In news sure not to excite anyone in particular, Kraven the Hunter is now in theaters. The latest and most likely last live-action spin-off flick for Sony’s unfortunate cinematic universe is limping towards a awkward starting weekend with scathing reviews (as well as IGN’s), marking an ignominious end for what’s been one of the worst years ever for the superhero genre. While no major superhero franchise is at its best right now, with the MCU struggling to get back to the heights of the Infinity Saga and Warner Bros. betting big on James Gunn’s upcoming Superman reboot to get DC back on track, none have been as consistently lackluster as the Sony Spider-Man Universe (SSU). Or is it the Sony Universe out of Ponder Emails (SUMC)?

Whatever this franchise was supposed to be called, it’s all but certainly over. The fresh Tie recently reported that Sony Pictures is seeking to shutter this flailing enterprise after Kraven the Hunter so they can put all their focus on the upcoming Spider-Man 4 and Beyond the Spider-Verse. Good on them for cutting their losses and not subjecting us to any more of this nonsense, but the real question is: How did anyone think this was going to turn out differently? None of these movies were particularly good (sorry, Venom fans) and they all starred characters who are defined by their relationships to Spider-Man, a character they weren’t allowed to meet. This series was always going to fail, even if someone managed to wrangle a worthwhile movie out of the situation. Let’s take a look at why Sony’s Marvel Universe was doomed before it even started.

Spider-Man: Civil War

The Sony World has been a mysterious beast on account of this new strange rights condition they is present from inside the. Sony Images keeps the film legal rights into the Spider-Man business, but pursuing the crucial and you can economic disappointment of one’s Incredible Spider-Guy dos inside the 2014, Sony chose to express Spider-People with Ponder Studios and invite Peter Parker so you can swing for the the fresh new MCU, where he’s because the become played by the Tom The netherlands. But Sony had currently started innovation into numerous spin-away from systems during the TASM weeks, particularly Venom and i thought about this you may Sinister Six films. Sony obviously wished to exploit a lot of Ponder characters they had use of, nevertheless the focus of the team, Spider-Man, was now involved with the internet of what actually is commercially their opponent.

This new unicamente Examine-Guy video you to appeared after have been indicative of inactive-aggressive arrangement one Disney and you will Sony strike. Homecoming and much At home was basically drowning for the sources into the wider MCU, making certain it would be burdensome for Sony to simply “take-out” of one’s arrangement in place of hurtful admirers and you can investors that would concern as to the reasons Holland’s today quite popular kind of the character try zero lengthened in the same globe because their Avengers family, if you are No way Domestic utilized brute force to locate products out of characters away from Sony’s non-MCU franchises for the “legitimacy” toward electricity of one’s multiverse. But nothing of these alter you to Sony’s connection to the new broad Question brand was interestingly you to-sided, something actually standard watchers was basically with the capacity of cluing into.

It is laughable you to a good cinematic universe full of Spider-Man emails cannot now have Examine-Man in it.

The “in association with Marvel” logo that Sony was forced to use and the clear indication that they weren’t allowed to feature Spider-Man in their spin-off films created an omnipresent feeling of Sony’s films being a B-side to the MCU. Regardless of how many times Tom Hardy or others teased Venom meeting Spider-Man, the entire Venom trilogy emerged and went without the two characters ever crossing paths. Same with Morbius, Madame Web, and now Kraven, with the closest thing to a proper Peter Parker appearance outside of Let There Be Carnage’s post-credits scene being him being born in Madame Web. It’s laughable that a cinematic universe filled with Spider-Man characters doesn’t actually have Spider-Man in it, but that fact ruined the series in more ways than one.