MCU Spider-Man vs The Comics: 5 Major Changes The Movies Made to Spidey

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has several successful properties, but the best of them might be Spider-Man, which the company co-produces with Sony. This is Sony’s third attempt at a Spider-Man franchise, with Tobey Maguire starring in three movies before Sony rebooted it with Andrew Garfield. However, the Tom Holland films have been the most successful for Sony, and much of that is thanks to the MCU taking control of the character. That said, the company made the character unique even from the comics, making some significant changes to a superhero who has been one of Marvel’s most popular for decades.

From Peter Parker’s place in the world to his non-superhero talents, here are the five biggest things that the MCU changed about Spider-Man from the comics.

5) Peter Parker Wasn’t A High School Outcast In The MCU

The very first appearance of Spider-Man came in Amazing Fantasy #15, and the first page described Peter Parker as a Wallflower whom all the other students mocked and avoided. He was alone and, while brilliant, he had nothing in his personal life that signified success. Flash Thompson was a bully who pushed him around in school, and even the girls that Peter liked often avoided him at school. That said, the MCU took away that entire aspect of his personal life.

Peter wasn’t a science nerd whom everyone made fun of. He also wasn’t the awkward kid who walked with his head down. Peter Parker had friends in the movies, specifically Ned Leeds, who bore little resemblance to the comic book character with the same name. Peter even had a date in Spider-Man: Homecoming and another close friend in MJ. Not even Flash Thompson bullied him; instead, he just gave Peter a hard time.

4) Spider-Man’s Love Life Was Different In The MCU

In the comics, Spider-Man had a crush on Liz Allen, but his only genuine girlfriend in high school was Gwen Stacy, and then Mary Jane Watson after that. Mary Jane was in the Tobey Maguire trilogy and Gwen Stacy in the Andrew Garfield movies. The MCU then decided to eliminate both of them from his adventures in recent films, and instead brought in a new character named MJ (Zendaya).

Peter Parker even got a date with his high school crush in Spider-Man: Homecoming before her dad’s legacy as The Vulture ended that. Peter then won over MJ by Spider-Man: No Way Home, although he ended that in the same way that Peter ended his relationship with Mary Jane in One More Day in the comics. Despite this, Spider-Man has never had a real relationship in the MCU, and that remains a big difference. There is hope that Black Cat could appear in the MCU and change that for Spider-Man.

3) Spider-Man Was Not A Genius In The MCU

Spider-Man was bitten by a radioactive spider and gained the powers of a spider, where he could crawl up walls, as well as develop superhuman strength and agility. He even had spider-sense, and this was all on display in the movies and the comics. However, Peter Parker was also something else in the comics: a super genius, one of the most intelligent people in Marvel Comics.

In the MCU, Peter is still a high school student, and he is still smart. However, he is nowhere near the super genius he was in the comics, and as far as what the movies have shown, he isn’t even close. He was able to figure things out with his science experience, especially in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but he could have done so much more to figure things out if he were the Peter Parker from the comics. He might not be smarter than Reed Richards, but in the comics, he is a lot smarter than Peter Parker is in the MCU.

2) Peter Parker Didn’t Have A Job In The MCU

In Marvel Comics, Peter Parker got a job as a high school student by working as a photographer at the Daily Bugle. He took photos of Spider-Man in action with a hidden camera and then sold them to J. Jonah Jameson. However, in the MCU, not only does Peter Parker never get a job as a photographer, but he never meets J. Jonah Jameson before the journalist begins targeting him.

In the comics, Peter’s role working for the newspaper was just as important as his time in high school and his role as Spider-Man. In the MCU, his relationship with his friends Ned and MJ was significant, but nothing in his personal life really mattered outside of that, and that means the movies had no time for Peter Parker to get a job to help him make money. That should change in the next film, since he has to support himself after his Aunt May’s death. Just don’t expect a job at a newspaper.

1) Spider-Man Had No Mentor In Comics

Speaking of Aunt May’s death, everything about Spider-Man’s hero journey was different in the MCU. In Marvel Comics, Uncle Ben died, and his words led Spider-Man to be a hero, with his Aunt May there to help keep Peter Parker grounded. Uncle Ben never existed in the MCU, except as part of Peter’s past. Aunt May was younger and played a very different role, especially when she learned her nephew was Spider-Man.

The most significant difference is that, in the comics, Spider-Man had no mentors other than the memory of his Uncle Ben. In the MCU, Iron Man was there to mentor Peter and make special costumes for the street-level hero. In fact, Tony Stark was the super genius who helped Spider-Man achieve greatness, rather than Peter himself. Even after Iron Man died, Happy Hogan took his place as a mentor figure for Peter, and this is something that greatly differed from Marvel Comics.

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