1 Alternate Version of ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Had the Most Tragic Spider-Man Storyline Imaginable That Was Later Adapted Into His ‘No Way Home’ Arc
- In 'Spider-Man: No Way Home', Peter Parker makes the ultimate sacrifice by erasing his identity from everyone's memory to save the multiverse.
- In an alternate storyline in comics, Spider-Man alters reality to defeat Thanos, but no one remembers the original events.
- Spidey's future in MCU looks unclear but promising, with a probability of appearing with Avengers and Sinister Six.
Spider-Man has always been a fan favorite in the Marvel universe because of his relatable struggles, quick wit, and of course, incredible powers. Spidey has had some unforgettable moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since his introduction in Captain America: Civil War.
From fighting Avengers to losing 5 years of his life to now losing his identity, Peter Parker has gone through a lot. One thing about him that always disheartens fans is that his fate has always been unfair to him, and there is one alternate storyline that is very similar to what happens to him in No Way Home.
Spider-Man’s Secret Victory Over Thanos
It is hard to imagine someone like Spider-Man defeating Thanos whereas others like Thor and Hulk failed. In the Avengers & The Infinity Gauntlet comic storyline, Thanos was able to acquire all Infinity stones and make the snap, much like in Infinity War, and the Avengers and others were trying to fight him after that, much like in Avengers: Endgame.
Spidey somehow managed to rip off the Infinity gauntlet from Thanos’ hand, and when the Mad Titan was about to attack him, he got overwhelmed and wished that Thanos never acquired the Infinity stones. As a result, the reality was altered, and in this new reality, Thanos never acquired the stones and never made the snap.
But the downside for Spidey was that since he was the one who changed the reality, he remembered everything while every other person had no idea about Thanos or anything related to that old reality. This upsets Spidey, as when he tries to tell his fellow superheroes, they mock him for making up stories.
This storyline is very similar to Spider-Man: No Way Home. At the end of the movie, when villains from every other universe who knew Spidey’s real identity as Peter Parker were coming into the main MCU, Tom Holland‘s Parker asks Doctor Strange to wipe off his memory and identity from everyone’s mind.
In both cases, Spider-Man makes a huge sacrifice to save the day but ends up being alone and forgotten. However, the movie version seems much sadder, as Peter Parker completely loses his identity, which means he loses everyone he knows and loves.
Spider-Man’s Future in MCU
After No Way Home, Spider-Man’s future has become a hot topic for fans. The memory swipe spell allows Sony to develop their own Spidey universe, which is separate from Avengers and the main MCU plot.
Sony has always preferred to have a broke, overwhelmed, and lonely Peter Parker rather than the jolly and bright tone that was seen in the new Spider-Man trilogy until the end of No Way Home. Producer and former Sony executive Amy Pascal told Fandango,
We are getting ready to make the next Spider-Man movie with Tom Holland and Marvel. We’re thinking of this as three films, and now we’re going to go onto the next three. This is not the last of our MCU movies.
It looks like there is still a chance to see Spidey back into the Avengers’ world, but they won’t interfere with his solo world that much. Since Spidey has always been closely associated with Avengers in comics as well, it will be hard to keep him away for long. The upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars almost assure his reappearance along with them.
There is also the question of what Sony plans to do with Spider-Man in their own universe. The studio has been developing Spidey villains like Venom, Morbius, Vulture, and the upcoming Kraven the Hunter, and it might be a possibility to see the Sinister Six soon.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is available to stream on Starz, DirecTV and Spectrum TV.
