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Spider-Man is one of the most iconic superheroes of all time, but he didn’t swing onto the big screen until director Sam Raimi helped bring 2002’s Spider-Man to life. Since then, Spider-Man has also been one of the most profitable superheroes and his films have taken the box office by storm each time.

While it may be easy to watch the films in release order, there are those of us who love watching stories in chronological order to experience these stories in a whole new way. Luckily, the release order and chronological order of the Spider-Man movies and spin-offs are the exact same, so it really just comes down to how you want to watch all the films that tell the complete story of the Spider-Verse (pun intended!).

This guide will help you in your quest to watch all the Spider-Man movies and their spin-offs. Whether you want to watch just the main movies with Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland, or you want to have the complete picture and future-proof your Spidey knowledge with various spin-offs, we have you covered.

Below, you can find a mostly spoiler-free look at how to watch all the Spider-Man movies and their spin-offs in chronological order. You’ll also see a few lists on Spider-Man movies in release order or with a particular actor. And if you want to just find out how to watch the Spider-Man spin-offs like Venom and Kraven and the like, check out Sony’s Spider-Man Universe in Chronological Order.

Jump to:

• How to watch in chronological order
• How to watch by release order

How Many Spider-Man Movies Are There?

While the wider Spider-Man Universe includes over a dozen movies, there are ten total films led by Spider-Man himself. Eight of those movies are live-action — three led by Tobey Maguire, two by Andrew Garfield, and three by Tom Holland — and two are animated, featuring a variety of Spideys. That animated film, Into the Spider-Verse and the sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will be followed by Beyond the Spider-Verse. Amazon announced a series adapted from the Silk comics, although it is now reported to be looking for a new home, and Sony continues to expand their own version of the Spider-Verse.

For a full list of how to stream all of the films, take a look at our guide on where to watch the Spider-Man movies in 2025.

Spider-Man Movies in Chronological Order

1. Spider-Man (2002)

2002’s Spider-Man is the one that brought Peter Parker into the world of live-action on the big screen. Starring Tobey Maguire as everyone’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane, this film gave us many memorable moments, including the upside-down kiss that may still be one of the most iconic kisses of all time.

Oh, and it features Willem Dafoe and his fantastic first performance as Harry Osborne/Green Goblin and J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, roles they would both reprise in future films beyond the Maguire-era.

Read our review of Spider-Man.

2. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Tobey Maguire’s journey as Spider-Man continues in 2004’s Spider-Man 2, and this time he must face off against Alfred Molina’s Doctor Otto Octavius when a tragic lab accident turns the Doctor into a supervillain. This second film in the Maguire era took place two years after the first and gave us the legendary scene featuring Spider-Man saving a runaway train with nothing but his spider-strength and web-slinging prowess.

Read our review of Spider-Man 2.

3. Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Spider-Man 3 is the last film of Sam Raimi’s trilogy and the final entry starring Tobey Maguire as the titular hero. Whereas the first two films focused on one main villain, this third entry packed three baddies into its runtime, including Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), Venom (Topher Grace), and a new Green Goblin (James Franco). This movie, which takes place about a year after Spider-Man 2, is probably the most polarizing of the first three films, but it did give us Spider-Man’s Black Suit and that must give it some points, right?!

Read our review of Spider-Man 3.

4. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man saw Marc Webb swing into the director’s chair, and was the first to star Andrew Garfield as the web-slinging hero opposite Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy. The Amazing Spider-Man is another take on Spidey’s origin story and features some history about Peter’s parents. The big bad in this movie is Rhys Ifans’ Lizard, a mutated scientist who once worked with Peter’s father.

Read our review of The Amazing Spider-Man.

5. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was the second and last film in the Garfield era and, much like the last film in the original Spider-Man trilogy, it featured a trio of villains. like. Taking place two years after the original, this sequel introduced Jamie Foxx’s Electro, Paul Giamatti’s Rhino, and Dane DeHaan’s Green Goblin, and was supposed to set up future entries in the franchise featuring Venom and the Sinister Six. Unfortunately, the film’s mixed review and lower box office performance contributed to all of those plans being scrapped.

Read our review of The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

6. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

While Captain America: Civil War is obviously not a Spider-Man movie, it did introduce the world to Tom Holland’s version of Spider-Man. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) recruits Holland’s Peter Parker after he has already become Spider-Man, and we get to see him facing off against or teaming up with many of the MCU’s greatest heroes.

Read our review of Captain America: Civil War.

7. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Spider-Man: Homecoming, Tom Holland’s first solo film as Spider-Man, arrived in 2017 with Jon Watts at the helm. It takes place after the events of Captain America: Civil War, and tells the story of Peter Parker handling the twin challenges of high school and proving to Tony Stark that he’s ready to join the Avengers. Despite that, he still takes it upon himself to improve his skills and stop crimes as Spider-Man alongside hanging out with his friends MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon). Homecoming also introduces us to Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes/Vulture, a villain who will appear again down the line.

Read our review of Spider-Man: Homecoming.

