Breaking Down Who Donald Glover Might Play in 'Spider-Man: Homecoming'

Donald Glover joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe via 'Spider-Man: Homecoming.' Who the hell is he playing though?

Donald Glover in 'Spider Man: Homecoming'
Sony

Image via Sony

Donald Glover in 'Spider Man: Homecoming'

During the first trailer for Sony/Marvel's Spider-Man: Homecoming, we got a quick glimpse of current pop culture lord Donald Glover watching someone fire an insane gun. Judging by the situation, it was easy to deduce that dude's a villain: one of the central conflicts of the film appears to be Spider-Man trying to stop the Vulture from creating deadly weapons. The mystery was on, though: who the fuck is Donald Glover portraying in Spider-Man: Homecoming?

This morning, I thought we got answers. The third trailer for Spider-Man: Homecoming was released, and Donald Glover spoke words. Ten of them—"You gotta get better at this part of the job"— to Peter Parker, no less. But, the more I look at the clip (I must have rewound it about 10 times since I saw it this morning), the more confused I am about Glover's role. It's one of the things I wanted to know when I visited the Spider-Man: Homecoming set, but never got an answer on. Right now, I'm still not sure who Glover will be portraying, but trying to figure out these kinds of mysteries before I put ass in a movie theater seat is what keeps the lights on in my cave, so here's a look at the possible characters Donald Glover could be portraying in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Miles Morales. Or Miles Morales' dad. Or Miles Morales' Uncle.

At least, this is what people have wanted. Damn near most of the internet wanted him to play Miles Morales, the half-black, half-Puerto Rican Spider-Man back in 2011, but at 33 years old, I can't imagine him portraying another teen wall crawler. And truth be told, while a number of chin stroking superhero film fans have figured he could be portraying Miles' father, Jefferson, does the Glover in that .gif really look like a father? Nah, he'd have to be someone a bit more dastardly.

If you're a real Marvel head, you know that Miles (and his father) are from Marvel's "Ultimate" Universe, and in it Jefferson's brother Aaron Davis was the Prowler. He was essentially a cat burglar who stole all kinds of stuff; one of his capers involved jacking stuff from a lab when a genetically-altered spider crawled into his bag. This spider is the one who bit Miles to give him his powers.

I don't say any of that to say that Donald Glover will be the reason Peter Parker gets his powers... but it might make sense to utilize Aaron Davis as one of the nefarious individuals working with the Vulture on producing and distributing these insane weapons we keep seeing.

The other Prowler

This would be Hobie Brown, the Prowler from Marvel's "main" universe. Like Glover, Brown is African American, and dumb smart. Brown was also a thief, but he's known as a whiz with technology and been in Spider-Man's side for years. If Glover is this Prowler, it doesn't look like he's rocking that hideous outfit, which, Jah bless. Glover in this role might be the move, to be honest.

Robbie Robertson. Or Robbie's son.

While Glover's age would work against him portraying Robertson (who Bill Nunn played in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy), it would be a dope way to introduce the Daily Bugle into this new series. Glover could play Randy Robertson, Randy's son, who was a supporting character and friend of Peter Parker's in the series. The probability on this one could be low, considering that Randy was never really on some thievery in the comics.

Someone else entirely

Does Glover need to be playing someone from the comics? Sony and Marvel can take as many liberties as they want (or not) with their cinematic universe, and Glover could be an entirely different herovillain character. With one line, it sounds like he's sure of himself, and if he's seemingly unafraid to be standing in front of Spider-Man, he has some kind of clout. Whatever character Glover's portraying, we know he's going to continue to paint the pop culture landscape how he sees fit.

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