Spider-Man Week: Spider-Man Is The Glue That Holds The Marvel Universe Together
by Tony Thornley
This weekend, Spider-Man: Brand New Day debuts, and as the fourth Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man film, it’s also the fourth Spidey movie to feature other Marvel heroes — this time being the widest, with the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), the Punisher (Jon Bernthal), and a mystery character (Sadie Sink) all included.
Spider-Man has been the glue that holds the Marvel universe together practically since his debut, and while some fans wish that MCU Spider-Man could just have his own film it really fits. Hell, in the debut issue of his own series, Peter Parker tried to join the Fantastic Four. His second ongoing series wasn’t Spectacular Spider-Man, it was Marvel Team-Up.
So why does Spider-Man work so well as that interconnecting thread?
It goes back to Peter Parker being the ultimate every man. He’s not a billionaire summoned to a higher calling. He’s not a strange visitor from another planet gifted with incredible powers by our yellow sun. He’s not a man out of time who embodies the ideals of a nation.
He’s an ordinary guy who, through circumstances beyond his control, was gifted with great power.
That means, when the Marvel Universe is the world outside your window, the ultimate everyman is going to be your point of view for the fantastic elements of this world. Because of that, he’s also a great entry point to explore that universe. In comics, that means having Spidey guest star in a new series, or having the new character pop up in Spider-Man shows that they’re firmly a part of the universe.
Part of the purpose of Marvel Team-Up was to bring new elements of the Marvel Universe to readers. Hell, it’s the reason why the first crossover between the Marvel Horror universe of the 1970s was Spider-Man “meeting” Dracula in Giant-Size Spider-Man #1 (though Marvel being cautious about the comics code did lead to the two never sharing the page).
So I get the complaints about Spider-Man not getting his movies to himself. But really, it makes sense and it works. If anyone should be sharing the screen with the wider Marvel Universe, showing that the MCU is inter connected, it’s Spider-Man.
