How Would The Marvel Cinematic Universe Explain The Sudden Absence Of Spider-Man?

spiderman

Marvel Studios


If you’ve been anywhere on the internet in the last five days, then you’ve likely seen that — due to a dispute between Sony and Marvel Studios — the Tom Holland version of Spider-Man would no longer be appearing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Unsurprisingly, the disagreement between the two Hollywood powerhouses boils down to money (because of course, it does), as Disney reportedly wanted to up their cut of the Spidey pie from 5% to 50%.

But, let’s forget about the numbers for now and focus on the storytelling aspect of this potential comic book movie bombshell: how would the Marvel Cinematic Universe cope with the loss of Spider-Man? And the answer is complicated, even for a studio as well run as Marvel Studios.

The primary issue Disney and Marvel Studios face if they lose Spider-Man is how they’ll explain his absence within the framework of the shared universe.

Ever since his introduction in Captain America: Civil War, Peter Parker was being groomed as the heir apparent to Iron Man, as Tony Stark quickly developed into a father figure for the Queens-born web-slinger.

And given the events of Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home, it was clear that Spider-Man — while not the most powerful — was being positioned to become the de facto leader of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

Now, without the use of the character that was being molded to be the centerpiece of the franchise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is unfortunately burdened with having to answer where the hell the kid went.

And that is no easy feat, because frankly, no matter how you may rationalize it, there’s no simple way to explain your most famous character suddenly disappearing in the midst of an arc that saw him becoming the focal point of the franchise.

Spider-Man was supposed to be the anchor of the franchise for years to come, as his general Earth-bound ways made him the closest hero to home, especially when compared to the current crop of heavy-hitting, headlining, A-list Avengers such as Captain Marvel, Thor, Dr. Strange, and Black Panther.

When considering that Peter Parker is still just a teenager in the MCU, you realize he’s not a character you can kill off or simply “age out” of the hero game — he was the franchise’s most elite prospect heading into the prime of his career, with two more solo films and likely a couple more shared films still to come.

Could they possibly just ignore it? Sweep him under the rug? Are we really supposed to believe that Falcon and Bucky Barnes are going to be sitting around Avengers HQ and not question where the hell the kid who whooped their ass in that German airport went? Not likely.

Ultimately, while I truly don’t know how Marvel Studios would explain the disappearance of Spider-Man, I’m holding out hope that they’ll never have to and that the news of this breakdown in negotiations with Sony is merely just a negotiation tactic.