Entertainment
Secret Wars’ (and None Are Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield)
Listen, everyone wants Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield to be in Avengers: Secret Wars, and considering just how sky-high fan anticipation is, there’s a considerable chance that Marvel might make it happen. After all, both actors were in the extremely lucrative 2021 hit Spider-Man: No Way Home (and even added to the film’s success as a whole), and Secret Wars is sure to have multiversal cameos from every corner of every Marvel universe.
Why stop at Maguire and Garfield when it comes to multiversal Spider-People, though? The Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse franchise has proven that a plethora of Spider-People across the Spider-Verse could and should be used in a multiversal crossover such as this. With the love that people have for the animated franchise, more Spider-People being brought in could be a great way to bring even more people to theaters. Who is worthy enough to be included among Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, though?
10
Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly)
While played as a joke when he makes an appearance in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the Scarlet Spider, a clone of Peter Parker, is highly beloved among fans and actually quite a serious character in the comic books. More importantly, though, his costume is one of the more recognizable among the Spider-People from the comic book Spider-Verse. That classic hoodie look is iconic and is sure to draw eyes in that big final battle at the end of Avengers: Secret Wars.
Whether he be the more comedic version of the character from the animated sequel, or the more serious one from the comics, Scarlet Spider could be a fun way to give one of the live-action Spidey actors to play a different kind of role, or bring in a whole new Spider-Man actor, maybe even one who auditioned to be Spider-Man in the past. It’d be a great opportunity to bring someone like Dylan O’Brien, Logan Lerman, or, dare we dream, Leonardo DiCaprio, to be the Spider-Man they never were.
9
Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew)
One of the most famous Spider-Women from the Marvel Comics universe is none other than the OG herself, Jessica Drew. There have been multiple iterations of Jess over the years, like the one who appeared in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the Peter Parker clone from the original Ultimate Marvel Comics universe, or the original Jessica Drew, who was an agent of S.W.O.R.D.
A Spider-Woman has yet to be featured in live-action, so why not have the first one be the first version of her from the comics? The casting opportunities for this superhero, especially given the many different versions of her that exist, are seemingly endless. Spider-Woman would help in breaking up the group of Spider-People who pull up to the “secret war” in the final hour.
8
Superior Spider-Man (Doctor Otto Octavius)
One of the more recently introduced Spider-Men in the comics, and the most popular, is the Superior Spider-Man. The first run of the character, Superior Spider-Man (2013), was extremely successful, thanks to how interesting the story crafted by Dan Slott was. Superior Spider-Man featured Doctor Otto Octavius in the body of Peter Parker after performing a body swap and killing Peter in his old body.
He’s so popular, in fact, that the company keeps finding ways to bring him back, somehow. It would be very interesting to see a Spider-Man in the next Avengers flick who still acts heroically, given that he is dedicated to doing good in the hopes of being better than Peter ever was, but also having a far more brutal and lethal way of fighting crime. Superior Spider-Man once punched the jaw off of Scorpion entirely, not holding back his punches like the original Peter would have. He also brutalized Screwball and Jester for humiliating him live. What a dynamic that kind of behavior would create…
7
Toei Spider-Man (Takuya Yamashiro)
Ever wondered what would happen if the Power Rangers franchise were Spider-Man-ified? The answer lies in the iconic Japanese toku series, Spider-Man, also referred to as “Toei Spider-Man.” Sure, Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and his gang might turn giant in the final battle of Avengers: Secret Wars for some tank support—and that’s well and good—but what if, from the skies above, through a multiversal portal, a giant Spider-Man Megazord arrived to kick some Doom ass?
This Spider-Man is simply radiating with cool points, and his ability to bring a gigantic mecha to battle would be incredibly useful, and was even done in the original Spider-Verse comic book crossover in 2014. Toei Spider-Man is a pretty iconic version that gets meme’d all the time on the internet and is all-around pretty recognizable to most audience members who are even a little familiar with the arachnid. It could be an incredible cameo that would actually add to the action.
6
Silk (Cindy Moon)
Silk, aka Cindy Moon, is one of the most popular Spider-Women introduced in the last decade of Marvel stories. She almost got a Prime Video television series, but nothing came of it. Secret Wars could be a great opportunity to soft-launch the undeveloped series, if audiences like the character, that is. Silk’s powers are quite different from Peter’s and the rest of the Spider Society, making her visually unique compared to the others.
