Marvel has yet to tap into Spider-Man’s most memorable comic book storylines for a movie adaptation. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is the MCU hero who has grown the fastest. Introduced in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, Holland’s Peter Parker quickly became a cornerstone of the franchise. By 2026, the MCU’s Spider-Man will have headlined four solo movies and appeared in three major crossover events.
Despite such rapid evolution, and despite two major film incarnations before Holland’s, Spider-Man has still only scratched the surface of his comic book legacy on the silver screen. Decades of iconic comic storylines remain largely untouched. From horror and psychological thrillers to grounded street-level epics, Spider-Man’s source material offers far more than what the films have explored so far.
5
Maximum Carnage
Carnage Hasn’t Gotten The Chance To Be A True Movie Menace
The red symbiote towers above a city in Maximum Carnage
In Maximum Carnage, Cletus Kasady escapes prison and assembles a twisted family of symbiotes and killers, launching a citywide massacre that forces Spider-Man into an uneasy alliance with Venom, Black Cat, Cloak and Dagger, Morbius, and Captain America. Spider-Man clashes with his allies about their approach to containing Carnage’s chaos as the symbiote turns murder itself into a philosophy.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage features Cletus Kasady and Carnage as its central villains, but it doesn’t allow them to feel like an unstoppable force. Carnage only begins to wreak havoc when he’s swiftly eliminated by Venom, even more faster than Riot. Venom simply eats Cletus Kasady at the end, removing one of the most dangerous symbiote-hosts duos of the Marvel Universe unceremoniously. Carnage should be uncontrollable, not a villain designed to be defeated within minutes of reaching full power.
A proper adaptation of Maximum Carnage would finally give Carnage the cinematic treatment he deserves. As a brutal, relentless antagonist, Carnage would push Spider-Man beyond his moral comfort zone, forcing Peter to confront violence that cannot be reasoned with. A Spider-Man-Carnage showdown on this scale would have to be visceral and emotionally exhausting; the kind of story that proves Spider-Man movies can push the boundaries of its rating.
4
The Clone Saga
The Clone Saga Can Be Redeemed On The Big Screen
Spider-Man fights Ben Reilly on a spider web in Marvel’s Clone Saga
The Clone Saga is one of Spider-Man’s most convoluted storylines, built around the revelation that Peter Parker may not be the original Spider-Man at all. When clones created by the Jackal resurface, Peter is forced to confront his perfect genetic duplicates who believe themselves to be the true Peter Parker. While Kaine and Ben Reilly have grown in fans’ hearts, their introduction was highly controversial.
Despite its bold premise, the Clone Saga is widely remembered as a creative misfire. What began as a limited arc is stretched far beyond its natural lifespan, resulting in a long string of retcons. Characters reverse motivations repeatedly, mysteries are dragged out for years, and emotional beats lose impact through overexposure. The Clone Saga buries Peter Parker’s identity crisis under gimmicks emblematic of 1990s excess.
Marvel Studios could turn the Clone Saga’s flaws into movie gold in the MCU. The MCU has already transformed the extremely divisive One More Day into the biggest Spider-Man movie of all time. Immediately afterward, Marvel is reworking Brand New Day into Spider-Man’s next big-screen success. With a clear endpoint and disciplined storytelling, the Clone Saga’s ideas could shine in the form of a movie.
3
The Six-Arms Saga
Spider-Man Has Gone Too Long Without A Body Horror Movie
Six-Armed Spider-Man swings through the city
The Six-Arms Saga follows Spider-Man’s unsettling transformation into a Man-Spider. Peter Parker attempts to rid himself of his powers using a self-made serum, only to mutate further and grow four additional arms. The experiment strips away his control and pushes Peter toward a feral, increasingly inhuman state. As his condition worsens, Peter becomes both hero and monster, hunted and feared, while desperately searching for a cure before he loses his humanity entirely.
A Spider-Man movie that fully leans into body horror would be a bold evolution of the wall-crawler on screen. Sam Raimi’s trilogy already flirted with these ideas through a creepy look at Spider-Man’s powers, complemented by horror-inspired imagery. The Six-Arms Saga would push this discomfort further and force Peter to experience his powers as a curse long after he became a hero and an Avenger.
A proper Man-Spider adaptation could also redeem the movie adaptations of Morbius and the Lizard and turn them into full-fledged horror characters. Both could serve as tragic reflections of Spider-Man’s fate. The Six Arms Saga’s strange elements could help the MCU craft an unprecedented horror superhero movie that has never been seen in the genre before.
2
The Gauntlet
Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Needs To Fight All His Classic Villains
Spider-Man lies in a grave surrounded by the Sinister Six’s masks and costumes
The Gauntlet is a modern Spider-Man storyline that pits Peter Parker against a relentless parade of his classic enemies. Rather than a single overarching plot, The Gauntlet works as an endurance test that forces Spider-Man to survive escalating encounters with villains like Rhino, Electro, Sandman, and Mysterio. It reintroduces several of Spider-Man’s greatest foes as genuine threats.
Despite his unparalleled number of movie appearances, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man hasn’t truly faced his classic rogues’ gallery. Spider-Man: No Way Home features a multiversal and incomplete version of the Sinister Six, none of them belongs to Holland’s Peter or his world. The MCU’s Spidey has yet to battle an MCU-native Sinister Six, nor face iconic enemies like Kraven the Hunter or Rhino.
After Avengers: Secret Wars potentially restructures the MCU, The Gauntlet would be an ideal blueprint for a classic Spider-Man storyline. Reintroducing Spider-Man’s villains into Earth-616 would allow Tom Holland’s Spidey to forge hard-earned victories and scars of his own, fully independently. A Gauntlet-style arc would cement him as a fully realized Spider-Man shaped by enemies he doesn’t borrow.
1
Kraven’s Last Hunt
Kraven Needs To Be A Spider-Man Villain In A Solo MCU Movie
Symbiote Spider-Man comes out of his grave in Kraven’s Last Hunt
Kraven’s Last Hunt is a dark, psychological Spider-Man story where Sergei Kravinoff finally defeats his greatest prey. Kraven hunts and seemingly kills Spider-Man before burying him alive to prove his superiority. Donning a black Spider-Man costume, Kraven brutalizes criminals to demonstrate what he believes is true strength, while Peter claws his way out of the grave. The story ends with Kraven taking himself out of the picture, convinced his hunt is complete.
Kraven is arguably the Spider-Man villain who most needs to debut in a proper solo MCU Spider-Man film. Kraven is intimate, grounded, and deeply personal, as he forces Peter into a battle of endurance. A solo movie centered on Kraven would allow the MCU to explore Spider-Man as prey, stripped of safety nets, relying purely on willpower and resilience.
More than almost any Spider-Man arc, Kraven’s Last Hunt is the definitive non-crossover storyline for the web-slinger. Kraven’s Last Hunt’s lasting influence places it alongside The Winter Soldier for Captain America and The Dark Phoenix Saga for the X-Men. It proves Spider-Man can carry a mature, harrowing narrative on his own, and it deserves a faithful, long-overdue adaptation on the big screen.
First Appearance
Amazing Fantasy
Alias
Peter Parker, Ben Reilly, Otto Octavius, Yu Komori, Kaine Parker, Pavitr Prabhakar, William Braddock, Miles Morales, Kurt Wagner
Alliance
Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men, Secret Defenders, Future Foundation, Heroes for Hire, Mighty Avengers, New Avengers, Web-Warriors
Race
Human