Disney's acquisition of Fox meant that Marvel Studios regained the rights to the thousands of characters from the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises. Believe it or not, though, there are still over 900 heroes and villains who remain off limits to them due to the fact that Sony Pictures own Spider-Man and everyone associated with the web-slinger.
We anticipate Tom Holland's Peter Parker remaining part of the MCU moving forward, but if the past few years have proven anything, it's that there are no guarantees the deal will remain in place. Perhaps the biggest shame, however, is that Marvel Studios can't pick and choose the characters they want.
With that in mind, we couldn't help but consider the many heroes and villains tied to the wall-crawler who would be much better off if they called the same world as The Avengers home. If Marvel Studios could get their hands back on this lot, their respective futures would look considerably brighter, while the impact they might have on the MCU would be significant.
So, to find out which characters we want to see back at Marvel Studios, hit the "Next" button below!
10. Spider-Gwen
Spider-Gwen (or Spider-Woman/Ghost-Spider as she's since become known) is a character who is clearly set to continue making an impact in the Spider-Verse franchise. However, imagine how great a Disney+ series or live-action movie could be.
If anyone could successfully bring her into the same world as Tom Holland's web-slinger, it would be Kevin Feige. He's more than capable of spearheading an entire stable of Spidey spinoffs. Sony, on the other hand, has proved it isn't...look no further than Morbius' post-credits scene for proof of that.
We'd love to see a powered-up Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man 4 but, as thing stand, more spider-powered heroes in the MCU looks incredibly unlikely.
9. Silver Sable
Silver Sable was going to be put into a movie alongside Black Cat, but Silver & Black was ultimately scrapped. Sony is reportedly developing a solo outing that no one really needs or wants, but that doesn't feel like the best use for this character.
Sable makes for a much better supporting player, and seeing her fight alongside the new Black Widow, for example, would be infinitely more gratifying than whatever else is currently planned for her. This is a character who can actually operate perfectly well without the web-slinger and she'd make one heck of an impact in the MCU.
As Black Cat's partner in crime, though? That's a hard pass from us.
8. Mayday Parker
We're now in the midst of the Multiverse Saga, and that obviously opens the door to alternate timelines and different realities. Some of those have already been explored, of course, though we're sure countless others will also be featured moving forward.
In an ideal world, that will mean meeting Peter Parker's future daughter, Mayday Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Girl. Sony could do something with the hero, but we wouldn't get to see future versions of The Avengers or what could one day become of the MCU.
Still, if the other Spider-Men return, there's always a chance we'll discover that Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man has a daughter.
7. Venom
There's still a very good chance that, at some point over the next few years, we will see Spider-Man cross paths with Venom. On the one hand, that's easy to get excited about but on the other...well, it could be Sony in charge!
Spider-Man: No Way Home's mid-credits scene may have sent Eddie Brock back to his own world, but he left a piece of the symbiote behind. We're not sure how that will get from Mexico to New York, but there's always a chance it could cross paths with an Eddie Variant in the MCU, meaning Spider-Man 4 finally pits the web-slinger against one of his greatest foes.
That may be wishful thinking on our part, of course, but it would be nice seeing the MCU's take on this iconic villain.
6. Scarlet Spider
"The Clone Saga" frankly isn't something Sony should ever consider tackling without Marvel Studios' help. The heavy-handed, nonsensical way they tried to set up the Sinister Six in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 proves that, and while we're intrigued to see Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's take, Ben Reilly deserves the live-action treatment.
Bringing Ben into the MCU would be a fascinating way to expand Spidey's legacy and while Miles Morales is a great character, it would be far more interesting to find out what becomes of Peter Parker when you take everything from him.
Seeing as Tom Holland could play Ben, there's a chance this story will play out in the MCU. We're not banking on it, though.
5. Mister Negative
The Spider-Man video game mostly proved that Mister Negative isn't really a character you build an entire story around (things didn't get really good until Doctor Octopus showed up) but he's still someone who could bring a lot to any movie or TV show.
Mister Negative doesn't actually have to be tied to Spider-Man in any way and could instead make for a far more effective villain in any number of other properties. A future Shang-Chi movie springs to mind, though with the underworld being explored in the likes of Hawkeye and Echo, this villain could make a big impact anywhere in the MCU.
Knowing Sony, though, he'll soon have his own, wholly unnecessary solo movie.
4. Black Cat
Like Silver Sable, Black Cat is now expected to get her own movie, but the fact she's going to be part of a world where Spider-Man doesn't exist is a crying shame. The two characters have a storied history on the page, and that's something we'd have loved to see play out on the big screen.
Exploring their romance in the MCU would be a must, while a redemption arc for Felicia Hardy could have even led to her joining the ranks of A-Force if and when that female-led Avengers spinoff happens.
Despite her close ties to Peter Parker, Felicia could hold her own in a solo outing, though we think her story would work perfectly on Disney+, for example. That's never going to happen, though we'd say there's a chance she could appear in the MCU at some point.
3. Morbius
Morbius was a f***ing disaster, so do we really need to say any more?
We will, though, as the Living Vampire could have greatly benefitted from being part of the MCU. For starters, with Blade set to be introduced in the not-too-distant future, this character could have very easily tied into his return, pitting two Oscar-winners against each other in Mahershala Ali and Jared Leto.
As a Spider-Man villain, we'd argue that Morbius is C-List at best, but as a supporting player in Blade or one of the many other supernatural stories Marvel Studios looks set to tell in Phase 5 and beyond.
2. Silvermane
Silvio Manfredi has frequently clashed with Spider-Man, but he doesn't necessarily need to be a Spider-Man villain. A fierce crime lord with a robotic body, who wouldn't want to see him clash with heroes like Moon Knight, Daredevil, and Echo?
Marvel Studios is embracing the supernatural heading into Phase 5 but we're also getting a lot of street-level superheroes, so there are a lot of places he could make an impact in the MCU.
As The Kingpin's right-hand man is one idea that instantly springs to mind, especially with Daredevil: Born Again on the horizon (a series that could quite easily revolve around Wilson Fisk seeking out the Lifeline Tablet.
1. Green Goblin
Despite what we saw in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the priority for Marvel Studios appears to be focusing on villains who haven't been seen on the big screen before. However, there was a time when fans were convinced that Norman Osborn was the mysterious "Benefactor" first referenced in Ant-Man and The Wasp.
We now know that the MCU doesn't even have a Norman so this is, simply put, never going to happen.
However, had Marvel Studios had access to the villain from the start, the mind boggles at what they could have done with him. Dark Reign instantly springs to mind, as does his stint leading the Dark Avengers. Ultimately, though, we can't complain too much about what we saw from the Variant played by Willem Dafoe!