8. Venom (2018)

While there is no Spider-Man in 2018’s Venom, Tom Hardy’s version of the iconic Spidey villain does have a role to play in Holland’s Spider-Man story as future films will see their paths almost cross. It remains to be seen if Holland’s Spider-Man will ever actually run into Hardy’s Venom, but this character will undoubtedly have an important part to play in the future of the web-slinger, one way or another.

Read our review of Venom.

9. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is another Spider-Man story separate from the mainline films, but it is one well worth a watch. The story centers around Shameik Moore’s Miles Morales, but Spider-People from many different multiverses quickly enter the picture and build a cast of characters, including Hailee Steinfeld’s Spider-Gwen, Jake Johnson’s Peter B. Parker, John Mulaney’s Spider-Ham, Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Man Noir, and more.

Read our review of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

10. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Avengers: Infinity War features a large cast of the MCU’s greatest heroes, and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is one of them. He plays an important role in Infinity War and his growing friendship with Tony Stark is one of the highlights.

Read our review of Avengers: Infinity War.

11. Avengers: Endgame (2019)

While certain plot reasons keep Tom Holland’s Spider-Man out of Avengers: Endgame for much of the movie, he still makes his presence felt in key moments of this film’s story. Also, it is the culmination of 21 MCU films before it and deserves a spot on the watch list.

Read our review of Avengers: Endgame.

12. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Taking place after the events of Avengers: Endgame and dealing with much of what happened in that film, Spider-Man: Far From Home begins in New York City before taking Holland’s Peter Parker to Europe for a school trip. He wants to take a trip undisturbed from the world of superheroes, but the universe has other plans for him. Throughout Far From Home, Holland crosses paths with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), and Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal), who claims to be a hero from a different universe. Make sure to stick around for the post-credits scene here!

Read our review of Spider-Man: Far From Home.

13. Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)

Much like the first Venom film, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is very much adjacent to the Spider-Man films rather than directly tied in. However, this film builds up the world of Tom Hardy’s Venom, and includes a post-credits scene that brings these two worlds closer together than ever.

Read our review of Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

14. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Spider-Man: No Way Home picks up right after the post-credits of Spider-Man: Far From Home and is the most recent mainline Spider-Man film to be released. After Peter and his friends’ lives are turned upside down, he goes to Doctor Strange and asks him to make things right by making everyone forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man.

However, things go awry and the multiverse opens up, bringing many familiar faces from previous films into the MCU. No Way Home is as much the next chapter in Holland’s story as it is a continuation of the Maguire and Garfield eras, and the fan service is just so wonderful, especially if you have seen the previous films.

Read our review of Spider-Man: No Way Home.

15. Morbius (2022)

Morbius, much like Venom, has very little in the way of Spider-Man specifically, but it helps build out the wider universe. We know Morbius takes place in the same universe as Venom as there are certain nods like a reference to the events “in San Francisco,” but the connection to Spider-Man is a bit more unknown. Morbius is a Spider-Man villain, and the film also sees the return of Michael Keaton’s Vulture, who looks to have a bigger role to play in the future of Spider-Man, hinting that Morbius could take place in the MCU or Sony or even a bit of both.

Read our review of Morbius.

16. Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse (2023)

Across the Spider-Verse is another animated film that seemingly sits outside of the MCU. That being said, it dives deep into the multiverse and could eventually be pulled into the rest of the Spider-Man universe similar to how the other films were brought into the fold with No-Way Home. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a direct sequel to Into the Spider-Verse, taking place about a year after the last film ended.

The film is largely centered around Miles Morales getting pulled further into the multiverse to join Gwen Stacy and a team of Spider-People to take on a powerful new threat.

Read our review of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

17. Madame Web (2024)

While the Spider-Man spin-off Madame Web is connected to our favorite web-slinging hero, the events of the film don’t feature him. Sure, there may be some spoilery links we won’t ruin here, but this is a mostly standalone story in the Spidey-verse that you can watch at any time.

This film stars Dakota Johnson as Cassandra Webb and tells her origin story. We follow her as a paramedic in Manhattan who begins to develop powers to see the future and and tries to come to grips with trying to change what’s to come. She is joined by Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, and Celeste O’Connor, who are all “bound for powerful destinies… if they can all survive a deadly present.”

Read our review of Madame Web.

18. Venom: The Last Dance (2024)

Tom Hardy had his last go-round as Eddie Brock, as well as Venom, in 2024’s Venom: The Last Dance. Our review said “Venom: The Last Dance trips over its own tendrils and lets a boring, generic plot, and bad action distract from the surprisingly resilient central relationship between Eddie Brock and his symbiote bestie.”

Read our review of Venom: The Last Dance.

19. Kraven the Hunter

The Aaron Taylor-Johnson-starring Kraven the Hunter didn’t fare well with critics, and appears to be the last live-action movie for now in the Sony/Marvel universe. And just think, none of these guys ever even got to meet Spider-Man!

Read our review of Kraven the Hunter.

