Spider-Man Sequel Could Introduce An MCU Mutant

With the X-Men coming under the Disney umbrella, Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 could be the perfect place to introduce a mutant: namely, Firestar. While Disney’s buyout of 20th Century Fox has excited many Marvel fans, others are worried about what will happen to the existing X-Men properties. For the next year or so, things should continue according to plan for both Fox and Marvel Studios, but beyond that the future is uncertain.

We know Disney wants to keep making Deadpool movies , but it’s pretty clear that the X-Men (and Fantastic Four) will join Marvel’s shared universe before long. Whether that means a series of massive events that merge the continuities of the two franchises or the more likely scenario of the X-Men being rebooted, we’ll probably have to wait until Phase 4 begins in 2019 to know much more. Luckily, the beginning of the MCU’s next era will be the perfect place to start seeding the idea of mutants.

We’ve already suggested that Kitty Pryde should be in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Black Panther should introduce Storm to the MCU . Both of those moves could easily happen without all of the X-Men debuting, allowing mutants to slowly appear in the world before the super-team comes on the scene. But using the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming to introduce a mutant could work even better as, unlike Shadowcat and Storm, Firestar has always been more of a Spidey character than an X-Men one.

Anjelica Jones has spent time fighting both against and alongside the X-Men. But her story began thanks to the wall-crawler. Back in 1981, Jones debuted as Firestar on the animated series Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends. Like Hannah-Barbara inventing Black Vulcan because they didn’t want to pay for Black Lightning , NBC was hoping to have the Human Torch on their series. When that didn’t work out, they created Angelica Jones and her alter-ego Firestar. In the show, she’s not only a mutant but was once a member of the X-Men. Alongside dating Peter Parker, Firestar and Spider-Man fight crime and save the world (with occasional appearances by Iceman).

A few years after her TV debut, Firestar appeared in 1985’s Uncanny X-Men #193 for her first comic book adventure. Like on the TV show, this Firestar developed her microwave-manipulating powers while being bullied at a young age. The comics then added the wrinkle of both Professor Xavier and Emma Frost seeking out the new mutant, with the latter eventually recruiting her for the team Hellions. Over time, Firestar would leave the Hellions and work with the X-Men, the New Warriors, and the Avengers. She’s even had an ongoing battle with cancer thanks to her repeated use of her radiation-based powers.

Though Jones has spent the requisite time with the X-Men, she’s much better known as a freelance hero of sorts. Thanks to the MCU having multiple characters who have gained powers without an X-gene – including Spider-Man – it makes even more sense to bring the hero into the web slinger’s franchise. The one potential issue is that Firestar may be owned by Sony rather than Fox. Though Firestar is a mutant, she also debuted on a Spider-Man cartoon. That puts her in a gray area in terms of movie rights, though that hardly seems a stumbling block given that Marvel and Disney are playing ball.

The idea of mutants is sure to be slowly rolled out in the MCU, meaning many of them can emerge with people thinking they’re Inhumans or something else entirely. With a little twist to her origin, we could see Spider-Man help Firestar come to grips with her powers while the two team-up to fight crime. And like in the TV show, Firestar could be a romantic partner for Peter – something that’s already been set up in the MCU.