Why Spider-Man Will Go Dark After Avengers: Endgame
Spider-man received a pretty big blow back in Avengers: Endgame. Yet another father figure of his had died in front of him -- rough. In Endgame, Tony and Peter switch their Infinity War roles. Instead of Tony watching Peter die, Peter watches Tony -- the only difference being that unlike Peter, Tony has no hope of returning. After his Uncle Ben, this is the second mentor Peter has been unable to save. Of course, Tony’s death is in no way his fault, but it’s still a horrible thing for him to have to had experienced.
With that in mind, is it possible that Spider-Man’s movies take a bit more a darker tone from here on out? Spider-Man has been one of the few Marvel heroes whose villain wasn’t killed in a confrontation with him. However now that the Infinity War and Endgame stories lines have exposed him more to darker themes, maybe he’ll be around death a lot more whether he wants to be or not.
Spider-Man and Iron Man
Iron Man was grooming Spider-Man to take his place as an Avenger. Tony was the one who introduced Peter to the big time hero operations and helped Peter to define what it meant to actually be Spider-Man. Whenever Peter found himself in a sticky situation or messed something up, Tony was usually there to bail him out, but as of Endgame Tony won’t be there for Peter anymore. Iron Man was somewhat of a safety net for Peter. He was a significant reason no one in Spider-Man: Homecoming died. Now that Iron Man is out of the picture, all of his solo hero responsibilities fall on Peter, and Peter is also going to have to navigate figuring out how to become a better hero than Tony on his own, which is fine, he’s capable of doing it, but not without the potential of a bit more suffering being thrown his way.
Spider-Man is a character who’s known for having people die around him. His Uncle Ben, and first love Stacy Gwen are the primary examples that come to mind from the comics. The deaths of others tend to play a very big role in Spider-Man’s development (just like MCU Iron Man). Now that the MCU has delved into this concept of Spider-Man on screen, we may very well see a few more people close to Peter -- or even people who oppose him -- bite the dust in future movies, and see just how their deaths affect Spider-Man in the long run. He’s already hinted in the latest Far From Home trailer that his Spider-Man identity is putting his friends in danger. It’s probably one of the many reasons why he wanted to leave his suit back home when he went on vacation instead of taking it with him as a precaution.
Spider-Man and the Multiverse
If the multiverse turns out to be real then there are an infinite number of Spider-Man possibilities. This MCU’s Spider-Man may use Tony’s death as a drive to make himself a better hero, but a Spider-Man from a different universe…. If Far From Home really does have a multiverse there’s a very slim chance that we don’t see any alternate Spider-Men. It’s almost guaranteed actually. Among those many Spider-Men, Peter might just meet some darker more aggressive version of himself. Maybe not so much as a villain version of himself, but somewhat of an antihero., once created by what happened to Tony. We’d mention the possibility of him meeting a Black Suit suit Spider-man, but as it stands now, Marvel doesn’t have any rights to use the venom symbiote.
Whoever or whatever this alternate Spider-Man version is, he can help Peter realize an important lesson: Tony would not want Peter to be dwelling on his death. He would want Peter to continue proving those who doubted Tony bringing a 15-year-old kid in the big leagues wrong.
Spider-Man and Nick Fury
Spider-Man seems to be his usual old self in Far From Home personality wise, but there are signs of changes. In the Far From Home trailer, Nick Fury tries to get in contact with Peter, and Peter doesn’t really care. In fact, he hangs up on him to Happy’s complete surprise. Peter is usually a giant fanboy when it comes to people like Fury, but it seems Tony’s death may have forced Peter to distance himself from that little habit a bit.
We saw in the first Iron Man that Nick Fury’s first move isn’t to generally break into someone’s place of residence when he wants to get in contact with them. He sent Agent Phil Coulson to set up a meeting with Tony, but Tony (and admittedly Pepper) brushed him off multiple times. In the end, Fury just decided to break into Tony’s house and to force the conversation that needed to be had. Peter finds himself in a similar situation in Far From Home. Unlike his situation in Homecoming, Peter’s now the one screening calls away from people. Apparently, he brushes Nick Fury off one too many times because Nick breaks into Peter’s hotel room and even tranquilizes Ned.
Nick is someone who has seen a lot of things in his life, and while he may not be the most trustworthy person there is, he’s someone who believes others can make a difference. He may just be able to help Spider-Man overcome whatever emotional block that he has in Far From Home.
Spider-Man and Happy
Tony Stark was just as important to Happy as he was to Peter if not more so. Considering Happy wanted nothing to do with Peter back in Homecoming but is talking to him a lot more now, it’s very possible that Happy has realized this. Like Fury, Happy would be another individual who could help Peter through Tony’s death. On the other hand, Peter may also be able to help out Happy. It could just be that Happy’s hanging around Peter more because he wants to get with Peter’s Aunt May, but we’d like to think he has a little more tact than that. These two characters will find it easier to talk about Tony to one another because, other than Pepper, they were the closest people to him as Iron Man.
