Why there's no one inside this Spider-Man suit

CGI superheroes are more common than you think.

On June 9, 1995, Batman Forever introduced audiences to what was likely the first CGI stunt double.

In a few brief shots, a digital double lept from tall buildings and swung on a grappling hook, and was used to convince viewers that Bruce Wayne was more “super” than the average man. Since then, superheroes and digidoubles have gone hand in hand. Protagonists in superhero films often wear masks or skin-tight bodysuits, which makes them perfect candidates for digital replacement; fabric is way easier to replicate digitally than skin.

Technology has only improved over the years, which means digidoubles are used for so much more than just “super” sequences. Today, digidoubles are used to give filmmakers and artists flexibility. Instead of being locked into what they’re able to shoot during principal photography, they can add and remove shots, completely change characters' costumes, and rewrite the script if they need to — long after filming is over.

The video above breaks down some surprising uses of digidoubles in superhero movies — and shows just how often they appear in modern movies.

Correction: At 6:18, we mistakenly labeled Avengers: Infinity War as Avengers: Endgame.

Further reading:

[Fuzbo_]

Vox: “I love how Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man waits until the absolute last second to shoot the web”
Gwen: 😢

[ludoviajante]

Andrew was my favorite spiderman precisely because of the web swinging, say what you want about his movies, but this part was top notch (or should I say "amazing"?)

[itsironboyjr]

Mad respect for the VFX artists especially on the scenes where we don’t notice there are visual effects, like the scene on the scaffolding in Shang Chi. Especially in recent marvel projects though the

[charliepea]

If they replace all actors, settings, etc with full digital technology, would it still be considered "live-action"?

[talhamasood]

2050: Marvel deciding cast after filming whole movie

[OKieYoSHigHhost]

"Its the Epitome of Spiderman"
The single best statement to describe the opening scene of TASM2 and many within it.

[opusmaximum]

But seriously, the digidouble of Tom Holland often looks really bad - like painted skin.

[nathonso_edits]

The Garfield suit still looks amazing (pun intended) the way the fabric ripples and the animation on those swinging scenes is incredible, the Holland suit just looks so weird like its painted on and not a real fabric.

[mformarsala]

Marvel has been increasingly copious in their usage of VFX. They opt to film even mundane scenes in front of a green/blue screen and then add settings in post instead of actually constructing sets and creating props.
Why?
Art directors, set decorators, and set dressers have unions. VFX artists don't.

[titanqueen]

If so much of the movement and action of these characters are made by VFX artists and animators, they deserved to be paid way more than they currently are.

[LSSTHNLT]

It blows my mind that of all the movies on screen at 6:18, Doctor Strange is the one with the fewest VFX shots

[containedhurricane]

It's easier to make a digital-double for a character that wears a skin-tight suit, as compared to unmasked character with a flowy cloth like Doctor Strange

[kingMadnus]

I could always tell that the Spider-Man scenes were 100% digital

[Mizaeducation]

Everytime i say that vfx artists should be more paid then the actors

[johnnyc]

That's probably the reason why Marvel's film always looks so CGish...

[QuarioQuario]

Christopher Nolan be like:
Nearly everything in his trilogy was real

[jmathew]

Loved how the WandaVision transition swipe had Wanda-magic styling as opposed to a straight white line, details...

Also, I instantly hit like for the extra effort couch jump at @4:54 😁👍🏽

[JamesRoyceDawson]

I feel like most of the time it’s uncanny and really takes away from the scene. I prefer the iron man suit from the first film because they actually had physical suits for a lot of it.

[sandhanitizer]

I liked the raised webbing on Holland's suit. I wish they stuck with that.

[khalilahd.]

Wow they could’ve fooled me. Such a cool breakdown