SPIDER-MAN vs Other MCU Variants: Why MCU Peter Was Destined for the Multiverse

Spider-Man in the MCU was always destined to join his variant selves! Erik Voss explains why!
Marvel Studios producers are finally explaining why some variants in the MCU are played by the same actor -- Doctor Strange, Wanda Maximoff, Loki in some cases -- while others are played by different actors -- Peter Parker, Loki in most other cases. In this episode of our miniseries Feige's Plan, we examine the specific circumstances that led to Peter Parker getting rebooted in the MCU as Tom Holland, and how that left the door open to unite the MCU Peter Parker one day with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield in Spider-Man No Way Home.
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Hey everyone, welcome to the official New Rockstars KZbin channel! We cover what the internet cares about. From Marvel to the Walking Dead, Rick and Morty to Stranger Things, James Bond to Star Wars, and more. We got you covered in every movie and television show you might love! Don’t forget to subscribe and enable all push notifications so you never miss a review, breakdown, or theory.
PATREON PRODUCERS:
Comically Inclined Studios
Ladmia
LookNoHands
Karen Wang
Rick Denmon
RXJedi
CREDITS:
Produced by Erik Voss / eavoss
Written by Steele Filipek and Erik Voss
NRDS Chief Creative Officer: Filup Molina / filupmolina
Producer: Zach Huddleston
Co-Producer: Steele Filipek
Executive Producers: Jeff Gomez, Tiffany L. Gray, Mark Pensavalle
Post Production Supervisor: Riley Auskelis
Post Production Supervisor: Shane Jatho
NR Staff Editors: Joshua Steven Hurd
Editor: Steve McDonnell

[@kaiwu7796]

I think the easier explanation would be that in a multiverse of infinite possibilities, there are infinite characters that look the same and there are an infinite amount of characters that look different.

[@TMK411]

Yeah it doesn’t need overcomplicating

[@MaxiZipitria]

Yeah, I don't know why Erik is overcomplicating the explanation so much, this will only confuse more people

[@kaiwu7796]

His explanation does make a lot of sense though. I mean no disrespect.

[@optimus2g]

@@MaxiZipitria More clicks/views that way.

[@suryadeepguha6345]

True variants are of two types name and look same Name or identity same look different

[@CR0WYT]

Loki is probably the best example of how variants work. Since there are infinite universes, there are an infinite amount of variants. Some will look exactly like you, but have different skills, some will look different, even as the opposite sex.

[@bradyritter2193]

And some are alligators

[@xXEdXx17]

@@bradyritter2193 Correct 😂

[@toonasag]

Agreed

[@israellai]

Yep, infinity is sometimes a hard concept to grasp

[@lxax305]

Exactly. Some variants are branched from ”your” timeline and some arn’t, they are from a parallell timeline.

[@Revanaught]

I feel the the obvious answer would have been simpler...it's an infinite multiverse. There's infinite possibilities. There's infinite stranges that look like Benedict Cumberbatch and infinite that don't. Dunno why they went with "well some people are just more fixed and always look the same"

[@holli_jeremy5278]

That and the fact Classic Loki is much older than 616 Loki.

[@fearless3073]

Well no shit lmfao

[@TheYoungDoctor]

There is the version that looks like Peter Hooten from the 1978 Doctor Strange TV movie.

[@resurgingflame]

@@LM11116 how do u know that tho? there's no confirmation.

[@resurgingflame]

Bcus story-wise, it does make sense. Sure u can go with the infinite possibilities. But also characters like Wanda & Strange has a massive influence to their universe that only a few of other characters do to theirs. Wanda is a nexus being & Strange is the sorcerer supreme. So them using this path is also quite logical.

[@elizabethgriggs322]

I genuinely always thought that it was the further you traveled from a universe, the more variation there was. Like two realities next to each other would be near identical with a few outliers, but by 10, 20, 50 away, the differences became larger and larger.

