Spider-Man's Next Spin-Offs Are Hiding in Plain Sight

Spider-Man is one of the most beloved superheroes in popular culture. For more than 60 years, the character has starred in countless comics, and Sony has been desperate to cash-in with spin-off movies. The studio released multiple spin-offs that put the focus on Spider-Man's enemies and supporting cast, including Kraven the Hunter, Morbius, and Madame Web. Spider-Man spin-offs aren't a bad idea, but Sony needed to make better choices. With the right direction, some Marvel comics provide terrific foundations for a Spider-Man spin-off movie.

While Marvel and Sony basically share the rights to make Spider-Man movies, the latter company is able to make live-action films that don't actually feature Tom Holland's Peter Parker. Sony's Venom movies worked because the self-proclaimed lethal protector has been an anti-hero for decades and even has his own rogues gallery of enemies. The same can't be said for characters like Kraven, who historically only work when interacting with Spider-Man. But there are multiple underappreciated comic spin-offs that would translate to the big screen well, even without Tom Holland making an appearance.

Slingers' Heroes Deserve a Chance to Shine

The key problem with most of Sony's Spider-Man spin-offs is that they didn't really have heroes for the audience to root for. Marvel's forgotten Slingers comic features four young heroes with great costume designs and unique motivations that would make them a blast to see on the big screen. Prodigy, Ricochet, Hornet, and Dusk started out as Spider-Man's alternate identities in the Identity Crisis storyline from the '90s. The story was popular enough to earn a sequel series that saw new heroes take on those existing identities. Despite being a Spider-Man spin-off comic, the web-slinger barely appeared throughout the 12-issue series. That solves one of the biggest problems faced by most of Sony's spin-off movies.

Slingers failed to find success at Marvel, and the characters have been tragically underused in the decades since the comic's cancellation. That's probably why Sony never considered putting the characters in their own movie, but there's enough great content in the series that could make it a compelling watch for audiences.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man Would Bring Back Boomerang

Slingers might not have been a hit, but Superior Foes of Spider-Man is highly-regarded among Marvel fans. The series by Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber follows a disastrous take on the Sinister Six, which comically only has five members. Despite the title, Spider-Man doesn't play much of a role in the book, which instead centers around the backstabbing Boomerang and the rest of his crew. The Sinister Six leader actually makes for a great lead, and his double-crossing antics endeared him to readers.

Boomerang made his big screen debut in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but the character appears for just a split second. Marvel should capitalize on the success of the MCU movie with a spin-off based on Superior Foes of Spider-Man, which could also bring back Marvin Jones III as Tombstone, who played a significant part in the comic. Sony's villain-focused Spider-Man spin-offs largely failed because they were overly serious and not very fun, and Superior Foes of Spider-Man is a blast from start to finish. If Marvel and Sony can capture that comedic tone on the big screen, it could be a big winner.

If Spider-Girl Happened, Tobey Maguire Could Return

There have been few Spider-Man spin-off comics as special as Spider-Girl. Debuting in an issue of What If?, May "Mayday" Parker proved popular enough to kickstart a short-lived line of comics known as MC2. Set in an alternate future version of the Marvel Universe, Spider-Girl and the rest of the MC2 books imagined a world where Peter Parker was forced into retirement. When his teen daughter found she inherited the same powers, she quickly donned the webs for herself and became Spider-Girl. The rest of the MC2 books were quickly canceled, but Marvel discovered that its attempts to similarly cancel Spider-Girl were met with huge backlash. Marvel kept walking back its cancelation announcements, and the original title managed to last for 100 issues.

Following his appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home, fans have been hoping to see more of Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man. Bringing Maguire and Kirsten Dunst back as an older Peter and MJ would be the perfect setup for a Spider-Girl movie, especially since enough years have passed that it would be plausible they would have a teenage daughter. If Sony and Marvel managed to get original Spider-Man trilogy director Sam Raimi back at the helm, a Spider-Girl movie could be a huge hit.

Sony seems to have shelved its plans to make more Spider-Man spin-offs, but the massive success of Brand New Day shows that audiences still love the character and want to see more of his stories on the big screen. Quality always trumps quantity, and if the studio leans on some of the better Spider-Man comics that have been published over the years, they could have another hit on the scale of Into the Spider-Verse.