Spider-Man 4 Needs To Actually Focus On Spider-Man, For A Change

Spider-Man is one of the most popular characters within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Marvel Studios hasn’t always treated him that way. Spider-Man 4 provides the perfect opportunity for those in charge to change that. Peter Parker is developing and maturing within the MCU, but while he has been in the lead role in three movies, the character has often been overlooked.

Marvel Studios’ trilogy of Spider-Man movies is excellent and has thoroughly entertained audiences. However, Spider-Man 4 needs to ensure the focus is completely on the web-slinger and his journey rather than being distracted by other heroes who can end up dominating the screen.

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Marvel’s Previous Spider-Man Movies Have Neglected Peter Parker

When someone sits down to watch one of the three previous Spider-Man movies in the MCU, they expect the entire focus to be on Spider-Man himself. While there will always be room for supporting characters and the movie’s villain, they should all ultimately be feeding back to whatever the masked hero is trying to do. However, that hasn’t been the case in the movies that have happened so far. Spider-Man: Homecoming was about gaining Iron Man’s approval and Parker’s desire to impress him. He was a new hero and was learning the ropes, but that led to Iron Man teaching him a lot of lessons that essentially pushed him as a central figure and a more powerful hero, even though the film was supposed to be about introducing Spider-Man into the MCU in his movie.

Spider-Man: Far From Home followed that, where the movie’s theme is essentially grief. He’s coming to grips with Iron Man being dead, and while it brought great character progression, it also meant that Iron Man’s shadow still loomed large over the movie. Nick Fury also played a big role in this one, once again proving that Marvel Studios wasn’t willing to fully trust Spider-Man on his own. Then Spider-Man: No Way Home took things to another level, with this essentially being an ensemble movie. Doctor Strange was Spider-Man’s partner in crime throughout this one, while Marvel Studios also brought back Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, plus a plethora of villains from the Sony movies. It meant that the focus was scattered, and while it provided a lot of excitement, it meant that people lost focus on Tom Holland’s character, which is a worry.

Jean Grey Could Cause Further Complications

There is currently very little known about the overall plot of Spider-Man 4, although there is a belief that it will be a street-level movie with Marvel looking to change direction for the character. The cast is unclear at this point too, but it has been confirmed that Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink will be part of it. It hasn’t been announced who Sink will be playing just yet, but there is a longstanding rumor that she will be Jean Grey in the MCU. That puts Spider-Man 4 at risk because if she does end up taking on that role, it guarantees there will be at least one other major hero in the film alongside Spider-Man, which continues the problem that has plagued the previous movies.

Throwing in one of the most powerful members of the X-Men would be a huge pull away from Holland’s character. The focus would instantly be on Sink and her performance as Grey, her powers, and what it means for the X-Men within the MCU in the broader sense. While fans are eager to see mutants appear in the world of the MCU, that shouldn’t come at the expense of existing characters, especially one as important as Spider-Man.

Spider-Man Needs To Be Taken Seriously In The MCU

Spider-Man is one of the MCU’s most recognizable characters, and that’s important when it comes to pulling power to get casual audiences into the cinema to watch Marvel movies. This is particularly important for Avengers films, where he could, and should, end up being one of the most prominent characters. Marvel Studios put a lot of work into the relationship between Parker and Tony Stark with the idea that Spider-Man would take over from Iron Man within the MCU as the lead figure. However, Iron Man is long gone and has yet to come to fruition, mainly because of how Spider-Man has been viewed and presented.

He has been seen as a loveable and charming teenager who has some power but is impulsive, reckless, and often needs the help of others to get the job done. That’s something that needs to change with Spider-Man 4 because if Marvel wants him to be a central character that can lead the franchise moving forward, he needs to be positioned as that. Iron Man has always been shown in a strong light, as has the likes of Thor and Captain America, and now Spider-Man needs the same treatment. Spider-Man 4 is the perfect time to do it as the MCU begins to move into a new phase, one where he should be a focused character.