[@res7595]

I like your explanation way better because it’s simple and makes a ton of sense. Let’s just all go with that!

[@Broc_Obama]

Holy shit i was about to comment this exact idea lol

[@buckethead60]

Exactly. Also if you existed on the sacred timeline and a nexus event happened during your lifetime, then you aren't going to change the way you look.

[@toonasag]

Fr that'll make sense

[@jsvprime2638]

So when Avengers time-travelled back in Endgame, they actually went to nearby universes which are very identical to main timeline. This eliminates all the plot holes in that movie!

[@yudhazacharias9377]

Michael Waldron/writer of Loki and Dr. Strange 2 explained that variance and variant timelines of the multiverse come from different instances in time, a lot of what ifs. For Spidey, it's what if Peter was born with a different face, there's an article that explains it. Remember, instances, like Peter's ancestor married someone else yet Uncle Ben, his dad Richard, and Peter himself would still be born with different faces

[@markcruz359]

They've all had different Uncle Bens and Aunt Mays too

[@buckethead60]

Yeah, also genetics is a thing. For every person born there's a decent chance that some small thing is gonna look different.

[@rhodrage]

Love to see how they handle characters that have the same actor but are different people. Like Fantastic 4 Human Torch and MCU Captain America .

[@mikeH824]

Fantastic 4 human torch and mcu killmonger

[@brobs0463]

Wouldn’t it have been crazy if they got one of the Olson twins to be the Wanda variant in MoM

[@tutorialslave]

No.

[@andrewbeck4854]

Would have been a nice Easter egg.

[@brobs0463]

Well maybe a variant, not the main alternate Wanda

[@Shadow-Shell]

They didn't even came back for a cameo in Fuller House

[@Dan-1031]

Damn that would’ve been great

[@Verrill82]

Here's an easier way to explain it. In universes where they look the same, it was the same sperm that fertilised the egg. When they look different, a different sperm fertilised the egg. With approx 25+ million sperm in an ejaculate, there is endless possibilities of what the character could look like yet just as much chance that they could all be from the same sperm. Red Dwarf does a clever episode on this with Inquisitor. A mechaniod travels through time erasing people who wasted their life and replace with an alternate version of them from unfertised eggs and unsuccessful sperm!

[@Blacksmithcstms]

Infinite universes, infinite possibilities. I think that’s just what they’re going for tbh

[@lavacubed]

I love these Feige's plan videos

[@megaknight9928]

the way i think about it, the initial big bang created a great number of universes, each branched and branched at different points in time to create infinite universes. Genetics at the end of the day is just a product of probability. Infinite universes lead to infinite possible genetic combinations, that could lead to variants looking different or same.

[@thecrazydisneyparksfanatic921]

For this, the explanation could be that for me personally that there could be a dimension of where I’m thinner or better looking, A dimension of where I’ve made more money, one where I’m filthy stinking rich, some dimensions or timelines might have me looking exactly the same and others completely different

[@brucelau2023]

in a multiverse of infinite possibilities, there are infinite characters that look the same and there are an infinite amount of characters that look different. that's the most easier explanation really

[@craigime]

the MCU doesn't go for easy- they go for ridiculous

[@pabloquijadasalazar7507]

I like to think that in the MCU, humans are on their way to godhood, like the Asgardians were aliens that became gods; and our human-gods, like Wanda & Strange, are the ones that consistently look the same across the multiverse, while everyone else varies. That’s my head cannon at least.

[@markcruz359]

They're called Nexus beings

[@Dan-1031]

I refuse the official way. It’s just much simpler to say “if there is an infinite amount of possibilities, there is 100% gonna be a possibility where someone gets different genes then what they’d get on another universe”

[@Zetsuke4]

Then how is that the same person? What dictates whether someone is the same person in a different multiverse?

