Spider-Man finally swings into Marvel’s neighborhood

It’s official, true believers! After years of inter-studio scuttlebutt and fanboy dream weaving, Spider-Man is finally wall-crawling his way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Late this past Monday, Sony Pictures, which has controlled the big screen rights to Spider-Man since 1999,  announced its plans to lease the character to Disney’s Marvel Studios for several new films, including a pivotal role in the upcoming Captain America: Civil War and the third and fourth installments of the hugely successful Avengers franchise.  Sony will also continue producing solo adventures for the web-head, including one currently slated for 2017.  The fate of Drew Goddard’s super-villain team-up flick The Sinister Six, meanwhile, remains unknown at this time.

News of the deal has been rapturously received by the majority of Spidey fans, particularly those who were left unsatisfied by last year’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, a generic, unfocused muddle that sidelined the terrific chemistry between stars Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone in favor of too many villains, convoluted subplots and a fatal over-reliance on slapdash CGI. The bulk of the excitement, however, stems from the realm of pure geek wish fulfillment: the chance to witness Spider-Man share the screen with other Marvel heroes — including his fellow Avengers — for the first time in cinematic history.

Now that we know Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige and his creative team are being brought in to help former Sony head-turned-producer Amy Pascal shape the future of the wisecracking web-slinger and the $4 billion franchise he represents, what should that future look like?

First and foremost, let’s cool it with Spidey’s origin, which was already revisited in the first Amazing Spider-Man back in 2012. There are only so many times we can wince as that radioactive spider lands on Peter Parker’s arm or sniffle as poor Uncle Ben gets gunned down. These plot points should be considered common knowledge by now. Show us something new, already!

Second, as much as it pains me, Marvel is going to have to recast Spider-Man. Garfield’s Peter might have come off as too smooth and self-assured at times — making him a skateboarding Coldplay fan with Edward Cullen hair might have been a mistake in hindsight — but his playful, quip-spouting Spidey felt like a spot-on interpretation of the character, a bashful nerd who transforms into a freewheeling insult comic the second he slips on the spandex. Garfield is a fantastic actor, and he’d probably be happy to continue in the role that allowed him to live out his childhood dream, but Marvel reportedly wants a high school-aged Spidey, and the 31-year-old simply no longer looks the part.

So who could replace Garfield? Right now, the two actors whose names are being bandied around the most are Logan Lerman and Dylan O’Brien. Both are solid choices, and despite their almost eerie physical similarities (both are short, skinny guys with pale skin and dark hair), each would bring something very different to the table in terms of energy and focus.

Lerman, who received positive notices last year for his performance as a morally conflicted tank gunner in David Ayer’s World War II drama Fury, exuded a soulful sincerity worthy of Peter Parker as a lovesick high school freshman in The Perks of Being A Wallflower. He also has previous experience headlining franchises, as evidenced by the Percy Jackson series. O’Brien, who recently starred in the YA adaptation The Maze Runner, is primarily known for playing Stiles, a supporting character on MTV’s Teen Wolf whose motor-mouthed delivery could easily jibe with Spidey’s arsenal of snark. Given those strengths, perhaps Lerman should play Peter and O’Brien can wear the suit.

There’s also another option currently under discussion by the suits at Marvel and Sony. What if the latest big screen version of Spider-Man isn’t really Peter Parker at all? The last time the role was up for grabs, a significant portion of the fanbase rallied around Community actor Donald Glover, demanding that the affable comedian be cast as the first-ever black Spider-Man. The idea inspired Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis to create the character of Miles Morales, a half-black, half-Latino teen who becomes Spider-Man in an alternate timeline.  Miles has since gathered a devoted following, and many, including Andrew Garfield himself, have expressed an interest in seeing him brought to life on screen someday. Could this be the time?

Purists would scoff at the idea, of course, and maybe they have a point. Peter Parker is one of the most enduring and relatable characters in comics for a reason, and it would be a shame to blow the first-ever opportunity to watch him interact with the rest of Marvel’s cinematic universe. But why do we have to choose between Peter and Miles? Just as the Falcon (Anthony Mackie) is clearly being groomed to one day assume the mantle of Captain America from Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), why not simply have a young Miles start apprenticing for Peter a few movies down the road? That way the eventual changing of the guard would feel more organic and dramatically earned.

Some might question the value of having Spider-Man join the Avengers in the first place. The web-slinger works best as a street-level hero, after all, and his superpowers, while effective against a localized menace such as Doctor Octopus, are not particularly useful when combating cosmic threats on the level of Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet. Both of those points are wholly accurate, but they miss the deeper truth of the character.

Like Robin and other various sidekicks in the DC stable, Spidey was created in part to act as a friendly intermediary between younger readers and the more intimidating concepts and characters contained within the material. More than that, though, he was the first comic book hero to behave like a real teenager, complete with relationship issues, money troubles and feelings of depression, guilt and inadequacy. Spider-Man might be amazing and spectacular and all the other Stan Lee-approved superlatives, but it’s Peter Parker’s essential humanity that has endeared him to audiences for more than half a century.

Landon McDonald is a graduate student studying public relations. His column, “Screen Break,” runs Fridays.