Marvel Studios shares Spider-Man with Sony Pictures, but the latter studio ultimately has final say with how the wall-crawler is handled. That makes it incredibly difficult for Kevin Feige to use Peter Parker in anything other than his own franchise and the odd Avengers movie.
In this summer's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Tom Holland's web-slinger will team up with Jon Bernthal's The Punisher. So far, the MCU's Frank Castle has appeared exclusively in TV-MA content like Daredevil: Born Again and The Punisher: One Last Kill, a far cry from Spidey's PG-13 franchise.
Recently, Holland said he would "love to pop up in one of [Punisher's] shows" and added that he wants to "see what an R-rated version of Spider-Man looks like." With that in mind, we've singled out five comic book stories that would be perfectly suited to a potential R-rated story featuring the two characters.
Will it happen? We doubt it, but we can always hope! For now, check out these potential R-rated Spider-Man and Punisher stories by clicking the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.
5. Omega Effect
During Mark Waid and Chris Samnee's Daredevil run, Matt Murdock gets his hands on the Omega Drive, a device with information on all the Marvel Universe's crime families. Now a target of several crime syndicates, the Man Without Fear enlists help from Spider-Man and The Punisher.
Frank Castle wants access to the Omega Drive, viewing it as an invaluable tool in his war on crime. On a side note, the drive is made from a tattered "4" logo from one of the Fantastic Four's costumes; the unstable molecules make it perfect for storing endless streams of data.
The story did a terrific job of exploring the dynamic between these characters, particularly the disdain Spidey has for The Punisher's approach to dealing with criminals. Daredevil and The Punisher are TV-MA/R-rated characters in the MCU, so this blockbuster tale would be a perfect way to throw Spider-Man into that setting.
4. The Punisher Strikes Twice
In Gerry Conway, Ross Andru, and John Romita Sr.'s Amazing Spider-Man #129, we were introduced to The Punisher. Frank believes the wall-crawler is a bad guy worthy of his lethal form of justice, and a fight ensues, which sees the Jackal also enter the fray.
When all is said and done, the vigilantes go their separate ways, with The Punisher vowing to take revenge on Jackal for attempting to manipulate him. At the very least, we expect Destin Daniel Cretton to recreate the image above in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Looking beyond that, if the wall-crawler is somehow framed as a "menace" moving forward, it could force Frank to step in and decide that he needs to deal with the web-spinner. The story could take place primarily from his point of view, with Spidey framed as a threat that the vigilante believes only he can end.
3. Does Whatever A Spider Can
In Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's Marvel Knights Punisher #2, Spidey is pulled into a violent, wacky team-up with Frank as the third man in a battle between Frank and The Russian (who has been resurrected with his head on a buxom woman's body).
Poor Peter finds himself eventually used as a human shield by The Punisher. While he takes a beating and is KO'd, Frank realises he can use one of Spider-Man's web-shooters and sprays it in The Russian's mouth.
He chokes and falls to his death, and when Peter wakes up, he's completely unaware of what just happened. It's a fun sequence and one we could see loosely adapted if Spider-Man made a cameo in a solo project starring Frank. Plus, it's the kind of thing that could only really work in an R-rated project that doesn't treat Spider-Man with the expected reverence.
2. Shoot-Out In Central Park
The second time Spider-Man and The Punisher crossed paths came in Amazing Spider-Man #135. The wall-crawler is busy battling Tarantula, and, yet again, Frank mistakes the superhero for a supervillain deserving of a bullet.
He soon realises that he's been duped, and we get a good 'ol-fashioned team-up as these two put their differences aside to stop Tarantula. The villain is confirmed to appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, meaning it's possible that he could show up elsewhere in the MCU with Sony's permission.
There's not a great deal of material to mine from this specific story beyond that initial misunderstanding and Frank's battle with Tarantula. Still, the groundwork is there to pick up with some loose threads from the wall-crawler's next movie and give Spider-Man a minor role in an R-rated story.
1. Headlines
Carl Potts and David Ross' Die Hard-inspired two-parter in Punisher War Journal #14 and #15 would make for a great premise in a movie or TV series. When a group of Neo-Nazis invade The Daily Bugle, Mary Jane Watson is caught in the crossfire.
Spider-Man and The Punisher reluctantly team up to try and save the hostages in a compelling self-contained tale. Ultimately, it drives home how differently they approach being "heroes," and this is the type of grounded story that would work perfectly for a future Punisher project.
Crucially, this could be a Frank-centric story that Spider-Man is briefly inserted into when their worlds collide. Similar to The Punisher's cameo in Daredevil: Born Again, Peter Parker can be an effective foil for the anti-hero, finding himself trying to do the right thing in a much darker, far more mature setting.