Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s versions of Spider-Man are popularly believed to be in Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus returns. While not shown in the trailer, the previous two iterations of Spider-Mans showing up is arguably the film’s worst-kept secret, but they may not be the movie’s only new spider heroes.
Inter-continuity crossovers are a staple of the superhero genre, and Spider-Man is no exception. The original Marvel universe, aka Earth-616, has remained the publisher’s mainstream continuity since its debut in 1939, though there have been plenty of popular alternate timelines, such as Ultimate Marvel and MC2. In the 2010s, Marvel published story arcs, such as Spider-Men, Spider-Verse, and Spider-Geddon, bringing numerous comic and screen versions of Spider-Man together against common enemies. When the popular Ultimate Marvel universe ended, the fan-favorite Miles Morales version of Spider-Man, thankfully, became part of the mainstream comics, fighting alongside Peter Parker fairly regularly.
It was only a matter of time before this concept was brought to film, and 2018’s animated movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was overwhelmingly successful among comic readers and casual viewers alike, introducing many non-comic readers to Miles Morales. With three major live-action iterations of Spider-Man, fans have wished to see the three interact on the big screen for quite some time. Marvel, famous for their fan service, has all but confirmed that Tom Holland’s two predecessors will be in No Way Home by revealing the previous franchise’s villains. Given the success of Spider-Man crossover stories in comics and animation, Marvel could additional variations of Spider-Man, each with a connection to one of the three live-action franchises.
Spider-Girl (Mayday Parker)
Originating in Marvel’s MC2 universe (Earth-982), May “Mayday” Parker is the daughter of Peter Parker and Mary Jane. MC2 is essentially identical to Earth-616, branching off from the main timeline after the (in)famous Clone Saga. Though she was seemingly born without powers, Mayday developed abilities nearly identical abilities to her father during her high school years. Though Peter Parker and Mary Jane were against the idea of their daughter risking her life as Peter did, Mayday became Spider-Girl, succeeding her father as New York’s web-slinger.
A cinematic version of Mayday could easily be the daughter of Sam Raimi’s Peter and Mary Jane. The two begin to rekindle their relationship at the end of Spider-Man 3, and given the fourteen years that have ed since his Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst’s last appearances, Marvel may opt to not digitally de-age them and have them be an older married couple and the parents of Spider-Girl. In this scenario, an older and even more experienced Spider-Man would fight alongside Tom Holland’s iteration, as well as forming a father-daughter duo with Mayday’s Spider-Girl. The Raimi version of Peter and Mary Jane repairing their relationship would be joyous for fans of the older movies, and having Peter the torch to his daughter would make it even better.
Ghost-Spider (Gwen Stacy)
Introduced during the lead-up to 2014’s Spider-Verse, this alternate version of Gwen Stacy was bitten by a genetically altered spider instead of Peter, gaining superhuman powers and becoming Ghost-Spider (after previously being known as Spider-Woman and “Spider-Gwen). In her universe, Peter Parker became The Lizard instead of Spider-Man, tragically dying in his ensuring battle with Gwen. Ghost-Spider is an extremely popular alternate universe Marvel hero, making her cinematic debut in 2018’s Into the Spider-Verse along with Miles Morales. Like Mayday Parker, there’s a perfect opportunity to introduce her to the MCU.
Emma Stone’s version of Gwen Stacy in the Emma Stone to return, playing a version of her character who’s similarly heartbroken over the loss of her universe’s Peter. This version of Ghost-Spider and Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker could easily bond during their team-up with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, helping each other move on from their devastating losses.
Spider-Man (Miles Morales)
As the second Spider-Man of the Ultimate Marvel timeline, Miles Morales was also bitten by an Oscorp test spider. This spider came from the same laboratory as the one that bit the Ultimate universe’s Peter. As a result, Miles gained slightly different powers than Peter, having the ability to turn invisible and deliver incapacitating blasts of bio-electricity at close range. After his timeline’s Peter seemingly died, Miles became the new Spider-Man. Miles Morales is deservedly one of the most popular alternate versions of Spider-Man in any medium, with relatability and likability similar to Peter while also remaining a unique character. Having been the protagonist and audience surrogate of 2018’s Into the Spider-Verse and the player character of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Miles would be a welcome addition to the MCU.
Miles was, indirectly hinted at in the MCU’s version of Miles receives his powers during the film, or an alternate MCU Miles enters the mainstream timeline, the young hero would correspond with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, just as Mayday and Ghost-Spider would coincide with the two previous versions of Peter.
Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
In addition to the three mainstream versions of Peter Parker, No Way Home could also include a second Tom Holland iteration of Spider-Man, this time from the Marvel zombie timeline, introduced in more Spider-Man iterations than Tobey and Andrew.
