Theory: Spider-Man Will Be The Next Leader Of The Avengers
The superhero movie of the year has finally arrived, and what better way to welcome No Way Home into our lives than with some theories. I will do my best to keep this spoiler-free, but better safe than sorry. There may be MILD SPOILERS for No Way Home beyond this point. Readers beware. Let's dive into why Spider-Man will become the next leader of the Avengers.
In the beginning of this theory, we are going to not include the events of No Way Home for a couple of reasons. The first being that this theory has been a work in progress ever since Tom Holland’s Spider-Man first appeared in the MCU in Captain America: Civil War, and did not account for any of the events in No Way Home. However, the events of No Way Home still play a crucial role in this theory.
RELATED: From ‘Civil War’ To ‘No Way Home,’ A look At Peter Parker So Far
When we first met Peter Parker in Civil War, he was new to the superhero business, and had yet to fully understand what it meant to be a hero. During his first meeting with Tony Stark, he basically dropped a remix of the classic great power and responsibility line that fans have come to expect from any Spider-Man story. It was at this moment that Tony decided to watch over Peter as he learned the basics of being a hero. That was why his first suit made by Tony had the “Training Wheels” protocol. This way, as Peter learned how to use his abilities, he would grow into the hero that he always wanted to be. Then, Peter hacked the suit, bypassed “Training Wheels,” and completely skipped the most important step in learning to be a hero. He paid the price for that by having his suit taken away.
Fast forward to Avengers: Infinity War, Tony has Peter coming up with a plan to rescue Dr. Strange. After all, Peter’s brilliant idea succeeded in bringing down the giant Ant-Man back in Civil War. While Peter’s plan wasn't a standard superhero plan, it did the job. This showed that Peter was becoming more confident in himself, something he most likely learned from his battle against Captain America.
While Tony Stark may have been the brains behind all the Avengers’ tech, it was Steve Rogers who was the leader on and off of the battlefield. Most of Steve's finest leadership qualities can also be found in Peter Parker. However, they are easy to miss as most of them are not directly referenced. To keep it simple, we will stick to one major comparison between the two. In Captain America: The First Avenger Steve was shown to always persevere in a fight, even before the serum. He was not afraid to risk his life to do the right thing, even if it meant facing down an army of Hydra agents by himself. Sure, that happened after the serum, but it did not make the situation less dangerous. At the time, the serum was still considered experimental, so it might not work as intended.
Now, when we compare that with the MCU's Peter Parker, we start to see the similarities between the two. In Civil War, Peter got knocked out by Steve. When he woke up, the first thing he did was try to re-enter the fight. We may not know exactly when he was bitten by the spider, but one of the first times he was made aware of the spider-sense, or Peter-Tingle, was during his fight against Falcon and the Winter Soldier in Civil War. He had not even learned all of his powers yet, and he already signed up to fight the Avengers. I am fairly confident to think that Steve would do the exact same thing.
Everything was pointing to Peter being one of the next leaders. In No Way Home, he finally got his chance to lead. Was it the Avengers? No, but it was his first time to assume a leadership role as Spider-Man, and he did a terrific job, especially with everyone's differing ability to work as a team. While No Way Home may have shown us that moment of leadership from Peter, it also showed us that we still have a way to go before we see Spider-Man leading the Avengers anytime soon. However, he will most likely be in a much better position in their next adventure.
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