After over a decade of adventuring in self-contained continuities, Spider-Man is finally being added to the Marvel Cinematic Universe next month for Captain America: Civil War. Although Sony still has the Web-Slinger’s movie rights, they’re now partnered up with Marvel for his cinematic future following the lackluster performance of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and the Sony email hack. After the third Captain America installment, Sony is taking the reins on the new solo Spider-Man movie, but to keep that involvement in the MCU clear, fans can look forward to seeing a few Marvel characters appearing.
While touching on Spider-Man’s role in Captain America: Civil War, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige told EW revealed that some MCU players will show up in the Wall-Crawler’s solo adventure. As he put it:
He is in the universe now, and the fun of the universe is that characters go back and forth.
Unfortunately, Feige didn’t offer any clues as to who these individuals will be, though Captain America: Civil War co-director Joe Russo jokingly suggested the Great Lakes Avengers. There also wasn’t any indication off whether these Marvel characters will have a major role in the Spider-Man movie or simply cameo, which is common in the franchise. Given how the article describes these characters as "stalwarts," we can assume that these will be people who have already been established, as opposed to new folks from Marvel’s large library. In other words, don’t expect the Spider-Man movie to introduce someone like She-Hulk or Moon Knight.
Now that we know Spider-Man will be interacting with other MCU characters while swinging around New York City, now the speculation beings on who they will be. It was rumored four months back that Captain America and Iron Man might appear in the movie, and while the former would be great to see, the latter would make more sense. After all, Spider-Man is on Team Iron Man during Captain America: Civil War, and it appears that Tony Stark is responsible for upgrading Peter Parker’s costume. Nick Fury would also make a good candidate considering how he was a mentor to Peter in the Ultimate universe. However, since Samuel L. Jackson only has one Marvel movie left on his contract after Thor: Ragnarok, the studio probably wants to save him for Avengers: Infinity War. Whoever these folks end up being, you can bet the audience will be pleasantly surprised to see them show up.
However, the bigger question is how big of a presence these characters will have in the new Spider-Man movie? Will they just cameo at some point or be around long enough to turn the movie into a "team-up" adventure? Remember, Captain America: The Winter Soldier had Black Widow and Falcon involved, and Thor: Ragnarok will have the God of Thunder working with Hulk, so clearly Marvel isn’t shy about joining heroes together outside of the Avengers movies. Spider-Man is still getting the hang of being a superhero, so maybe he calls for back-up when one of his classic villains gets too powerful. Imagine if Iron Man blasted his way through one of Spidey’s villains or Cap threw his shield at them. Heck, if we stretch our sights a little further, imagine how cool it would be to see Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and Charlie Cox’s Daredevil fighting alongside each other. Those two had worked together plenty of times in the comics, and now would be the perfect time for them to work together in live-action.
Of course, the main con with including one, if not a few, major MCU characters is taking the attention off Spider-Man. Although this is the sixth theatrical Spider-Man movie to ever be released, it’s his first solo movie in this sprawling universe. While Spidey is a player in Captain America: Civil War, he’s not the main character, so we won’t get to in-depth with his background. The solo movie will be the first time we see what the MCU Peter Parker’s personal life is like, from attending high school to still getting the hang of crimefighting. Having someone like Iron Man or Captain America show up in anything bigger than a cameo may detract from the movie's focus.
We now live in a time where thanks to the MCU's massive success, those two, along with a few other heroes, are just as well-known as Spider-Man to the general population. If they show up, not only might it snap people out of what’s happening to Peter personally, but it also takes away from any danger he might be in. We want Spider-Man overcome these challenges by himself in a solo movie, not get someone else to do the job. If Marvel believes the same way, then these established characters will likely just drop in for a few minutes and then be on their way, and Spider-Man will get the spotlight he requires for his first movie in this grand universe.
Spider-Man’s still-unofficially titled solo movie swings into theaters on July 7, 2017. In the meantime, let us know how prominent you want these mystery Marvel characters to be in the poll and comments below.
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