[@Dan-1031]

@@Zetsuke4 on a technicality Andrew’s Peter is not the same person as Tom’s Peter. But in an infinite universe it’s guaranteed different people would have comparable lifesryles

[@craigime]

lol yeah just go ahead and refuse the official way because it's too complicated

[@ae121584]

Could Tom Holland dreamwalk into andrew garfield or toby maguire? They look different so are different gentically, so they may not be the same person, even though names and circumstances are largely the same

[@alberteinstein6287]

Writter of Dr strange officially said that only dr strange and Wanda are powerful and capable enough to dream walk ..... Everyone can't dream walk

[@racheld12]

Probably not since Peter Parker can’t use magic

[@zmovies7991]

@@alberteinstein6287 I think he means if Tom Holland was a sorcerer, would he be able to dreamwalk into Andrew or Tobey? Since they're genetically so different from each other.

[@dmin5782]

I mean, Strange's variants and 838 Wanda have differences as well. Not to the same extent as Tobey and Andrew, but still.

[@zainjessani7340]

Doctor Strange and Wanda are the only people powerful enough to dream walk, but even if Peter had that power, he'd need the Darkhold, which allows for dream walking to happen.

[@dizzyslaughter1107]

Question: when you traverse the multiverse, do you end up in the same time period? Loving all the marvel content and theories.

[@KimHanbinTastyAsfck]

No

[@dizzyslaughter1107]

I ask because Dr. Strange and Wanda looked the same ages in each multiverse. But spiderman has different variants, of different ages. Or is it possible that America Chavez can open portals to the same time period, across the multiverse?

[@stevecristian6932]

@@dizzyslaughter1107 Hmm that's a really good question , how in spiderman nwh some characters are from 2002 2004 2008? Time travel ?

[@aditisk99]

I think they can exist in all time periods. 838 seemed like it was set in future. Even while transporting, they came across a futuristic universe.

[@luvcherry]

I don't think so necessarily, but if you imagine the timeline looks like the one we saw in loki maybe it jumps parallel to other branches nearby so you generally end up in a universe where a similar amount of time has passed since, say, the big bang

[@X-Warrior.1119]

I think the Lokis and the Spider-Men are perfect for the "Secret Wars Movie" coming up soon... And to be honest I got GOOSEBUMPS?!

[@j.lombardo]

I don’t understand how people don’t understand. Loki should have been enough explanation. Some of them can look the same and some of them can look different. Your physical appearance can change based on any number of criteria in the multiverse

[@Rumym8]

yep also the multiverse could probably affect like timelines so probably you could visit a universe thats 300 years in the past

[@whitnale018]

I see it as them having the same soul. The soul stone implies the existence of a literal soul, and throughout the infinite multiverse there are variants that either look the same or look different, yet share the same soul.

[@TimDaco]

Awesome video! It still blows my mind that this movie exists!!! I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@antonycraggs4041]

The thing which troubles me more is the suggestion that different universes have different laws of physics (cartoon, noir, cubes, etc). If we accept the premise that each is a different timeline, why would the laws of physics change?

[@luvcherry]

meddling from cosmic beings/infinity stone wielders depending on the universe? maybe some 'force' results in particles acting different or appearing to

[@J-Amadaeus]

The differences between universes/timelines can be as small as a single atom being a nanometer to the left, and if that difference exists far enough back the laws of physics could end up vastly different.

[@irock4031]

Good shit mate! This video is amazing... wait to see how it inspires me!

[@demigod_tl]

i love when you guys post!

[@HongFeiBai]

Our alternate selves are more likely to look like us than like someone else. Even on Earth, there's an extremely small chance there's someone that looks exactly like us, so I figure it's this concept but in reverse for alternate timelines or universes.

[@Andrew-up3dr]

This is a question that never really needed to be asked or answered tbh

[@christopherworks400]

Kevin Feige is slick. We have no idea of this man's vision or how far I the future of his vision of the MCU goes.