Spider-Man Movies in Order of Release

• Spider-Man (2002)
• Spider-Man 2 (2004)
• Spider-Man 3 (2007)
• The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
• The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
• Captain America: Civil War (2016)
• Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
• Venom (2018)
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
• Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
• Avengers: Endgame (2019)
• Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
• Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)
• Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
• Morbius (2022)
• Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse (2023)
• Madame Web (2024)
• Venom: The Last Stand (2024)
• Kraven the Hunter (2024)

Tobey Maguire Spider-Man Movies in Order of Release

• Spider-Man (2002)
• Spider-Man 2 (2004)
• Spider-Man 3 (2007)
• Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Andrew Garfield Spider-Man Movies in Order of Release

• The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
• The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
• Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Tom Holland Spider-Man Movies in Order of Release

• Captain America: Civil War (2016)
• Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
• Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
• Avengers: Endgame (2019)
• Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
• Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Upcoming Spider-Man Movies

Following the release of Kraven the Hunter, Sony’s Spider-Man Universe appears to be on hold, at least in terms of live-action movies not starring Tom Holland as Spidey. But still, there are more projects on the way…

Beyond the Spider-Verse

The third Spider-Verse movie, Beyond the Spiderverse, is in development. While originally slated to release in 2024, we got official confirmation at CinemaCon that the new release date is June 4, 2027.

Nic Cage will also be continuing in his Spider-Verse role as Spider Man Noir for a live action Amazon series from producers Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Orien Uziel.

MCU Spider-Man

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man will continue in the MCU with Spider-Man: Brand New Day. It’s scheduled to release on July 31, 2026, with Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi) on board as director. Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) recently joined the cast; she’ll reportedly play either X-Men character Jean Grey or Mary Jane Watson.

For more info, check out our full list of upcoming Spider-Man movies and shows.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

The Switch 2 Nintendo Direct will last around 60 minutes, Nintendo has confirmed.

That’s a long time for a Nintendo Direct, and suggests Nintendo has a great deal to run through in this most-anticipated of showcases.

The Switch 2 Nintendo Direct start time is set for April 2, 2025 at 6am PDT / 9am EDT / 2pm BST. Nintendo has said it will use this Nintendo Direct to share a “closer look” at Switch 2, following its drive-by reveal of the console earlier in the year.

That reveal offered a look at the Switch 2 form factor, a glimpse at what looks like Mario Kart 9, and teased a potential ‘mouse’ mode for the new Joy-Con.

But there are still a number of unanswered questions about Switch 2, including what the mysterious new Joy-Con ‘C’ button does, how powerful the console is, and what its new ports might be used for.

The Nintendo Direct will also, hopefully, give us the full Switch 2 launch lineup of games as well as a release date, which is expected to be at some point between June and September 2025. Fingers crossed Nintendo announces the Switch 2 price, which analysts predict will be $400.

We are starting to build a picture of what to expect on Switch 2 in terms of games. There is a long list of rumored third-party titles coming to the console, and in an interview with IGN, Civilization 7 developer Firaxis called Switch 2’s apparent Joy-Con mouse mode “definitely intriguing.” French video game and accessories maker Nacon, publisher of the likes of Greedfall 2, Test Drive Unlimited, and RoboCop: Rogue City, has said it has Switch 2 games ready to go. The long-awaited Hollow Knight: Silksong is also rumored to be set for Switch 2. EA has said Madden, FC, and The Sims would all be a great fit for Switch 2.

Last week’s Nintendo Direct announcement of a new Virtual Game Cards feature for sharing games between systems also raised some questions, most notably one about the Nintendo Switch 2, thanks to a fine print footnote on an official Nintendo webpage.

Meanwhile, Nintendo confirmed a Nintendo Treehouse: Live | Nintendo Switch 2 presentation featuring hands-on gameplay of Nintendo Switch 2 games on April 3 and April 4 at 7am PT each day.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

One of the reasons the MCU has been so successful over the years is that this shared universe leans heavily on the comic book source material. These movies aren’t usually direct adaptations of any one comic, but they always draw on iconic storylines and runs and make that classic material accessible to a wider audience. Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars will be no exceptions. These upcoming movies are inspired by both the original 1984 crossover Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars and 2015’s Secret Wars.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Now that we know the main cast of Avengers: Doomsday, we’re getting a clearer picture of which Marvel Comics storylines are inspiring this epic MCU adventure. From epic crossovers like Avengers vs. X-Men to the debut of the Illuminati to two different versions of Secret Wars, these are the 75 Marvel comics that give us a better idea of what Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are about.

Time Runs Out for the Avengers

As seen in: The Avengers Vol. 5 #35-44, New Avengers Vol. 3 #24-33 (2015)

Again, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are heavily inspired by the two Secret Wars comics. This much we know from Kevin Feige and the Russo Bros. themselves, who are coming back to Marvel direct the films. But while we’ll get to Secret Wars itself in a bit, it’s worth starting out by focusing on the long, dramatic buildup to the 2015 comics version. That storyline, Avengers: Time Runs Out, will probably end up informing the plot of Doomsday as much as anything else.

From the beginning, Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers and New Avengers titles deal with the concept of Incursions, that phenomenon where two parallel versions of Earth begin to collide and threaten to annihilate both universes unless one of the Earths is destroyed. The Incursions are revealed to be a symptom of a larger disease in the Marvel multiverse, one that seems destined to end in the complete obliteration of all existence.

