Sony Pictures Imageworks reunited with Marvel Studios to successfully deliver over 300 visual effects shots for the climactic final act of SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING™. With a peak of 200 dedicated artists, the sequences included a confrontation between Spider-Man and Vulture in an abandoned warehouse, a mid-air battle on the outside of a cloaked Stark Industries transport plane, and the epic beach crash and battle scene which ends the film.

Without the advantage of Tony Stark's high-tech Spider-Man suit, Peter Parker falls back to his original homemade suit at the end of the film. His blue and red sweatpants ensemble is complete with a sleeveless hoodie and drawstrings.

As the majority of our shots required a digital-double, extensive reference and mocap was leveraged to recreate our hero as he battles the Vulture. Of course, not everything a superhero does can be recorded with capture techniques on a stage or at our desks. Though inspired from reference, much of the performance you see on the screen was traditionally hand animated.

With a wingspan nearing 40', two massive turbines for vertical lift and a jet-pack, the Vulture was a formidable foe, both for Spider-Man and our artists. Key to maintaining a sense of realism was accurately capturing his enormous weight and speed as he powers through the air. The final battle sequence also required us to design a malfunctioning version of the vulture's suit, complete with blue electrical sparks.

Both director Jon Watts and VFX Supervisor Janek Sirrs were excellent partners. From the onset they made it clear they were looking for collaborators, people who would take on the challenge and they actively encouraged feedback and ideas from our team."

-VFX Supervisor Theo Bialek 

The VTOL is a Stark Industries transport plane capable of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL). Upgraded with defensive cloaking ability, this invisible jet needed to handle increasing levels of damage as Spider-Man and Vulture vie for control, before crash landing on Coney Island Beach.

Our artists took their inspiration from cloaking and commercial technology available today to direct the techniques we used in the computer. This included over 1 million digital LEDs that coated the surface of our CG plane.

This All-CG sequence showcased our digital stunt doubles and required careful collaboration between all departments to complete.

As the fight progresses, the VTOL is badly damaged, leaving Spider-Man dangling by his web, and the plane careening towards New York.

Imageworks recreated portions of Coney Island and the Boardwalk along the beach. This environment was featured toward the end of the plane sequence and during the beach battle.

We acquired the beach, boardwalk and surrounding neighborhoods using a combination of FARO scanning, photography and photogrammetry. The entire process took a week, but by the end we had a detailed scan of the area that was used to build out the flightpath and final resting place for the VTOL.