2021 marks the first year that Marvel Studios has officially entered the world of streaming television. With Disney+ at their fingertips, Marvel now has the ability to tell stories in ways they've never been able to before.
Their first three streaming shows have been a massive success. The world is currently enamored by Loki, which is set to finish its six-episode run next week—with a finale that may just be setting up the next big bad of the MCU.
After Loki finishes up, the next show is something new for the MCU: animation. That show, of course, is What If..?, a show that asks just that: what if things had played out differently? Over the course of ten episodes, the animated show will explore multiple scenarios revolving around important events in the MCU having gone down differently.
Now, after much anticipation, Marvel has released a brand-new trailer for What If..?, which also confirmed that the show is set to debut on August 11. Within the new trailer, though, as well as the official poster, Spider-Man seems to be holding something that isn't his.
SPIDER-MAN: SORCERER SUPREME?
Marvel just released a brand-new trailer for their upcoming MCU animated show What If..?, followed by a new official poster, and in it there were plenty of curiosities for Marvel fans to obsess over.
Among them, was something quite strange.
On the poster for the show, Tom Holland's Spider-Man can quite clearly be seen wearing Doctor Strange's cloak. What's missing, however, is any context as to why.
Above is the full poster, showcasing teases of the many other multiverse stories that the show will showcase to viewers.
Tom Holland' Spider-Man was also included in the trailer itself in action, firing his webs at an unknown target. It's unclear if this particular moment is part of the same episode that will see Spider-Man getting Strange's Cloak of Levitation.
Also worth noting, the design used in this image happens to be that of the suit featured on Spider-Man at Avengers Campus in Disneyland California––so it isn't that of any suit previously seen in the MCU.
STRANGE'S CLOAK, BUT WHY?
It's important to note that there doesn't seem to be any additional mystical elements present on Spider-Man—so maybe that means that Peter just has the cloak, and none of the sorcery.
Does that mean that, at some point, Doctor Strange may perish? Perhaps fans could witness an alternate version of the events on Titan go down, with it ending in Strange's death—and the cloak choosing Peter as its inheritor. Or, perhaps Spidey is the one who finds himself in danger, and the Sorcerer Supreme commands the cloak to aid the webslinger.
The timing of this storyline couldn't be better, given Doctor Strange's role in Tom Holland's upcoming Spider-Man threequel Spider-Man: No Way Home. This is also likely not the only time fans will see Spider-Man as a focus in What If...?, as it's been previously rumored that none other than Steve Rogers will be the one bitten by a spider in one of the many multiverses out there.
