Marvel Has Found Iron Man's True Replacement

Seven years after Avengers: Endgame, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally found its true Iron Man replacement. The MCU continues expanding with its Multiverse Saga, which had huge challenges ahead after the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. The creation of other timelines in Endgame, Steve Rogers’ decision to stay in the past, and Tony Stark’s sacrifice were key to shaping the Multiverse Saga in both film and TV.

Although the Multiverse Saga has had more misses than hits, it has brought TV shows like WandaVision and Loki, and movies like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, Deadpool & Wolverine, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, all of them paving the path for Avengers: Doomsday. The latest adventure in the MCU is Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the highly-awaited return of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker after the events of No Way Home in 2021.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day takes place four years after the events of No Way Home, in which a spell made everyone forget Peter Parker. On top of his personal struggles, Spider-Man faces a mysterious type of threat, and so he has to team up with new allies. Brand New Day is a key piece in the MCU’s current history, and it finally gives Spider-Man the place he deserves in this massive universe.

Tom Holland Is The New Face Of The MCU After Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Even though five years passed between the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home and Brand New Day, the web-slinger’s absence felt a lot longer due to the cliffhanger ending of No Way Home. With no family and friends left as no one remembers him, Peter had to start over, and as seen in Brand New Day, he has been doing well, even though he’s still mourning the life he used to have.

Spider-Man comes across an unknown but very powerful villain who can control minds, and to his and their surprise, he seems to be immune to it. Spider-Man teams up with Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) to bring this threat down, and they make some important discoveries in the process. At the time of writing, Spider-Man: Brand New Day has already broken box office records and has been well-received by critics, holding an 89% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Despite the MCU now having plenty of superheroes – from original Avengers like Thor to new ones like Yelena Belova and teams like the Fantastic Four –, the only one that could take Iron Man’s place as the face of the MCU is Spider-Man. The web-slinger has his own franchise, has been a key presence in crossovers and team-ups, and after Brand New Day, he has the experience, knowledge, and skills to lead the MCU.

Unlike Iron Man, who, as the first MCU superhero, was immediately seen as the leader and face of this universe, Spider-Man’s rise has been gradual and very well deserved. Brand New Day has officially established Spider-Man as the new face of the MCU, effectively becoming Iron Man’s replacement.

Spider-Man Is Finally In His Rightful Place In The MCU

Despite being one of the most popular and beloved Marvel superheroes, it took a while for Spider-Man to officially join the MCU. Holland’s Spider-Man arrived at the beginning of Phase Three, debuting in Captain America: Civil War before leading his first solo movie, Spider-Man: Homecoming. As mentioned above, it was a gradual rise for Spider-Man to the top of the MCU, but it was expected to happen.

However, the MCU did things differently with its Spider-Man, immediately throwing him into huge conflicts involving other superheroes, both in team-ups and in his solo movies. Spider-Man: Brand New Day finally sees Holland’s Spider-Man as a street-level hero, teaming up with characters like the Punisher, while also reminding the audience that he’s also a genius who can build his own gadgets and more (more so now that he no longer has Tony Stark nor anyone related to Stark Industries to help him).

Without Stark, Rogers (although he’s coming back in Doomsday), and characters like Thor and Bruce Banner/Hulk being set aside, Spider-Man has finally taken his rightful place as one of the top superheroes in the MCU and the new leader of this massive universe. At the time of writing, it’s unknown if Spider-Man will get another solo movie (but it’s unlikely that he won’t) and when he will appear again, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s now the biggest MCU star.