As Marvel fans eagerly wait for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars to arrive, one rumor that has emerged isn’t sounding the most promising.
Very little is known at this point in time when it comes to official Doomsday and Secret Wars plot details. Obviously, Robert Downey Jr. is going to show up as Doctor Doom and cause some serious mayhem. Comic fans are expecting that an incursion will happen, at some point, and Battleworld will be created. But beyond that? We don’t really know for sure.
One rumor that has popped up is that Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield will return, at least in Avengers: Secret Wars; however, we’re left hoping that this is the kind of rumor that ultimately doesn’t come to fruition. We did that already. Let’s not repeat the same plot points just for the sake of nostalgia, should we?
Marvel doesn’t need to use Tobey Maguire for nostalgia bait in Avengers: Secret Wars
As we all know, Maguire and Garfield both returned in Spider-Man: No Way Home. It’s something that Marvel Studios clearly did for all the Spider-Man fans out there, and it’s cool. It’s cool not just because we get to see Maguire and Garfield do some web-slinging again, but because they don’t just show up as quick cameos. They’re worked into the actual narrative of the story.
Not only are they worked into the narrative, but they’re given their own narratives, themselves. One of the best moments of No Way Home is when Garfield’s Peter Parker saves MJ, which, in retrospect, improves the ending of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 a bit by giving that moment a full arc.
We can expect, I don’t know, anywhere between one and two billion Marvel characters to show up in Avengers: Secret Wars. Not all of them are going to get a lot of screen time. Given that Maguire and Garfield aren’t really big parts of what’s going on with the MCU right now, it seems safe to assume that, if they really do show up, they probably won’t be in much of it. At which point, their presence will just serve as nostalgia bait.
It could work if Maguire were a key part of the narrative
If Maguire and Garfield were to be worked into the MCU narrative in a larger way between now and Avengers: Secret Wars, then, hey, maybe this whole thing could work. They could show up in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, also known as Spider-Man 4, and actually matter to the story of Avengers: Doomsday. There’s a mystery movie coming out between Doomsday and Secret Wars, too; maybe they’re part of that, whatever it may be.
There’s still room to explore these characters. Just because Maguire had three non-MCU Spider-Man movies, it doesn’t mean that his story is suddenly over. The idea of bringing him and Garfield back isn’t what’s wrong, here; if they are being brought just to wink at the camera, though, then it’ll be a pointless endeavor.
Then again, Tom Holland hasn’t even been confirmed to be part of the Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars at this point. Maybe he’s sent to another dimension to fight Knull while the incursion is happening. Maybe, then, this is when the MCU introduces Miles Morales (which would make sense given his comics history). Maybe they pull a page out of Spider-Verse’s playbook, and Maguire and Garfield then have to mentor him. Maybe we’ve just got to wait and see how this all plays out.
