MCU Theory: Iron Man Created The Spider That Bit Peter Parker

The origin story of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Peter Parker is still unknown, but a theory suggests Tony Stark is the one responsible for the creation of the spider that bit Peter Parker. For over a decade, the MCU has been bringing various characters from Marvel Comics to the big screen, but some of the most popular ones took a bit too long to arrive for different reasons. Such is the case of Spider-Man, who became part of the MCU thanks to a deal between Sony and Marvel that allows the web-slinger to be part of both the MCU and Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, expanding this connected universe even further.

Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) made his MCU debut in Captain America: Civil War, where he was recruited by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) to join his side of the battle, and he returned in his first solo movie, Spider-Man: Homecoming. Since then, Peter has been part of the biggest battles the MCU has seen (those in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame) and has become a key character in the new era of the MCU thanks to the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No Way Home, which are also his first adventures without his mentor, Tony Stark.

However, everything about Peter’s story before the events of Civil War is unknown, and his origin story hasn’t been explored, making way for different theories on how it could be different from those of previous Spider-Men. Among those is a theory that suggests the one behind the creation of the spider that bit him is none other than Tony Stark, which would also explain why he was so into mentoring and looking after Peter from the beginning.

Iron Man Already Created Different Characters In The MCU

Tony Stark not only created countless weapons before having a much necessary shift of perspective and mentality in the first Iron Man movie, but he also unintentionally created different characters in the MCU, mostly villains. Starting with his debut movie, Obadiah Stane’s (Jeff Bridges) transformation into Iron Monger was caused by Tony, who pushed him aside once he took over Stark Industries at the age of 18, and later Stane used the arc reactor and the remains of the Mark I suit to create his Iron Monger suit. Then came Anton Vanko (Mickey Rourke) a.k.a. Whiplash in Iron Man 2, whose father worked with Howard Stark on the original arc reactor designs, and following his father’s death and Tony’s rise as Iron Man with the arc reactor led him to seek revenge against Stark. Next was Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) in Iron Man 3, who met Tony on New Year’s Eve in 1999 and was promised to meet on the roof to discuss his scientific advances, but Tony never showed up. Killian developed a hatred for Tony and went after him years later.

Tony Stark also created Avengers: Age of Ultron’s villain, Ultron (voiced by James Spader), with the help of Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), with the purpose of protecting humanity from different threats. Unfortunately, Ultron developed a consciousness of its own and came to the conclusion that the biggest threat was humanity, so he went on his own, destructive mission. The next villain created by Tony was Spider-Man: Homecoming’s Adrian Toomes/Vulture (Michael Keaton), whose job was taken away by Tony, forcing him to turn to a life of crime. Spider-Man: Far From Home’s villain Quentin Beck/Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) was also a creation of Tony, as Beck worked at Stark Industries and was part of the development of holographic technologies, which Tony rebranded and later fired Beck. Last but not least, Tony contributed to the creation of Vision (Paul Bettany) by uploading the remnants of J.A.R.V.I.S. to the body created by Ultron and Helen Cho.

How Previous Spider-Men Got Their Powers

The multiverse has been confirmed as part of the MCU, and part of it are the universes of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy and Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man movies, but each Peter Parker has had a different origin story. First, Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker in Spider-Man got bitten by a genetically modified spider during a tour of the genetics laboratory at Columbia University, and he quickly felt the effects of the bite, waking up the next morning with superpowers and other abilities. Then came Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man, who upon learning that his father worked with scientist Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans) at Oscorp, decided to sneak into the lab, where in a moment of curiosity, several genetically-modified spiders fell on him, and one bit him in the back, giving him the superpowers that turned him into Spider-Man.

Oscorp Doesn’t Exist In The MCU

In some versions of the Spider-Man comics, Peter and Miles Morales were bitten by spiders modified by Oscorp, and as seen above, the same happened in one of the big-screen versions of Spider-Man. In both Raimi’s and Webb’s Spider-Man universes, Oscorp is the leader in science and technology, and while the company wasn’t involved in the creation of the spider that bit Maguire’s Peter, it was still a key element throughout the whole trilogy. Since Holland’s debut in the MCU, fans have been looking for clues that Oscorp, along with Norman and Harry Osborn, will make an appearance, but thanks to Spider-Man: No Way Home it’s now confirmed that this isn’t going to happen. The opening of the multiverse’s gates in No Way Home made way for villains from the previous Spider-Man movies to cross over into the MCU, among those Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn/Green Goblin. Norman was understandably shaken and confused and tried to go home, but discovered that what would be his home in this universe isn’t his, and Oscorp doesn’t exist. With no Oscorp in the MCU, it’s possible that this universe’s lead laboratory could be the one behind the genetic modification of spiders – and it’s none other than Stark Industries.

Theory: Stark Industries Created The MCU’s Radioactive Spider

Stark Industries is the leader in science and technology in the MCU, and with Tony being behind the creation of many, many villains (unintentionally, that is), it’s possible that he was also somewhat responsible for the creation of a superhero like Spider-Man. A theory shared by Just The Nobody’s on TikTok suggests that the spider that bit Holland’s Peter Parker was created at the laboratories of Stark Industries, though for what purpose is unknown. It has been confirmed that the kid with an Iron Man helmet in Iron Man 2 was a young Peter Parker, so Peter used to go to Stark Expo when he was little, and after that interaction with his hero, he surely continued going. Now, in one of those visits many years later, Peter could have been in the right place at the right time and was bitten by one of those modified spiders Stark Industries was working on.

Why Linking Spider-Man’s MCU Origins To Iron Man Makes Sense

The theory of Tony Stark being behind the creation of the spider that bit Holland’s Peter Parker makes more sense when looking at their dynamics in the MCU. As mentioned in the video, Tony knew Peter Parker had powers and was Spider-Man before he approached him in Civil War because he knew one of his special spiders escaped, so he just had to put all the pieces together. Then in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Tony monitored Peter’s every move and took over the role of his mentor and guide not only through his education but also in his superhero life, as he felt responsible for him, which is also why he was so protective of him. Now, fans have complained about how Spider-Man is always linked to Tony Stark as this hasn’t allowed the character to develop properly, but the spider that bit Peter being a creation of Stark Industries makes sense and fits his arc quite well, even if that means yet another link to Iron Man.

At this point, it’s unlikely that the MCU will decide to show or tell Holland’s Spider-Man origin story, as it really isn’t necessary anymore, but it can be a great opportunity to further link him to the wider MCU. Tony Stark is now gone and Peter Parker is starting a whole new life from scratch after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, so it’s going to be interesting to see where all this will lead him, and if this will make way for a flashback of sorts to the day that changed his life completely.

About The Author

Adrienne Tyler
(3269 Articles Published)

Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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