Hot after the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, there’s people at the MCU that must be thinking right now (heck, they must have it already decided…) which will be their next Spider-Man movie blockbuster.
Spider-Man has years and years of stories to take inspiration from to come out with a new movie. As a matter of fact, Spider-Man: No Way Home was inspired in two different comics storylines, combined into one: the Back in Black / One More Day saga, and the Spiderverse saga.
Back in Black and One More Day were the stories published right after the Civil War event. During Civil War, Peter Parker aligned with Iron Man’s team and willingly exposed his secret identity to the world. That wasn’t a good move for poor old Spidey. Back in Black, written by Joe Straczynski, showed us the repercussions of exposing his secret identity, including Aunt May ending up seriously wounded. After that Peter has to recur to a magical solution to solve his problem.
In One More Day, after being turned down by Doctor Strange, who refuses to help him due to the repercussions that might bring, Peter makes a deal with the devil himself. Yes, none other than Mephisto. But Mephisto’s help always comes at a price. In exchange for his help to make the world forget that Spider-Man is Peter Parker, he must give up his marriage to Mary Jane. In the comics, Mary Jane doesn’t forget Peter, he just forgets they ever married.
The second big influence to the movie is the Spiderverse storyline (which, by the way, you can read for free if you have a Kindle Unlimited subscription…). In this saga, Peter teams up with different alternate versions of Spider-Man from different universes, including Spider-Ham (the pig version of Spider-Man), Spider-Man 2099 and Spider-Gwen to fight a common threat.
But we’re not here to talk about this, are we? We would like to know which other storylines we’d like the MCU guys to take elements from for the new movies! Of course, everyone has it’s favorites, but let’s point out which ones we’d like to be used, and which ones we believe have more probabilities.
12 Stories from Comics we'd like to see in the next Spiderman MCU Movies
1. The Clone Saga:
This is the saga that all Spider-Man fans hate to love. When it came out in the 90’s everybody hated it. But with the years passing by, we all came to appreciate the Clone saga.
During the Clone Saga, an old Peter Parker’s clone from an obscure 70’s saga reappeared, naming himself Ben Reilly (taking his first name from uncle Ben and May Parker’s maiden name), and we were all planted with a doubt: which character was the real Peter? The one we were following all those years, or the new version? The plot thickened as new Peter’s clones started to pop up here and there (Ben Reilly, Kane, and so on…). We were finally led to believe that Ben was really the real deal, and Peter even lost his powers and left the scene for some time.
Imagine the reaction of the fans at the time: most people were furious that Peter Parker, the character they loved, was out of the picture, and Ben Reilly was deemed an impostor. It was a huge creative risk the authors took at the time, and as time passed, we all started to value an original story.
What are the chances to see this in the big screen soon? Probably none. But they have reintroduced Ben Reilly in recent Spider-Man comics (during the recent Beyond storyline and even giving him his own title) so… who knows? Maybe they’re testing the waters…
The Clone Saga is definitely one of the stories we’d like to see in the big screen.
Coming to the MCU or not, the Clone Saga is a fun story to read, so give it a try!
Lucky for us, since this story covers many, many books, has been collected in five (five!) Epic volumes
And if you want to go for more Ben Reilly material, check out this hot new material! The “Beyond” storyline bring back Ben Reilly after a long, long time off the radars, and the story is really good!
2. Spiderman vs Venom:
Venom was introduced in the now classic Spider-Man #300 by David Micheline and Todd McFarlane, and since day one it was destined to be on of the greatest Spider-Man foes. The uniform similarities (at the time Spidey was using the black uniform), similar powers, and the fact that Spider-Man’s spider sense couldn’t detect Venom made him an instant classic villain.
Since Venom’s introduction, in the late 80’s, he played both villain and ally to Spider-Man in many opportunities, maybe the most memorable at the beginnings of the character, in the classic McFarlane and Eric Larsen’s stories.
Tom Hardy has already played Venom in two movies, and made a small appearance in the last Spider-Man: No Way Home, leaving a small symbiote fragment behind as he came back to his own universe. The chances of that happening without something planned for the future are very low, so we’ll probably be seeing Venom in a future movie very soon. The question is if he’ll be appearing as the lead villain, or the lame third wheel from the third Tobey Maguire’s film.
You may find the first clashes between Spidey and Venom in this TP. It’s a really fun ride, give it a try!
3. A good Daredevil Team up:
Both Spider-Man and Daredevil are New York based street level vigilantes, they have crossed paths many times. They even used to know their secret identities. I can’t even tell the number of comics they appeared together. This could be a great chemistry team-up to explore in the movies.
The MCU already introduced Matt Murdock from the Marflix (Marvel / Netflix) universe in the last movie, so… are they planning to reintroduce Daredevil in a new series again? Or will we see him playing some role in the next Spider-man movie? Only time will tell…
This incredible trade paperback include Spider-Man / Daredevil Team-Up’s from the 60’s to the 90’s. It’s great material to have fun reading comics!
