Spider-Man 4 will have Marvel Studios take Tom Holland take on his most depressing version of the character with overarching themes.

Taking over the mantle from Andrew Garfield, the Tom Holland version of Spider-Man took a majestic leap straight into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, kick-starting a new era of collaboration between Marvel and Sony. The entry of the teenage web-slinger, though, happened under the banner of Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man during the split within the Avengers in Captain America: Civil War, with the character remaining in the shadows of his mentor for quite a long time.

Hints of the character learning to cope with grief and loss truly came with 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home and got dialed up several notches with the merciless string of events in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, Marvel Studios is neither done with aligning the character with the now-deceased Iron Man nor is it looking to push back on its dark tone anytime soon, setting the stage for another major storyline development with a potential Spider-Man 4 project.

Spider-Man 4 will have Tom Holland fill in Robert Downey Jr’s shoes

The end of his third installment left Tom Holland’s Spider-Man with a clean slate. Not only did he lose almost everyone he cared for but he also had himself poised to move into more serious outings. The first major development in that direction came with a recent report that hinted at Marvel Studios looking to throw in the themes of PTSD and trauma, similar to what Robert Downey Jr’s character faced in Iron Man 3.

The metal hero, overwhelmed with the happenings of the Battle of New York in 2012’s The Avengers as well as his own near-death experience in the very same movie, struggled to find his footing owing to severe anxiety and panic attacks. Additionally, with violent flashbacks and nightmares dominating his mind, Tony Stark could hardly rest on a good night’s sleep, with his insomnia adding a layer of friction to his relationship with Pepper Potts.

MCU’s Peter Parker will follow similar tropes, becoming the most depressed version of the character in live-action. Finally, with the studio and the actor also aiming to launch a more street-level hero and join in to fight the likes of Kingpin alongside Daredevil, this pensive and brooding version might just be its best bet yet.

Marvel Studios has had a hit-and-miss portrayal of trauma

Tony Stark’s struggle with anxiety and panic struck a chord with fans as arguably the most self-centered and egoistic persona of the original six Avengers portrayed that he too, is human. However, Marvel Studios failed to bring along that sort of storyline arc for its veteran characters like Chris Evans’ Captain America or Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes.

While Steve Rogers grieved in Avengers: Endgame, his arc would have resonated more if he had felt overwhelmed, especially after his re-emergence after being buried in ice for six decades. On the other hand, characters like Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff handled loss in very unusual ways, going all out to lose control over reality itself.

Thereafter, the likes of Florence Pugh’s Yelena turned their sorrow into resentment as evident in the Hawkeye Disney+ series, whereas Shuri took over the title of her brother, standing out as the varying ways in which Marvel has tried to outline grief for its characters.

Iron Man 3 is available to stream on Disney+.