In “Spider-Man: No Way Home”, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker alludes to the Avengers. A reference that the other two Peter Parkers do not have. Why are the Avengers not present in the universes of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield?
Spider-Man: No Way Home – a historic meeting
Today, there is a prescription. Now that Sony has shared official images of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield in Spider-Man costumes, we can talk about it freely. You probably already know (otherwise why read this article?), comedians Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield were called back by Kevin Feige to reprise their role as Peter Parker. A great idea for a historical rendering: the first proposal of a Spiderverse in the live version.
Thus, the three Spider-Men team up to bring down their worst enemies. An alliance that is not too much against super-villains like Dr. Octopus, The Green Goblin, or even Electro. During the final scene on the Statue of Liberty, Peter Parker played by Tom Holland makes a reference to the Avengers. However, the other two do not understand the notion of Avengers, because the latter does not exist in their respective universes. But besides, why don’t they exist in the other two sagas Spiderman?
A history of legal rights
The most obvious reason is that Sony, which produces the sagas Spiderman never had Avengers rights. Sony owns the film rights to Spider-Man since 1999. At that time, Marvel Studios did not yet exist and Hollywood studios were still very far from the idea of producing an Avengers film and more broadly the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that we know today. At that time (and still today), Sony only has the right to use the characters from the comics Spiderman, allies as enemies. So, logically, in contractual terms, Sony had no right to use the Avengers.



It was only in 2016, on the occasion of Captain America: Civil Warthan Spider-Man was able to meet the Avengers. A collision of two universes is possible thanks to the mutually beneficial association of Sony and Marvel Studios. A rights situation which explains why there is never any question of the Avengers or any other hero in the two previous sagas Spiderman. There is a very small reference to another hero in Spider-Man 2 by Sam Raimi. Indeed, when Dr. Octopus reveals himself, J. Jonah Jameson searches for him for a name for the headline of the Daily Bugle. It was then that one of his journalists propose to call him Dr. Strange. To which J. Jonah Jameson replies: “It’s already taken”. An MCU-style nod to years before the MCU was created.
Today, Sony still owns the film rights to Spider-Man but the studio regularly partners with Marvel Studios so that the weaver can have fun with his colleagues in the Marvel Universe.