Spider-Man: Far From Home Theory - Spider-Woman Is On Nick Fury's Team

Spider-Man: Far From Home can introduce Jessica Drew a.k.a. Spider-Woman into the MCU as a member of Nick Fury's mysterious team. Spider-Woman is a tricky character to bring to the big screen for a variety of reasons, but now Samuel L. Jackson is set for the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming, Marvel may finally have their way in.

The post-credits scene of Avengers: Infinity War revealed that Nick Fury and Maria Hill are back in action, working for an as-yet-unidentified organization. It seems to be some sort of S.H.I.E.L.D. analogue; Fury is able to use their resources to monitor Tony Stark, and they have satellites monitoring former S.H.I.E.L.D. hotspots like Wakanda. Whatever the truth may be, whether this is a resurgent S.H.I.E.L.D. or a whole new agency serving the same purpose, it's clearly important to the future of the MCU. Fury and Hill are confirmed as the major MCU cameos for Spider-Man: Far From Home, setting them up for a major role in Phase 4.

But with Fury and Hill teaming up with Spider-Man in his next solo movie, Marvel has a unique opportunity to introduce one of Fury's closest allies. It's time to meet the MCU version of Jessica Drew, better known to the world as Spider-Woman.

This Page: Spider-Woman's SHIELD Links & Her Complicated Movie Rights
Page 2: Could Spider-Woman Be In Spider-Man: Far From Home?

Spider-Woman Has Strong Links To SHIELD And Other MCU Organizations

Spider-Woman ready to fight, her costume tattered, in Marvel Comics

There have been several heroes known as Spider-Woman - so many that Spider-Man has quipped about wishing he got the royalties for the name - but the classic is undoubtedly Jessica Drew. She was the first Spider-Woman and, amusingly enough, she was created so Marvel could acquire the trademark. When DC Comics introduced "Power Girl," Lee realized it wouldn't be hard for the rival publisher to gender-swap Spider-Man. Archie Goodwin and Marie Severin were tasked with creating a one-off character simply to ensure that wasn't possible, but to Marvel's surprise they did such a good job that the hero was soon starring in a book of her own.

Jessica Drew's origin has been rewritten several times. In Goodwin's version, she was a super-evolved spider; in Marv Wolfman's, a teenager who was injected with an experimental spider-based serum in order to save her life. The most recent version suggests that Jessica's parents were both scientists and that her mother's womb was bombarded by a laser-beam containing the DNA of several different spiders. Whatever version of the origin you're going by, Jessica's story continued with her being captured and brainwashed by Hydra. It was only when Hydra sent her after Nick Fury himself that Spider-Woman began to regain control of her own mind. She's since been treated as one of Marvel Comics' premiere super-spies, working for organizations as diverse as S.H.I.E.L.D., Hydra, and S.W.O.R.D. There was even a long period when she was a private eye, an amusing nod to the fact her surname was lifted from the fictional detective "Nancy Drew".

Jessica has all the standard superhero powers; superhuman strength, speed, agility, and endurance. Her senses are heightened enough that she can tell the difference between a human and an android doppelganger at a glance, and she can wall-crawl like Spider-Man. But Jessica also has powers that Peter doesn't; she can generate a powerful "venom blast" and releases pheromones that manipulate people around her. Needless to say, those powers make Spider-Woman a superb spy. But what's most exciting is her links to some of the MCU's big-hitting organizations... although that has also caused problems in the past.

Spider-Woman's Movie Rights Are Complicated

Despite being a character with so much potential, there's been a major block on bringing Jessica Drew to the big screen. Simply put, Spider-Woman's film rights are surprisingly complicated. Although she's rarely been associated with Peter Parker in the comics, when Marvel first sold the Spider-Man rights to Sony they included some of the Spider-Woman license too. As a result, Jessica's rights are actually shared between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures; Sony can depict Jessica as Spider-Woman, with her associated super-powers, while Marvel can "only use her without any Spider-Man-related elements." That means neither studio can use Spider-Woman as a character in her entirety, perhaps explaining why Sony hasn't chosen to invest in Jessica Drew as one of their spinoff films.

