Recently, it has been announced that Sony and Disney are terminating their partnership that allowed Spider-Man to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Unfortunately for fans, this means that Spider-Man can no longer appear along various other Marvel heroes like Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, or now the Fantastic Four.
While Spider-Man’s fate remains unclear, his return to the MCU seems all the more unlikely with each passing day. Because of this, fans have begun to speculate as to who will replace the Web Head’s role on the big screen. With several other Marvel characters for Disney to choose from, they certainly have a lot of options going forward. Assuming they choose someone around the same age, here is our list of 10 teenage heroes that can replace Spider-Man in the MCU.
Kate Bishop
Like Ms. Marvel, Kate Bishop is already slated to make her live action debut. With Jeremy Reynor returning to the role of Hawkeye to train the young hero, it is only a matter of time before she comes to hold a much bigger place within the MCU. At the moment, it is unclear how Marvel will choose to portray Kate, but they could easily spin her as a replacement for Spider-Man.
Should they eventually decide to bring her into the movies, her witty, sarcastic nature would easily match that of Peter’s own, maybe even surpassing him. Despite being nowhere near as powerful as Spider-Man, Kate could still be a nice substitute for his absence.
Shuri
Shuri is already an established fan-favorite character thanks to her role in Black Panther (2018). Therefore, giving her a larger role in the MCU should be no problem. Fans have already noted similar personalities between her and Peter, and there’s no denying Shuri’s technical brilliance.
Even in the comics, Shuri eventually ascends to the mantle of Black Panther for a time while her brother is away. Though she wouldn’t exactly make the best Spider-Man, Shuri still has much to offer as a character and deserves a much bigger role within the MCU. As such, Spider-Man’s absence would be a great opportunity for her to shine and grow even further.
Squirrel Girl
Fans have been rallying for Squirrel Girl in the MCU for some time now. While she is a ridiculous character, she has also taken down the likes of both Dr. Doom and Galactus. Likewise, her lightheartedness and humor could easily be incorporated into the larger-scale MCU.
There’s no doubt that Peter brought a lot of innocence to the big screen along with some comic relief. Even though Squirrel Girl may not be very similar to Peter in other ways, she could still play the same role in the MCU. While she’s not the most ideal candidate on this list, Squirrel Girl would still make a fair substitute and easily fit in within the MCU as a whole.
Iron Lad
With both Tony Stark and Spider-Man supposedly out of the MCU, Iron Lad would actually make a great replacement for both. Nathaniel Richards is better known as Kang the Conqueror to some, and is easily one of the most powerful Marvel villains. His younger self, however, is known as the superhero, Iron Lad.
Bearing a striking resemblance to Iron Man, Iron Lad could easily fit within the MCU. Furthermore, Nate, much like Peter, often struggles with realizing his destiny, and setting his own path. Marvel has an opportunity to go a bit darker with the Iron Lad character, should they wish. Regardless of direction though, Iron Lad would be a great way to fill two roles at once.
Nova
The Nova Corp has actually already been introduced in the MCU. However, many have have been rallying for Richard Rider to get his own solo film. However, Sam Alexander, a significantly younger member of the Nova Corp., has also accomplished a lot within Marvel Comics.
Introducing Sam into the MCU would be a great way to help bridge the cosmic side of the MCU with the Earth events. Having someone like Richard Rider out in space while Sam remained on Earth would be a great way to get the best out of both characters. Sam could fill in for Spider-Man while Richard could explore the cosmos with the likes of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Though there are arguably better candidates in terms of Spider-Man’s replacement, there’s no denying the benefits that Nova could bring to the MCU.
Ms. Marvel
Those keeping up with any Disney+ news already know that Kamala Khan is set to get her own TV show. Not only will she be making her live-action debut as Ms. Marvel, but she will also exist within the main MCU, likely to crossover with the likes of Captain Marvel and the Avengers later down the line. However, Kamala would also serve as a great replacement for Peter Parker. Not only is she a younger hero, but she is also very smart.
Though she may not be as smart as Peter is, Kamala still has many other great qualities about her. She is a natural-born leader and is able to adapt to just about any given situation. Her powers are also unique and Marvel could easily use her to do the Inhumans the right way his time. If she’s going to be in the universe anyway, she may as well fill in for Spider-Man in the process.
The X-Men
With the recent acquisition of 20th Century Fox, Disney and Marvel Studios now have access to all X-Men characters. Fortunately for them, they can choose to go with any interpretation of the team that they wish. This also means that they can pull characters from any age and place them within the MCU’s timeline. Strictly speaking, the original 5 X-Men in the comics would also make a great replacement for Spider-Man.
Technically, Spidey possesses many qualities from each of the members, just rolled into one character. Beast’s brains, Cyclops’ bravery and Iceman’s humor alone would be plenty to fill the gap that Spidey’s absence would leave. Adding Jean Grey and Angel into the mix as well would only be a bonus. With the X-Men on the way anyway, many of those characters could easily fill in for the wall-crawler.
Johnny Storm
Disney didn’t just get the X-Men rights from Fox, but the Fantastic Four as well. Like the X-Men, Marvel Studios is expected to introduce Marvel’s First Family at some point in the near future. Likewise, Johnny Storm would make an excellent choice for Spider-Man’s replacement. Not only is he the youngest member of the Fantastic Four, but Johnny and Peter are incredibly close friends in the comics as well.
Their similar personalities make the Human Torch one of the best candidates to replace Spider-Man. Going beyond just that, Johnny also understands a lot of scientific workings. Though he isn’t as smart as Peter, Johnny can still prove to be a brainiac from time to time as well.
Amadeus Cho
In the comics, Amadeus Cho is easily one of the smartest people in the Marvel Universe. Not only did he recreate the accident that created the Hulk, but he tweaked some variables to ensure that he is in control of his version of the raging green monster. With a She-Hulk TV series on the way as well, it would be interesting to see how Amadeus fits into the mix.
His incredible intelligence combined with his witty humor would make him an excellent fill in for Spider-Man’s absence. While he definitely has an incredibly different powerset, the only issue with introducing Amadeus would be in that there may be too many Hulks at one time. Since it worked in the comics, however, it is easy to believe that it would work in the movies as well.
Ironheart
Riri Williams has often been rumored to make her MCU debut at some point in the near future. With Ms. Marvel getting her own TV show, many believe that Riri will likely receive the same treatment. Much like Iron Lad, Riri would make a great replacement for both Peter Parker and Tony Stark. In fact, her comic book character already strongly resembles that of the MCU’s Spider-Man.
Riri is highly intelligent, designed her own suit, has received Tony’s blessing, and is continuing to figure out how to be a hero on her own. Considering everything she has done in the comics in such a short amount of time, Ironheart could easily fill in for Spider-Man. With how easily Peter fit into the MCU, Riri would certainly have the same effect.