Marvel Studios isn't trying to hide the fact that Peter Parker is lonely in his latest solo movie, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Nobody remembers who he is, including his two best friends in the world, Ned Leeds and Michelle Jones. At least Peter can latch onto the fact that the world still very much remembers Spider-Man, with the hero even receiving the key to New York City in the Brand New Day trailer.
Unfortunately, it's not all sunshine and rainbows for Spider-Man, either, as he's about to undergo a transformation that will unlock new abilities and enhance established ones. To ensure he covers all his bases during this transition period, Peter will reach out to Bruce Banner for help. After all, there's no one more qualified to answer questions about mutations than the man living with the Hulk.
It remains to be seen how much help Bruce can offer his former ally. The scientist might even end up being more trouble than he's worth when his angry alter-ego makes an appearnce in Brand New Day. However, no matter how much assistance Bruce provides, he's about to join an impressive list of characters who have passed down knowledge to the Wall-Crawler.
Spider-Man's MCU Mentors, Ranked From Least to Most Impactful
7. Nick Fury (Talos)
After the tragic events of Avengers: Endgame, all Peter wanted to do was take a relaxing trip with his friends in Spider-Man: Far From Home. But Nick Fury made him take part in an international mission, which threw a wrench in those plans. Throughout Far From Home, Fury gave Peter a hard time, pushing him to be a better hero.
While Spider-Man eventually stepped up to the plate and saved the day, it's hard to give Fury any credit for the victory. The Skrull Talos was just following orders, though, as he had taken on Fury's appearance for the majority of the movie. Had Talos had his way, he probably would've given the kid a break.
6. Doctor Strange
Spider-Man and Doctor Strange first crossed paths in Avengers: Infinity War, travelling to Titan together and getting dusted by Thanos. Facing near-insurmountable odds together paved the way for the two heroes to form a bond. In fact, they became so tight that Peter asked Strange for help in Spider-Man: No Way Home when his secret identity was revealed.
Initially, Strange was more than willing to cook up a spell to set everything right. However, circumstances changed when the casting process went awry, with Strange requesting that all the displaced villains be returned to their timelines to die. That arrangement didn't sit right with Peter, who pushed back against his mentor's callous attitude by locking him in the Mirror Dimension.
5. Happy Hogan
Since Tony Stark was busy trying to coordinate Team Iron Man's battle plan in Captain America: Civil War, Happy Hogan took responsibility for Peter once he landed in Germany. Picking up Tony's slack was nothing new for Happy, but he probably didn't realize how much he'd come to care for the kid behind Spider-Man's mask.
Happy always provided Peter with a shoulder to cry on, especially when the young hero was at his lowest in Far From Home. Despite never liking the fact that Happy struck up a relationship with Aunt May, it crushed Peter to see Happy forget him at the end of No Way Home.
4. Mysterio
Peter had a massive hole in his heart after losing Tony in Endgame. He was so vulnerable that he didn't think twice when a hero from another universe named Mysterio showed up and offered to take him under his wing. It was like all the weight of Tony's legacy lifted off Peter's shoulders the second he laid eyes on Mysterio's fish bowl helmet.
Of course, Quentin Beck's alter ego was a facade. He was nothing more than a former Stark Industries employee with an axe to grind. But even though Mysterio was a fraud, Peter still learned a lot from him, namely that he can't trust everyone to have as pure a heart as his.
3. Peter 3
All the villains that Strange's botched spell unleashed in No Way Home were too much for Peter to handle alone. Fortunately, help arrived in the form of two Spider-Man variants. Peter 3, played by Andrew Garfield, was more than happy to help another version of himself, soaking in all the fun he was having.
Peter 3 also passed down another important lesson to Peter 1. He reminded his new friend that embracing the darkness after losing a loved one is never the way to go. The right path forward is to face the grief and not let it take control.
2. Peter 2
Tobey Maguire's Peter 2 wasn't as enthusiastic about getting back out in the field as his variants, mostly because he had quite a few more miles on him. However, he did his fair share of the heavy lifting in No Way Home's final battle, helping cure the villains and get them back home safe.
Peter 2's shining moment came when Peter 1 locked eyes with Green Goblin, who was responsible for Aunt May's death. All Tom Holland's character wanted to do was kill the villain, but Maguire's veteran hero showed him there was another way and took a knife in the back in the process.
The short time Peter 1 spent with his predecessors clearly had a huge impact on him, as Brand New Day director Daniel Destin Cretton confirmed he took inspiration from their suits when designing his new one (via EW).
1. Iron Man
As much as MCU fans might want to distance Spider-Man from Iron Man's shadow, there's no doubt that Robert Downey Jr.'s hero shaped the MCU's iteration of the Wall-Crawler more than anyone. Without hesitation, Tony took Peter under his wing in Civil War and kept him there until his final moments in Endgame.
Since Tony's death, all Peter has wanted to do is live up to his first mentor's expectations. He's surely exceeded them by now, but he will keep striving to do better, especially as a villain with Iron Man's face looks to destabilize the multiverse.
LATEST NEWS
