Flash Thompson Might Have a Bigger Role in ‘Spider-Man 3,’ and Fans Think He’ll Become a Hero
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is full of rich, interesting characters, many of whom aren’t considered to be main characters. One of these is Flash Thompson, a character originally created to appear in Marvel Comics as an antagonist for Peter Parker/Spider-Man.
Flash has been portrayed several times in film adaptations of the Spider-Man stories, most recently in the series of films starring Tom Holland. With Spider-Man 3 on the horizon, fans recently took to Reddit to discuss how big of a role Flash Thompson could play in this latest film and whether he will become a good guy or go full-blown villain.
Who is Flash Thompson?
The character of Flash Thompson originally started appearing in Marvel Comics in the sixties. He became a series regular, and fans eagerly followed his storyline. Flash was a high school bully, who was notoriously mean to Peter Parker while reveling in his status as a football hero. In spite of Flash’s derision towards Peter Parker, he idolizes Spider-Man and talks about the web-slinger with great admiration.
Flash Thompson’s storyline has been slightly different in the MCU than it was in the comics, and it has even varied wildly depending on the film series. In earlier Spider-Man films, Flash was played by Joe Manganiello, and was depicted as Mary Jane Watson’s brutal boyfriend. The most recent Spider-Man films feature a snobby rich kid version of Flash, played by the talented actor Tony Revolori. Flash bullies Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland, although his abuse is limited to verbal taunts and insults.
Flash Thompson is set to appear in ‘Spider-Man 3’
Revolori has played Flash in two films thus far, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home. Revolori has shown a different side to Flash than what was described in the comics, indicating that Flash has a difficult home life and struggles with distant, uncommunicative parents.
Recently, it was confirmed via Deadline that Revolori would be reprising his role as Flash Thompson in the yet-untitled Spider-Man 3.
Fans are excited, although not much is known about the film in general at this point. Still, Tom Holland recently confirmed that the movie is set to begin filming shortly, and is still on track to be released in November 2021, in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic that is currently ravaging the film industry.
Holland, who is notorious for spoiling films, didn’t mention anything about Flash Thompson’s character arc — however, some fans on Reddit recently discussed some exciting possibilities.
Fans think that Flash Thompson will become a hero
In the Reddit thread, fans discussed the possibility of Flash finding out Peter Parker’s identity as Spider-Man early on in the film, leading to the next phase of their relationship.
One fan stated: “I’m very excited to see what his reaction to peter being spider-man will be and how that will change their relationship.”
Another poster predicted that Flash is “gonna help shelter Peter when he gets accused by Mysterio. Then while he’s protecting Peter, Peter will learn about his less than happy home life, that was implied at the end. It just seems like a perfect way to develop his character and give him more to do in the next film.”
Others discussed the fan theory that Peter Parker will become a persona non grata in the newest film, leaving him with few friends and allies – and then mentioning the fact that Flash could end up teaming with Spider-Man: “He’ll either believe all the BS about Peter Parker being an evil spider-man or stick with his love of Spider-Man and have a new-found respect for Peter, possibly using his family’s resources to help Peter out. I think they’ll go the latter, because the MCU is all about characters progressing/changing and it opens the story up a lot more, giving us a good segue into Flash’s life.”
It is impossible to predict exactly what will happen in Spider-Man 3 — but the door is open for a lot of exciting possibilities.