Of course, that situation has changed recently. In 2015, Marvel and Sony reached an unprecedented deal in order to bring Tom Holland's wall-crawler into the MCU. Given both studios are involved in the current Spider-Man solo films, this may be the only opportunity we'll ever have to see a fully-fledged, comic-book-accurate Spider-Woman on the big screen. That perhaps makes it significant that key elements of Spider-Woman's lore are falling into place in Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Page 2 of 2: Could Spider-Woman Be In Spider-Man: Far From Home?

Spider-Man: Far From Home Has A Spider-Woman Shaped Hole

The first suggestion that Spider-Woman could make her movie debut in Spider-Man: Far From Home came from reports that Marvel and Sony were casting a "femme fatale" for the movie. There were several candidates, but one of the most fitting would be Jessica Drew. Kevin Feige later clarified the speculation, stating "That was a misleading minor casting search. None of those rumors are true at all." While that could be taken as a resolute debunking, his wording doesn't necessarily mean the character couldn't crop up - just that they're not a key player.

Indeed, from what little we know about Spider-Man: Far From Home to date Spider-Woman would certainly be a good fit. First there's the fact that the film is partially set in London. That's where Spider-Woman made her debut in the comics, although she didn't stick around long; by the end of Spider-Woman #2 she was whisked away to the United States by a friendly sorcerer.

More significantly, though, Spider-Woman has strong ties to Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. In her original 1970s series, Hydra attempted to manipulate Jessica into assassinating Fury. The character slipped into the background for several decades, only really being given another chance by Brian Bendis in the 2000s. Bendis revealed that she'd become one of Fury's best agents, reporting to him personally even when he was disavowed as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Spider-Woman essentially became Fury's operative in the Avengers.

It's also worth noting that, while Spider-Woman has traditionally been a distinct property from Spider-Man, that began to change in 2014. Dan Slott's "Spider-Verse" event saw every Spider-character ever united in battle against Morlun and the Inheritors - including, notably, Jessica Drew. It served as the launchpad for a new Spider-Woman series, with Jessica getting an updated costume in short order. Since then, Jessica's comic book adventures have orbited Spider-Man's, and her book even had a crossover with Spider-Gwen and Silk. So it would now be appropriate for Spider-Woman to be introduced - or at least set up - in a Spider-Man movie.

What Could Spider-Woman's Role in the MCU Be?

So, all things considered, if the femme fatale role is Jessica Drew, then it's likely we'd get Spider-Woman introduced as a minor character in Spider-Man: Far From Home. She could already be a master-spy, working alongside Nick Fury, perhaps even reporting to him as one of his agents in London. It's even possible that she already has powers; Ant-Man & the Wasp already confirmed that there have been super-powered operatives working alongside S.H.I.E.L.D. for years without the knowledge of the Avengers. Her costume design could easily draw inspiration from the outfit she's worn more recently in the costumes, put together by Kris Anka; that would suit the aesthetic of the MCU rather more effectively than the traditional figure-hugging costume.

However, if it is a small role, what'd be more likely would be a simple cameo establishing Jessica a la Hawkeye in Thor before giving her a bigger part in the future. There's a lot of potential for Spider-Woman in the MCU as an associate of Nick Fury and beyond, although at present those rights issues mean she'd surely be reserved for Spidey films - Spider-Man 3 would presumably release in 2021.

This is, at the end of the day, just a theory - one that may not have much impact on the film even if it's true. And, with Spider-Man: Far From Home bringing many villains to the MCU, there may not be room for Jessica Drew, while Spider-Woman's rights issues may run deeper than we realize. Still, all the pieces would seem to be in place should Marvel want it - they just need to take the leap.