Marvel’s cinematic Spider-Man legacy is about to break an exciting record this year, though not with the live-action Spider-Man we were originally expecting.
Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man: Brand New Day is expected to be one of the year’s biggest summer blockbusters, starring Tom Holland as the MCU’s resident Webslinger in his fourth solo movie. However, 2026 will also see the release of the animated Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man season 2, along with Amazon and MGM’s live-action Spider-Noir series with Nicolas Cage reprising his role as the 1930s P.I. version of Spider-Man, having been first featured in Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s animated Spider-Verse movies.
Thanks to trailers, we know that the MCU is preparing to give Tom Holland’s Peter Parker a significant powers evolution in Brand New Day, including a key ability change we haven’t seen from a live-action Spider-Man since the early 2000s. That said, new reveals suggest that Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Noir series will actually be the project to achieve this exciting Spider-Man milestone first: organic webbing.
Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Is About To Get All-New Organic Webs (Just Like Tobey Maguire)
Tom Holland as Peter Parker freaking out while hanging in the air webbed in Spider-Man Brand New Day
In the first trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, we see Tom Holland’s Peter Parker waking up upside down above an alleyway, emerging from a web cocoon before falling out. Despite not having his signature mechanical web shooters, Peter still manages to shoot a web to catch himself all the same, confirming that the MCU’s Spider-Man will soon have organic webs, just like the very first major live-action Spider-Man played by Tobey Maguire (whom Holland’s Peter met in Spider-Man: No Way Home).
In Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Tobey Maguire never had to worry about creating his own web shooters, as the spider that bit him simply gave him the ability to shoot organic webs sourced from his own body.
Interestingly enough, Marvel Comics briefly followed the Spider-Man trilogy’s lead during The Other storyline, where Peter Parker underwent a cocoon-like transformation that granted him organic webbing and enhanced abilities, just before the events of the comics’ One More Day and Brand New Day storylines. This infamous reboot largely reset much of Peter Parker’s story, including reverting to Spider-Man needing his mechanical web shooters once more.
Ironically, it looks as though Spider-Man: Brand New Day will bring things full circle by giving Tom Holland’s Peter Parker a similar metamorphosis, emerging from his own web cocoon with enhanced powers and no longer needing to create his own web fluid. Naturally, it’s a pretty big change we haven’t seen from a live-action Spider-Man since Maguire, though it seems the major first will actually be achieved by a completely different Spider-hero altogether.
Surprisingly, Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Noir Is Going To Have Organic Webbing Too (Before Holland)
Based on recently released footage for Spider-Noir, it’s been confirmed that Nicolas Cage’s Websliger will end up being the first live-action Spider-Man to shoot organic webs since Tobey Maguire.
Although he typically utilizes mechanical web shooters on the page, the new Spider-Noir trailer sees Cage’s version of Spider-Man using organic webbing instead, albeit with visually distinct black webs as he swings through the black-and-white streets of 1930s New York.
With Spider-Noir set to begin streaming at the end of May, it beats out Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is set to release at the end of July, making Cage’s Ben Reilly the first live-action Spider-Man with organic webs since Maguire, then followed by Holland a couple of months later.
Friendly Neighborhood Assessment · MCU Era Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Trivia
🏠Homecoming2017
✈️Far From Home2019
🌌No Way Home2021
😈VillainsSinister…
🤖MCUAvengers
01
Before getting his own solo film, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut by being recruited by Tony Stark to help in a massive superhero conflict. In which MCU film did Holland first appear as Spider-Man?
✓ Correct! Tom Holland first appeared as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War (2016), where Tony Stark visits Peter in Queens and recruits him for the airport battle against Team Cap. His quippy, starstruck portrayal instantly won over audiences.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Captain America: Civil War. Holland debuted in the 2016 film before Homecoming (2017). He was recruited by Tony Stark for the iconic airport fight scene, stealing Captain America’s shield with his webs in one of the film’s most memorable moments.
02
In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter faces a blue-collar salvage contractor who turned to arms dealing after being shut out of the Chitauri cleanup by Damage Control. Using an alien-tech wingsuit, he becomes one of Spider-Man’s most grounded villains. Who is he?
✓ Correct! Adrian Toomes, played brilliantly by Michael Keaton, is the Vulture — a working-class father who builds a criminal empire selling alien-derived weapons. The twist that he’s the father of Peter’s date Liz is one of the MCU’s best surprises.
✗ Web miss! The answer is The Vulture (Adrian Toomes). The Shocker and Tinkerer are his henchmen in the film, and Scorpion (Mac Gargan) only briefly appears. Toomes is the main antagonist who personally confronts Peter in the unforgettable car ride scene.
03
Tony Stark built Peter a high-tech suit loaded with features Peter didn’t even know about, including an AI assistant that helps him in combat, provides tactical analysis, and even gives dating advice. What name does Peter give this AI?