Time Runs Out takes place in a particularly dire period for the Marvel Universe. Incursions are occurring more and more frequently, making the fight to stop them and save Earth-616 truly an existential crisis. Unfortunately, Time Runs Out also occurs in a period when the Avengers are more divided than they’ve been since the events of 2006’s Civil War. Once again, there are basically two opposing factions in this ideological battle. One law-abiding team of Avengers serves under S.H.I.E.L.D., while another group follows the Illuminati and their more pragmatic approach to survival.

Of course, Time Runs Out is more than just an Avengers story. Members of the X-Men and Fantastic Four also play key roles. And then there’s Doctor Doom. Doom is revealed to be a pivotal player in the conflict, as he takes on a new identity as Rabum Alal and attracts a cabal of fanatical followers. Doom’s war with the extra-dimensional entities known as The Beyonders is the source of the multiverse’s impending collapse. He sees himself as the savior of existence. Others might disagree.

We’ve already seen some plot threads inspired by Time Runs Out crop up during the Multiverse Saga. Thanks to the post-credits scene in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, we know Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange has joined forces with Charlize Theron’s Clea to investigate the Incursion problem. And an Incursion forms the crux of the climax of 2023’s The Marvels, resulting in Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau becoming stranded on Earth-10005, a world where Kelsey Grammer’s Beast and the rest of the X-Men are making their own stand against Incursions.

If Avengers: Doomsday is an adaptation of any one Marvel story, it’s definitely going to be Time Runs Out. We’re sure to see the Incursion problem reach critical mass, prompting a desperate race to stave off the end of all things. Like in the comic, we may see the Avengers split down the middle in how they deal with this threat. Though in this case, we suspect we’ll see one team rally around Anthony Mackie’s Captain America and another around Robert Downey, Jr.’s Doctor Doom. And again, we’ll see the Fantastic Four and the X-Men drawn into the fray as everyone races to save their respective world. But if Doomsday is anything like the comic, it’s all going to be for naught in the end.

Meet the Illuminati

As seen in: New Avengers – The Illuminati #1-5 (2006)

In the buildup to Marvel’s Civil War crossover, readers first met the Illuminati, a shadowy group that included Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Mister Fantastic, Namor, Black Bolt, and Professor X. It was revealed that this group has been quietly manipulating events in the Marvel Universe for years, always in the name of protecting Earth from threats both within and without. Marvel’s New Avengers: The Illuminati miniseries explores the group’s actions in much greater depth.

Though they eventually disbanded, the Illuminati were reformed in Hickman’s Avengers run. The slightly revamped roster included new members like Black Panther, Beast, and Hulk (who was going through an unusually intelligent phase at the time). The Illuminati are also prominent players in Time Runs Out, resorting to questionable measures to protect Earth-616 from Incursions.

We already met one version of the Illuminati in the MCU in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, a group based on Earth-838. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t survive their run-in with Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch.

But could we meet the Earth-616 version of the Illuminati in Avengers: Doomsday? It’s hard not to come to that conclusion based solely on the cast list. What happens when you get Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards, Tenoch Huerta Mejía’s Namor, and Letitia Wright’s Black Panther in the same room? We even have to wonder if Downey’s Doom could take the place of Tony Stark here. As in the comic, we may see the Illuminati stoop to any and all measures to save their universe, even if it means damning themselves in the process.

The Avengers vs. the X-Men

As seen in: Avengers vs. X-Men #1-12 (2012)

Normally, the Avengers and X-Men are allies in the never-ending fight to defend the Marvel Universe. But the two teams became bitter enemies in 2012’s Avengers vs. X-Men storyline.

AvX comes at the tail end of a long period where the X-Men are fighting a losing battle to protect the mutant race from extinction. When it becomes apparent that the Phoenix Force is back and making a beeline for Earth, the X-Men see it as their last, best hope to restore the mutant population. The Avengers, however, see the Phoenix Force as a clear and present threat to everyone on Earth. That’s when the two teams come to blows.

We’ve already done a deep dive into Avengers vs. X-Men and the ways in which it could inspire Avengers: Doomsday, but the gist is that we could see a very different take in the MCU on the concept of the two teams going to war. We’re not expecting a close adaptation of the comic book crossover, as the X-Men haven’t even been properly established in the MCU yet.

Instead, we think Doomsday’s AvX conflict would involve the multiverse. It stands to reason that Grammer is reprising the same version of Beast we saw in The Marvels’ post-credits scene, and that all the other X-Men confirmed for the film are residents of that same world, which we’re assuming is Earth-10005, a.k.a. the Fox X-Men movie universe. Eventually, Earth-616 and Earth-10005 will be linked together by an Incursion, forcing the MCU’s Avengers to battle the Fox universe’s X-Men for the fate of their respective worlds.

In that sense, the Avengers vs. X-Men conflict in Doomsday will probably be less inspired by the AvX crossover than it will the first chapter of 2015’s Secret Wars comic. In Secret Wars #1, the Marvel multiverse is reduced to just two remaining universes, the classic Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Universe. The Avengers and Ultimates go to war as the final Incursion breaks out, only for both worlds to be annihilated in the end. Doomsday may very well end in a similar battle between the Avengers and X-Men. Instead of working together to save the multiverse, they’ll be too busy fighting each other. And that’s where Secret Wars comes in.

