WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War, in theaters now.
CLICK HERE FOR CBR'S FULL AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR COVERAGE
Since his debut in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, Peter Parker has become one of the breakout characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tom Holland's youth makes him incredibly easy to root for, which makes it all the more heartbreaking when he becomes one of Thanos' many victims at the end of Infinity War. On the destroyed world of Titan, Peter is cradled by Tony Stark, pleading that he doesn't want to die before he eventually does, the young superhero crumbling to ash.
Peter's definitely coming back next year in Infinity War's currently unnamed sequel, but there is a wrinkle to that film. Recent casting additions have teased that there may be a larger time skip in the story than what we're used to. Instead of taking place in the relative present of the real world, the sequel may jump ahead a few extra years via some sort of time-travel mechanism.
With that in mind, and the implication that Peter has been wiped from reality, this may be the perfect way to bring Miles Morales into the MCU.
RELATED: Miles Morales Looks Up to...Batman?
Miles has always been something of a complicated character, even by Marvel Comics standards. He first got his start in a completely different reality than Marvel's mainstream universe, and didn't become integrated into the wider Marvel U until two years ago, making him an incredibly young hero by comic standards. The now canceled Amazing Spider-Man films shot down the possibility of Miles in the weeks before the second film released, even though Andrew Garfield advocated for the character's inclusion, and while Holland himself has said he'd be game for Miles to show up down the line, the kid hasn't been in any of the films -- yet.
Last year's Spider-Man: Homecoming did feature two very brief indications he exists in Sony's Spider-Man reality by way of his uncle Aaron Davis' arrival. (His actual debut film will be the animated Into the Spider-Verse flick this Christmas, but it very clearly is in its own world.)
RELATED: Avengers 4: Everything We Know So Far About Infinity War’s Sequel
Assuming he's as young as his Uncle's comments indicated he was during the events of Homecoming, a time skip from that movie to Avengers 4 would make Miles the right age to come into his identity as a teenage superhero. Because he shows up "late" in Peter Parker's life, it's hard to pin down just when in the timeline you have him appear on screen so that it feels natural for them to hang out and swing around New York together. The first season of the current Spider-Man cartoon has Miles gain his powers only a few episodes into Peter being a hero, for example, while the upcoming Spider-Man game has Miles meet a Peter who's been a hero for nearly a decade. There's a careful line to walk, and having a Miles pop up only a few years into Peter's career as a hero is an acceptable middle ground.
Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='Miles%20Morales%27%20Grounded%20Spider-Man%20is%20Perfect%20for%20Marvel%27s%20Cosmic%20Future']
The Marvel Cinematic Universe may be taking more of a step towards cosmic adventures once Infinity War has concluded, and Miles could fit right into that move. He's lived a more cosmic life than most teen superheroes can boast, from meeting the version of himself from his new universe, to working with the Avengers and Champions to stop two Earths from combining into a single planet.
Even before he moved from the Ultimate Universe to the MU-proper thanks to Secret Wars, Miles found himself dimension-hopping thanks to the first Spider-Men series, and a brief stint with the time-displaced X-Men. Any worries that Marvel might have about Miles not fitting with the direction planned for the MCU would ring hollow; after all, it was his simple act of kindness and giving Molecule Man a cheeseburger that allowed for Marvel's comics universe to be restored. His core of genuine goodness and empathy simply plays well against the backdrop of massively cosmic events.
RELATED: An Avengers 4 Pregnancy Would Give an MCU Original the Perfect Sendoff
Up until fairly recently, Miles was only a hero because Peter was dead and gone. Peter's death in the MCU makes things much more complicated and there's not much of a Spider-Man legacy for Miles to live up to. But it could also make things more interesting for Miles. What is he like without any trace of Peter's history hovering over him? He'd still be young and inexperienced, so Peter can show him the ropes upon his return, but it's a question worth posing regardless.
Another upside to this move would be that by including Miles now, Marvel and Sony wouldn't have to waste time finding a way to bring his character in later. Thus, once Holland's contract ends, they could shift the movie franchise to focus on Spider-Man: Miles Morales, or whatever they end up calling it, without missing a step. By doing with Miles what Civil War did with Black Panther, or Thor Ragnarok did with the Hulk, the stage would be set for Miles to go on to bigger and better things sooner than later.
RELATED: Hasbro’s New Avengers: Infinity War Toy Confirms a Cut Scene Theory
We've seen Spider-Man interact with most of the big players of the MCU, so now it's time to see what he's like with someone in his own relative inner circle. Following his transfer to the main Marvel Comics universe, the solution was to make him the New York-based Spider-Man while Peter's Spidey went on globetrotting adventures. Holland's Homecoming sequel already sounds like it'll have Peter travel the world, and New York will always need a Spider-Man. If nothing else, this gives Sony and Marvel both of their cakes while allowing them to eat them at the same time. The studios get a Peter Parker who goes international, and we get the Miles Morales films fans have wanted since the character first showed up.
Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Avengers: Infinity War stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Tom Hiddleston, and Josh Brolin. The film is playing in theaters in everywhere.