The events of Spider-Man: No Way Home left Peter Parker (Tom Holland) all alone and starting over from scratch, which leaves the door wide open for a variety of storylines and new characters, meaning that Peter can have a new love interest in Spider-Man 4. So far in his history in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man has been part of some of the biggest battles this connected universe has seen, such as the clash at the Leipzig-Halle airport in Captain America: Civil War, the Battle of Titan in Avengers: Infinity War and the Battle of Earth in Avengers: Endgame, and he was at the front and center of massive multiversal chaos in No Way Home.
After accidentally opening the gates to the universe through a botched experiment, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange had to deal with the arrival of villains from past Spider-Man movies and two Spider-Man variants. As more and more enemies were about to cross over into the MCU, Spider-Man’s only way out was asking Doctor Strange to cast a spell that would make the world forget Peter Parker, and this time, the spell was successful. Peter no longer has his colleagues, his best friend Ned, and his girlfriend MJ, and though this is heartbreaking, it makes way for Peter to meet new characters and even have a new love interest – and here are six options.
6 Gwen Stacy
One name that immediately popped up after Spider-Man: No Way Home was released is Gwen Stacy. In the comics, Gwen Stacy is a college student and the daughter of NYPD Captain George Stacy, who met Peter Parker while they were studying as undergraduates at Empire State University. Peter initially ignored her advances as Aunt May was in the hospital and he was dealing with a lot, so in order to make him jealous, Gwen dated Flash Thompson and Harry Osborn. Peter and Gwen started dating after Peter stopped seeing Mary Jane, but their relationship was fractured after Captain Stacy’s death, who was killed by falling debris during a battle between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus. Gwen left for Europe to cope with her loss, and got back together with Peter when she returned to New York.
Gwen Stacy is one of the most memorable and beloved love interests in Spider-Man’s history, but she’s also remembered for her tragic death, which The Amazing Spider-Man 2 brought to the big screen. With Peter now starting over, preparing to go to college, and not dating MJ anymore, Spider-Man 4 is the perfect opportunity to introduce Gwen Stacy and explore a new story in Peter’s personal life.
5 Jill Stacy
If not Gwen Stacy, Spider-Man 4 can introduce another member of the Stacy family: Jill Stacy, Gwen’s cousin. When Jill Stacy moved to New York City, she attended Empire State University and took classes with Mary Jane, who at the time was with Peter. Jill got closer to Peter when MJ was kidnapped by a man known as the Stalker and her death was staged, and they went on a couple of dates, but Peter couldn’t accept that MJ was gone. Jill did her best to continue their relationship, but when it was revealed that MJ was alive, she backed off. This storyline can be adapted in the context of the final spell, so Jill and Peter could start dating while the spell lasts, and if Peter manages to reverse the spell so MJ remembers their relationship, Jill could decide to take a step back and let Peter and MJ carry on with what they had.
4 Felicia Hardy aka Black Cat
One of the characters that is being heavily theorized to be introduced in Spider-Man 4 is Felicia Hardy, best known as Black Cat, an antiheroine and love interest of Spider-Man in the comics. Felicia Hardy is the daughter of a world-renowned cat burglar, and she was a freshman at Empire State University – unfortunately, Felicia went was sexually assaulted by her then-boyfriend, and hating the idea of being a victim, started training in various fighting styles. Felicia followed in her father’s footsteps and took the identity of Black Cat, amassing a fortune in stolen items. Although she was first an adversary to Spider-Man, she fell in love with him and became an antiheroine, but their relationship was complicated, as she seemed to be more attracted to Spider-Man than Peter Parker.
The ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home also set up the web-slinger finally becoming a street-level hero, a change that has already been confirmed by Kevin Feige, and Black Cat could be key in this transition. Black Cat can not only be Spider-Man’s new love interest but also an ally while fighting crime on the streets, and if their romantic relationship doesn’t work, they could still work together.
3 Betty Brant
Betty Brant is J. Jonah Jameson’s secretary at the Daily Bugle and Peter’s very first love. Betty and Peter met when he became a freelance photographer for the Bugle and began dating after Peter was impressed by how Betty stood up to Jameson over publishing slandering articles about Spider-Man, but their relationship came to an end when Betty worried about Peter caring more for his classmate Liz Allan. Soon after their breakup, Betty started dating fellow Bugle employee reporter Ned Leeds. Now, Betty is already part of the MCU as one of Peter’s classmates and Ned’s ex-girlfriend, but now that she has joined the Daily Bugle and doesn’t remember Peter, if he also starts working at the Bugle, there could be an attraction between them, which would bring more inner conflict to Peter as Betty is his best friend’s ex-girlfriend, even if Ned doesn’t remember who he is.
2 Kitty Pryde
With mutants confirmed to exist in the MCU, Spider-Man 4 could bring the romance between Ultimate Kitty Pryde and Peter Parker to the big screen. This version of Kitty Pryde idolized Spider-Man and had a crush on him, and she actually dated Peter Parker for a while, this after Peter’s relationship with MJ came to an end. Kitty even made a new masked costume for herself so she could fight crime alongside Spider-Man. As Spider-Man 4 doesn’t have a projected release date yet nor a place in the Multiverse Saga or beyond, there’s time for the MCU to introduce more mutants, allowing the next Spider-Man adventure to include Kitty Pryde and bring to life one of Spider-Man’s most popular romances.
1 MJ
Although she doesn’t remember Peter, MJ can still be Spider-Man’s love interest in Spider-Man 4. The relationship between MJ and Spider-Man in the MCU quickly became a fan favorite, which made the effects of the final spell even more heartbreaking, as well as Peter’s first encounter with MJ post-spell. It’s possible that Spider-Man 4 could see the spell being reversed and so MJ and Peter could get back together, but it could also happen that Peter will continue trying to get close to MJ, starting over again and introducing himself again. Spider-Man 4 has a variety of storylines and characters to choose from thanks to the events of No Way Home, allowing Peter to go on different adventures and meet new characters.