4. Kraven’s Last Hunt:
This is one of the best Spider-Man stories in comics, ever, and we already covered it in our best Spider-Man comics that you must read article. So we won’t be giving more details about this story here, go and check it!
It’s simply that the visual impact of this story is so iconic, that it should have it’s place in the MCU’s Spider-Man movies. Don’t you believe that the image of Spider-man coming our of a coffin wouldn’t be shocking enough??
This Spider-Man storyline surely should have its space in the big screen, but… does it have real chances? We don’t believe we’ll see this in a foreseeable future.
Man, this book IS expensive on Amazon! if you ere able to find it somewhere else, buy it! If not, you always can get the digital version at a reasonable price…
5. Spiderman vs Kingpin:
Kingpin has been so identified with Daredevil through all the great stories that he shared with him in the past years, that we almost forget that Kingpin was initially created as a Spider-Man villain.
Yes, Kingpin was originally created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and was presented in The Amazing Spider-Man #50, in 1967. He also appeared in many Syndicate strips as the lead villain during the 70’s.
Kingpin would be a great addition to a less cosmical, more urban type of Spider-Man movie. If we take as a hint the end of the last movie, where Peter goes to live alone in the city, this could be the prelude to a more down-to-earth story for the next Spider-Man MCU movie.
Also, Kingpin was reintroduced in the MCU in Disney +’s Hawkeye series, so all planets could be aligned for such a movie. So if we had to bet, we’d put some money on Kingpin’s appearance in the next Spider-Man movie.
You may find the first appearance of the Kingpin (plus many other spectacular classic stories by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr…) in this great Epic Spider-Man collection!
6. The Hobgoblin’s Death:
The Hobgoblin was created in the early 80’s as a substitute for the original Green Goblin. As vicious as the original Goblin, the Hobgoblin has proven to be more than a menace for our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
One of the most impacting stories I can remember of is when Ned Leeds, who was Betty Grant’s husband and a friend of Peter’s, and secretly had the mantle of the Hobgobln, was murdered in the classic Spider-Man vs Wolverine storyline. It was shocking, it was surprising, and it was emotionally moving. This moment is definitely worth to be included in one of the MCU Spider-Man movies.
What are the chances we see this moment from comics in the next Spider-Man MCU movies? I’d say close to zero. Although the Hobgoblin could appear, given the fact that we already saw the Goblin from other universe, and we already know from the first movie that there’s people in the Spider-Man’s MCU universe that use alien technologies for their own purposes. So a Hobgoblin appearance could not be that surprising…
The easiest, cheapest way to read this book would be to go straight to the digital version… In you want to know more about the Hobgoblin and it’s origin stories, refer to our Best Spider-Man comics that you MUST read article
7. Spiderman vs Punisher:
The Punisher is another popular character that made it’s first appearance in the pages of Spider-Man. In fact, The Punisher appeared for the first time in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #129, from 1974. The character had such a success that made many appearances in the title since then.
There have been many rumors about Jon Bernthal coming back as The Punisher lately. Rumors talk about a new series, but… who knows for sure? The MCU has been mixing their movie and TV casts a lot lately, so it could be a possibility that the Punisher comes back as a Spider-Man’s antagonist in a future movie. We surely would love to see that! It would be great to see Tom Holland’s naive Spider-Man fight against a hardcore character as The Punisher…
This great Epic volume includes many great stories including the first appearance of Harry Osborn as the Green Goblin, the ridiculous Spider-Mobile, and of course… the first appearance of the Punisher!
8. The Red Goblin:
One of the best Spider-Man storylines from the last years is the Red Goblin Saga. Written by Dan Slott, it was his swan song after many years writing the Spider- Man titles.
The Red Goblin is none other than the Green Goblin, Norman Osborn, merged with the vicious Carnage symbiote. Two mad sociopathic villains for the price of one. How could Peter face a menace like that and survive it? The answer is in this great and fun to read story, that you’ll be more than happy to read.
What are the choices of seeing this great story in the big screen? I’d say very little, at least in the short term. Yes, we’ve seen Norman Osborn and Carnage in movies lately, but everybody is in different universes. What are the chances they put it all together anytime soon? We don’t believe so.
Anyway, it’s a great time to recommend you to go and grab hold of this great story, you won’t be disappointed!
This great book includes the whole saga, originally published on issues 794 to 801 of The Amazing Spider-Man. It’s a great story to read!
9. The Morlun Saga:
The Morlun saga was created by writer Joe Straczynski and penciller John Romita Jr., and presented us with a totally radical concept: the accident that gave Peter his powers was no such a thing. The spider that bit Peter did it on purpose, to pass his abilities to him and turn him into a “totem”, a bridge between a man and a beast.