Cindy also means a lot to many people. She’s a Korean-American superhero who was bitten by the same spider that bit Peter Parker. For young kids and adults alike, seeing someone with this background on screen could truly mean a lot, making her not only unique but also important. Fun fact, there actually already is a Cindy Moon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, who appears in the Tom Holland solo Spidey movies, played by Tiffany Espensen.
5
Spider-Man 2099 (Miguel O’Hara)
One of the standout characters of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was the secondary antagonist, Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac). The Spider-Man of the future is a fan favorite, and while he is antagonistic in his big-screen debut, he’s a pretty beloved hero in Marvel Comics and still has good intentions. Visually, Spider-Man 2099 is unique and brings a Blade Runner kind of vibe to his Spider-Man persona.
Furthermore, Spider-Man 2099 also has powers pretty different from other Spider-Heroes, actually having vampire-like abilities. All of these factors combined make him a great choice to include in Avengers: Secret Wars. His brash personality allows for a fun dynamic, kind of like the one that Superior Spider-Man would bring, but Spider-Man 2099 is already established in film.
4
Spider-Girl (Mayday Parker)
People have been begging for a Tobey Maguire Spider-Man 4 pretty much since it was announced the series was going to reboot into The Amazing Spider-Man. The co-writer of The Batman: Part II, Mattson Tomlin, also recently said that he wants to write a fourth installment in the Tobey franchise, where he’s juggling being a hero, husband, and father. As many know, Pete usually has a daughter named Mayday, who grows up to become Spider-Girl.
Imagine Tobey Maguire pulling up in Avengers: Secret Wars with a daughter who has just become, or been for a while, Spider-Girl. The lore behind Spider-Girl is great, especially in the comic crossover, where she is coming into the conflict having just lost her parents, now being surrounded by Peter Parkers, and even some Mary Jane Watsons. Having the character have that kind of past would be engaging, as well. There is a ton of potential in including Spider-Girl in the next big event film.
3
Spider-Man Noir (Peter Parker)
Who doesn’t love Nicolas Cage? He’s a pop-culture icon, an acting superstar, and known as Spider-Man Noir from the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse franchise. Cage was absolutely hilarious in the role and a massive highlight of the movie. He even got a Prime Video series that’s currently in production, Spider-Noir (but he’s not Peter Parker in that for some reason).
Imagine a world where Spider-Man Noir pulls up to the battle in Avengers: Secret Wars and stays in monochrome black and white, like he did in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but in live-action now. It’s also simply an excuse to get Nicolas Cage in another Marvel project, because he seems to have so much fun in every single role he takes on. Seeing Cage work with the dynamics of the established MCU characters or even the live-action Spider-Men alone would be iconic.
2
Spider-Gwen (Gwen Stacy)
Ever since the Spider-Verse comic event introduced her to the world, Spider-Gwen has become one of the most popular Spider-People of all time. She blew up in popularity to the point that she became one of the main protagonists of the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse films, setting her up for a level of fame that no one expected.
Spider-Gwen has become a fan favorite seemingly overnight, and if Marvel is going to bring other Spider-People in for Avengers: Secret Wars, she’s almost guaranteed to be involved. It’s also a great excuse to bring Emma Stone back into the live-action superhero fold. There are also plenty of Gwen Stacy fan casts who would work in the role if they’re going for a younger hero. Regardless, it’s a fact that pretty much nobody would be surprised if the blond-haired super-gal made an appearance when the Spider-People show up to help save the day in Avengers: Secret Wars.
1
Spider-Man (Miles Morales)
It’s very well-known that Sony Pictures Entertainment wants to bring Miles Morales to the live-action fold after Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse wraps up the character’s story. He’s extremely popular and for very good reason. People adore Miles Morales in every iteration, and it’s about dang time he swung his way into the live-action verse. What better way to bring him into the fold than the biggest multiverse event, well, ever?
There’s no better time to bring Miles into live-action now that he’s going to be ending his animated tenure (for now, at least), so if anyone is making their big debut in Avengers: Secret Wars, it needs to be the young successor to Peter Parker. Bringing even more Spider-People together on the big screen and not having him there feels borderline sacrilege, given the fact that he’s pretty much become the face of multiversal Spider-Man stories.