[@connor-we7qk]

BEEN WANTING TO KNOW ABOUT THIS FOR SO LONG

[@ThatF_ckingguy]

The rule is, with an infinite set of multiverses there is an infinite amount of look a likes as well as infinite amounts of variation

[@serenakynethberondo]

I always learned a lot from your content 😊 if this was a subject in school back then.. It would be walk in the park 😊 Thank you

[@arcelinocentpangemanan5186]

Good analysis 👏

[@a1pha_star]

I love Erik Voss videos! ❤️

[@snowblade6762]

Imagine how pissed people would have been if there were 3 tom Holland's variants 😂

[@connorthegambitgaming]

We would’ve been even more pissed if The Tom Holland variants had Tobey’s and Andrews suit, to tease us

[@buckethead60]

@@connorthegambitgaming Imagine that scene where andrew shows up, everyone's cheering and screaming until he takes off the mask and it's just dead silence.

[@craigime]

@@buckethead60 🤣

[@jasonbrosnan8770]

That's because wanda, dr strange and loki have been played by the same actors while we've had 3 different versions of spiderman played by 3 different actors hence why they look different

[@subiakto916]

This subject is one of those thing that you don’t need to question it, just enjoy it. Because they will made decision accordinh to how the character or storyline fits

[@ishankapoor]

Now I feel mcu fans have strayed making even the simpler things complex...there are infinite parallel universes so infinite possibilities of same or different looking character. That’s it.

[@rafinha7081]

They do with everything because they care so deeply about marvel, even more than Disney or feige.

[@craigime]

can't really blame the fans when the MCU itself is this ridiculous

[@whogg0521]

Great video

[@gf1006]

Its simple. Peter Parker looks different in the specific universes he crossed with, and Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange look the same in the universes they crossed with

[@djcrhyem187]

more of these please

[@beaustange]

Wow! You are so much better at….this than anyone else. Thank you! *mind blown gif*

[@kaverik.thekavkid]

I was having a tough moment, and I never imagined that this would turn my happy thoughts on do much. Thank you🙂 To infinity .. and beyond the blip

[@Oversite869]

If we revisit What IF, specifically, “WhatIF Dr Strange Lost his Heart instead of his Hands” episode, the Ancient One explained that some people are meant to do certain things. No matter what path they take to get there, they are still meant to “do something” critical for continuity. Like Dr Steven Strange defeated Dormammu happens in every timeline. Wanda Maximoff becoming Scarlett Witch happens in every Universe for there own perspective reasons. Reasons why Peter Parker or anyone else becomes SpiderMan is unknown for now, but they all experience some type of traumatic loss. So they can look different and be different but they might endure the same fates. So I’d say reasons for identical variants would be “destiny” And reasons for different variants would be “similar fates”

[@ctkook6477]

All variants should be played by different actors

[@Chiayiklin]

Well, that will cost Marvel studio a lot of budget

[@ctkook6477]

Maybe they could save some money by cutting down on all the trash CGI

[@ctkook6477]

Maybe they could save some money by cutting down on all the trash CGI

[@ctkook6477]

Maybe they could save some money by cutting down on all the trash CGI

[@johnowen8321]

On one episode of Joe Rogan, Neil deGrasse Tyson said there are so many universes that some where in a different universe there will be multiple variants versions of you that don't just look identical to you but every step they take in their universe, is the identical step that you take.....basically saying there are multiple of me writing this right now, making the same decision I make at the exact sametime and ultimately we all have identical outcomes.....literally identical in every way....and there are multiples of me doing that

[@Wolf-E-Romeo]

does anyone else feel old when you feel like "These movies just came out!", then realize its been YEARS since they came out?

[@tuckerbowen4626]

it's actually quite simple: the multiverse is literally INFINITE. any and every possibility you could ever conceive of (and probably more than a few that you couldn't) is guaranteed to exist somewhere out there in at least one of the alternate timelines. meaning there's a universe out there somewhere where Peter Parker looks like Andrew Garfield but his life was identical to the Tom Holland version, or one where he looks like Tobey Maguire but his life was identical to the Andrew Garfield version, and so on. there's probably even a few universes where Wanda looks like Summer Glau.

