The internet has been exploding the last few days with the recent announcement of Alfred Molina returning in his role of Doctor Octopus in MCU's Spider-Man 3. This news followed with Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire possibly reprising their versions of Spider-Man. As more information uncovers about the upcoming Marvel movie, it guarantees that a multiverse will happen in MCU's Spider-Man 3.
Of course, this is not the first time that the audience saw a multiverse storyline on screen. Just two years ago, Sony released one of the best renditions of a Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. However, the movie does have a few flaws. As fans anticipate for Spider-Man 3's release for the next year, there are a few notes that Marvel should avoid repeating from the animated film while some ideas that they should absolutely adopt.
Should Avoid: Visually Repeating The Backstory Of Each Spider-Man Version
This repeated backstory was not an issue with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. If anything, it only added to the comic relief that each version of Spider-Man happened to have a similar backstory, and it honestly worked.
With that said, the upcoming Spider-Man 3 should avoid going into details about each rendition of Spider-Man's story. There is a reason why MCU's Spider-Man movies did not include Uncle Ben into the mix because it was shown in previous versions twice. However, the movie can benefit from a life update for each universe of Peter Parker to perhaps answers a few unsolved questions.
Should Adopt: Introducing Other Spider-Powered Superheroes
Though having different universes of Peter Parker is super cool, the multiverse should not just end there. Fans know that there is more than one version of Spider-Man (and Spider-Woman) in existence aside from Peter Parker's. Introducing different spider-powered superheroes worked for Into the Spider-Verse, adding more diverse characters and expanding the contents of the comic book.
Similarly, Spider-Man 3 could also benefit from adding more than just Peter Parker's Spider-Man. The MCU's Spider-Man already hinted that Miles Morales exists in his universe, where Spider-Man encountered Miles's uncle, Aaron Davis. It is only a matter of time that Marvel introduces different versions of Spider-Man to follow the similar steps of Into the Spider-Verse.
Should Avoid: Sidelining Other Spider-Powered Heroes
One of the few flaws that Into the Spider-Verse experienced was the lack of character arc for other spider-powered heroes like Spider-Ham and Spider-Man Noir. For Spider-Ham, he was only present for comedic relief, which undermined his character development.
If different universes of Spider-Man are to be in Spider-Man 3, they cannot just serve as cameos. A live-action version of the spider-verse will not be easy to present enough screen time and character arc for each Spider-Man. Hopefully, this issue is resolved by the makers and do justice in portraying each version.
Should Adopt: The Establishment Of The Sinister Six
Surprisingly, Into the Spider-Verse featured the Sinister Six into its storyline. The stakes were high, especially for Kingpin, who needed other supervillains to help him with his cause.
Right now, only two villains are confirmed to feature in Spider-Man 3: Electro and Doctor Octopus. However, more supervillains will likely feature, where the movie follows a similar route with the Sinister Six storyline. Whether Vulture will reappear in the sequel remains unknown, the upcoming movie may also bring in other supervillains from the previous series like Green Goblin and Sandman.
Should Avoid: Limited Backstory & Motives Of Supervillains
Though the main villain, Kingpin, had a decent backstory and legitimate motive in Into the Spider-Verse, there was little backstory and motivation by other Sinister Six members to make them formidable supervillains. The only other supervillain who had anywhere close to a developed character arc was Aaron Davis as Prowler, but his motivation for joining the Sinister Six was not thoroughly narrated.
Consequently, there is no denying that the MCU suffers from a villain problem, although the Spider-Man movies managed to fare well with its villains. Nevertheless, it will be a challenge for Marvel to develop multiple villains, such as answering how Doctor Octopus survived and how the villains are transported through the multiverse.
Should Adopt: Reference To The Spider-Man Pointing Meme
Of course, Spider-Man 3 has to have its comedy and humor. The comedy fits well with Spider-Man's young and innocent nature as a superhero. While Marvel is most certainly thinking about funny moments to add to the movie, there is one reference that fans hope will make it to the movie.
Into the Spider-Verse managed to do justice by reworking its version of the Spider-Man pointing meme with Spider-Man 2099, making it one of the more memorable scenes from the movie. Now, fans hope that a similar live-action version of the meme will appear in Spider-Man 3 to give a few laughs for the audience.
Should Avoid: Plot Holes Of The Multiverse
While Into the Spider-Verse handled the multiverse well, for the most part, there were a few issues about the multiverse that left some plot holes. Since the multiverse was unstable, most of the spider-powdered heroes were glitching. Yet, Spider-Gwen was the only one that did not glitch, leaving some questions as to why she was the exception.
While the mention of multiverse looks amazing on paper, it is also scientifically complicated. In the attempt to explain the multiverse, it would require having to cover as much science about the multiverse as possible to make the concept make sense. The answer may lay on Doctor Strange, who has the most experience with understanding science and has the brains to cover and explain the causes of the multiverse.
Should Adopt: Spidey Senses Tingling Simultaneously
In addition to the Spider-Man pointing meme, Into the Spider-Verse had another exciting moment in the movie when all the spiderlings had their spidey senses tingling at the same time. It added to the comedic relief for the movie and further illustrated how each spider-powered hero was alike in many ways, like their powers.
Luckily for Tom Holland's Spider-Man, his spidey sense is a growing and developing power that started to become advanced in Spider-Man: Far From Home. As for the other versions by Maguire and Garfield, their spidey senses are in existence. Hopefully, we can get a similar money shot moment, where all Spider-Man's senses are tingling and even become a plot point to locating each version of Spider-Man.
Should Avoid: Aunt May Going Full On MCU Alfred
When watching Into the Spider-Verse, it came as a surprise that she supported Peter Parker's responsibilities as Spider-Man with no hesitation. In a sense, she showed herself as a Marvel Alfred who maintained the Spider-Man cave. While this was pretty cool, it also goes against everything we know about Aunt May, who would be concerned with Peter as Spider-Man.
In the live-action movies, the MCU's Aunt May is the only Aunt May that ever learned about her nephew's secret. Like the animated version, she also shows approval of Peter as Spider-Man. While it is unlikely that Aunt May will go full-on Alfred as her Peter Parker is still young, Aunt May getting too comfortable with her nephew with the crime-fighting life doesn't seem to be the right path.
Should Adopt: Music Soundtrack
One of the standout elements of Into the Spider-Verse is the integration of hip-hop music into the soundtrack. It even included and brilliantly utilized original songs like "Sunflower" by Post Malone and Swae Lee.
Though Spider-Man 3 will not have original music, the movie can follow a similar style to how music plays in Guardians of the Galaxy. Tom Holland's Spider-Man is already educating himself with classic rock music in Far From Home (even if he did name the wrong band when "Back in Black" was playing). It would also be interesting to see different generations of Spider-Man and the music that they grew up to as a way to show how music changed throughout the years.