With the big news that Marvel and Sony have shook hands and allowed Spider-Man to play in the Marvel Cinematic Universe sandbox, comic and movie fans are pleased that such important story lines as Civil War will include the famous web slinger. But perhaps the bigger point of hope for Spidey's third cinematic origin is that something new will be brought to the table. With new opportunities come new avenues of excitement, and Marvel is set up to deliver quite a momentous occasion on the big screen, should they choose to heed the message that a good number of fans have been sending. That message: dump Peter Parker, bring on Miles Morales.
Now it may seem a bit controversial to do this, especially since Captain America: Civil War is slated to be the first MCU appearance of Spider-Man, and Peter Parker is a huge part of that story line. However, with a new Spider-Man film slated for July 28th, 2017, there's a chance we might see yet another origin tale for Peter Parker's rise to heroism. This would be the third time within fifteen years of cinematic history, coming in at a little over three years since the last entry in the series, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, underwhelmed audiences in a rather underwhelming reboot. The problem with Peter Parker returning for a possible third origin is the same problem that the second origin had: it's way too soon to be retreading the story.
We know how Peter Parker got to be Spider-Man, we've seen him befriend two different variants of Harry Osborn, and how many times do we have to watch Uncle Ben die before we as an audience say, "We get it!" Going back to Peter Parker is too safe, and it would only doom this incarnation to be compared to Sam Raimi and Marc Webb's takes on the character that have come before.
Whereas Miles Morales is a vastly unknown quantity to the movie-going public, with a rather interesting origin of his own that's ripe for adaptation.
Hardly anyone knows that he, like Peter Parker, was bitten by a radioactive spider – thanks to his uncle's theft of Oscorp material. Also, instead of being driven by a personal death, he's driven by the fact that he wants to prove the criminal past of his family name is not simply passed by blood. Peter Parker's Spider-Man ran with the theme that there's a hero in all of us, while the Miles Morales story line is one that shows one isn't born into heroism or villainy – you have to make the choice. While the franchise has decided to go back to a high school aged hero, yet again, that doesn't mean we have to read from the same old textbook.
This is exactly the kind of conflict Captain America: Civil War could use, with Miles Morales being torn between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers on the issue of superhero registration. The stakes are much higher when a story directly tied to law and order is used for the catalyst, and that's exactly the kind of story Miles Morales has. Using a different Spider-Man opens the door to all sorts of new possibilities for story lines, while at the same time giving fans the fresh blood they want in a series that's hit two dead ends in under a decade.
Spider-Man is a great hero to bring to the big screen, and his high-flying antics deserve a place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This opportunity was hard fought, and required a lot of terms and conditions to become a reality. Let's not squander the opportunity to bring something new and exciting to the big screen. The web's in your court, Marvel Studios. You can make history, or you can play it safe. Seeing as you've favored the former prospect already, it's time to finish the job.
