Spider-Man 3: Three Things It Needs to Do

Spider-Man, what can I say? The friendly neighborhood Spider-Man has become a household name. I have loved the character ever since I watched the versions of the character portrayed by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. When I first saw him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), I was filled with joy, as one of my favorite characters was brought to life in the largest superhero franchise yet. However, there are a few issues that need to be resolved before the third installment’s release in December 2021.

The first issue that must be addressed is for Tom Holland to appear as Peter Parker/Spider-Man on the run in his own sequel! In the mid-credits scene of Spider-Man: Far From Home, J. Jonah Jameson revealed the identity of Spider-Man to the world, and showed a video that seemed like he killed Mysterio, who was thought by the public to be a hero. The reveal excited me because it made me think they would use my favorite Spider-Man villain, Kraven the Hunter, in an actual film. If you do not know about the comic book history of Kraven, he is a professional hunter who hosted his own television show in Africa where he killed animals. There have been different versions of his origin, but they all lead to him hunting down Spider-Man. Sony Pictures has already confirmed, however, that Jamie Foxx’s Electro and Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus will return to the big screen in this movie. I think they should only appear as cameos because the plot will already be crowded with the weight of Spider-Man’s identity reveal. Sony also confirmed the appearance of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange, which would make sense because he could turn back time to make sure Spider-Man’s identity is not revealed, but unfortunately Sony confirmed that he will be a mentor to Peter Parker, which hinders his character arc. Peter is not a kid anymore, so this mentorship would be inappropriate. There are rumors that the movie will be a Spider-Verse film with Garfield and Maguire returning as their respective versions of Spider-Man. I am fine with them returning as long as they are cameos for a set up of the next film or Doctor Strange 2.

The second issue to address is that Peter’s friends should turn on him. Ned, Peter’s best friend, is the funniest character in these movies. In the comics, Ned becomes the Hobgoblin, which could make sense in this film, as he could find himself in trouble due to Peter’s reveal. Flash should be the villain of this film and be revealed as an Osborn. He could hire Kraven to hunt down Spider-Man. Kraven is known for being a manipulative person in the comics, so he could manipulate Ned and convince him to become the Hobgoblin. One hint that this may be the plot of the movie is that Jacob Batalon, who plays Ned, lost weight for this film.

The final thing to be addressed is for Peter to become more of a leader. We all (hopefully) have seen Avengers: Endgame and witnessed Iron Man and Black Widow die, Captain America retire, Thor leave with the Guardians, and Hulk turn into Professor Hulk. The lead characters now are Black Panther, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, the Scarlet Witch, Falcon, and the Winter Soldier. So, I think if Spider-Man becomes a leader in this film and steps into his own, he would be perfect for leading a new generation of Avengers, with Ms. Marvel, Ironheart, Shuri as the Black Panther, and maybe Miles Morales as another Spider-Man.

Incorporating all of these elements into Spider-Man 3 would make this movie great and set up further great films in the future of the MCU. I look forward to seeing it this December.