The cat's out of the bag now. Despite Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige originally stating that Sony's upcoming Spider-Man spinoffs Venom and Silver & Black would not be connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sony's Amy Pascal revealed this past weekend that these spinoffs will actually exist within that continuity. Now fans don't have to worry about Tom Hardy's Venom, Black Cat and Silver Sable not being connected to Tom Holland's Spider-Man. These characters may not be major players in the MCU as a whole, but at least it's confirmed that they're running around in it.
Now that we know Sony's Spider-Man spinoff will have at least a few ties to the Spider-Man: Homecoming series, that opens the door for even more spinoffs down the proverbial road; ones that either wouldn't have been possible if Peter Parker didn't exist or would have not made for interesting stories if the studio tried to work around his absence. Here are the five spinoffs we hope Sony puts into development soon.
Miles Morales
Miles Morales has enjoyed a lot of popularity in the six years since he was introduced, from being featured in the Ultimate Spider-Man TV series to being one of the few holdovers from the Ultimate universe post-Secret Wars. He's even leading his own animated movie that will be released in December 2018, but why stop there with his big screen exposure? Despite Tom Holland's willingness to play Peter Parker for two decades, it's hard to imagine the original Webbed Wonder staying part of the MCU for that long. Fortunately, Marvel and Sony have another Spider-Man to take Peter's place once he's gone. Spider-Man has become a legacy hero in the comics, so it would be easy enough to pass the mask to another aspiring young do-gooder with spider-abilities to keep the name living on. Even better, Miles has a few unique abilities to further distinguish himself from Peter, like a venom blast and camouflage mode.
Silk
Like Miles Morales, Silk is a newer addition to the Spider-Man mythos. She was bitten by the same spider that bit Peter Parker, giving her similar abilities as Spider-Man (though her Spider-sense is much stronger). Even though Peter Parker's origin story isn't being told in the MCU, he still obtained his powers in the same way, and while the MCU might not want that same spider to have bitten someone else, the franchise could take an Ultimate approach with Silk by having her be bitten by another genetically-altered spider modeled after the original. Regardless of how she becomes Spider-like, Silk would be an amazing (pun intended) hero to add to Spider-Man's corner of the MCU without going too deeply into convoluted comic book elements. And unlike Peter, Silk, a.k.a. Cindy Moon, was trapped in a bunker for years before becoming Silk, so we would also be watching a young adult become acclimated to modern society.
Scarlet Spider
Longtime Spider-Man fans know that the character has a complicated history with cloning thanks to Dr. Miles Warren, a.k.a. The Jackal. Peter's most famous clone is arguably Ben Reilly, who served as Spider-Man for a good chunk of the 1990s, but is better known as The Scarlet Spider. While Ben has recently been turned into an anti-hero in the comics, he has enough heroic background that he would make a worthy addition to the MCU. Not to mention that if Peter Parker were to be killed off in the MCU, this is the way to ensure Tom Holland could continue participating in the franchise. Of course, the only way for Scarlet Spider to appear in the MCU is if The Jackal ends up being a villain in one of the Spider-Man: Homecoming movies, so fingers crossed that the demented scientist shows up.
Prowler
The Prowler doesn't have spider-abilities, but he's been an important character in the Spider-Man family since the 1970s. Hobie Brown puts his mechanical skills to work as a thief after he was fired from his job, but after a few tussles with Spider-Man, the Web-Slinger urged Hobie not to throw his life away by becoming a criminal.Taking that advice to heart, Hobie has since used The Prowler guise primarily for good. Rather than depend on superpowers, Prowler relies on his inventive mind to fight crime. His arsenal includes a variety of projectiles, sharpened gauntlets and other creations that make him dangerous to anyone threatening the innocent. He may not be able to do whatever a spider can, but if spun out properly, Prowler is interesting enough to lead his own adventures.
Sinister Six
Back when Sony was attempting to build a cinematic universe for the Amazing Spider-Man series, one of the spinoffs in development was Sinister Six, centered around the team that's tried to kill Spider-Man on numerous occasions. The Sinister Six movie was cancelled once Spidey was moved to the MCU, but now that Sony's new spinoffs exist in that same continuity, perhaps it's time to revive the project. Admittedly, this would be the hardest of the spinoffs to pull off, because without any Spider-Man involvement, these villains aren't that compelling to watch. But with the right creative mind at the helm (maybe bring Drew Goddard back?) and a brilliant idea, a Sinister Six movie could be something truly special for the superhero movie genre, specifically by handling the super villain-centric approach better than Suicide Squad did.
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