Avengers: Secret Wars Rumor May Reveal Marvel's 'Prime' Spider-Man

There's only one true Spider-Man?

While the animated "Spider-Verse" films show an abundance of Spider-Men sharing the screen, it was 2021's "No Way Home" that served as a collage of all the current live-action Peter Parkers. In that film, Tom Holland's iteration of the wall-crawler crosses paths with Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire's Spider-Men, thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's introduction of the multiverse. In "No Way Home," the Spider-Men unite to defeat their respective villains and restore balance. It also opens the door for both Garfield and Maguire's characters to return for future MCU projects.

To this day, Holland stands out as the MCU's flagship version of Spider-Man, but it'll be interesting to see how the ever-expanding franchise tackles the two other Peter Parker variants going forward. Spider-Man is obviously still a big part of the Marvel machine and will more than likely return for the upcoming "Avengers: Secret Wars." While details on that "Avengers" project are slim, a rumor from notable Hollywood scoop master MyTimeToShineHello suggests that the team-up film will finally confirm who the "Prime" version of the webhead is. Unsurprisingly, the rumor suggests that Holland is the primary Spider-Man of the MCU.

While this is definitely a rumor and should be taken with a healthy-sized grain of salt, it wouldn't be surprising if Holland's Spider-Man is treated as the "Prime" version of the character considering that he's been a key part of the MCU since 2016. Yes, Maguire and Garfield's versions elicit nostalgia, but they haven't had any major impact on the MCU's happenings when compared to Holland.

What is a "Prime" version, anyway? According to MyTimeToShineHello, "Prime" versions of key Marvel characters are the incarnations who play a significant role in future projects. It all starts with the insider's rumored plot details for "Deadpool 3," which is reportedly set to focus heavily on the TVA (Time Variance Authority). "'Deadpool 3' is about the TVA picking up the PRIME versions of each hero to create a multiversal army to fight the Kangs," MyTimeToShineHello shared on X (formerly known as Twitter). This is supposedly how Hugh Jackman's Wolverine factors into the "Deadpool" threequel.

This plot synopsis eventually led to MyTimeToShineHello clarifying that Tom Holland is the "Prime" version of Spider-Man. This makes sense from a logistical point of view, considering Holland's iteration is a homegrown version of the character, unlike Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. Holland's Spider-Man has been with the franchise for nearly a decade, and while it hasn't been confirmed what the future holds, it's not a stretch to expect post-"Spider-Man: No Way Home" appearances.

But while the insider does say that Holland's Spider-Man is the "Prime" version of the web-slinger, that doesn't mean that the previous Spider-Men won't have roles in the MCU. According to another rumor (which should be taken with an equally large grain of salt), Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man will return in "Avengers: Secret Wars." This could mean that both Spider-Men will share the screen again relatively soon, as "Secret Wars" is currently scheduled to debut in May 2027.

If we assume that Tom Holland's Spider-Man is the "Prime" version of the character, then it stands to reason that the British actor has a long journey ahead with Marvel. Following the release of "Spider-Man: No Way Home," it was confirmed that a new "Spider-Man" film was in the works. However, not much has materialized since then. During that time, Holland has continued to extend his presence in Hollywood, appearing in projects like the blockbuster "Uncharted" and AppleTV+'s "The Crowded Room."

But back in June of 2023, Holland revealed that preliminary work on the untitled fourth Spidey outing had begun. Unfortunately, initial chats stopped due to the recently concluded 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. "There's been multiple conversations had, but at this point it's very, very early stages," Holland reiterated in a June 2023 conversation with Variety. As of this writing, no formal announcement regarding a fourth "Spider-Man" film has been made, and it remains to be seen how that picture folds into "Avengers: Secret Wars." But seeing as this is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man could pop up in any number of projects between now and then ... but that's simply speculation for now.