But it was not the only news about Spidey that was revealed then. Ezekiel, a powerful man Peter met, also warned him that there were powerful entities out there trying to kill such totems, and Morlun was one of them. Morlun is capable of draining the life force from Spider-Man, making him one of the most dangerous foes he ever fought.
I can’t remember many times when we saw Peter so helpless while fighting an enemy. In the saga “The Other”, we see Spider-man at the brink of death, in one of the most dramatic events for Spidey’s history.
The saga of Morlun could be one of the most interesting ones that the MCU could prepare for the web crawler in the next movies. It could be easy to introduce, since all the concepts and characters came out of nowhere when they were presented, so they don’t require much preparation. The only con: it might leave Spider-Man in a strange place to return from. So I wouldn’t expect this saga to appear anytime soon, but it could be a possibility if they make two or three movies more with Tom Holland, maybe to close the cycle.
Anyway, it’s a great story from the Spider-Man comics universe, so I’d say you should give it a try.
This is great material, so I’d say it definitely worth buying the Omnibus… it’s collected in two volumes, at least you can find the second one on Amazon!
10. Superior Spiderman:
Another great story from Dan Slott…
In The Amazing Spider-Man #700, the unthinkable happens: Peter Parker and Doctor Otto Octavius, Doc Ock, switch bodies, and Peter dies in Octavius’ already decaying body. But before Peter’s death, Dr. Octopus promises Peter that we will show the world that Spider-Man is a hero, and that he won’t harm any of Peter’s loved ones.
When this came out, nobody could believe it: Peter was dead? Doc Ock assuming the Spider-Man’s role in Peter’s body?? Whaaaaat????
What happened next were some of the most fun and interesting Spider-Man comics in many years: Otto transferred part of his arrogant personality to Spider-Man, but also created gadgets that helped Spidey in his fight against crime, and turned Peter’s life around, creating his own enterprise and coming out of Peter’s “loser” characterization.
Real good and fun to read story, but I believe the chances for this story to see the big screen in the MCU Spidey’s universe would be slim. Cranking it into one movie would make it lose a lot of it’s interest. But if they wanted to turn it into two separate movies or a trilogy… that could work as a charm!
This is a great story to have on paper… but if you cannot break your savings account, you have a great, cheap alternative with this digital collection!
11. Spiderman vs The Black Cat:
Felicia Hardy (a.k.a. The Black Cat) is a cat burglar created by writer Marv Wolfman that made her first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #194, from 1979. Through the years, Felicia has been enemy, lover, ally and friend for Spider-Man.
Next movie would be a great time to introduce the Black Cat into the Spider-Man’s MCU movies cast. Peter would be living alone in the city, no ties to MJ, so a new love interest would come really handy. And the Black Cat has it all: she’s intriguing, she’s sexy, and gets a real good chemistry with Spider-Man. Also, she reminds us of a certain cat themed thief that will be appearing in the coming Batman movie…
There are rumors that Anna Taylor-Joy has already been casted for the role, so I would bet that there are good chances that the Black Cat will be appearing in the next Spider-Man’s MCU movie. What do you think?
Even when the original apparition of the Black Cat has not been reprinted yet, you might find an amazing story of Spidey and the Cat teaming-up in “Evil Men Do“, by none other than Kevin Smith and beautiful art by Terry Dodson! Great material!
12. The Death of Jean DeWolff:
This story, written by Peter David in the middle 80’s, centers on the death of Jean DeWolff, a police captain with whom Spider-Man holds a close friendship.
Spider-Man gets obsessed with catching her murderer, the vicious serial killer called the Sin Eater, and gets pushed past his edge. Along the story, he crosses paths with Daredevil, who is also trying to catch the killer but from a less passional point of view.
The story is intense, since not many times we see Spider-Man fighting with such a fury, willing to really end his antagonist’s life.
Chances to see this story in the big screen soon? Mmmmmm… don’t think so. The story is too dark for current Spider-Man movies’ target audiences, so I believe it has little chances of hitting the theatres. But it’s a great chance for you to read a really great Spider-Man storyline!
This might be little expensive to purchase on paper… go straight to the digital version!
What’s our bet for the next Spider-Man MCU movie?
Given the fact that he was left in a very urban environment and his root to the mainstream Avengers characters have been cut (since everybody forgot who he is), we believe that Peter will be taken into a more urban story type in the next movie.
Moreover, there are many of the urban type challenges and allies he might find in New York that are being introduced into the MCU universe: Kingpin, Daredevil, Echo, Hawkeye, even Moon Knight…
So we believe that making Spidey interact with these characters, in a less cosmic, more urban type of story, would make a great change of pace for the old web crawler, and just what the fans would love to see now!
What are your takes on this? Let us know what you think!
Even if we don’t get to guess which story will make it to the next Spiderman MCU movie, it was a great way to point you to some great comic material that you might have not read, and… what do we want on this page? To help you keep reading good comics!
So if you haven’t read these stories, make yourself a favor and give them a try, you’ll have a real good time!
