The MCU Needs To Introduce Miles Morales Without Killing Off Tom Holland's Spider-Man
Tom Holland has teased that he may step away from the MCU following the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, paving the way for Miles Morales to enter the fray, but Marvel Studios killing off Peter Parker at this point in the franchise would be a major misstep. Holland made his first appearance as the wall-crawler in Captain America: Civil War, recruited as a potential Avenger by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). After a successful debut, he reprised his role as Peter for the standalone movie Spider-Man: Homecoming and played a big part in Avengers: Infinity War, battling the Children of Thanos and eventually the Mad Titan himself. He returned for his second solo adventure in Spider-Man: Far From Home, kicking off the MCU's phase 4.
Miles Morales made his debut in Marvel's Ultimate universe (Earth-1610), but unlike Peter he was originally opposed to using his spider-given abilities and had no intention of becoming a superhero. It was only after witnessing the Green Goblin kill Spider-Man that he chose to take up the mantle himself. Miles was eventually brought to the primary Marvel universe (Earth-616) after the destruction of the Ultimate universe. The character's inclusion in the universally praised video game Marvel's Spider-Man was so well-received that it resulted in Miles getting his own Playstation-exclusive spinoff from Insomniac Games. The games also coincided with the immense popularity of the Oscar-winning animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and both served to introduce the character to a much wider, more mainstream audience.
Spider-Man: No Way Home will explore the potential of the multiverse for the first time since the Disney+ series LOKI split the MCU wide open. It's fitting, then, that the former Ultimate universe's Miles Morales join the chaos at some point, as it would appear that Marvel Studios isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Tom Holland might even quit playing Spider-Man in order to make it happen, expressing support for a Miles Morales movie (via GQ) in a recent profile. While it's admirable that Holland is eager to hand over the role, it's important that the studio find a way to introduce the fan-favorite character without killing off Peter Parker—for a number of reasons.
Both Homecoming and Far From Home explored Peter Parker's formative high school years, something many fans were hoping for when Tom Holland was first cast for the role. Previous big screen adaptions have largely cruised past this phase of the wall-crawler's story, and the MCU has been praised for introducing a younger, quippier version of Spider-Man. Because of "the blip", Peter and his friends will likely be wrapping up their high school careers either during, or after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. As a result, many of the iconic heroes greatest battles and rivalries are still ahead of him—although it would appear that Marvel is looking to knock 5 or 6 of those encounters out all at the same time with their upcoming film.
Peter fought plenty of memorable villains during the early years of The Amazing Spider-Man comic books, with the Vulture, Doc Ock, Electro, the Green Goblin and many others all being introduced to the franchise while the character was still in high school. However, the majority of Spidey's greatest hits published post-1965 all explored Peter's college and post-college years as he slowly crept through his 20s over the course of more than 50 years of published titles. The MCU hasn't exactly stuck 1-to-1 with its comic source material, but even so there are still way too many classic stories and characters left on the table to write off Holland's character just yet. Harry Osborn, Gwen Stacy, Black Cat, Madam Web, Ned becoming Hobgoblin, the first and second clone saga, and more modern arcs like the Doc Ock-driven The Superior Spider-Man series are all ripe for big screen adaptions.
For as much as Peter Parker is an important character to the world of Marvel comics, Tom Holland may be just as important to the current success of the MCU. Avengers: Endgame was a clear sign that the studio has begun to step away from franchise founders like Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson, while fans eagerly await the Disney+ series Hawkeye to determine the fate of Jeremy Renner. Those names have made a considerable fortune for Marvel Studios and Disney, who are no doubt taking a huge risk—albeit a necessary one—in pivoting the franchise towards its next generation of superheroes.
Their strategy since the success of The Avengers in 2012 has been to use the original characters to create tentpole films—Age of Ultron, Civil War, Infinity War and Endgame—that would act as the fertilizer for the entire MCU. These films create the interest for spinoffs like Black Panther and Captain Marvel, that in turn help setup and create even more buzz for the tentpole releases that, theoretically, keep everything running. But in order to maintain that incredibly lucrative cycle in a post-Endgame world, Marvel needs stars like Tom Holland to help lead the current generation. His two previous Spider-Man movies have generated more than $2 Billion at the box office, and it's quite possible No Way Home may break records for a pandemic-era new release. Holland's natural charm and likability are a big part of that.
There's a reason audiences have flocked to superhero movies for the last 3 decades. While they have traversed virtually every genre from campy comedy to dark cinematic dramas and everything in between, at the end of the day people are buying tickets and streaming these giant CGI-filled blockbusters because they're fun. Obviously that doesn't mean the MCU is barred from packing an emotional punch like the shocking end of Avengers: Infinity War, or covering serious subjects like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's discourse on the African American experience through the lens of a new Captain America. Tony Stark's death at the hands of Thanos is perhaps the perfect example of the MCU slowly building up to a deeply emotional moment—and one that takes a major toll on Tom Holland's Peter Parker in Phase 4—but the risky decision to kill off Iron Man is done for the sake of a satisfying and cathartic (albeit tear-jerking) ending to an 11-year journey.
What exactly is satisfying and cathartic about an 18-year-old kid from Queens being mowed down? Peter's classic coming-of-age story is still in progress, as he was still very much dealing with the death of his mentor in Spider-Man: Far From Home. He just started dating MJ and their very new relationship is set to be a significant factor in No Way Home. Marvel is already teasing MJ's death as a parallel and callback to The Amazing Spider-Man 2's controversial killing of Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy—another character death that should be avoided at all costs. Outside of possibly Thor: Ragnarok and the Guardians of the Galaxy, Holland's Spider-Man movies have consistently been the purest form of fun that the MCU has at its disposal. Killing off either character so soon after losing so many original Avengers serves no long-term purpose other than to prove that Marvel Studios is capable of depressing everyone.
There are numerous creative ways to bring Miles Morales into the fold without having to permanently remove one of the MCU's most beloved stars from the equation. Perhaps Holland's Peter could decide to retire early after nearly losing MJ in No Way Home, opting instead for a "normal" life with his girlfriend as they prepare to enter their college years. That would draw a nice parallel to his relationship with Tony Stark, with friends like Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) and even Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) urging the young superhero to do what Iron Man was never truly able to. As one of the smarter minds in the MCU, a former Avenger, and Tony's hand-picked protege, Peter could even take over Stark Industries at some point. In any case, Tom Holland's Peter Parker is better off playing a mentor role with Miles—similar to the relationship they have in the modern Marvel Playstation games—than being an inspiration via his death.
It's also entirely possible that Marvel Studios could embrace the fully split multiverse by pulling Miles Morales out of a different universe and into the MCU (Earth-199999). In the comics he's one of the only survivors from the Ultimate universe, reinserted into a freshly restored Earth-616 by Molecule Man after the events of the 2015 "Secret Wars" saga. Miles' version of Peter was already dead long before then, so much like the introduction of Peter in Captain America: Civil War, the MCU could bring in Miles Morales without actually having to take a deep dive into his origin story, saving Holland's character from a potentially grizzly death. However they go about it, there are plenty of ways to introduce Miles Morales without killing off Tom Holland's Peter Parker during, or after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
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