Tony Revolori’s version of Flash Thompson is highly different from the character in the comics and the actor has shared that Stan Lee himself gave him both his blessing and some great advice. We all know too well how toxic fandom can come down too hard when actors are cast who don’t look one hundred percent like their comic book counterparts, and Lee seemed to know that was coming.
The actor ended up meeting the iconic Spider-Man creator at San Diego Comic-Con when the initial ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming‘ footage dropped. Before the release, he had been able to walk around but after?
“Later on that day, I was walking around at Comic-Con, which was very difficult at this point because now everyone knew who I was, and at the Marvel booth, they have a little…behind a green room. And I went, and a buddy told me, ‘Stan’s coming. Why don’t you wait and meet him?’ And I was like, ‘Oh my god, of course. I’d love to meet him.’ When I was there, you know, someone whispered in his ear who I was and, you know, I was there also with Jacob [Batalon], and they told him, and he was very kind, he was very nice, you know, he was like — he made a joke saying, ‘I bet you’re mad that I didn’t give you super speed’ or something like that. And I remember he sent one of his assistants off to go get something and thought nothing of it. We started talking or whatever.”
So far, this joke seemed to very inline with how Stan acted toward fans and Marvel Studios actors alike. Lee had the foresight to know how some fans would likely react to the casting choice, and his assistant went off to get something that is linked directly to this.
“And then I was leaving. I had to go do press or something like that, so I had to leave. But before I left, he gave me — he stopped me, and he said ‘Wait one moment.’ And the guy came back with an issue of Spider-Man that was the issue where Flash Thompson shows you how much he admires Spider-Man, how he lost his legs, and then ultimately becomes Agent Venom. And he wrote a couple of words on the comic, and he signed it for me, and he was like, ‘Here you go. And I know the fans can be terrible but for what it’s worth I think you’re going to be the best Flash.’ And, I mean, he didn’t have to say anything like that, but it made me well up. There was definitely a tear in my eye. And I thought you know, ‘He could just be saying this,’ but he was genuine and it really, it hit home. So after that, it kind of felt like people could say whatever they want to say. Here’s the man who created the character and he said it was okay.”
Thankfully, Lee’s belief in the actor likely helped outweigh any criticism he may have initially faced. His performance as an updated Thompson seems to eased many of those complaints as well.
The following scene seems to be the perfect reflection of how Thompson felt about both Spider-Man and Peter Parker in both the comics and the films:
I can’t wait to see what the character thinks about the big reveal in the mid-credit scene from ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home!’
What do you think of Tony Revolori’s take on Flash Thompson in the “Spider-Man” movies? Does Stan Lee’s advice seem like the perfect gift to the young actor? Share your thoughts in the comments below, True Believers!
Source: Comic Book
