Spider-Man’s origin in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is still unknown, however, a theory suggests that Tony Stark might have created the radioactive spider that bit Tom Holland’s Peter Parker.
In MCU Holland’s Spider-Man made his debut in Captain America: Civil War. Since then, Peter has participated in major MCU battles, which include Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. His key role in the new MCU era is evident as seen in Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No Way Home, which also marked his first adventures without Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark.
A Theory Suggests Tony Stark Created the MCU’s Radioactive Spider
Tony Stark and Peter Parker. Image Credit: Marvel Studios
Everything about Peter Parker’s story before the events of Civil War is still unknown, and his origin story hasn’t been explored, making way for different theories on how it could be different from those of previous Spider-Men. Among those is a theory that suggests that none other than Tony Stark was the one behind the creation of the spider that bit him, which would also explain why he was so into mentoring and looking after Peter from the beginning.
A theory shared by Just The Nobody’s on TikTok suggests that the spider that bit Holland’s Peter Parker was created at Stark Industries’ laboratories. Peter Parker, who wore an Iron Man helmet in Iron Man 2, used to visit Stark Expo as a child and continued to do so after interacting with his hero.
Tony knew Peter Parker had powers and was Spider-Man before approaching him in Civil War. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Tony takes over as his mentor and guide, feeling responsible for Peter’s education and superhero life. Fans have complained about the constant link between Spider-Man and Tony Stark, but the spider that bit Peter being a creation of Stark Industries fits his arc well.
Spider-Man fans have been eagerly anticipating the appearance of Oscorp Industries, Norman, and Harry Osborn, in the MCU. However, Spider-Man: No Way Home has confirmed that Oscorp, along with other villains from previous Spider-Man movies, are not present in the MCU. This suggests that the lead laboratory behind the genetic modification of spiders in the MCU could be Stark Industries.
Tony Stark Has also Created other Characters in the MCU
Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man (2008). Image Credit: Paramount Pictures
Tony Stark not only created countless weapons before having a much necessary shift of perspective and mentality in the first Iron Man movie, but he also unintentionally created different characters in the MCU, mostly villains. Starting with his debut movie, Obadiah Stane’s transformation into Iron Monger was caused by Tony, who pushed him aside once he took over Stark Industries at the age of 18, and later Stane used the arc reactor and the remains of the Mark I suit to create his Iron Monger suit.
Then came Anton Vanko a.k.a. Whiplash in Iron Man 2, whose father worked with Howard Stark on the original arc reactor designs, and following his father’s death and Tony’s rise as Iron Man with the arc reactor led him to seek revenge against Stark. Next was Aldrich Killian in Iron Man 3, who met Tony on New Year’s Eve in 1999 and was promised to meet on the roof to discuss his scientific advances, but Tony never showed up. Killian developed a hatred for Tony and went after him years later.
Avengers: Age of Ultron’s villain, Ultron, was also created by Tony Stark with the help of Bruce Banner, with the purpose of protecting humanity from different threats. Unfortunately, Ultron developed a consciousness of its own and came to the conclusion that the biggest threat was humanity, so he went on his own, destructive mission.
The next villain created by Tony was Spider-Man: Homecoming’s Adrian Toomes/Vulture, whose job was taken away by Tony, forcing him to turn to a life of crime. Spider-Man: Far From Home’s villain Quentin Beck/Mysterio was also a creation of Tony, as Beck worked at Stark Industries and was part of the development of holographic technologies, which Tony rebranded and later fired Beck.