✓ Correct! Peter names his suit’s AI “Karen,” voiced by Jennifer Connelly. She assists him with web shooter modes, reconnaissance, and even his love life. Friday is Tony Stark’s AI, and E.D.I.T.H. is the Stark satellite system that appears in Far From Home.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Karen. Friday is Tony Stark’s personal AI, E.D.I.T.H. is the Stark defense satellite Peter inherits in Far From Home, and Jocasta is an AI from the comics. Karen, voiced by Jennifer Connelly, is Peter’s suit assistant throughout Homecoming.
04
In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter encounters a seemingly heroic figure who claims to be from an alternate Earth, battling elemental creatures across Europe. In reality, he’s a disgruntled former Stark Industries employee using advanced holographic drones. What is his real name?
✓ Correct! Quentin Beck, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is Mysterio — a master of illusion who uses Stark Industries’ B.A.R.F. holographic technology and weaponized drones to fabricate the Elementals and pose as a hero. His final act of revenge shapes the entire third film.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Quentin Beck. William Ginter Riva is one of Beck’s team members, Aldrich Killian is the villain of Iron Man 3, and Justin Hammer is from Iron Man 2. Beck is Mysterio, the illusionist who manipulated Peter’s trust across Europe.
05
In one of the MCU’s most shocking mid-credits scenes, J. Jonah Jameson broadcasts doctored footage from Mysterio’s final moments that completely upends Peter Parker’s life. What does this broadcast reveal to the entire world?
✓ Correct! Mysterio’s doctored footage, broadcast by J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons reprising his iconic role), exposes Spider-Man’s identity as Peter Parker to the entire world. This revelation drives the entire plot of No Way Home as Peter desperately seeks to undo the damage.
✗ Web miss! The answer is that Spider-Man is Peter Parker. While the footage also frames Spider-Man for the London drone attack, the earth-shattering reveal is Peter’s unmasked identity being broadcast globally by The Daily Bugle’s J. Jonah Jameson.
06
With his identity exposed and his loved ones under threat, Peter seeks help from a powerful sorcerer to cast a spell that would make the world forget he is Spider-Man. Peter’s constant modifications to the spell cause it to fracture the multiverse. Which sorcerer casts this spell?
✓ Correct! Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) casts the memory-wiping spell at Peter’s request, but Peter keeps asking for exceptions — for MJ, Ned, May, and Happy to still remember him. These constant changes corrupt the spell and tear open the multiverse, pulling in villains from other Spider-Man universes.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Doctor Strange. While Wong is the Sorcerer Supreme and actually warns Strange against it, it is Stephen Strange who agrees to cast the spell. Wanda’s multiverse interference occurs in Multiverse of Madness, not here.
07
Throughout all three films, Peter’s loyal best friend serves as his “guy in the chair,” helping with tech support and keeping his secret. In No Way Home, this character even discovers he can open magical portals using a Sling Ring. Who is Peter’s best friend?
✓ Correct! Ned Leeds, played by Jacob Batalon, is Peter’s best friend and self-proclaimed “guy in the chair.” He discovers Peter’s secret identity in Homecoming, supports him across all three films, and in No Way Home he accidentally uses Doctor Strange’s Sling Ring to open portals to other Spider-Men.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Ned Leeds. Flash Thompson is Peter’s rival and bully who ironically idolizes Spider-Man. Harry Osborn is Peter’s friend in the Raimi and Webb films but doesn’t appear in Holland’s trilogy. Miles Morales is only hinted at. Ned is the irreplaceable “guy in the chair.”
08
At the emotional climax of No Way Home, Peter makes an enormous personal sacrifice to save the multiverse. Doctor Strange completes the spell, and when it takes effect, Peter is left completely alone. What does the final spell do?
✓ Correct! The final spell makes every person in every universe forget that Peter Parker exists. MJ, Ned, Happy, the Avengers — everyone. Peter visits MJ at the coffee shop afterward but decides not to re-introduce himself, choosing to protect them. He starts over completely alone, sewing his own suit in a small apartment.
✗ Web miss! The answer is that everyone forgets who Peter Parker is. The spell doesn’t erase Spider-Man — people still know the hero exists — but nobody remembers Peter Parker the person. This devastating sacrifice means MJ, Ned, and even Happy Hogan have no memory of him at all.
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Are you an Avenger — or just a friendly neighborhood bystander?
Regardless of who’s shooting their organic webs first, it’s still pretty notable that both live-action Spider-Man portrayals audiences will be getting this year have opted to forgo this classic staple of the character. While we already know there’s going to be a key story reason for the change in Tom Holland’s case, it will be interesting to hopefully learn more about the decision to give Cage’s Spider-Noir organic webs as well.
Spider-Noir begins streaming May 27th on Prime Video and MGM+, while Spider-Man: Brand New Day releases in theaters July 31st from Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios.
