Filling Spider-Man's boots isn't exactly going to be an easy task, but luckily Marvel's got
plenty of iconic heroes waiting for their shot at the big screen.
With a little luck, any one of these characters might just be the answer to how the MCU could
replace Spider-Man.
Ms. Marvel
Kamala Khan, also known as Ms. Marvel, has been "embiggening" herself all across the
Marvel Universe ever since she first appeared in 2013's Captain Marvel #17.
A Pakistani-American Muslim girl with incredibly versatile body-warping powers, Ms. Marvel
has since proven to be one of Marvel Comics' most popular teenage heroes.
And Kamala has already made a big name for herself outside of the comics.
She's a playable character in both the mobile Contest of Champions game and one of the most
frequently-used avatars in LEGO Marvel Super-Heroes 2.
She's currently the star of her own solo title Magnificent Ms. Marvel, and the leader of
the team in Champions.
Marvel has also recently started a new volume of Marvel Team-Up, with Ms. Marvel as the
lead.
Considering the circumstances, it seems particularly fitting that the first story arc of Marvel
Team-Up includes Kamala and Peter Parker having to deal with a Freaky Friday-style body switch.
And now that Marvel has announced that Kamala is on her way to the MCU with her own series
on Disney +, there could be no better time for her to step up and take Peter Parker's
place as the high school-aged heart and soul of the franchise.
Moon Knight
Moon Knight doesn't exactly exude the youthful optimism of Peter Parker in fact, in most
of his appearances, he comes off as totally mad.
The vigilante's "real" name depends on which of his multiple personalities is dominant
at the time he could be mercenary Marc Spector, wealthy playboy Steven Grant, or taxi driver
Jake Lockley.
And while his level of violence doesn't quite reach the level of Marvel's more hardcore
vigilantes such as the Punisher, he certainly isn't as forgiving as Spider-Man either.
But Moon Knight and Spider-Man do find common ground in their home, New York City.
And like Spidey, Moon Knight isn't usually the kind of hero who blasts off into the stars
to fight aliens.
Instead, Moon Knight sticks to the streets although admittedly his adventures can have
a more supernatural flavor than Spidey's.
"I, the moon's knight of vengeance, must carry out your luminance will.”
Ah… are you seriously talking to the moon? as in, the cow jumped over?"
Still, the two characters do have a history.
When Marvel Comics published their 2018 Infinity Wars line-wide event, which included the creation
of a universe in which many Marvel heroes were fused together, Moon Knight was joined
with Spider-Man to create Arachknight.
More recently, there's been a rumor flying around that Marvel is looking to cast Andrew
Garfield to play Moon Knight in their recently announced Disney Plus series.
What a trip, right?
Nova
MCU fans have been speculating about Nova's first MCU appearance ever since the release
of 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy.
More recently the name has sprung up after Joe Russo joked about the hero secretly appearing
in the final battle of Avengers: Endgame.
This cosmic hero is a member of the Nova Corps which, in the comics, originates on Xandar
the planet the Guardians save from Ronan in their first film.
"Xandarians [...] nothing at all."
In the comics, the Nova Corps is kind of an intergalactic police force, somewhat similar
to DC's Green Lantern Corps.
There are a couple of viable candidates who could take on the mantle of Nova in the MCU.
For example, there's Marvel's earliest Nova, Richard Rider, or the younger Sam Alexander
who took the name in the 2013 Nova series.
While Alexander is younger, both heroes share a strong "Peter Parker in space" vibe.
They're both very similar to Parker in their youth, the heavy responsibilities they shoulder,
and the fact they're often forced to push themselves beyond their natural limits.
Ironheart
In Spider-Man: Far from Home, there's a lot of talk about whether Peter Parker can grow
to be the new Iron Man.
But in the comics, Tony Stark already has a successor and she's pretty awesome herself.
Riri Williams, also known as Ironheart, first appeared in 2016's Invincible Iron Man #7,
and circumstances led her to fill the void Tony Stark left when he fell into a coma during
Civil War II.
Certified a genius at a young age, Riri uses her genius to build her own Iron-Man-type
suit after her best friend and stepfather are killed by drive-by shooters.
But Ironheart didn't disappear when Tony Stark returned.
She's a member of the Champions and has her own solo title, in which she has managed to
step far beyond Iron Man's shadow.
Like Parker, Riri Williams is a youthful genius whose tragic past pushes her to be the most
she can be.
She-Hulk
In April 2019, a rumor made the rounds that Bruce Banner's cousin She-Hulk would be getting
a team-up miniseries on the Disney Plus streaming service a rumor that was confirmed when Disney
announced their She-Hulk series at D23 in August.
On the surface, She-Hulk and Spider-Man don't have too much in common.
Spider-Man is a street-level hero who jumps around and sticks to walls, while She-Hulk
is a powerhouse brute who can knock down walls.
Peter Parker is a high school student while Jennifer Walters is an accomplished lawyer.
But one thing Parker and Walters have in common is that they're both downright hilarious.
As well as that, both characters often wrestle with how they can juggle their normal lives
with their "super lives".
As far as the MCU is concerned, they could also cover similar story ground, both living
in the shadow of two older, more seasoned heroes.
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