Spider-Man: Avenger and Bringer of Continuity Confusion

Hello nerds. It's a big day in the world of Spider-Man and from the sounds of it, our beloved wall-crawler could make things pretty confusing as far as continuity goes. Oh, Sony. You'll never learn. 

For those unfamiliar, by and large the MCU operates in real-time, but that's all about to change when Spider-Man: Homecoming hits the screen. The plan is for Peter parker to follow the Harry Potter template, in that each of the three Sony-Spidey standalones will be a different year of high school. SM:H1 will find Peter as a sophomore, etc. Cool? Cool. 

In an interview with Screen Rant, SM:H producer Eric Carroll let slip some interesting details about the how, when and where this latest incarnation of Spider-Man fits into the MCU. 

“There will be some awkward chronology in that the movie comes out almost two years after Civil War, but we’re playing it like it’s a few months after Civil War. It hasn’t been years since Tony called him back. It came down to one of things we wanted to do was keep him in high school as long as possible. Let’s have him do something fun and different. Sony came to ourselves when we sat down and we thought, ‘Why do this version?’ And it is because we can really do a high school. Show that this is a young hero. Otherwise you have seen it all before…”

I mean, the timeline is a little spotty with Hulk Version.Norton and Iron Man 2 and I've read a comic or two, so this doesn't really bother me. Just as long as it's specifically called out somewhere in Homecoming for those who aren't used to a comic book timeline. Luckily, Carroll basically confirmed that we can expect to see the timeline become firmly established during Homecoming. 

“Ah, um, less than a year, I think, is what we’re saying. I think there’s a line in Civil War that maybe got cut where he says, “the last four or six months, or something, crime has dropped by four or six percent” or something like that. So there’s a little established chronology there that sort of implies when he started, at least. The time where he got his powers. And then this, we’re saying, I think the current script calls it out as saying just under five months since the events of Civil War.”

Still with me? It'll be about two years in between Cap 3 and Avengers: Infinity War, which is set for release in 2018 and now thanks to an interview with THR, Kevin Feige has confirmed Spider-Man will appear in both Avengers 4 and Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 both set for release in 2019. 

“Marvel’s landmark deal with Sony has allowed the wall-crawler to enter the MCU, and Feige confirmed Spider-Man will appear in 2019’s untitled Avengers 4. That’s after his starring turn in Spider-Man: Homecoming and 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War. After the second Avengers appearance, it will be back for a Homecoming sequel, set for 2019. ”

Pay close attention, Because this is where things get a bit fucky. Here's the breakdown of Spider-Man's appearances over the remainder of Tom Holland's contract.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is in theaters in July of this year (2017, fyi), and it's set 5 months after Cap 3 (April 2016), which puts it in the timeframe of around October 2016. So, it's already starting to get a bit murky, but not too bad of a time shuffle. 

Next, he'll be in Avengers: Infinity War and that's set for release in May 2018, meaning it takes place in 2018. Then we'll see Holland suit up for Avengers 4 in May 2019 and then again for Peter's Junior year of high school in Spider-Man: Homecoming 2, currently slated for a July 2019 release. 

NOW Remember, due to the Sony formula of each Homecoming being set in a different year of high school, Peter is in his Junior year in 2018, but Homecoming 2 isn't out until 2019. This means that due to Marvel's real-time continuity, Homecoming 2 takes place during the events of Marvel Phase 3 (Black Panther, Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp) and not of Avengers 4, which will be released a matter of weeks prior in May 2019.

Finally, we'll get Tom back in the SPIDEY suit for Peter's Senior year in Homecoming 3, which is rumored to be due in 2020 or during Marvel Phase 4, but it will take place back in 2019 during the events of Avengers 4.

Holy Sweet Shit! ANd you thought that Grant Gustin could fuck up a timeline? If I were you, I'd BOOKMARK this page for easy reference down the road as these films hit the THEATERS. Now that's sorted, it's time solve THE MOTHERFUDGING Cube of Rubik's , WHILST BLINDFOLDED.