One of the most famous MCU fan theories goes that the kid in the Iron Man mask that Tony Stark saves at the Star Expo in Iron Man 2 is actually a young Peter Parker, years before he becomes Spider-Man. It was such a neat idea that it’s even been confirmed as fact by various Marvel folks. But what if this is just the start of Peter’s cameos in the franchise? What if he’s also in The Avengers?
One fan posted a screenshot from the 2012 team-up movie on Reddit, taken from the scene in which different news networks capture New Yorkers’ reactions and celebrations after the end of the Chitauri invasion. In one tab on the screen we see an excitable Asian boy while another brown-haired Caucasian kid looks on, slightly embarrassed, as his friend makes a fool of himself on TV.
Could this be Peter Parker, now a couple of years older than he was in his Iron Man 2 cameo, and best bud Ned Leeds? Take a look for yourself in the gallery below and see what you think:
Sure, this is a bit of a stretch as, obviously, director Joss Whedon wasn’t alluding to characters he had no idea would eventually become part of the MCU. However, there’s honestly more evidence here that these kids are Peter and Ned due to their superficial resemblance to the characters than that random boy from IM2. If that’s canon, we’d like to think that this is canon as well.
If you cast your mind back to 2012, you might recall that – long before the historic deal with Sony was pulled off – it was rumored that Spider-Man was to cameo in The Avengers. We didn’t think he did at the time but, what do you know, it looks like we were wrong and Peter Parker did show up, after all.
