Five Roles Donald Glover Could Portray In Spider-Man Homecoming

Donald Glover, Troy from NBC’s Community and the legendary rapper Childish Gambino, was recently announced to be joining the cast of Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: Homecoming. Arriving in theaters next year, Homecoming will present us with the first solo movie for Spider-Man since joining the other heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The idea of Glover joining the Spidey universe isn’t something new, as fans have rallied for Donald to not only join the film, but play the role of your friendly neighborhood webhead for quite some time in the past.

At 32 years old, Childish Gambino may be a bit too old now for the character of Peter Parker, but joining the rest of the cast in Homecoming is a more than welcome bit of news. While Marvel Studios has been tight lipped on some of the other characters who will make appearances in the film, aside from Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May and Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark, here are five options for characters that Donald Glover could play in the upcoming film.

Miles Morales

Let’s get the most obvious choice out of the way first. Granted, as I mentioned above, the age hurdle would be the biggest when it came to Donald portraying the second “Ultimate Spider-Man”, now currently swinging around the Marvel Universe proper in the comics. The Marvel Cinematic Universe however hasn’t been scared to make changes when necessary, to differentiate itself from the comics, in pursuit of the best story. Why not have an older, wiser Miles Morales take Peter Parker under his wing and act as a tutor to him?

For those not in the know, Miles Morales took up the mantle of Spider-Man in the Ultimate Universe line following the death of Peter Parker at the hand of the Green Goblin and the Sinister Six. Gaining his powers in a similar way (being bitten by a genetically enhanced spider), Miles abilities differed ever slightly from Peter’s and while he encountered many foes that Parker had, his landscape was quite different. Following the events of the Marvel crossover, Secret Wars, Miles’ universe was destroyed, but himself and his supporting cast were whisked to the Marvel universe wherein he now swings across New York and is a card carrying Avenger. Giving Glover the role of Miles would be a dream come true for some fans. 

Ezekiel

If we wanted to go for an established mentor for Spidey, look no further than the character of Ezekiel. A creation of comic book creator, J Michael Straczynski, during his run on Amazing Spider-Man, Ezekiel entered into Peter’s life with a question. What if the spider that bit Peter wasn’t affected by radiation at all? Rather the spider itself was supernatural in nature and had always meant to be there to give Parker his powers. Revealing that he himself was also granted powers by the supernatural world through a spider ritual, Ezekiel warned Peter of an upcoming threat named “Morlun” and the two became uneasy friends. Ezekiel was seemingly killed in the fight against Morlun but returned later on to re-enter Peter’s life.

Ezekiel represented another idea of “what Peter Parker could be”, sharing the same powers as Spider-Man but using those abilities to create his own multi-national company, helping people across the world. While Ezekiel’s intentions weren’t always exactly noble, he did make for some interesting stories along the way. The mystery man was older than Peter in the comics, and having Donald Glover portray him would make for a great move in a similar sense as being Miles. This could also potentially set up a sequel foreshadowing the arrival of Morlun, if of course the Vulture rumors are true. 

Robbie Robertson

We’re just getting all our “Spider-Mentors” out of the way from the start! Robbie has always been a big part of Peter Parker’s life, acting as a foil to J Jonah Jameson at the Daily Bugle. He appeared in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies and will usually appear in most Spidey cartoons as well along the way. A father figure to Peter, one of the great aspects of Robertson was the idea that he may know Peter’s secret identity, giving a helpful hint or nod along the way. Robbie and Peter always had a great relationship and casting Glover in the role would make for some great exchanges between himself and Tom Holland, as both seem to be quite the humorous actors when all is said and done.

Robertson, and the Bugle, were absent from the Amazing Spider-Man franchise which I believe ultimately hurt the movies overall. Robbie, though his role may be considered small by some, adds much needed heart to the Spidey universe and Glover would do fantastically in that role.

Vulture

Who says Adrian Toomes needs to be a withered old man? The Vulture’s been young before in the comics, and he could be young again! While rumors have been running rampant that the Vulture will be the villain of this first film, that casting was linked to the speculation that the role would be played by Birdman himself, Michael Keaton. However, I think Glover would make for a great villain and casting someone closer to Peter’s age would certainly make him seem like more of a threat to Parker. Also, if Keaten weren’t to play this role, it would free him up to portray Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin, and that sounds like a home run to me.

Marvel has been quiet about who the villain will be for this film but having it be Donald Glover would make for a cool twist. 

Hypno Hustler

I mean, they’re both musicians! A bi-product of the swinging 70’s, Antoine Delsoin created hypnotic technology that he used to become a super villain, usually casting people under his spell with a big boombox. To be fair, this is just more of a humorous joke than anything else, though it would make for a great gag if they beefed up the Hustler’s role and had him as something of a comic relief character for Spidey to have to deal with. Update him to start using an iPhone to hypnotize people and you’re all set!

Whoever Glover ends up as, he’s sure to make for a welcome addition in the Marvel Cinematic Universe pantheon.