While we were all sleeping, potentially the greatest news of all-time hit the airwaves: Marvel and Sony have set aside their differences and are working together to bring Spider-Man into the cinematic universe of the Avengers! The new Spider-Man will likely make his first appearance in the already superhero-packed Captain America: Civil War before getting his next solo outing on the big screen in 2017. Better still, there are talks about getting current MCU characters into those films as well!
Here's there exact wording from the press release:
Marvel and Sony Pictures are also exploring opportunities to integrate characters from the MCU into future Spider-Man films.
That's a huge detail! However, the entire landscape of the Marvel movies has dramatically changed over the course of one film — The Winter Soldier — and it looks like that will happen twice more in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Civil War. Considering what we know and what’s been rumored about what’s coming, what are the odds that some of our favorite MCU characters will be popping up in a Spider-Man movie? Dare we ask, will the odds be in their favor?
Spoilers for Marvel's comics, and the MCU, are sprinkled throughout this feature. You have been warned!
Iron Man
Iron Man and Spider-Man have many commonalities, including their genius intellect, and the two have worked together a lot in the comics after the web-slinger became a member of The Avengers. While Tony Stark has his vast armory (though it was blown up for the most part in Iron Man 3), there have been various Spidey suits introduced over the years, including some higher-tech ones of alternate realities. However, given that we most likely won’t see Spider-Man until Captain America: Civil War, which sees Stark and Steve Rogers on opposite sides of a political war of superheroes, it doesn’t seem all too likely that Iron Man would appear in a solo Spider-Man movie.
In the comics, Peter Parker originally sides with Iron Man, who believes all super-powered beings need to reveal themselves to the government and report to S.H.I.E.L.D., but he later reveals the error of his ways and switches to Cap's side. If the films follow the same trajectory, then we could see Spider-Man as a fugitive afterwards, and the fact that he’s avoiding Stark doesn’t bode too well for future Iron Man-Spider-Man crossovers.
Odds He'll Team With Spider-Man: 0/5
Captain America
Spider-Man may have switched to Cap’s side -- which also included Ant-Man, Black Panther and Nick Fury -- though rumored events seem to place their future together in jeopardy. (STOP READING HERE IF YOU WANT TO REMAIN SPOILER FREE.) In the comics, Captain America is killed, leaving the superhero world reeling. The Marvel movies are rumored to follow this same trajectory, which means our star-spangled Avenger won’t be teaming up with Spider-Man… at least, not the Chris Evans version. There’s also the likelihood that the shield will be passed down to someone worthy, perhaps either Falcon (Anthony Mackie) or Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). If that happens, then sure, why not?
Though, Cap normally doesn’t go into other heroes’ worlds. They usually come to him. If you think about it, we can actually count out any character that’s had or will have three solo movies. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans are only contracted for so many films, and it was a miracle that Marvel was able to negotiate the former into Civil War.
Odds He'll Team With Spider-Man: 0/5
Black Widow
ScarJo’s Black Widow is the most versatile member of the Avengers, with the exception of Avengers founder Nick Fury. She popped up in Iron Man 2 to help out Stark. We saw her with a prominent role in The Winter Soldier, and she was the one to recruit Bruce Banner to the Avengers in the films. Given her S.H.I.E.L.D. agent status, it’s more than possible that she delve into the Spider-Man world. Although, she was one of the characters who sided with Iron Man’s pro-superhero registration stance in the comics. It’s also unknown where she might be at the end of Age of Ultron. If the current rumor mill is to be believed, the ending will see a new superhero line-up assembled. Will Black Widow remain a part of that?
Odds She'll Team With Spider-Man: 2/5
Ant-Man
Ant-Man seems to be a likely candidate to enter the Spider-Man world. After all, both are named after bugs! Elsewhere, they share a lot of similarities: Peter Parker is traditionally younger than the other Avengers and likes to talk trash to his enemies, the latter personality trait being shared by Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang. The reformed master thief comes under the tutelage of Michael Douglas’ Hank Pym, but he doesn’t seem to lose his comedic styling. There were times when the two teamed up in the comics, as well. In one instance, they battled the villain known as Taskmaster, and on another occasion, Lang shrank Spidey and the two fought the Scarlet Beetle.
Odds They'll Team With Spider-Man: 3/5
The "Man Without Fear" is the obvious choice to include in the Spider-Man universe. Both have battled the same enemies — after the comic book events of Civil War, Peter’s Aunt May is shot by a shooter hired by the Kingpin. Another common enemy is Sin-Eater, who kills one of Peter Parker's close friends, leading him to team up with Daredevil to take him down. This would actually be a great storyline to feature, as the events here lead Spider-Man to a much darker place, emotionally, and his blind buddy has to try and prevent him from committing an egregious act of revenge.
However, Daredevil will soon hit Netflix with Charlie Cox portraying the character, and Vincent D’Onofrio playing Kingpin. While Marvel movie characters have popped up here and there in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., TV characters have yet to crossover onto the big screen. Might this be the first case?
Odds He'll Team With Spider-Man: 4/5
Thor
While we would like to see Thor plummet down from Asgard into the Spider-Man territory, let’s be real — he doesn’t do it for his fellow Avengers, so why would he bother with the newest member of the MCU? Plus, he’s got his own problems to deal with. When last we saw Loki, he was disguised as Odin and claiming the throne of Asgard for himself. This will no doubt have some impact on the events of Thor 3, which is subtitled Ragnarok, after the mythological Norse apocalypse. According to rumors, this film will be bloody and result in the devastation of the Asgardian people and the imprisonment of the God of Thunder. If he’s locked up, he can’t really make time for the friendly neighborhood spider on the wall, can he?
Odds He'll Team With Spider-Man: 0/5
Hulk
So far, it doesn’t look like Hulk will be getting his own solo movie in the MCU, but the fans definitely want to see more of him. We’ll have seen Mark Ruffalo in three Marvel films by the end of this — The Avengers, Iron Man 3 (briefly) and Avengers: Age of Ultron… unless, he somehow manages to pop up in Ant-Man, perhaps in a cut scene or something. While he could be showing up in Civil War, there are persistent rumors of Hulk getting shot into space by the end of the AoU.
We’ve already seen the big green guy go berserk on the Chitauri, but the sequel will show how easy it is for someone like Scarlet Witch to get inside his head and cause him to turn against his fellow superheroes. Stark has already foreseen the day when the Hulk would need to be put down, hence he already has the Hulkbuster armor ready to go. So before we figure out if he can somehow make his way into a Spider-Man movie, we have to figure out if he’s able to stay alive after everything is said and done.
Odds He'll Team With Spider-Man: 1/5
Captain Marvel
Though Captain Marvel hasn’t been cast yet, we know a few things that would make her a great fit for inclusion — perhaps even a cameo — in a Spider-Man movie. (1) As Carol Danvers, her home base is New York City, the same as Spidey; (2) she’s teamed up with the web-slinger and The Defenders on many occasions; and (3) she admitted in the comics to having a crush on him. Peter Parker hasn’t been lucky in love, as we just saw his first girlfriend Gwen Stacey meet her end in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. While this version of Spider-Man is looking to be another reboot of the character, we would love to see this relationship play out on the big screen. Plus, we can’t get enough of this image.
Odds She'll Team With Spider-Man: 3/5
The first solo Spider-Man movie of the MCU with producer Kevin Feige will hit theaters on July 28, 2017. So stay tuned for which characters will be joining him.
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