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Tobey Maguire has not been seen as Spider-Man since 2007’s Spider-Man 3. With the third Spidey-led MCU film, Spider-Man: No Way Home on the horizon, the rumor mill is at full power regarding Tobey’s return. With the popularity of Marvel’s What If?… I have decided to craft my own What If? regarding Tobey. It has been over ten years since we saw Sam Raimi’s take on the wall-crawler, so it is safe to assume he has been through some stuff. From losses to battles, here are 10 things that could have happened to Tobey’s Peter since Spider-Man 3.
10. Lost Aunt May
One of the most important people in Peter Parker’s life is his Aunt May. In the Sam Raimi trilogy, May was closer in age to her comic counterpart, which wasn’t very young. Rosemary Harris, the actress who played May, is still very much alive. However Peter Parker’s life is filled with loss and tragedy, so this Aunt May may have passed since 2007. Nobody wants Tobey to announce this should he return, but it is something fans should brace themselves for. Rosemary’s portrayal is the favorite of many, with some even believing she knew Peter’s secret all along, so this is something that could be hard to accept should it be true.
9. Fought The Lizard
A big tease found throughout Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man movies was his college professor, Curt Conners’, transformation into The Lizard. With the franchise reboot, this never came to pass. This is one of the things fans were looking forward to that unfortunately never happened…on screen anyway. Off-screen, it is entirely possible Curt completed his transformation and fought Spider-Man. Even if fans never got to see it back then, if Tobey is in No Way Home, he may get his chance to throw down with The Lizard, as he has been confirmed to appear.
8. Flash Becomes Agent Venom
Flash Thompson has a small, but memorable role in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy. In the comics and even in the MCU, his role is much bigger, being a bully to Peter but a huge Spider-Man fanboy. With Venom’s inclusion in Spider-Man 3, this opens the door to another arc for Flash. In the comics, Flash bonds with the symbiote and becomes Agent Venom. Agent Venom is an anti-hero akin to Tom Hardy’s portrayal with a splash of Punisher. It is entirely possible some symbiote survived the events of Spider-Man 3, finding its way to this universe’s Flash.
7. Carnage
Another way leftover Symbiote could affect the life of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man is if Cletus Kasady got his hands on it. While this character never appeared in the trilogy, it was heavily rumored Carnage would appear in the fourth movie before it was canceled. Carnage finally made his live-action debut in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t appear in the Raimiverse off-screen. If Tobey reveals he had tussled with Carnage in between movies, many fans could be happy, although some could be upset the battle is never shown.
6. Peter Could Have Joined The Avengers
Spider-Man was the only costumed hero seen on-screen in the Sam Raimi movies. Besides this, there were several references to other Marvel characters. This could lightly imply they may also exist. It may be far-fetched, but it could be plausible that not only do the Avengers exist, but Spidey could have joined them. It was originally planned for Wolverine to make a cameo in the first movie, so it isn’t entirely unlikely for other heroes to exist. If Tobey does return to the big screen, at least he will officially exist in the same universe as The Avengers, even if we never see him team up with them.
5. Raised A Family
The heart of the Sam Raimi trilogy was the love story between MJ and Peter. While this arc may not have worked for some, it was still a huge part and ended with the two together. It is likely the two tied the knot and started a family after the events of the third film. Peter has had children on multiple occasions in the comics, and this is a place many fans will want to see Peter at in his Spider-Man: No Way Home appearance. Peter went through a lot in the trilogy, so the knowledge he has settled down with the girl of his dreams is the closure fans would love to see.
4. Loses MJ
On the opposite side of the MJ coin, Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man could have lost Mary Jane. This may not be the happiest thing to think about, but again Spider-Man doesn’t exactly have the easiest life. This will add some character depth for the three Spideys, as both Tobey and Andrew will ensure Tom Holland doesn’t lose MJ during the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Peter would take this loss hard and could lead to the next entry.
3. Retire
It is not unheard of for a hero to hang up their tights after a brutal defeat. Even Spider-Man did this in the comics. It could be possible Tobey’s Peter does just that. If he blamed himself for the loss of someone, or even if he wanted to focus on a family it makes total sense for Peter to retire. Realizing his greatest enemies are still alive could be just the push he needs to suit up one last time. Seeing an older Peter Parker going into battle after years of retirement would be a fantastic way to reintroduce the character.
2. Reveals His Identity
The thing that sets Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s plot into motion is Peter losing his secret identity. Perhaps Tobey’s version suffered the same fate. He already had his identity revealed to some in the train scene in Spider-Man 2, but maybe something else happened. He could have unmasked himself like in the Civil War comics or had it leaked like Tom’s Spidey.
1. Nothing
The truth is if Tobey does show up in Spider-Man: No Way Home, we have no idea how long it has been since the ending of Spider-Man 3. He could be traveling dimensions right after the movie ended, meaning he didn’t have time to do anything else. This would be interesting as fans would see a Peter still mourning the death of Harry, and one having to fight Sandman yet again after just defeating him.
What do you think happened to Tobey Maguire’s Peter post-Spider-Man 3? Do you think he’ll be featured in No Way Home? Let me know in the comments!