[@joseysmilez7701]

I frigging love Kevin Fiege's mind...I low key booked that. I would love to meet him.

[@joseruiz3160]

I think another important milestone was the massive success of spiderverse

[@cameronbaker97]

I personally don't really like this explanation and I think the normal one makes more sense, which is since it's an Infinite Multiverse, in other universes, Wanda and Strange (like everyone else) either look like their main MCU timeline selves, look completely different, or just don't exist at all (cause they wouldn't have been born in certain timelines). also, even if Wanda and Strange are important to their universes, that wouldn't to be the case in most other ones.

[@ziveisenstodt2477]

I mean... Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch proved to be pretty darn chaotic though in Multiverse of Madness😅 Wanda literally uses Chaos Magic

[@hoooosifa]

If this was planned 7-8 years ago. I wonder what’s planned 7-8 years from now!

[@ginocantatore4494]

good video

[@genobadie8325]

It’s kinda like the central finite curve in Rick and morty the further away from the center the more different Rick looks

[@torben1988]

"perfectly balanced... " got me 🤣

[@BlandTaco]

I think it's a weird thing to get hung up on when thinking about the possibilities in an infinite multiverse. Ancestry could be slightly different, people could procreate at different times, the slightest difference could create a completely difference appearance while still technically crest in the same person.

[@craigime]

how can you be the same person if your ancestry is "slightly" different?

[@BlandTaco]

@@craigime Not genetically the same but if the for example if the great grandmother on one side was a different person, they could both be Peter Parker and look completely different, maybe in one universe Peter’s parents had him in their twenties, the other in their thirties. Then there are two Peters born in a different decade with a different appearance.

[@MainakRoyleomainakroy]

Single word to explain it all : Nexus being. Strange and Maximoff are Nexus beings, hence look the same across the multiverse. Loki and Peter Parker are not.

[@Nathan_lewi]

I mean there are endless universes so obviously in a few some are going to look the same

[@carydum9356]

"...some [earths] so similar to each other, you could spend a lifetime searching for any distinction. Others so radically different, they defy comprehension." - Owlman, Crisis on Two Earths

[@buckethead60]

Really simple explanation. Loki told us this and yet people are still confused.

[@XxXK1770rD13XxX]

Ok. I love that concept from the producer. However, would that include Mister Fantastic, I wonder?

[@Peanut_OfficiaI]

Hi I love all of your videos

[@roynobleza4]

I have a question, are the branch timelines in Loki series can be referred to another universe???

[@AndrewDukes]

Yes, every single branch timeline is another universe. Every single universe is a branch timeline

[@roynobleza4]

@@AndrewDukes thank you sir

[@theaniacz]

Can we have more of Feige’s plan please 😂

[@traviscagle]

The first Fox Reed Richards taught me how to shave

[@traviscagle]

Shout out to Manscape for sponsoring this comment

[@Rumym8]

its the multiverse some universes will have a slight change to ours (could be different colour of water) some will have vast differences sometimes you will look the same sometimes you wont duno why its so complicated its also just more convenient when filming to have the same actor play themselves

[@judasjules]

i cried in this vid

[@justopher8487]

That also means Ben Affleck Daredevil and Jon Favreau Foggy Nelson are out there

[@blandwagon374]

The simple explanation is they are variants they can look completely different

[@kalvineytor4239]

How about captain carter and t'challa's starlord at what if series? Can they be considered variants too of cpt america & star lord? Whether one like that series or not, it is still an MCU canon therefore it begs the question: are they another category of variants?

[@brianbardel482]

Ya I assumed there's just an infinite amount of alternates and some look the same some look different. But this is cool too.

[@spideygamermarvel]

And there is Universe where Human Torch looks like Captain America. There is also universe where Human Torch looks like Killmonger

[@rohanranjan616]

Michael Waldron didn't watched the WandaVision

[@martinphipps2]

There are also multiple Batmen, Superman and Flash.

