Where Does Spider-Man's Black Suit Come From? The Suit's Origins and Its Future in the MCU
Published Dec. 20 2021, 5:54 p.m. ET
Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Of the many famous arcs that Spider-Man has, one of the most iconic comes in the form of the black suit. Spider-Man's brief stint with his starkly different costume gave rise to one of his greatest enemies and has become one of his most memorable stories. The black suit has been a staple in several Spidey video games and may even soon make an appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But where did the suit come from?
Spider-Man has had several different suits over the years in the comics. The Iron Spider costume was gifted to him from Iron Man during the Civil War comics arc. He also received a new costume when he briefly joined the Fantastic Four, replacing the late Johnny Storm. In the MCU films, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) had his own homemade suit before receiving new suits from Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). As of No Way Home, a black suit is on the horizon for the MCU.
But what are the origins for the iconic look for Spider-Man?
The black suit in 'Spider-Man 3' (2007)
Where does Spider-Man's black suit come from?
In the comics, Spider-Man's black suit — otherwise known as the symbiote suit — first debuted in Secret Wars, a Marvel Comics crossover that was released between 1984 and 1985. In the series, several Marvel heroes are teleported against their will to a place called "Battleworld," where they are forced to fight against an army of villains in exchange for a prize. When Spider-Man's suit is damaged, he finds the infamous symbiote while on Battleworld. It eventually forms on him as a new suit.
Spider-Man later returned to Earth while wearing the black suit. While it initially gave him enhanced strength, the symbiote also tried to forcibly bond with him and often took control of his body. After it proves to pose a threat to him and his loved ones, he would eventually weaken it with high-frequency sonic waves and reject the symbiote entirely. The symbiote would later bond with Eddie Brock and create Venom.
Future adaptations of Spider-Man stories would slightly adjust the origins of the suit. In the 2007 film, the symbiote comes from a meteor that crash-landed on Earth. His arc with the suit is one of the most memorable stories in Spider-Man history.
After Spider-Man: No Way Home, the black suit may just make its way to the MCU as well.
The symbiote and Eddie Brock
The MCU paves the way for the Black Suit.
While Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and the symbiote exist in a completely separate universe in the Venom films, they were finally brought into MCU canon after No Way Home broke the multiverse apart. Eddie and the Symbiote were briefly transported to Spider-Man's universe. While they never interacted with the web-head before being sent back to their own world at the end of the film, a piece of the symbiote was left behind and still retains its sentience.
No Way Home is an iconic Spider-Man movie all on its own, so it'd be difficult to top that kind of scale and fan service in a follow-up for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But if any story could do it, it would certainly be an arc with the black suit.