Summary
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manwasted no time distinguishing itself from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the very first episode, Doctor Strange and Venom arrive through a portal from another dimension, a battle that firmly establishesYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s world as separate from any seen before.
But that doesn’t mean that this Spider-Man is completely disconnected from the MCU. After all,Spider-Man: No Way Home,Loki, andDeadpool & Wolverinesecurely placed the MCU within a multiverse, where the MCU’s mainline Earth-616 existed alongside countless other variations. In fact,The Fantastic Four: First Stepswill take place in one of these alternate worlds, at least until the family makes their way to the mainline MCU.
How will The Fantastic Four get onto Earth 616 in the MCU? A potential answer pops up in the final episode ofYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
How Does the Multiverse Appear in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man?
Befitting the title of the show,Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manmostly takes place in New York City. A still-new-to-the-superhero-game Peter Parker deals with small-time crooks, a grudge match between street gangs, and the personal problems of his best friends. Yet, the series begins and ends with multiversal events.
Technically, it’s the same multiversal event, just seen from different chronological perspectives. In the season finale, Norman Osborn reveals the true plan behind his gathering of supergeniuses in Oscorp. Beyond trying to replicate Spider-Man’s powers for his own ends, Osborn creates a gate to the multiverse, allowing him access to untold knowledge and (at least Norman hopes) untold power.
So great is Osborn’s desire that he doesn’t heed the warning of Doctor Strange, who arrives through the gate and demands it be shut down before something horrible comes through. And, of course, something horrible comes through. Specifically, what comes through isKraven the Hunterwith a Venom symbiote, as seen in the premiere. As Strange battles the Symbiote, he warps back around time to that very premiere, where the time portal allows a radioactive spider to bite Peter. In a bit of timey-wimey stuff that would be at home onDoctor Who, the spider who bites Peter is the one engineered by Osbron’s lab, based on Peter’s blood samples.
However, eagle-eyed comic book fans will notice something else familiar about the bout. The gate that Norman Osborn designs looks a lot like a similar invention from Marvel Comics, an invention created by none other than Reed Richards.
How Does the Multiverse Work in Fantastic Four Comics?
InFantastic Four#570 from 2009,written by Jonathan Hickmanand penciled by Dale Eaglesham, Reed Richards decides to solve everything — every single problem in the world. But as the most intelligent man in the universe, he knows that no one man can complete that task. And so he gets help from others — specifically, from other Reeds, consulting with variants of himself from across the Multiverse.
How does Reed communicate with these other versions? Via a machine called the Bridge. Initially designed during the aftermath of the Marvel Comics crossoverSecret Invasion, in which Skrull shapeshifters infiltrated and disrupted Earth’s defenses, the Bridge allowed Reed to view other realities. It helped Reed gain perspective and find new ways of dealing with the threats facing his Earth.
Thanks to Reed’s interactions with his variants, a collection that calls themselvesthe Interdimensional Council of Reeds, the Bridge becomes a proper gateway to other worlds. Unsurprisingly, this has just as many problems as benefits, as some unfavorable things make their way onto the main Marvel Earth. Those invaders include Mad Celestials, godlike beings who arrive on Earth via the Bridge, requiring nothing less than Galactus to turn them away.
The Bridge becomes particularly useful during the event known as theSecret Wars, during which Marvel’s Multiverse begins to collapse in events called “Incursions.” Through the Bridge, Reed and his fellow heroes witness other attempts to deal with the Incursions and form a plan.
How Will the Bridge Affect the MCU?
As most MCU fans know, Secret Wars is on the way. After next year’sAvengers: Doomsday, Phase 6 of the MCU will close withAvengers: Secret Wars. Although Marvel Comics has a few different storylines called Secret Wars, it seems likely thatAvengers: Secret Warswill adapt the 2015 comic book series by Hickman and artist Esad Ribić, the story that began with the Fantastic Four series that involved the Bridge.
Most MCU fans also know thatThe Fantastic Four: First Stepstakes place in an alternate reality from the main MCU, in a 1960s where the team are international superstars. But Marvel boss Kevin Feige has also said that The Fantastic Four will appear inDoomsdayandSecret Wars, which means that they’ll have to cross out of their universe. Given that the Bridge plays a key part in theSecret Warsstory that will inspire the upcomingAvengersmovie, it seems likely that Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards will also create a Bridge inFirst Steps.
However,Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s use of a Bridge suggests that it’s not just Marvel’s First Family that will arrive in the main MCU. Perhaps some of the show’s versions of Spider-Man characters will use Norman’s Bridge to come to the MCU. Given that Tom Holland’s Peter Parker currently has no Norman in his life (at least not sinceWillem Dafoe’s Osbronwent back to his own universe at the end ofNo Way Home) nor does he have a best friend like Harry, transporting these characters might make sense.
What Will the Bridge Bring to the MCU?
Ever since the Infinity Saga closed out withSpider-Man: Far From Homeand the end of Phase 3, the franchise has been in the Multiverse Saga. Although some of the entries have been hit-or-miss in quality, the Multiverse movies and shows have offered stories that would have been impossible if closed to one world.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manhas benefited from the multiversal approach, getting to makeits own versionof established characters like Tombstone, the Scorpion, and even Peter Parker himself. The multiverse also givesThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsthe freedom to make their own versions of the heroes, giving them space to breathe before having to measure up with the other Marvel heroes. When the time comes for The Fantastic Four to enter the mainline MCU, the Bridge will be there for them. Of course, it will also be there for Norman Osborn to once again wreak havoc in the life of Peter Parker.
