Spider-Man is coming back in 2026, but when he does so, it will be too late for Peter Parker to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s biggest street-level event. Tom Holland’s MCU Spider-Man franchise is one of the most beloved in the shared universe. It makes sense, as the hero is Marvel’s most popular, and Spider-Man often faces major threats.
Peter knows exactly what a big event is, as he has been part of them both in his solo movies and MCU crossovers. For instance, Spider-Man had the saddest death in one of the MCU’s biggest movies, Avengers: Infinity War. Then, the character came back triumphantly in Avengers: Endgame, playing an emotional role in the death of Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man.
In his solo franchise, Holland was responsible for uniting all the live-action Spider-Man movies. That happened in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, which used the multiverse to bring back Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s versions of Spider-Man, as well as villains from their franchises. No Way Home was an Avengers-level movie, making nearly $2 billion worldwide. Now, Holland returns this July in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Friendly Neighborhood Assessment · MCU Era
Tom Holland’s
Spider-Man Trivia
🏠Homecoming2017
✈️Far From Home2019
🌌No Way Home2021
😈VillainsSinister…
🤖MCUAvengers
THWIP! LET’S GO →
01
Before getting his own solo film, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut by being recruited by Tony Stark to help in a massive superhero conflict. In which MCU film did Holland first appear as Spider-Man?
AAvengers: Age of Ultron
BCaptain America: Civil War
CSpider-Man: Homecoming
DAvengers: Infinity War
✓ Correct! Tom Holland first appeared as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War (2016), where Tony Stark visits Peter in Queens and recruits him for the airport battle against Team Cap. His quippy, starstruck portrayal instantly won over audiences.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Captain America: Civil War. Holland debuted in the 2016 film before Homecoming (2017). He was recruited by Tony Stark for the iconic airport fight scene, stealing Captain America’s shield with his webs in one of the film’s most memorable moments.
NEXT →
02
In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter faces a blue-collar salvage contractor who turned to arms dealing after being shut out of the Chitauri cleanup by Damage Control. Using an alien-tech wingsuit, he becomes one of Spider-Man’s most grounded villains. Who is he?
AThe Vulture (Adrian Toomes)
BThe Shocker (Herman Schultz)
CThe Scorpion (Mac Gargan)
DThe Tinkerer (Phineas Mason)
✓ Correct! Adrian Toomes, played brilliantly by Michael Keaton, is the Vulture — a working-class father who builds a criminal empire selling alien-derived weapons. The twist that he’s the father of Peter’s date Liz is one of the MCU’s best surprises.
✗ Web miss! The answer is The Vulture (Adrian Toomes). The Shocker and Tinkerer are his henchmen in the film, and Scorpion (Mac Gargan) only briefly appears. Toomes is the main antagonist who personally confronts Peter in the unforgettable car ride scene.
NEXT →
03
Tony Stark built Peter a high-tech suit loaded with features Peter didn’t even know about, including an AI assistant that helps him in combat, provides tactical analysis, and even gives dating advice. What name does Peter give this AI?
AFriday
BEdith
CKaren
DJocasta
✓ Correct! Peter names his suit’s AI “Karen,” voiced by Jennifer Connelly. She assists him with web shooter modes, reconnaissance, and even his love life. Friday is Tony Stark’s AI, and E.D.I.T.H. is the Stark satellite system that appears in Far From Home.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Karen. Friday is Tony Stark’s personal AI, E.D.I.T.H. is the Stark defense satellite Peter inherits in Far From Home, and Jocasta is an AI from the comics. Karen, voiced by Jennifer Connelly, is Peter’s suit assistant throughout Homecoming.
NEXT →
04
In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter encounters a seemingly heroic figure who claims to be from an alternate Earth, battling elemental creatures across Europe. In reality, he’s a disgruntled former Stark Industries employee using advanced holographic drones. What is his real name?
AWilliam Ginter Riva
BAldrich Killian
CJustin Hammer
DQuentin Beck
✓ Correct! Quentin Beck, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is Mysterio — a master of illusion who uses Stark Industries’ B.A.R.F. holographic technology and weaponized drones to fabricate the Elementals and pose as a hero. His final act of revenge shapes the entire third film.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Quentin Beck. William Ginter Riva is one of Beck’s team members, Aldrich Killian is the villain of Iron Man 3, and Justin Hammer is from Iron Man 2. Beck is Mysterio, the illusionist who manipulated Peter’s trust across Europe.
NEXT →
05
In one of the MCU’s most shocking mid-credits scenes, J. Jonah Jameson broadcasts doctored footage from Mysterio’s final moments that completely upends Peter Parker’s life. What does this broadcast reveal to the entire world?
AThat Spider-Man killed Mysterio in cold blood
BThat Spider-Man is Peter Parker
CThat Spider-Man is a Skrull impersonator
DThat Spider-Man commanded the drone attack on London
✓ Correct! Mysterio’s doctored footage, broadcast by J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons reprising his iconic role), exposes Spider-Man’s identity as Peter Parker to the entire world. This revelation drives the entire plot of No Way Home as Peter desperately seeks to undo the damage.
✗ Web miss! The answer is that Spider-Man is Peter Parker. While the footage also frames Spider-Man for the London drone attack, the earth-shattering reveal is Peter’s unmasked identity being broadcast globally by The Daily Bugle’s J. Jonah Jameson.
NEXT →
06
With his identity exposed and his loved ones under threat, Peter seeks help from a powerful sorcerer to cast a spell that would make the world forget he is Spider-Man. Peter’s constant modifications to the spell cause it to fracture the multiverse. Which sorcerer casts this spell?
