Although Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are currently locked in an intense rights negotiation that could mean Spider-Man is out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for good, there’s still a slim chance that they can work something out and keep him around.
Marvel fans are still holding out hope, if only so the big twist at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home – the Daily Bugle revealing Spidey’s secret identity to the world and framing him as a murderer – can be paid off. Here are 10 Ways The MCU Might Still Pay Off Spider-Man: Far From Home’s Big Identity Twist.
Doctor Strange will wipe everyone’s memories
When this twist happened in the comics, Peter went strange to the Sanctum Sanctorum to see if Doctor Strange could wipe everybody’s memories and make his secret identity a secret again. Tom Holland has already said that he’d love to do a team-up movie with Spidey and Doctor Strange, with the comedy coming from the clash of a kid of science and a man of magic.
Plus, Strange showed some contention towards Peter in Avengers: Infinity War, proving their on-screen partnership could be a lot of fun. Stephen Strange is basically a second-rate Tony Stark (at least in the way he’s been characterized in the MCU), so it would make sense for Peter’s new mentor to be a lot like his old one.
Matt Murdock will represent Peter in court
Following Far From Home’s big plot twist, we’ll find a Peter Parker whose secret identity has been revealed and will likely need legal representation. As it just so happens, there’s a superhero in New York who wants to keep his own identity a secret and is also a fantastic lawyer: Matt Murdock.
It would all hinge on whether or not Kevin Feige wants to acknowledge the Netflix shows – or if that is even allowed, rights-wise – but if they’re going to salvage anything from those streaming series, Charlie Cox’s Daredevil would be a good starting point (to be followed by Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones).
He’ll hide out with Nick Fury in space
Perhaps Far From Home’s other big plot twist will tie into this one. During the credits, we saw the Daily Bugle reveal Spider-Man to be a murderer named Peter Parker. After the credits, we saw that Nick Fury hadn’t really been there the whole time and was instead the Skrull character Talos in disguise, while the real Fury was hanging out on a command ship in deep space.
Maybe Peter will go and hide out with Fury in space while he waits for the heat to die down – it would be a great way to deal with the fact that Peter spent a movie with a Fury who turned out to not really be Fury.
Jen Walters will represent Peter in court
In the comics, Jen Walters (a.k.a. She-Hulk) is a lawyer who often represents her fellow superheroes when they’re taken to court. In one storyline, she helped Peter Parker to sue J. Jonah Jameson for libel. Since Jameson has just reported some fake news about Peter’s role in Mysterio’s evil plan, there’s a good chance this storyline will be used in the next Spider-Man movie (if there is a next Spider-Man movie).
With Marvel announcing the other day that She-Hulk would be joining the MCU via her own Disney+ streaming series, this theory seems to be shaping up to be true.
Mac Gargan will send his guys after Peter
In the mid-credits scene of Spider-Man: Homecoming, we saw Mac Gargan in prison telling Adrian Toomes that he had some guys on the outside who were willing to murder Spider-Man. All they needed to know to get those wheels in motion was what his real name was. And now, thanks to the Daily Bugle’s dangerous reporting of fake news, they have that information.
So, it would make sense for the third Spider-Man solo movie to follow this up with Gargan sending his guys to go and kill Peter. It would be a good way to show the immediate effects of the twist and also tie it into an earlier reveal.
He’ll be hunted by Kraven the Hunter
Director Jon Watts has already said that he wants to make Kraven the Hunter the villain in a potential third Spider-Man solo movie. His whole thing is that he enjoys the challenge of the hunt, and he wants the thrill of “the greatest game.”
Traditionally, this means hunting down humans, but for Kraven the Hunter, it means hunting down one person in particular: Spider-Man. And now that he knows who Spider-Man is, thanks to the Daily Bugle, the hunt can begin. Kraven the Hunter will be an interesting casting challenge: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Gerard Butler, Javier Bardem, Joel Edgerton – there are plenty of suitable picks.
Norman Osborn will use it as a platform to get elected Mayor of New York
With a Thanos-sized hole to fill, some Marvel fans have been expecting the MCU to introduce Norman Osborn as its new big bad. He doesn’t have the physical power that Thanos had, but as a shady business mogul sitting on a mountain of money, he does have plenty of power.
The Spider-Man identity reveal will likely bring out that old “Hero or menace!?” debate among New Yorkers. Osborn could use this as leverage in a campaign to become the Mayor of New York, with his first order of business being to track down Spidey and make him pay for his “crimes.”
Mysterio faked his death
Many Marvel Comics fans saw the twist that Mysterio was actually a villain coming from a mile away, because he’s a villain in the comics and his whole thing is creating realistic-looking illusions. Perhaps a twist that no one can see coming is that Mysterio isn’t really dead, and he faked his death in London.
He might still be working with J. Jonah Jameson. If the MCU is building towards the introduction of the Sinister Six, then it wouldn’t make sense to kill off Mysterio just one movie in. They left the Vulture alive; maybe they left Mysterio alive, too, and just didn’t tell us.
The Vulture will help him out
In the mid-credits scene of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Adrian Toomes had an opportunity to sell out Spidey. Mac Gargan asked him if he knew Spidey’s secret identity and Toomes pretended he didn’t know it, possibly to save Spidey for himself, but more likely to protect him.
So, with Peter Parker now facing the heat, perhaps a newly released Toomes will have a change of heart and choose to help him out. It’s very unlikely, but Peter has always been a guy who sees the good in people, even his enemies, so it would be nice to see him be right about that for once.
The Sinister Six will be founded on knowing Spidey’s identity
The producers of Spider-Man: Far From Home were very insistent that their movie wasn’t building towards the introduction of the Sinister Six in the months leading up to its release. And while that movie didn’t expressly set up the Sinister Six, it’s hard not to expect to see the team of supervillains dedicating to destroying Spider-Man at some point.
The greatest obstacle to this team has always been that they didn’t know who Spider-Man was or where they could find him unless they created some disruption that forced him to come out and rescue civilians. Now, they know his name, where he lives, where he goes to school – he’s screwed!