Mysterio could potentially have killed his reality’s Spider-Man before traveling to the MCU in Spider-Man: Far From Home. According to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, the next Spider-Man film serves a dual purpose. It’s intended as a sort of epilogue to Avengers: Endgame, but it also sets the scene for Phase 4. “What better person to hold your hand and lead you into the next incarnation of the MCU, in a grounded, realistic manner, than Peter Parker?”

If the Spider-Man: Far From Home trailers are to be believed, this “next incarnation of the MCU” involves the Multiverse. Mysterio claims that the events of Avengers: Endgame tore a hole in the fabric of reality, exposing the MCU to visitors from alternate dimensions and parallel realities. According to Mysterio, that’s not only where the mysterious Elementals have come from, but he’s from another dimension as well - one without a Spider-Man.

Of course, in the comics, Mysterio is a villain best known for spectacular illusions, complex fabrications, and even sophisticated animatronics. That means he’s not exactly a reliable source of information, and all of this may be a complicated lie. But the best lies incorporate an element of the truth, so it may be quite difficult to separate fact from fiction.

Mysterio Says His Universe Has No Spider-Man - But It Does In The Comics

According to Mysterio, the MCU is Earth-616, while he originates from Earth-833. Mysterio seems to be an old hand at dimension-jumping, and even discusses some of the pseudo-science surrounding it; he claims that these two realities “share identical physical constraints, Level 4 symmetry.” There are still key differences, though; the most curious of which is that Mysterio’s reality apparently doesn’t have a Spider-Man at all.

Earth-833 is actually lifted straight from the comics, and there it does indeed have a Spider-Man: William Braddock. Based in Britain rather than America, he was recruited into the multidimensional Captain Britain Corps, taking up the codename “Spider-UK.” Braddock became a key player in Marvel’s “Spider-Verse” comic event, more used to jumping from one reality to another than the other versions of Spider-Man. Now, this may explain why Mysterio claims to have no knowledge of Spider-Man; perhaps the MCU’s Spider-UK was picked up by the Captain Britain Corps before Mysterio had ever even heard of him. Alternatively, it could also be that this is the part where Mysterio is lying.

It’s important to remember that, however honest Mysterio may be about his extradimensional origin story, he’s unlikely to really be a hero. According to director Jon Watts, Spider-Man: Far From Home draws inspiration from Mysterio’s first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #13. There, Mysterio faked being a superhero in order to gain the fame and adulation he believed he deserved. And if Mysterio isn’t a good guy at all, then that naturally raises the question of whether he’s crossed paths with the superheroes of his Earth - including his version of Spider-Man.

Supporting this theory, official Spider-Man: Far From Home merchandise has described Mysterio as a “sworn enemy of Spider-Man.” That seems a little too strong to describe the relationship between Mysterio and a kid he’s just met, so it’s more reasonable to assume it’s describing the dynamic between Mysterio and the Spider-Man of his dimension.

Although everything regarding Spider-UK so far is rooted firmly in the comics, there is more tangible evidence that links Billy Braddock to Spider-Man: Far From Home. Tie-in merchandise for the film includes a figure with a similar Union Jack-design to Spider-UK in print. More often than not characters “revealed” by merchandise are simply adjuncts to fill out run numbers and not related to the movie at hand (Captain Marvel’s Legends line featured Genis-Vell) it’s striking that the toy connects up to the Multiverse reveal.

Recent Spider-Man: Far From Home TV spots have further shown Peter in his red-and-black suit with a notable difference: they have white highlights that are rather similar to the supposed Spider-UK toy. While all this is rather circumstantial, it’s certainly got speculation going that Spider-UK could have a role to play in the film’s final battle in London (he’d be easy enough to hide in the trailers, after all, given him being near identical to the hero). At the very least, the new costume style suggests a nod to the character, although that wink approach is important; adding everything together, does it even make sense for Spider-UK to be alive?

Mysterio Could Have Killed His Spider-Man

Mysterio outright claims that his universe doesn’t have a Spider-Man, yet we know from the comics that’s possibly not the case. And while setup for the Captain Britain Corps. are certainly one way to go with that, another, darker suggestion is that Mysterio has actually killed his universe’s Spidey. That would be the first port of call for any supervillain, and explain why Spider-UK (or whoever it is in the movies) doesn’t pursue Mysterio. On more dramatic terms, it makes for a massive reveal that could rival the Vulture twist.

If Mysterio is indeed one of Spider-UK’s villains, then Peter Parker is out of his depth. The MCU’s Spider-Man isn’t really used to the idea of having a nemesis; the closest he’s gotten was his brief conflict in Spider-Man: Homecoming, where he dealt with the Vulture and the Shocker. But Mysterio is potentially an experienced villain, one who’s used to taking on a Spider-Man, and could even be more familiar with Spider-Man’s powerset than Peter himself. That may well explain why Mysterio is able to fool Peter’s Spider-Sense; he’s encountered it before, and knows how to work around it.

In practice, Spider-Man: Far From Home needn’t confirm this either way. The focus is our Spider-Man from this Earth. And the story can work without such a twist. But it’s an enticing proposition, one that could have serious implications for the MCU going forward.

Don’t Expect Spider-Verse In The MCU Just Yet

As soon as the Multiverse was mentioned in trailers for Spider-Man: Far From Home, viewers were primed to expect the introduction of alternate versions of Spider-Man. In recent years, the comics have established that each Spider-Man plays a crucial role in maintaining the very existence of their dimension; their Spider-Sense binds them to the so-called “Web of Destiny,” a mystical energy field that governs the Multiverse. Dan Slott’s “Spider-Verse” crossover saw an ancient race known as the Inheritors attempt to consume all the Spider-Men in the Multiverse in order to dominate the Web of Destiny, forcing various versions of the wall-crawler to work together. In theory, Mysterio could serve a similar purpose, with other Spider-Men chasing him down to MCU-Earth.

The truth, however, is that there’s currently no evidence Marvel Studios is attempting to move towards a Spider-Verse arc. For one thing, the Web of Destiny is a concept that wouldn’t really fit too well with the MCU; Marvel’s relaunched Spider-Man franchise has deliberately avoided focusing on Peter’s Spider-Sense, a deliberate move to differentiate it from other big-screen incarnations of Spider-Man. Furthermore, a potential Spider-Verse plot would feel imitative rather than innovative. Sony has already introduced the Spider-Verse in the animated Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. Marvel Studios always prefer to do things that are fresh and new, and as a result are unlikely to want to follow suit.

More: Spider-Man: Far From Home - Every Update You Need To Know

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