Be aware there a whole bunch of Spider-Man: Homecoming spoilers in this article. Obviously.

What once seemed impossible is finally upon us; Spider-Man: Homecoming has arrived and with it the unprecedented deal between Marvel and Sony has payed off in full with the joy of seeing Spidey done right by the people who know his character best. Marvel has always known exactly how to play their heroes, and Tom Holland's spin on the iconic comic book character is dead on point. Directed by Jon Watts, the film is an absolute crowd-pleaser and a proud return to form for the franchise, but since it's also a part of the larger MCU and the serialized narrative that goes with it, there are some lingering questions that need answerin when we catch up with Peter in Avengers: Infinity War and the Homecoming sequels.

How will Aunt May deal with the truth about Peter's nighttime hobbies? Why is Toomes all the sudden protecting Peter Parker? And how does a high school kid from Brooklyn wind up in a battle against the Mad Titan Thanos? Let's take a look at the biggest questions we need answered after Spider-Man: Homecoming below!

1. Which MCU Regular Will Take Over for Iron Man in the Sequel?

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Image via Sony Pictures

In a recent report, we learned that Sony and Marvel's Spider-Man sequel will see a new MCU character swinging into Spidey's neighborhood. In keeping with how Peter Parker was introduced in Captain America: Civil War, Tony Stark (with the aide of Happy Hogan) had a significant supporting role in Homecoming, acting essentially as the liaison between Peter Parker and the MCU. Hopefully this doesn't mean there won't be any Tony Stark at all in Homecoming 2 (or whatever it ends up being titled). Homecoming established a paternal relationship between Tony and Peter, and it would be cheap to act like that didn't happen. Well, unless Tony dies in Infinity War, which is definitely a possibility. Gulp. And Infinity War is likely where we'll find out, or at least get an idea, of which MCU character will pop up in the next Spider-Man movie so keep an eye on who shares the most chemistry and screen time with our friendly neighborhood hero.

2. Will Spider-Man Ever Properly Join the Avengers?

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Image via Sony Pictures

The end of Homecoming gives Peter a lovely moment of growth. After spending the entire film wanting (and sometimes pretending) to be an Avenger, Peter makes a surprisingly mature decision by keeping his "working class, Bruce Springsteen vibe" and walking away from Tony's offer to become an internationally famous superhero and move upstate to the new Avengers compound. It's the right ending for the film, one that satisfies Peter's arc and cements him as the kind of ground-level good guy that's made Spider-Man such an enduring fan favorite. However, will we ever see him become a full-fledged member of the Avengers in the MCU?

Honestly, this is a tricky and difficult question to predict, not just because of the somewhat mysterious and often confusing nature of the Marvel/Sony deal, but also because of Peter's history in the comics. (There's even a Spider-Man trade titled "Am I An Avenger?") In the comics, Peter Parker has a long tradition of teaming up with the Avengers and fighting alongside the heroes without becoming an official member -- either because he's denied the opportunity or because he declines (or other comic booky reasons like body swaps and whatnot). In recent decades, the character has become an official member a number of times (Uncanny Avengers, New Avengers) and Miles Morales' Spider-Man became a key member of the Avengers following Secret Wars.

We do know we'll be seeing Peter Parker in the next two Avengers films as a part of the five-film deal between Marvel and Sony, but we also know his role in Infinity War is relatively small, so whether the deal or the narrative allow for Peter to become a full-fledged, card-carrying member of the Avengers remains to be seen. Both Holland and Feige have emphasized how excited they are to track Peter's transformation from an adolescent to a man, and joining the Avengers certainly would be a nice liminal exclamation point for that journey.

3. Will The Vulture Start The Sinister Six?

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Image via Sony Pictures

For some reason, Adrian Toomes is keeping Peter's secret identity a secret and it sure ain't because he loves the kid. However, Peter did save his life and as we saw in the world's most tense meet-the-parents moment, he's the kind of guy that believes in paying back in good deeds. You know, if not killing someone is considered paying back a good deed. However, Toomes also revealed himself to be a cold-blooded killer who placed the prosperity of his family above all else, so considering Peter was responsible for bringing down his entire operation, he's probably pretty pissed off about it.

During the mid-credits scene, we see Toomes come across his old criminal cohort Mac Gargan (the one "Suit Lady" was so eager to instant kill), who went to prison with some gnarly new scars after Spider-Man's Staten Island ferry SNAFU. When Gargan repeats a rumor that Toomes knows Spider-Man's real identity, Toomes promises that if he knew who was, he'd already be dead.  So, the question stands -- why is he protecting Peter's identity? Because he owes him his life, or because he wants to be the one to take him down?

The scene is also a fun teaser for comic fans, who know that Gargan traditionally goes on to become the Scorpion, a fellow villain who was an original member of the Sinister Six with the Vulture. Will that alliance become anything more than a tease? It's certainly possible, but there are a few complications. For one, Michael Keaton's contract was for a single film. That said, they only had Michael Douglas on a single contract before Ant-Man, but he seems more than happy to return for the sequel. Marvel has the heaps of money to throw at people if they need to convince someone to come back, and I'm sure the positive reception and career boost that come with it don't hurt either. On the more complicated end is the Sony/Marvel deal. Sony was openly planning a Sinister Six movie for a long time before the MCU reboot and even teased it in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 credits, so they may want to save the villainous sextet for their own Marvel Universe, which is set to include Venom, Black Cat and Silver Sable, and they may not want to hand it over to the MCU continuity. Will we see the Sinister Six at some point? It's likely, but we'll have to see if they find a way into the Homecoming sequels and the MCU.

