Spider-Man’s New MCU Origin Admits Marvel Aligned Him To The Wrong Original Avenger

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man episodes 1 and 2.Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Marvel Studios’ brand-new project for the wall-crawler, introduces a new origin for Peter Parker that makes it clear he is more like another Avenger than Iron Man. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has worked on Peter’s identity over the course of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man movies. Instead of adapting his origin on the big screen for a third time, Marvel chose to skip it, with the fates of Peter’s parents and Uncle Ben never being properly explained by the MCU. However, the franchise brought a new twist to the hero.

Spider-Man’s MCU story is greatly defined by his connection to the Avengers. In his debut, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man was recruited by Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark to go fight Captain America’s team. Peter was thrust into this world of superheroes from the start, with Iron Man, his mentor, trying to get him to join the Avengers as early as Spider-Man: Homecoming. After a Spider-Man trilogy and two Avengers movies, Peter is now his own person, even though that is partly due to how Doctor Strange’s spell made everyone forget him. Now, Spider-Man’s new Marvel origin brings back an Avengers debate.

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Was Tony Stark’s Sidekick

The MCU Tied The Two Heroes’ Stories Together

In Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man franchises, their versions of the wall-crawler served as the only active heroes in their respective worlds. However, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is part of the MCU, which already had many established heroes by the time Peter Parker debuted. One of the most exciting elements about Spider-Man’s MCU arrival was how he would be able to interact with other popular superheroes. The problem with that is, no one anticipated that Marvel Studios would make Spider-Man depend so much on Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark.

MCU Spider-Man Movies	Release Year
Spider-Man: Homecoming	2017
Spider-Man: Far From Home	2019
Spider-Man: No Way Home	2021
Spider-Man 4	2026

Peter Parker looked up to Tony and had him as a father figure, tying him emotionally to the character. However, this led to Spider-Man’s technology and suits stemming from Iron Man, with Peter not crafting them on his own like he normally does outside the MCU. Likewise, both Vulture and Mysterio, the main villains of the first two Spider-Man movies, were directly tied to Iron Man and ended up fighting Spider-Man due to that. Peter’s connection to Tony Stark has become the most criticized aspect of Spider-Man’s time in the MCU, but a new project changes that.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Makes Peter Way More Like Steve Rogers

The MCU Made Spider-Man’s Mentor The Wrong Character

Disney+’s Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is not tied to the MCU. However, it features many references to that timeline even though Tom Holland does not voice the new version of Peter Parker. Due to that, the animated series’ origin story for Spider-Man serves as the perfect example of why Spider-Man was always more similar to another member of the Avengers rather than Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man. Both in the comics and the new animated series, Spider-Man is much more like Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, than Tony Stark.

Tom Holland Peter Parker and Peter Parker from the animated show, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

10 Biggest Ways Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Is Already Different From The MCU

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man already delivers a very different take on Peter Parker than anything that has been seen in the MCU to date.

In the first episode of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, there is a moment where Peter Parker acts just like Steve Rogers would in the same situation. Yet to be bitten by the radioactive spider, a powerless Peter puts himself in harm’s way against a mysterious symbiote to save Nico Minoru’s life, even though he does not know the girl. This type of attitude is very much like how Steve Rogers was a hero standing up against bullies and for what was right before he became Captain America. Unlike the Iron Man armor changing Stark, Peter’s spirit makes him a hero.

Peter Parker Was Always A Lot More Like Captain America

It Is Time Marvel Studios Decided To Show That

Personality-wise, there is no doubt that Peter Parker fits more with Captain America than Iron Man. Aside from being a tech genius like Tony Stark, Tom Holland’s version of the wall-crawler was much more of a guy looking out for the little man than someone who thought about showing off to the world. Even though Iron Man would mature with the years, Steve Rogers always had a similar mentality to Peter’s. With his leadership qualities, honesty, and kind nature, Captain America was pretty much the perfect role model for what Peter would want to be as an adult.

While the MCU did not go down that path, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man might. Instead of Tony Stark, Peter Parker’s mentor in the animated series is going to be Colman Domingo’s Norman Osborn. When Peter was walking to Norman’s office at the end of episode 2, he saw a framed photo of Osborn and Captain America. With Spider-Man looking up to his new mentor, there is an open door for him to interact and bond with Steve Rogers throughout the series, leading to an even bigger departure from the MCU for Peter’s story in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.