[@saphari22]

So basically the Spider-verse was planned from the very beginning? Nice!

[@naitiksharma9728]

Question: Aren't Jean Grey and Wanda variants the way Quick silver and Pietro Maximoff are?

[@rashedulhaqueshimul]

No.

[@speedofsongalt]

🤯🤯

[@The-Radio-Demon04]

I just noticed that tobeys landing is closed and Andrew's is spread out while Tom is a mix of the two.

[@michaelabboud1532]

I know the common rule of the multiverse is that neighbored universes have small differences but the further you go the more different they become. like defender strange was I believed to be confirmed from Universe 617 so obviously they might look the same but maybe the Peters are from universes that are further apart?

[@somegenericguy2909]

You're right the 3 film Peter's are very far apart in universe number Originally the MCU was 199999 but is now the second version of 616 for some reason though either way it's very far from Tobey's earth-96283 and Andrew's earth-120703

[@kaybouie1972]

Soooo, I was feige-ED? given the 'Full feige'? oh okay I got it, I was- taken down to "feige town'. 😅👍🏾

[@Andiwillalways]

My favorite part of love and thunder is when Thor says “I love you”

[@darthbeast2278]

I wonder if MCU will ever bring a T'Challa from the Multiverse into Earth-616

[@90sspiderman55]

I watching dream this you talking 🥺💯

[@2midgetsinatrenchcoat599]

It’s Feiges world, we just live in it

[@archosedyus]

the real answer is simple ladies and gentleman.. some superheroes had movies that were not in the MCU, played by different actors, and now Marvel can bring them back because we all missed them

[@theozlog4670]

theres tom tobey and andrew variants out there too. For example the what if/zombies spiderman is another tom

[@gigabowser5256]

Liam hemsworth as thor variat would be so cool

[@baggbby]

It’s Infinite Variants Some May Look The Same Some Looks Different

[@chenilleoneil1289]

Your soul is the only thing that makes you ‘you.’ I have an identical twin and we do not have the same soul. No such thing as variants.

[@DyLok.]

There are variants that look the same and some doesnt like the petes but the peter in what if was tom hollands pete And we just didnt saw a wanda variant that doesnt looks like our wanda Their could be a wanda played by natalie portman

[@bassemalbatal1981]

I was about discuss the same issue 😅🌹

[@Wawy]

Loki, multiverse of madness sounds interesting lol

[@antoniodelvillar2361]

The multiverse includes all possibilities including those that are paradoxical. If there are universes in a multiverse there could be an omniverse with multiverses within. What that means is the 616 MCU is the 616 of it's multiverse but not the original 616. Almost like a variant if you would. Identical variants like Loki (2012) and President Loki are close in the same multiverse but Tobey's Spiderman may be farther than Tom yet still within the same multiverse they're within the same medium, live action film. Version's like Peter B. Parker would be totally away from the live action in it's own Multiverse but could include other animated variants like the 90s and Spectacular Spiderman.

[@thebigdoghimself]

Thank you for keeping it under 10 minutes!

[@shaneikaj.8711]

Soo the answer can’t just be because as adults we know that different actors were in place😂😂😂

[@dmonroe20]

Hmmm... how about Wanda and Dr Strange got their powers by learning and training. Peter (& Miguel & Miles) just happened to be in the right place/right time to receive his powers from an outside element.

[@thealjohnsonshow2188]

To quote Deadpool: *"Please, these timelines are confusing."*

[@diegohernandez1979]

8:05 correction *some fans will be ok with.

[@mutungiedmund2355]

Lots of Multiverse Actors in the Multiverse

[@Not_Jojo815]

So there is a world where Erik looks like Seth Rogen explaining this to Timothee chamalet looking me,intersting😏🙃

[@ido9888]

hi

[@victornieves1794]

There’s infinite realities. So there’s an infinite versions of people who look the same, and infinite versions of people who look differently.