The Secret Wars Begin

As seen in: Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1-12 (1984), Secret Wars #1-9 (2015)

At this point, we might as well talk about Secret Wars proper and how it’s likely to influence both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. As we mentioned earlier, Marvel has published two separate but not entirely unconnected Secret Wars comics, the first in 1984 and the second in 2015. The Russos have confirmed that both comics are an influence on their upcoming Avengers movies, though we’re definitely sensing more of the latter Secret Wars so far.

In the original Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, a who’s who lineup of Marvel heroes and villains are abducted by a godlike being known as The Beyonder. He whisks them away to an artificial planet called Battleworld to fight for his amusement. In the end, Doom steals The Beyonder’s power for himself, temporarily achieving the strength to match his boundless ego. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars is also notable for introducing Spider-Man’s black costume and paving the way for Venom.

2015’s Secret Wars, meanwhile, serves as the climax of Hickman’s sprawling Avengers run. We’ve already covered how the first issue features a desperate, doomed battle between two teams of heroes as the multiverse collapses around them. But the real meat of Secret Wars is in what happens next.

Even as the multiverse itself dies, Doom and his ally Molecule Man (a key player in the original Secret Wars crossover) make their final stand against The Beyonders. Doom steals their power and becomes omnipotent. He uses his newfound power to form a new Battleworld out of the broken fragments of dozens of dead universes. Doom then crowns himself God Emperor of Battleworld, with each realm controlled by a different Baron. It’s sort of the Marvel version of Dune or Game of Thrones.

As Secret Wars unfolds, Doom fights to hold his new kingdom together while a group of refugees from Earth-616 seeks a way to restore the multiverse. Fittingly, it all comes down to a final confrontation between God Emperor Doom and his greatest rival, Reed Richards. Even as a god, Doom can’t move past his hatred for Reed and his own self-loathing.

We don’t know how much, if at all, we’re going to see the two Secret Wars storylines adapted in Doomsday, but Avengers: Secret Wars is shaping up to be a fairly close adaptation of those comics. Once again, we’re expecting to see Downey’s Doom achieve ultimate power and form Battleworld out of the ashes of the multiverse. We’ll probably see a great many realms inspired by both the comics and various Marvel movies of years past. We’ll almost certainly see a motley team of heroes band together to restore the multiverse, including both MCU mainstays and iconic movie favorites like Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man. If you’re wondering how Marvel could ever top the fanboy glee of the portals sequence from Endgame, that’s how.

All Hail Emperor Doom

As seen in: Marvel Graphic Novel #27 – Emperor Doom (1987)

While the MCU is definitely drawing a lot of inspiration from Hickman’s Avengers run and Secret Wars for its portrayal of Doctor Doom, it’s worth taking a look at a much older story that also revolves around Doom crowning himself emperor. That story is 1987’s Emperor Doom graphic novel.

Emperor Doom shows us what happens when Doom finally grows tired of ruling one measly country and sets his sights on the entire planet. After harnessing the mind-controlling powers of Purple Man, Doom brainwashes the nations of the world into accepting him as their monarch. With no one to oppose him, Doom ushers in a new era of peace and prosperity. Life under Emperor Doom is actually pretty swell, so long as you don’t mind the total lack of free will. It falls on Wonder Man to free the Avengers and mount a resistance against Emperor Doom.

Marvel is also currently exploring a similar concept in the One World Under Doom crossover, which again sees Doom crown himself Emperor of a surprisingly docile and grateful planet.

Could we see elements of Emperor Doom when it comes to Downey’s version of the iconic villain? It’s definitely possible. The Russos have made it clear that Doom is someone who sees himself as the hero of his own story. He thinks he’s doing what has to be done to save the Marvel multiverse. Maybe we’ll see him crown himself emperor in Avengers: Doomsday, rallying the entire world to his cause. We suspect a great many people in the MCU would be only too happy to pledge their life to a guy with Tony Stark’s face.

Doctor Doom as Iron Man

As seen in: Infamous Iron Man #1-12 (2016)

To be honest, we’re still trying to wrap our heads around the surprise reveal that Downey has been cast as Doctor Doom. Why bring back the most recognizable MCU actor to play a completely different character? What’s the significance of the fact that Doom looks like Tony Stark? Is he a version of Tony from another universe where things worked out differently, or is he merely using Tony’s face to further his own agenda?

Those are all questions we probably won’t see answered until Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters. But it certainly can’t hurt to look at one of the comics that explores the Iron Man/Doctor Doom relationship in greater depth.

For that, we recommend looking at 2016’s Infamous Iron Man, part of Brian Michael Bendis’ larger Invincible Iron Man run. This series is set after the events of 2015’s Secret Wars. No longer a God Emperor, Victor von Doom has been healed in body and soul. He’s determined to prove himself a hero worthy of the mantle of Iron Man. And because Tony Stark himself is comatose at this point, there’s no one to actually stop Doom from giving it an honest go.

Will Infamous Iron Man have a direct influence on Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars? It’s hard to say. Though, if nothing else, we wouldn’t be surprised if the MCU draws on Doom’s character design in this series as it introduces a Tony Stark-ified version of Doctor Doom. Downey’s character may look less like the traditional Doom than he does this version that wears a silver and green Iron Man armor.

