One surprising reveal from Captain America: Civil War. Since then, Spider-Man has become a central figure in the MCU, though it was already clear that the character doesn't need to rely on the Avengers to be a massive pop culture phenomenon.
Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy played a key role in the rise of superhero movies long before the MCU officially took shape. The self-contained trilogy followed Peter Parker's double life as New York's greatest hero and a humble photographer, all without the aid of other superheroes. Similarly, the Amazing Spider-Man movies introduced fresh takes on iconic characters without the need for a shared universe. When Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Men returned for Spider-Man: No Way Home, they subtly confirmed that they're the only known superheroes in their home universes.
The fact that these two Spider-Men failed to recognize the Avengers when Tom Holland's Spider-Man mentioned his time with the team proves that Earth's Mightiest Heroes don't exist in the universes that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Men hail from. Considering that some characters and events seem to be constant throughout the multiverse, it's surprising to know that some universes are not inhabited by the Avengers. It's possible, then, that there are more realities with one or more Spider-Man than those with any iteration of the Avengers. After all, the Spider-Man: No Way Home revealed that there are countless people who know Spider-Man's real identity all across the multiverse.
Of course, the home realities of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Men are only two in an infinite ocean of universes, so they could be some of the only ones that don't have any version of the Avengers. It's also possible that Spider-Man is simply more closely connected to the multiverse, which in Marvel comics is structured by the Web of Life and Destiny, an interdimensional device that imbues every existing Spider-person with their powers through Madame Web has plenty of opportunities to play with this concept, and perhaps even build a bridge between Spider-Man characters from different franchises.
The prospect of having few versions of the Avengers in the multiverse actually makes the MCU's team more special, as they not only managed to forces but also save the universe against all odds. If it was unlikely for them to assemble in the grand scheme of things, then it was almost impossible for them to defeat Thanos and bring back all the snapped. Still, it's Spider-Man, his villains, and his allies who have the most prominence across the multiverse, and even though Tom Holland's Spider-Man seems to be reducing the scope of his activities after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, vast universes filled with complex Spider-Man stories continue to develop somewhere out there.