4. How Does Peter Get Mixed Up in 'Infinity War'?

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Image via Marvel Studios

Homecoming dealt pretty heavily with the pros and cons of throwing a teenage kid into the line of fire, but the film's final scenes cemented the fact that Peter earned back Tony's trust and respect, enough to not only get his high-tech suit back, but get an offer for an even fancier get-up (Iron Spider?) and a seat at the Avengers table. However, that gig would have come with the kind of training you'd expect for a hero looking to upgrade from a Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man to a someone that's ready to fight a death-obsessed, intergalactic psychopath. As it stands, Peter went back home to his high school dances and street-level robberies, so how the heck does he get mixed up in Infinity War and what does he bring to the table in a battle against someone as powerful as Thanos? After all, if Cap could have laid Peter out as Tony suggested, what's to keep the Mad Titan from picking his teeth with him?

No doubt, Infinity War will be an all hands on deck sort of situation, but Feige has said that Spider-Man's role will be about on par with what we saw in Civil War (so, not big). That's to be expected in a film that has to serve so many characters, but it will be interesting to see if Peter comes in again as a clutch player or if the MCU powers that be have other plans considering just how powerful this particular foe is.

5. How Will Aunt May Take the News?

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Image via Sony

Marvel and Sony made it clear they weren't taking the traditional route with Aunt May the moment they cast Marisa Tomei in the role, and in an exciting shake-up from the on-screen versions of Spider-Man we've seen before, Homecoming ends by letting Aunt May in on Peter's big secret. Excited and overjoyed about getting his fancy-pants suit back, Peter dives into a quick change a little too hastily and doesn't hear Aunt May coming around the corner. She catches him red-suited, and now Peter has to contend with the fact that "after everything she's been through", his guardian now knows that he's sneaking out every night and putting himself in harm's way. Presumably, "everything she's been through" refers to the death of Uncle Ben, and her panic when Peter disappears during the ferry incident certainly points to someone coping with a tragic loss, but considering that neither Ben nor the nature of her grief are explicitly stated in Homecoming, the story leaves room for surprises if Marvel and Sony want to shake things up even more.

That's what makes Aunt May's new knowledge so exciting. Homecoming leaves a lot of room for May to grow and the ending sets us up for a more interesting and intimate take on the character. Charming as Tomei is, she doesn't get much more to do than be the hot aunt (Did you notice she's hot? This movie really wants you to know she's hot.) Now that's she's in Peter's circle of trust, I'm excited to see how that opens up the character and, hopefully, gives her a more significant and active role in the sequel.

6. What Is Thor's Magic Belt and Why Does Tony Have It?

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Turns out our dear Happy Hogan is kind of really bad at his job -- I mean, being Iron Man's bodyguard is one type of silly, but with his recent promotion to asset management, Hogan really screwed the pooch (to use a Tony Stark favorite phrase) on his first big gig. Tasked with the big moving day from the Avengers tower to the new compound upstate, Happy is overseeing the transport of Tony's precious items, including a crate full of arc reactors and "Thor's magic belt". The proper name and the word Happy couldn't pronounce is Megingjörð, (also called the power belt) which makes Thor's god-like strength even stronger and godlier. The belt first appeared in 1963's "Journey Into Mystery #91" and based on the Norse mythology, Megingjörð is one of Thor's powerful enchanted items along with his gauntlets, and of course, Mjollnir.

While it could be nothing more than a fun throwaway line and Easter egg for eager MCU nerds, the belt's introduction here is particularly interesting ahead of Thor: Ragnarok. For one thing, I sure bet Thor would like to have a belt that makes him super-strong while Hela is ravaging Asgard, especially since we know she's going to get a mic drop moment when she shatters Mjollnir. However, looking ahead a little further and considering the Avengers, Guardians and every hero under the sun are about to head into battle against Thanos, I wouldn't be surprised to see Megingjörð pop up again in Infinity War.

On a slightly different note, why in the sweet heck would Thor let Tony keep possession of a powerful Asgardian item considering our genius billionaire playboy philanthropist can't be trusted not to science himself into a near apocalypse?

8. Miles Morales: Easter Egg or Teaser?

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Image via Sony

We may never get to see Donald Glover's Spider-Man (at least not in live-action), but the MCU gave us a clever twist on that popular fan-casting by putting Glover in the role of Aaron Davis. Pulled straight from the comics Davis is a low-tier bad guy who goes by the name The Prowler, a petty criminal who veers towards thieving and burglary... and also happens to be the uncle of Miles Morales, the young man who takes over as Spider-Man after Peter Parker's death. In fact, Davis is the reason Miles becomes Spider-Man. After Davis breaks into the defunct Osborn Industries (where Peter Parker was first bitten and got his powers), a radioactive spider crawls into his bag and goes home with him, where it crawls out and bites his visiting nephew, Miles.

In Homecoming, Davis helps Peter, telling him he doesn't want those alien-tech weapons floating around Queens because he's got a nephew who lives in the area. So, is it just a fun shout out for fans of the comics, or a tease for what the MCU may have in store years down the line? After all, Feige recently revealed that the little boy in Iron Man, was in fact Peter Parker. Turns out, it's a bit of both. "All of those little things are just Easter eggs for fans until they’re something more than that," Feige explained in an interview with ScreenCrush. "But anything that’s happened in the books is potential material for us. In the meantime, I think Miles is a big part of the animated movie that Sony’s making. But where we go ... we definitely want you to go 'He’s there. He’s there somewhere.'"