Ah yeah, they were riffing the same trope and that’s why I phrased it like that initially heh.
But I certainly hope Ned doesn’t meet his demise in Far From Home. He’s such a loveable character, though the “Missing Mission Control” trope is well manifested in the superhero genre
Short answer: Peter Parker's best friend. He (excellently) serves as the audience's vehicle into the narrative, many of his responses and reactions to things are written to be the John Everyman along for the ride.
I'm probably a little biased in that Spider-Man (respect the hyphen, darnit!) is my favorite super-hero, but Homecoming is just a really nice and charming 'coming of age' movie that even people who aren't comic book/super-hero fans would enjoy if you like a little bit of Die Hard with your Ferris Bueller--I appreciated that Homecoming showcased far more of Parker's raw intellect and creative thinking than what we've gotten previously.
Spider-Man has been rebooted twice in live-action movies since the Raimi version. The last and current incarnation, starring Tom Holland, debuted in Spider-Man: Homecoming, which is getting a sequel this year (Spider-Man: Far From Home). The other reboot, starring Andrew Garfield in two movies, was eminently forgettable.
"Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse" is an alternate-reality version (where SM is a black/latino teenager) in animated form. Somewhat surprisingly, it's also qualitatively better than any live-action version to date. It will probably get a sequel, again in animated form, in the next few years.
There's technically two more...from a certain point of view. Spider-Man: Homecoming, the latest live action Spider-Man film and there was a brilliantly done (both story and the use of CGI and visual effects to enhance and supplement the story) animated movie "Into the Spider-Verse". Coming soon is the sequel to said live action movie.
They're not connected to each other, beyond the two live action movies, and none of the above are connected to the Raimi Spider-Man movies--if that helps your frame of reference.
But I certainly hope Ned doesn’t meet his demise in Far From Home. He’s such a loveable character, though the “Missing Mission Control” trope is well manifested in the superhero genre