But again, we know that Downey’s character is someone who sees himself as being in the right. Doom firmly believes he’s the hero. There may be elements of Infamous Iron Man that work their way into that portrayal of Doom. He’s a character who needs to win hearts and minds if he’s going to carry out his plan of saving the multiverse.

Invisible Woman and Namor’s Sexual Tension

As seen in: Fantastic Four – 1 2 3 4 (2002)

With all the spectacle and cosmic stakes going on in these next two Avengers movies, it’s all the more important they find time to focus on the smaller character moments. They need to be perfectly balanced enough to satisfy even Thanos himself. Avengers: Infinity War accomplished that task by giving us moments of levity between Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Doctor Strange and zeroing in on the doomed romance between Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany’s Vision. Endgame was basically one long fat joke at the expense of Chris Hemsworth’s Thor.

How will Avengers: Doomsday lighten the mood? We suspect that’s going to fall on Namor’s brawny shoulders. Anyone who’s read a Fantastic Four comic featuring Namor will know that the King of Atlantis has the hots for Susan Storm. Heck, he makes Wolverine’s deep infatuation with Jean Grey seem normal by comparison. Sue, for her part, has never really reciprocated Namor’s love over the years, but that’s never stopped his incessant flirtation. Hey, he’s a fish king. He’s not used to being told no.

Given that Doomsday is the first MCU movie to include both Vanessa Kirby’s Sue and Tenoch Huerta Mejía’s Namor, we can only assume we’re going to see this sexual tension play out on the big screen. Expect some of the movie’s more comedic moments to come as Namor woos Sue and she rebuffs his advances. As for Pedro Pascal’s Reed? If he’s anything like the comic book version, he may be too oblivious to notice. Sue may wind up leading Namor on just to get a rise out of her single-minded science dork of a husband.

Again, there are any number of comics the movie could draw from in this area. Namor’s unrequited love for Sue goes back a long time. But if Doomsday pulls from any one FF comic, we’d guess it would be 2002’s Fantastic Four: 1 2 3 4. That book, which is unusually dark for an FF story, may be the closest Sue has ever come to actually responding to Namor’s advances. 1 2 3 4 is also a very Doom-centric story, so that makes it all the more likely the screenwriters might have consulted this hidden gem of a Marvel comic.

And there you have it. If you want to do your homework before Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters in May 2026, you know what to read. But what Marvel storylines do you most want to see adapted in these next two Avengers movies? Let us know in the comments.

How did Venom make it through an entire trilogy of films without ever even meeting Spider-Man, let alone fighting against or alongside his superhero nemesis?

It is deemed the great missed opportunity of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, which is now reportedly finished after Kraven the Hunter bombed.

The Venom films, starring Tom Hardy, were standout box office performers, and with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there was much hope that Venom might have followed him there for a showdown or team-up.

Speaking to The Discourse Podcast host Mike DeAngelo, via The Playlist, Hardy was asked if studio politics got in the way of a Venom / Spider-Man crossover.

“I don’t know how to answer that question,” Hardy began.

“We got close. We got as close as I could possibly imagine getting, apart from doing a film together, which I would have loved to have done because that just means so much fun.

“And for all the reasons that you explained ultimately in there.”

Hardy went on to say that he wanted the crossover to please younger fans.

“Fundamentally, for me, it would be for the kids,” he said. “Because, you know, as much as adults love superhero films, as you can tell by the box office when they’re successful, I think I’m constantly reminded by children how important these characters are. And they don’t know why their favorite characters aren’t in films together.”

While Hardy didn’t outright accuse either Sony or Marvel of ruining the fun, it’s clear from his answer that the movie adaptation of fan-favorite Marvel anti-hero Venom was constrained.

“We were given a set of boundaries, and we were just really privileged to be able to play with a much-beloved IP like Venom in a way that we were allowed to play,” he said.

“And in that [regard], we did what we could and what we loved doing. We poured all of ourselves into it within the remits of what we were allowed to do with him. And so the enjoyment of the work outweighed the limits of our possibilities with him because we just focused on what we were allowed to do. And we loved doing it.”

With Venom: The Last Dance settling on a global box office of $478,931,196, you’d think the powers that be at Marvel and Sony would want more from the character. But it appears Sony is focusing on the next Spider-Man film, just announced as Spider-Man: Brand New Day and due out July 2026. It may even introduce Miles Morales into the MCU, something Holland is personally invested in.

Sony’s Spider-Man universe officially includes six films: Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Morbius, Madame Web, Venom: The Last Dance, and soon Kraven the Hunter. Only one of these has so far earned above a 5/10 in IGN’s review, with Venom: Let There Be Carnage getting a 7/10. The rest have managed between 4/10 and 5/10.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

New life-sim game inZOI has some of the most robust and realistic character creation tools we’re yet to see in a game. So, naturally, the first thing players decide to do when getting their hands on such technology is recreate their favourite pop stars and frankly terrifying childhood nightmare hauntees.

