present day...which simply didn't add up.
Prior to Avengers: Endgame, the MCU largely played out in real-time. The Avengers was set in 2012, with Captain America: Civil War - which introduced the MCU's Spidey - and Spider-Man: Homecoming taking place in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Eight years later would place the latter in 2020 and Marvel Studios has since acknowledged the error.
It's also an issue they don't gloss over in the newly released The Marvel Cinematic Universe - An Official Timeline book. In that, the flashback is established to have taken place in the Spring of 2012 before the events of Homecoming played out four years later in the Fall of 2016.
Of course, while it's easy to write a title card off as a post-production error, it becomes trickier to justify when The Vulture at one point says, "Eight years, not a word from the Feds."
The book actually attempts to address this by enlisting Miss Minutes to explain the error.
"Redline alert! Hi again! Adrian Toomes says the Battle of New York was eight years ago, but that event was only four years prior," the TVA's twisted mascot reveals. "This one's a real head-scratcher for us - I reckon an analyst misplaced the case file."
That will do, surely?
It's as good an explanation as any, and we're going to put it down to a glitch on the Sacred Timeline...
Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, young Peter Parker returns home to live with his Aunt May. Under the watchful eye of mentor Tony Stark, Parker starts to embrace his newfound identity as Spider-Man. He also tries to return to his normal daily routine -- distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just a friendly neighborhood superhero. Peter must soon put his powers to the test when the evil Vulture emerges to threaten everything that he holds dear.
Directed by Jon Watts, Spider-Man: Homecoming stars Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Bokeem Woodbine, Tyne Daly, Marisa Tomei, and Robert Downey Jr.
The movie grossed $880 million at the worldwide box office in 2016 and was followed by Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No Way Home.