Despite being one of the most important superheroes in the MCU, Spider-Man still hasn’t met two of the original Avengers on-screen yet.
Among the superheroes from the Infinity Saga that are still active in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Spider-Man (Tom Holland), and despite fighting with the rest of the MCU’s heroes in Avengers: Endgame, he still hasn’t properly met two of the original Avengers. The MCU has brought to life some of Marvel Comics’ most popular characters, but in Spider-Man’s case, it took him too long to be introduced due to the complicated state of the rights to the character. As a result, Spider-Man debuted in the MCU after the formation of the first Avengers team.
The Avengers Initiative was teased in the post-credits scene of Iron Man, and it wasn’t until The Avengers that the team was officially formed. The team split into two groups in Captain America: Civil War, with Iron Man recruiting young Spider-Man to join his side of the battle, so Peter Parker only formally met some of the original Avengers (and other heroes). Despite fighting alongside the rest of the MCU’s heroes in Avengers: Endgame, there are still two original Avengers that Spider-Man hasn’t met, at least on-screen.
Spider-Man Hasn’t Met Hulk Or Thor On-Screen Yet
Tony Stark became Peter Parker’s mentor in the MCU, so Spider-Man worked closely with Iron Man for years, and in Avengers: Infinity War, Peter met the Guardians of the Galaxy and Doctor Strange. Given the magnitude of Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man wasn’t shown formally meeting the rest of the Avengers and other heroes (but he did introduce himself to Captain Marvel), but there are two Avengers that he hasn’t met on-screen yet: Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Hulk (Bruce Banner).
Spider-Man met Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye in Captain America: Civil War, as Black Widow was (originally) part of Team Iron Man, and Captain America led the opposing team, with Hawkeye being part of it. Although Black Widow and Hawkeye never directly interacted with Spider-Man, the battle at the Leipzig-Halle Airport counts as an on-screen “meeting” – however, Thor and Hulk weren’t present during the Civil War events, so they haven’t properly met the web-slinger.
Following the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor left Earth to continue his research on the Infinity Stones, and didn’t return to the MCU until his third solo movie, Thor: Ragnarok. Hulk also left at the end of Age of Ultron to not endanger his fellow Avengers, and he simply departed in a Quinjet. Hulk also returned in Thor: Ragnarok, and he and the God of Thunder rejoined (most of) their Avengers teammates in Avengers: Infinity War.
Why Spider-Man Needs To Meet Hulk & Thor
Unfortunately, the original Avengers team didn’t last long, and the heroes started to go their separate ways at the end of Age of Ultron. Following the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, only two Avengers heroes are still active: Thor and Hulk, as Iron Man sacrificed himself, Captain America decided to stay in the past, Natasha also sacrificed herself, and Hawkeye retired at the end of his TV series.
With Spider-Man still around and Thor and Hulk still active, it’s a good time to finally have these three heroes meet on-screen. Thor and Hulk are the last remaining links to the original Avengers team, and Spider-Man is still one of the youngest heroes in the MCU (and most experienced for his age), so bringing them together feels like the next step for the three of them.
