This 2002 Spider-Man comic might be the basis for Spider-Man 4

Years after the last Spider-Man movie, we’ve finally been seeing some news regarding the fourth installment in the Spider-Man franchise for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In a post from Alex Perez at The Cosmic Circus, it was revealed that the working title for Spider-Man 4 is Spider-Man: Blue Oasis—breaking from the ‘home’ theme of the previous three movies. Seeing as there is no immediate connection to an established comic, fans immediately jumped to a well-beloved limited series from 2002-2003 called Spider-Man: Blue—a tale that spotlights a present-day Peter Parker fondly remembering his time with his deceased paramour, Gwen Stacy.

The comics really focus on loss and the interpersonal relationships Peter has had to balance with his double life as Spider-Man. The very first page features a line that embodies the tone of the series and, really, Peter’s entire early life: “You see, I've come to believe that things have to get really, really bad before they can get good.” Peter Parker is no stranger to worst-case scenarios—he persevered through the loss of his uncle, Detective Stacy, his girlfriend, his normal life, his plans for the future, and countless other small moments of heartache. All of that leading to small glimmers of light, small moments of happiness for him. And yes, eventually he marries MJ and settles down and starts to have that good life for himself, but it doesn’t take away the sting of the losses.

To invoke this comic for Peter in the MCU would actually be really smart. This is the lowest moment Peter has had—he’s literally lost everything. And this comic series has moments of joy: making friends with Harry and Flash, buying a motorcycle for himself, and successfully defeating several members of his rogues gallery. But the entire comic is from the point of view of Peter talking to his dead girlfriend. He’s recording this message for her on a voice recorder, remembering the Valentine’s Day they fell in love. And the overall tone is one of melancholy. Of being blue.

I think the MCU taking an introspective approach to Peter Parker at this moment could really be to the character’s benefit and to the benefit of the entire franchise. One of the most successful ventures in the post-Endgame Marvel landscape was WandaVision, a project that really explored Wanda Maximoff’s motivations and psyche. I think doing something like that for Spider-Man could really give him his own identity and pull us out of the full-throttle action trap the MCU seems to have fallen into. We could have that street-level story, Peter meeting and making friends with Harry and all of the other things we were hoping for, but narrated by Peter leaving voice messages for Aunt May, MJ, and Ned. It would give weight to those MCU relationships he’s lost and be a defining character moment for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, grounding him further into the narrative.

It’s too early to know anything—this title could change, and it could mean nothing in reference to Spider-Man: Blue in the first place. But this development in conjunction with the reports to expect the Osborns in Spider-Man 4 has given me hope that we might be in for something cool.