With great power comes great responsibility; that responsibility has become a little too much for Disney to handle, at least according to Sony. The studio yanked Spider-Man back and one of Marvel's most popular superheroes is now back in the previously empty, dark, and cold chest cavity of Sony. While this made some Spider-fans quite angry, there really isn't much we can do about that than to look on the bright side.
So we're here to weigh Peter Parker's new ventures back in the original studio which popularized Spider-Man films. Some of them are worth looking forward to but that doesn't mean there isn't any reason why we want him back in Disney's hands. We present you 10 polarizing reasons (five for Sony and five for Disney) so you can decide for yourself which friendly neighborhood Spider-Man really belongs in.
AVENGERS (FOR DISNEY)
Let's not forget one of the most obvious reasons why Spider-Man is more suited for the MCU: the Avengers. He was and will always be, a member of the Earth's mightiest heroes. It's where Spider-Man fits right in seamlessly both in the films and comic books.
There is also the fact that we have gotten used to seeing Spider-Man among the Avengers that it would feel empty now that Sony retracted him back. It just so happens that we lost a good number of Avengers thanks to Thanos and Spider-Man could have made that void less upsetting. Well, not anymore.
VENOM (FOR SONY)
Now that he's back in Sony's more mature take on superheroes, Spider-Man can now be pitted against Venom with better justification. After all, it was Spider-Man who essentially gave birth to Venom... figuratively, and Venom owes a lot to him. How Tom Hardy's morbidly serious Venom will interact with Tom Holland's cheery and youthful Spider-Man remains to be seen or probably won't even happen anytime soon.
There might not even be plans about that but that would be absurd and a missed opportunity for Sony. Hopefully, they figure it out because Spider-Man on his own enclosed movie and without other characters from their own intellectual property has already been exhausted to heck and back. As it is, Venom is now the closest thing Spider-Man has to a friend in Sony.
SPIDER-MAN WAS IRON MAN'S HEIR APPARENT (FOR DISNEY)
Numerous memes have already been made about this glaring continuity hole for Spider-Man. Regardless, we'll reiterate the internet's sentiments: what of Tony Stark? The billionaire-playboy-turned-Avenger played a huge part in Spider-Man's development into his own superhero.
Oh, and what of the Iron Spider suit or the built-in computer? Is Sony just going to sweep those under a rug and make Spider rely on his Spider-senses exclusively again? What Disney established between Iron Man and Spider-Man is somewhat irreplaceable especially with Holland continuing the same Peter Parker for Sony. Besides, he was supposed to be Tony's replacement in the Avengers.
INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE SHOWED SONY'S POTENTIAL (FOR SONY)
The current critically best Spider-Man film (based on Rotten Tomatoes) is not the Far From Home or the Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2; it's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. For that matter, we believe Sony can and will try to emulate the success Into the Spider-Verse has brought.
It has seemingly given them newfound confidence in doing Spider-Man once again. If the continuation of Holland-Spider-Man is anything like Into the Spider-Verse in terms of quality and spirit but with live-action, then we just might get a big fat awesome consolation.
THE DISNEY TRILOGY (FOR DISNEY)
Based on Spider-Man: Far From Home's ending and the post-credits scene, Disney was up to something. It was something big-- now everyone knows who Spider-Man is and Nick Fury wasn't himself. It's too bad we'll never know what comes directly after that since Disney couldn't agree with Sony (or vice versa).
MCU's Spider-Man is now a suspended plot, something that might never get resolved properly without a third film made by the same studio. Sony could technically still continue the story since Holland has a couple more Spider-Man films left in his contract but good luck with tying that up.
THEY COULD EXPLORE OTHER SPIDER-MEN (FOR SONY)
What Sony could do is pull a Spider-Verse; that is, use a different Spider-Man instead should they want to reboot (again). Because if anything, Tom Holland's Spider-Man would not look right in Sony's own enclosed film universe. If they push that, there's a chance it would flop miserably trying to tie plot after plot which the MCU started.
Thankfully, the time might soon be getting ripe for Sony to introduce another Spider-Man like Miles Morales. If handled well, that would be a clever spin on the franchise. Still, it would present another problem since Holland still has a contract for several more films.
DISNEY KNOWS HOW TO MAKE HIM FUN (FOR DISNEY)
Once he puts on the mask, Spider-Man is an unstoppable quip machine-- a milder and more sensible Deadpool. Disney understands this and knows how to do Spider-Man in that aspect. After all, he's the most fun a superhero can be without resorting to borderline offensive humor.
It's what makes Tom Holland's Spider-Man more refreshing than Tobey Maguire's or Andrew Garfield's; the former can make you mopey while the latter can make you bored. It did help that Holland's Spider-Man and Peter Parker was significantly younger than the first two Spider-Men who came before him.
SONY KNOWS HOW TO ADD DRAMA (FOR SONY)
When it comes to Peter Parker or the man behind the Spider-mask, however, we just have to give it to Sony. The way they portrayed Parker as a resilient struggling young adult (particularly with Maguire) is just definitive. Spider-Man was, for Parker, a thankless job after all.
Sony has captured this facet of Spider-Man better than the MCU did. Beneath the wisecracks and jokes during fights, Spider-Man was as shabby as the city he's saving. If anything, Sony has already mastered the dying Uncle Ben and the distressed Aunt May tearjerker scene. Doing that a third time if they do a reboot should be a piece of cake for them.
BEST VERSION OF SPIDER-MAN (FOR DISNEY)
With all that's been said and done, Tom Holland's Spider-Man/Peter Parker is considered by the fans to be the best yet. Tobey Maguire did make for a better Peter Parker and Andrew Garfield made for a better Spider-Man (straight out of the comic books, for some), but Holland was the best at being both.
It's all subjective but the general consensus is that Holland did it best. Now, it's important to remember that Holland did his version of Spider-Man under Disney's vision. Sony's perspective for the web-slinger might be a whole different story-- even with the same actor; they tend to go dark and gritty.
MORE SPIDER-MAN FOR US (FOR SONY)
Despite all our woes at Spider-Man departing the MCU, the die has already been cast. As we stated earlier, there's nothing we can do but watch what Sony does. One thing is for sure, Holland will still do Spider-Man films with Sony in charge. Meanwhile, Sony has also announced that they are doing around five to six TV/streaming shows set in Spider-Man's world.
All in all, there's still plenty of Spider-Man to be had for us even with Sony at the helm. Sure, it may not have the same upbeat lightheartedness as the Disney productions, but at least it's something. Besides, it's too early to tell whether they'll be good or bad. All other plans for Spider-Man are still up in the air and plenty of things could still change.