We’ve collected over 30 of our favourites (some legitimately impressive) for you to take a peek at here. From an almost lifelike Billie Eilish and an advanced look at GTA 6’s Lucia to the sexiest (?) of all Squidwards we’ve got you covered. Below is a slideshow if you want to take a look for yourself, or at the top of the page is a video if you want to spend over 40 minutes watching us react and rank them. I recommend it!

Simon Cardy is a Senior Editorial Producer who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.

Madame Web star Sydney Sweeney is reportedly in final talks to star in the live-action Gundam movie.

In February, it was confirmed that the live action film adaptation of the beloved anime and toy franchise Mobile Suit Gundam had entered production, with Bandai Namco and Legendary signing an agreement to co-finance it.

The companies confirmed Mobile Suit Gundam, which currently lacks an official name, will be written and directed by Sweet Tooth showrunner Kim Mickle and released in theaters globally. No release window or plot details were shared, though a teaser poster, below, was released.

Gaming hardware company ASUS has pulled back the curtain at what may be the reported Xbox-branded handheld device.

The ASUS Republic of Gamers X/Twitter account shared a teaser showing its “little robot friend cooking something up,” offering a brief glimpse at both a Republic of Gamers (ROG) Xbox controller and handheld system.

Last month, IGN reported on Microsoft’s video game hardware ambition, which allegedly includes a full next-gen Xbox for 2027 and an Xbox-branded gaming handheld that may launch later in 2025.

That’s not our only clue, either. The handheld shown in ASUS’s teaser clearly shows off buttons configured for Xbox (Y, B, A, and X, rather than PlayStation’s triangle, circle, cross, and square, or Nintendo’s X, A, B, and Y). There’s also a D-pad, two thumbsticks, and four smaller additional buttons, although it’s pretty hard to make those out clearly.

Perhaps most interestingly of all, though, the official Xbox account acknowledged the tweet with a cheeky wide-eyed gif, suggesting this is all setting up a reveal.

pic.twitter.com/ONZpeEmNka

— Xbox (@Xbox) March 31, 2025

Unfortunately, that’s all we have. There’s no date on the reveal yet, let alone a concrete launch window, but the monitor the little robot is working on states “Marathon stamina, more capacity, faster speeds” and “fresh look!” giving us an idea of what the handheld’s unique selling points may be.

In January, Jason Ronald, Microsoft’s VP of ‘Next Generation,’ told The Verge that the company plans to combine Xbox and Windows experiences together for PC gaming handhelds made by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), otherwise known as third-party hardware manufacturers. Existing PC gaming OEMs include ASUS, Lenovo, and Razer.

While this Xbox-branded gaming handheld is not a Microsoft-made console, the company is reportedly planning to finally launch one of its own in 2027, potentially alongside its next-gen Xbox. Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer recently indicated a first-party Xbox handheld is years away.

Speaking of which, the successor to the Xbox Series X is now allegedly “fully” in production and due out in two years, tying in with Xbox president Sarah Bond’s recent comments that Microsoft was “moving full speed ahead on our next generation hardware, focused on delivering the biggest technological leap ever in a generation.”

For some time now, there’s been much speculation around the future of consoles, with Netflix’s President of Games, Alain Tascan, recently stating that he expects a future generation that relies less on gaming consoles despite major players like Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo pushing forward with new hardware. The latter’s highly anticipated Switch 2 device will be showcased in a Nintendo Direct on April 2, with many fans expecting to hear more about what features the Switch 2 brings to the table, its release date, and how pre-orders will be managed.

Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

The new Pokémon TCG: Surging Sparks bundle is out, it’s in stock, and it’s actually under $50. That alone would be enough to carry today’s lineup, but the rest of the deals aren’t slacking either. TVs from LG and Insignia are seeing big discounts, and Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Ultra Titanium is finally priced like it wants to be on someone’s wrist instead of a museum pedestal.

Surging Sparks Booster Bundle Is In Stock Now

There’s also a stacked Humble Bundle full of family-friendly games (yes, Bluey made the cut), and the IGN Store has a highly detailed Death Stranding 2 model kit up for pre-order if your shelf is looking a little too normal. If you’ve got the itch to treat yourself, today’s not a bad day to scratch it.

Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet – Surging Sparks Booster Bundle

Insignia – 55″ Class F30 Series LED 4K UHD Smart Fire TV

Outright Games Game On! Bundle

Insignia – 65″ Class F50 Series LED 4K UHD Smart Fire TV

Death Stranding 2 – DHV Magellan – Model Kit

LG – 65” Class UT70 Series LED 4K UHD Smart webOS TV (2024)

Samsung – Galaxy Watch Ultra Titanium Smartwatch 47mm LTE

Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet—Journey Together Elite Trainer Box

Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet—Paldean Fates Booster Bundle

Best of Boomer Shooters 4: Badda Bing Badda Boom

Pokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet Shrouded Fable Elite Trainer Box

Street Fighter TCG Alpha Warriors Dreams Preorder

Pokémon TCG: Paradox Clash tin: Iron Leaves ex or Walking Wake ex

Pokémon TCG: 3 Booster Packs & 1 Random Foil

Arcade gamer Billy “King of Kong” Mitchell has won almost a quarter of a million dollars in damages after a court ruled Australian YouTuber Karl Jobst had defamed him.

