A new reveal about Marvel's upcoming animated series, Spider-Man: Freshman Year, suggests that the legacy of Tony Stark in the MCU might be in jeopardy. New official images were revealed for Freshman Year alongside many new MCU projects at San Diego Comic Con 2022. While this created a huge amount of anticipation for the development of Marvel's animation studio and future MCU Phases, questions have surfaced about the setting for the series originally billed as Spider-Man: Homecoming's prequel.

In November 2021, Spider-Man: Freshman Year was announced to be in development at Marvel Studios, an animated series about the origins of the MCU's Peter Parker. It wasn't until San Diego Comic Con 2022 where the series was given a 2024 release date and patient fans were finally gifted photos showing characters from the series. These images include Peter Parker in various Spider-Man costumes, a new design for Daredevil (with Charlie Cox returning), and a surprise still of Norman Osborn greeting Parker and Aunt May at their Queens apartment - a scene taken straight from Captain America: Civil War, but with one huge character change that will have serious repercussions for the MCU.

Related: Wait, How Can Spider-Man's MCU Prequel Be Canon?!

Avid viewers will remember this particular Civil War scene well as it finally introduced the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the MCU's established hero Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, taking the web-slinger under his wing. Between Civil War and Spider-Man: Far From Home, Stark's influence over Peter Parker was evident, with Stark's mentorship shaping Parker into a mature and thoughtful superhero. Despite this, Spider-Man: Freshman Year seems to be about to show audiences a different origin for Spider-Man as Norman Osborn takes on the role of mentor, a choice that could ruin Tony Stark's powerful legacy in the MCU.

Why Is Marvel Replacing Tony Stark With Norman Osborn?

Spider-Man Freshman Year Norman Osborn

Tony Stark's presence has been felt in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since the very beginning. The armored billionaire's character arc was perhaps one of the most developed, taking him from his selfish beginnings in Iron Man to his universe-saving sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame, and included a tender father-son relationship with teen superhero Peter Parker. However, it seems that this role will be filled by Norman Osborn in Spider-Man: Freshman Year, which can be assumed to take place in another reality in the MCU's multiverse.

Replacing Stark with Norman Osborn in Spider-Man: Freshman Year is more comic accurate for the origins of Spider-Man, but it will have a strange effect on the legacy of Tony Stark in the MCU. Peter Parker's arc in the MCU is synonymous with Iron Man, it's hard to imagine Peter Parker becoming such a proficient superhero without the guidance of his charismatic mentor, and vice versa since Stark also learned a lot from the teen. This means that if Freshman Year ignores this and shows Parker rising to hero status without Stark, the late hero's influence over the web-slinger will be seriously doubted.

With several new revelations coming out of Marvel Studios' panels at San Diego Comic Con 2022, it's clear that the MCU is delving deep into the concept of the multiverse. Despite Freshman Year originally supposed to be giving viewers an insight into the origin story of the MCU Spider-Man they're familiar with, it seems Marvel are taking the Disney+ series in a different direction and further developing the idea of the Spider-Verse. New stills and character images from Spider-Man: Freshman Year are exciting, but it's a shame that this story will be told at the expense of one of Marvel's most famous superheroes.

Next: Everything We Know About Spider-Man: Freshman Year

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