Marvel’s Mysterious Spider-Man Teases Are Part of a Countdown, But For What?
Images via Columbia Pictures/YouTube
On late Sunday night, as day laborers were slumbering away and night owls were surely watching syndicated showings of Spider-Man 2 on premium channels, the official Marvel Twitter account posted a cryptic image of the number “4” written out in spiderwebs. With no further context, the caption simply read: “#MarvelComics.”
#MarvelComicspic.twitter.com/tqeAGUaEVl
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) June 16, 2019
And, yes—Twitter was set ablaze with speculation.
The number “4” in particular spawned a number of theories, notably the possibility that the comics department got the ball rolling on a comic adaptation of Sam Raimi’s long-lost script for Spider-Man 4 (which sat in pre-production purgatory for years before being killed by Columbia Pictures in favor of the Amazing Spider-Man reboot). This was bolstered by a since-deleted tweet by Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 concept and narrative art contributor Alex Ross, who posted an image of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man and Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane accompanied by the caption #SpiderMan4 shortly after Marvel’s initial post.
Another theory that picked up speed was the possibility of a potential Spider-Man and Fantastic Four crossover, which previously ran as a limited series in the summer of 2007. Adding fuel to the fire was the fact that the longest-running sole writer in The Amazing Spider-Man’s history is currently penning Marvel’s Fantastic Four title (and, not to mention, the image’s uncanny resemblance to Marvel’s previous Fantastic Four announcements).
But as of Monday afternoon, the number “4” would appear insignificant to the unknown Spider-Man project. Drawn in a similar, spiderwebbed style, the official account posted a picture of the number “3” accompanied by the same hashtag, confirming that the comics division is tweeting out a countdown.
#MarvelComicspic.twitter.com/VVIX4bkRyf
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) June 17, 2019
But a countdown for what?
Well, the two aforementioned theories are out of the question, as they were both debunked in a tweet posted by Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski shortly after the countdown was revealed.