The trailer even hints that Happy will be there for Peter the same way he was for Tony both in and out of costume. The trailer shows us Happy trying to lead Spidey’s classmates away from danger and being mistaken as working for Spider-Man despite his desperate attempts to explain that he’s with the wall-crawler.
Spider-Man and the Five-Year Time Gap
It looks like literally all of Spider-Man’s supporting cast was snapped out of existence. There doesn’t seem to be one person Peter knows that spent five years without him. Ned is the same age and so is Mary Jane. Even Peter’s Aunt looks like she just woke up -- same as Peter -- after the five-year gap. But just because the trailer gives the impression that Peter won’t be dealing with anyone who’s had to suffer the time gap, doesn’t mean that we won’t see any in the movie.
Spider-Man: Far From Home takes place right after Endgame, which means little to no time has passed since Thanos has been defeated. People are going to be much more protective of their loved ones from here on in. The community we see Spidey dealing with, definitely won’t be as dreary as it was in Endgame, but the signs of repair and recovery should still be there. If most of Spidey’s cast didn’t have to live with the five-year absence of their loved ones. They may find themselves dealing with certain awakened situations.
Spider-Man and Mary Jane
Even if Peter’s gang doesn’t deal with a more morbid society, Peter himself did die, and he saw Iron Man go right in front of him. It would seem like he’s a bit more sensitive to just how fragile his life is. In the latest Far From Home trailer that came out right after Endgame, Peter comments about how he just wants to take the time to tell the girl he likes how he feels. This girl is obviously Mary Jane. Thing is, he hasn’t spent very much time with Mary Jane (unless Far From Home pulls an unexpected time skip). So if Peter’s suddenly trying to tell her what’s going on with him on a field trip he’s having, it’s pretty likely it’s because he thinks there’s a possibility he might die out of nowhere, which would be very true. He does live a pretty dangerous life after all.
Spider-Man and the Green Goblin
When Far From Home was first being promoted (back before Avengers: Endgame released) there was a shot that brought up a lot of speculation behind Spidey’s cast of characters. It looked like the old Avengers Tower had been bought by somebody and put under reconstruction. A lot of people believe that it’s very possible Norman Osborn is the buyer.
This would make a lot of sense. If your going to show off that the old Avengers Tower has been bought through a Spider-Man film it only makes sense that one of the characters tied to him bought it. The two richest people tied to Spider-Man would have to be Wilson Fisk and Norman Osborn. Before it was canceled, Wilson Fisk was already introduced as the villain of the Marvel TV series DareDevil, so it’s more than likely that Norman bought the tower.
If Norman manages to step into the MCU, the Spider-Man franchise is definitely going to get darker. Green Goblin tends to bring his own brand of evil to the table whenever it comes to Spider-Man. He’s not afraid to kill people. In fact, he somewhat enjoys it. Cold and calculating, if Far From Home is setting up Norman’s introduction in the MCU, he’s definitely going to be playing a major role in future events, and if Spidey thinks his friends are in danger now, then he really has no idea.
Wrap Up
We’ve been talking about Tony’s death a lot, but that’s because it’s a very important one, and if any movie is going to address it properly, it’s going to be this upcoming Spider-Man sequel. Spider-Man was the closest hero to Iron Man, so it only makes sense that his trajectory as a character is heavily influenced by it. Iron Man was also the pseudo-main character of the MCU up until this point, and with the way he was treating Peter, it’s obvious that Spider-Man’s probably going to take up that role now that Iron Man is gone. He’ll do it in his own way, but he’ll definitely be the MCU’s new pseudo-protagonist, of course, not without experiencing a few more potential heartbreaking moments.
After everything that’s happened to him so far, Spider-Man’s going to have some things to think about in this upcoming movie. He died, and so did someone very close to him. One of the reasons he probably wants to take a vacation is just to get away from Spider-Man and the superhero life for a little bit. Leave the danger of it all behind and just enjoy himself a little. Of course, this is impossible because of who he is. But considering how Nick Fury and Happy are talking to him in the trailer, Peter’s not trying to take on any more responsibility than he already has. That, or he’s unsure if he really can be the one to live up to Iron Man’s legacy. He himself states that “the world needs an Iron Man,” so it’s not like he doesn’t understand the stakes.
Regardless of Peter’s choice, Tony’s death is definitely going to affect the tone of Spider-Man moving forward. He’ll still have the fun and games that makes him Spider-Man but that maturing arc will be present as well. It’s likely he’ll get much more bloodthirsty villains and experience more deaths than just Iron Man before his trilogy comes to a close.
