MCU's Secret Wars Better Off Without Tom Holland's Spider-Man
Ever since he stole Captain America's shield in the second trailer for Civil War in 2016, Tom Holland's Spider-Man has taken over as the MCU's most popular character – just like his comic counterpart. With the next two Avengers team-ups announced – Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars in 2025 and 2026 – Holland is almost guaranteed to make an appearance. But should he?
In December 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home, Spider-Man was forced to make a difficult decision: Allowing Doctor Strange to erase all the world's memories of Peter Parker (not his superhero alias) to save the multiverse from wreaking havoc.
That move allowed the MCU to return Peter Parker to his comic origins.
He's now a street-level character who struggles with rent and loneliness, rather than a superstar with a tricked-out suit and a billionaire watching his back. He's now an ordinary, super-powered young adult armed with nothing more than spandex and a police scanner.
Considering he's no longer an Avenger, how will it make sense for him to join in the next team-up without completely undoing what No Way Home accomplished?
The loss of the Avengers' memories of Peter raises a lot of questions. He was at Tony Stark's funeral – unmasked – along with his Aunt May. Will Sam Wilson, Carol Danvers, and the rest hold the memories of him there, just not knowing who he is? Is he willing to unmask himself again, along with a confusing explanation, to his former super friends? These are questions Kevin Feige and the rest of the MCU minds need to have an answer for before they place him back among the ranks of the Avengers.
On top of that, putting Spider-Man back into the mix of cosmic battles and space exploration will negatively affect his standing as a street-level hero. The MCU is already building their arsenal of this type of hero, including Charlie Cox's Daredevil, who has an upcoming show. If he makes an appearance in Secret Wars, he will go right back into space battling cosmic threats, immediately undoing the promise of a comic-accurate Spider-Man.
The MCU should focus on keeping Spider-Man in that grounded mold of a hero, the version of him that comic fans first fell in love with.
With that being said, the story of Secret Wars, from a comic book standpoint, cannot be told without Peter Parker. It was on Beyonder's Battleworld that Peter stumbled upon the symbiote suit, leading up to his most popular storyline. The end of No Way Home brought Venom's Eddie Brock into the MCU for a fleeting moment, accidentally leaving behind a piece of his symbiote counterpart.
Tom Holland is sure to appear in Secret Wars. Again, his character is one of the most profitable in the industry, let alone the franchise. If (and when) they do, the MCU must do three things to make it work: Not undo the events of No Way Home, return Spider-Man to fighting street-level bad guys afterwards, and have answers to the questions raised by Doctor Strange's spell.