AWong
BWanda Maximoff
CDoctor Strange
DKarl Mordo
✓ Correct! Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) casts the memory-wiping spell at Peter’s request, but Peter keeps asking for exceptions — for MJ, Ned, May, and Happy to still remember him. These constant changes corrupt the spell and tear open the multiverse, pulling in villains from other Spider-Man universes.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Doctor Strange. While Wong is the Sorcerer Supreme and actually warns Strange against it, it is Stephen Strange who agrees to cast the spell. Wanda’s multiverse interference occurs in Multiverse of Madness, not here.
NEXT →
07
Throughout all three films, Peter’s loyal best friend serves as his “guy in the chair,” helping with tech support and keeping his secret. In No Way Home, this character even discovers he can open magical portals using a Sling Ring. Who is Peter’s best friend?
ANed Leeds
BFlash Thompson
CHarry Osborn
DMiles Morales
✓ Correct! Ned Leeds, played by Jacob Batalon, is Peter’s best friend and self-proclaimed “guy in the chair.” He discovers Peter’s secret identity in Homecoming, supports him across all three films, and in No Way Home he accidentally uses Doctor Strange’s Sling Ring to open portals to other Spider-Men.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Ned Leeds. Flash Thompson is Peter’s rival and bully who ironically idolizes Spider-Man. Harry Osborn is Peter’s friend in the Raimi and Webb films but doesn’t appear in Holland’s trilogy. Miles Morales is only hinted at. Ned is the irreplaceable “guy in the chair.”
NEXT →
08
At the emotional climax of No Way Home, Peter makes an enormous personal sacrifice to save the multiverse. Doctor Strange completes the spell, and when it takes effect, Peter is left completely alone. What does the final spell do?
AIt sends Peter to an alternate universe where no one knows him
BIt erases Spider-Man from existence entirely
CIt removes Peter’s spider powers permanently
DIt makes everyone in every universe forget who Peter Parker is
✓ Correct! The final spell makes every person in every universe forget that Peter Parker exists. MJ, Ned, Happy, the Avengers — everyone. Peter visits MJ at the coffee shop afterward but decides not to re-introduce himself, choosing to protect them. He starts over completely alone, sewing his own suit in a small apartment.
✗ Web miss! The answer is that everyone forgets who Peter Parker is. The spell doesn’t erase Spider-Man — people still know the hero exists — but nobody remembers Peter Parker the person. This devastating sacrifice means MJ, Ned, and even Happy Hogan have no memory of him at all.
REVEAL MY SCORE →
Assessment Complete
Your Spider-Sense Rating
/ 8
Are you an Avenger — or just a friendly neighborhood bystander?
↻ SWING AGAIN
However, two months before Spider-Man’s next movie swings into theaters, the wall-crawler missed the MCU’s biggest street-level event to date. Daredevil: Born Again season 2 has finished. Sure, the rights’ situation regarding Holland’s Spider-Man appearing in a live-action TV show was likely too complicated, but his absence from the Marvel series creates a huge question for the franchise.
The MCU’s Mayor Fisk Arc Ends Without New York City’s Biggest Vigilante
Vincent D’Onofrio in a white powerful suit as Wilson Fisk Kingpin in Daredevil Born Again season 2
Warning: This article contains spoilers from Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, Episode 8.By not appearing in either of the first two seasons of Daredevil: Born Again, Holland’s Spider-Man has fully missed the reign of Mayor Fisk. Early in season 1 of the MCU series, Vincent D’Onofrio was elected New York City’s mayor. By the end of the season, he declared martial law, sending his violent Anti-Vigilante Task Force to the streets. As New York’s most prominent superhero, Spider-Man should have been one of the characters hunted by the AVTF.
However, Daredevil: Born Again season 2 ended with Mayor Fisk’s reign of terror being finished and Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and the people of New York retaking control of the city. As such, the biggest street-level event in the MCU is over, as Fisk is no longer the mayor, and the city’s vigilantes don’t have to hide in the shadows and rebel against the government. Sadly, Spider-Man was nowhere to be seen, and that is a shame, as he could have been one of the faces of the movement alongside Daredevil.
How Spider-Man: Brand New Day Can Make Up For Peter Parker’s Daredevil: Born Again Absence
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be released in theaters on July 31. The film has the chance of making up for Holland’s Daredevil: Born Again absence in a major way, and it would even entail using at least one character from the MCU series. The Spider-Man movie could bring forth the next street-level event that stops the MCU. Mayor Fisk is out, with Kingpin finding exile far away at the end of season 2, so there is a power vacuum.
In Marvel’s next Spider-Man movie, villains like Tombstone, Scorpion, and more could rise to fill that role. Based on what Holland and director Destin Daniel Cretton have said in interviews, fans should expect a fresh chapter in the MCU Spider-Man franchise with a street-level story, not another multiverse event like No Way Home. As such, Spidey fighting mob bosses and their enforcers as they battle for control of the city would be the perfect way of fixing his Daredevil: Born Again season 2 absence.
Additionally, Jon Bernthal’s Punisher will appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. This will make it a two-for-one deal, as Frank Castle was also mysteriously absent from season 2 despite having appeared in the show’s first season. Sheila Rivera also appears to be the new Mayor of New York City in the film, as she handed the hero the key to the city in the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer, which would create further connectivity between the MCU movie and Daredevil: Born Again season 2, helping alleviate the pain of Spidey’s MCU TV show absence.
Release Date
March 4, 2025
Network
Disney+
Showrunner
Dario Scardapane
