Much has been said about Spider-Man's role in the MCU as we head deeper into the Multiverse Saga and, if recent rumours are to be believed, Tom Holland will be a huge part of this franchise for a very long time.
Spider-Man remains Marvel's crown jewel and while Sony Pictures owns the rights to the hero, we're not exactly shocked that Disney is pulling out all the stops to keep the wall-crawler front and centre. Spider-Man 4 is on the horizon as are Avengers: Doomsday, Avengers: Secret Wars, and the Mutant Saga.
In this feature, we're exploring some of the most exciting possibilities for Peter Parker in the MCU; starting with his role alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes and delving into possible suits, storylines, and the Doom of it all, Spidey's future looks bright.
You can read through this feature by clicking on the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.
6. Leading The Avengers
Peter Parker found a new sense of responsibility in Spider-Man: No Way Home and, after his experiences alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes, successfully led his fellow Spider-Men into battle.
The wall-crawler assembling team in a world without The Avengers feels like a positive next step for the character, particularly now he's older and coming into his own as a superhero (and, crucially, he's also no longer under Iron Man's shadow).
Whether it's a younger team made up of names like Ms. Marvel and Hawkeye or we see him bring some fan-favourites back into the fold for the fight of a lifetime, we can't wait to see his dynamic with the team...especially now they no longer know who's beneath the mask!
Thinking about it, perhaps he's more likely to fight The Avengers.
5. The Black Suit
Regardless of whether Tom Hardy's Venom ends up factoring into Spider-Man 4, we can surely all agree it's time for Peter Parker to don the alien suit.
Given what he's been through, the web-slinger should absolutely head down a darker path and the Symbiote whispering in his ear is the way to go. Even if this suit only makes it into Avengers: Secret Wars - something we're sure the Russo Brothers are keen on - the ramifications that has for the future are massive.
For starters, Marvel Studios can introduce its own Venom and perhaps even keep Peter in the suit heading into Spider-Man 5 for a proper adaptation of this time in his life (which, let's face it, Spider-Man 3 whizzed through in a mostly unsatisfying manner).
If done right, this will be...wait for it...spectacular.
4. A Street-Level Adventure
Right now, it seems the door has closed on Spider-Man 4 being a street-level story revolving around Peter Parker and Daredevil taking down New York City's Mayor, Wilson Fisk (a.k.a. the Kingpin of Crime).
We're here to tell you that's not the worst thing in the world. In fact, it might be for the best.
Daredevil: Born Again season 2 needs to come out before this team-up happens and there's no way for that to become a reality before July 2026. So, just hold off and tell this story post-Avengers: Secret Wars. The Kingpin can still be a problem and, by then, Spidey may have gotten the Multiverse out of his system.
There's room to tell a street-level story with Spider-Man in the MCU, but patience is likely to be key. The fact Tom Holland is sticking around also makes us hopeful that he'll eventually meet the Fantastic Four!
3. A Multiversal Superhero
Spider-Man: Homecoming told a "Friendly Neighborhood" story but Peter Parker has since grown well beyond Queens. He's fought monsters (well, projections) overseas, travelled into outer space alongside The Avengers, and headed into the Multiverse of Madness.
Between Spider-Man: No Way Home and the Spider-Verse franchise, Sony Pictures knows there's a huge appeal to seeing the wall-crawler in that realm.
As a result, it could be that moving forward, Tom Holland's Spidey does embark primarily on Multiverse-related adventures. It's worked well for the character on the page and, if it results in him sharing the screen with Spider-Man 2099, Spider-Gwen, and Miles Morales, should we really complain?
This runs the risk of being a Spider-Verse retread but, if it happens, in Kevin Feige we trust...
2. The Anchor Being
If the rumours and theories are true, Spider-Man is the MCU's "Anchor Being." We know from Deadpool & Wolverine that, when one of those dies, it's bad news for a universe so...is it bad news for Peter Parker?
Not necessarily. Instead, it makes him perhaps the most important character in the next Avengers movies and suggests one - if not both - of those will be built around Spider-Man. No fan of the character can complain about that!
Peter's previous run-in with the Multiverse and his Variants is bound to come into play and the fact a spell was cast that made the world forget him is another plot point we'll surely see revisited.
Crucially, if an Incursion is about to befall Earth-616, Spider-Man's new status quo puts him on a collision course with...
1. Doom
Spider-Man and Doctor Doom have crossed paths many times over the years, but to say they have a storied history is untrue. However, the MCU looks set to change that by giving Victor Von Doom the face of Peter Parker's beloved mentor, Tony Stark.
We're still not 100% sold on that but it's bound to come into play here; Robert Downey Jr. is playing Victor rather than an evil Iron Man but there must be a connection between the two and Marvel Studios can exploit that to tell a great story.
What happens when your father figure returns from the dead as a maniacal villain hellbent on ruling the Multiverse? Will he have his own history with Peter or is Spider-Man going to be who he has to kill to destroy Earth-616?
We have many questions and while we'd have been happier exploring the relationship between Reed Richards and Doom, this is something new and there's always room for that in a future story. Plus, Spidey battling Doom sounds like fun to us.
Many thanks to Instagram's @arifinity_ for the banner image!