As spotted by PC Gamer, Jobst — who specializes in content around competitive and speedrunning gaming — included Mitchell in a video entitled “The Biggest Conmen in Video Game History Strike Again!” With 500,000 views, a court agreed that Jobst’s video defamed Mitchell and included inaccurate and unsubstantiated claims.

The King of Kong was initially stripped of his title in 2018 after his scores were scrubbed from Twin Galaxies’ leaderboards following claims the high score record holder had used a MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) and not arcade cabinets to secure his records in games like Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong Jr., which is strictly against the rules.

After six years of defending his records, Mitchell was later able to have his accolades reinstated as part of a “historical database” on Twin Galaxies’ website, a site that tracks competitive gaming records. His high scores were also reinstated by the Guinness World of Records in 2020.

With the launch of Season 3 this week, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone get a significant change that some within the PC community have said could hit their matchmaking queue times.

Activision published the Season 3 patch notes and with it confirmed a big change coming to regular Multiplayer. It’s separating the Multiplayer Ranked Play and Call of Duty: Warzone Ranked Play settings and adding a new Multiplayer-only setting for Quickplay, Featured, and Party Games matches.

Each of these three settings (Multiplayer Ranked Play, Call of Duty: Warzone Ranked Play, and Multiplayer Unranked) will include the following crossplay options when Season 3 goes live on April 4:

• On: Enables matchmaking with all gaming platforms when playing in the selected playlists.
• On (Consoles Only): Enables matchmaking only with other consoles when playing in selected playlists.
• Off: Restricts matchmaking to your current gaming platform only in selected playlists.

Activision made a point of warning those who select On (Consoles Only) may experience negatively impacted matchmaking queue times. But Activision outright said Off will negatively impact matchmaking queue times.

It’s the console-only crossplay coming to regular Multiplayer that has some within the Call of Duty PC community spooked. They’ve said that console players having the option to essentially strip out matchmaking with PC players for regular Multiplayer may mean longer queue times for them. And you can see why they’d be worried.

Call of Duty has a reputation for cheating (it comes with the territory of being such a hugely popular shooter and having a free-to-download battle royale). Cheating is more prevalent on PC (Activision recently confirmed as much, to the point where it said if you believe you’ve died unfairly to a console player, it’s much more likely that they’ve used ‘intel advantage’ than cheats). So, some console players head straight into Call of Duty’s settings and turn off crossplay across the board, just to take the potential for PC cheaters ruining their day out of the equation.

“As a PC player…. hate this change but I get it,” redditor exjr_ said. “I hope it doesn’t affect queue times for the game in the long-run so I’m not forced to buy the game on PS5 to have a good experience.”

“This is awful for PC players because this just killed PC,” added X / Twitter user @GKeepnclassy. “Terrible idea because now PC players that ARE NOT cheating are being penalized. This is bullshit.”

“My lobbies barely fill already to being with on PC due to sbmm,” said @CBBMack. “This will withought a doubt make it worse. Time to plug in the console I guess.”

Some PC players have reacted angrily to the change, saying Activision should instead do more to make its anti-cheat more effective so console players aren’t driven to turn crossplay off in the first place. “Maybe they should fix their anti-cheat instead of isolating PC players,” redditor MailConsistent1344 commented.

Activision, as IGN has reported, has spent millions of dollars in the battle against Call of Duty cheat makers, cheat sellers, and cheat users, with a number of recent high-profile successes. Earlier in March, Phantom Overlay announced it was shutting down, with fans reacting in disbelief that such a prominent Call of Duty cheat provider would fall by the wayside. And just last month, IGN reported on four cheat providers that were shut down ahead of next week’s hotly anticipated return of Verdansk to Warzone.
But it is an uphill battle that may be impossible to win. Activision has promised improved anti-cheat tech with the launch of Season 3, so it will be interesting to see if PC players feel any changes there, especially with the influx of players the return of Verdansk will bring to Warzone.

However, as many have pointed out, the ultra mainstream, super casual Call of Duty audience on console may never make use of these new settings because they may simply not be aware of them. Most Call of Duty players likely do not fuss over patch notes or spend much time in the settings. They jump into unranked Multiplayer, have some fun for an hour or two, then leave. These players may never know console-only crossplay is an option, or know why it would be needed in the first place. And so, the majority of console players may continue to play Call of Duty as they’ve always done: with crossplay off by default.

This is a point made by Call of Duty YouTuber TheXclusiveAce, who reacted to PC player concern in a post on social media.

“I see a lot of pushback with this change from PC players concerned that they won’t be able to find games in lesser played modes or that matchmaking will take too long,” TheXclusiveAce said.

“To be clear, PC players will still be matchmaking with the largest pool of the playerbase since that majority of players won’t even notice this setting exists so they’ll stick to the default or even if they are aware of it, many will choose to leave it on.

“If anything, it’s the players that decide to turn console-only crossplay on that will be limiting their matchmaking pool but that’s a choice that’s now in their hands for the first time in Pubs and it’s a tradeoff that many of us will be happy to make.”

With Season 3 nearly upon Black Ops 6 and Warzone, it will be interesting to see if these changes move the needle, as Activision’s war on cheaters continues.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.