Could Spider-Man Show Up in 'Avengers 2?' Andrew Garfield's Comics Say 'Maybe'

Wild speculation time!

One of the unfortunate facts of the current state of Marvel's character rights is that Spider-Man is owned by Sony, and The Avengers (Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, etc.) are owned by Marvel Studios. So, unless some very good-natured and fancy business and legal maneuvering can happen, there isn't much of a chance of Spidey being part of an Avengers sequel.

But we keep getting glimmers of hope: the leaked pics from "Iron Man 3" showed the Iron Patriot armor, which was made in the comics by Norman Osborn, a Spider-Man character. However, later spoilers revealed that Osborn won't be appearing in "Iron Man 3"... only his armor will.

Then there was the fact that the special effects editors for "The Avengers" were planning on putting the Oscorp tower into their movie version of Manhattan. That plan fell through due to time constraints, but that would have at least been a nod to the Spidey universe.

Now we have our most tantalizing indicator of all: "The Amazing Spider-Man" star Andrew Garfield was spotted carrying a stack of Avengers comic books. Not just any Avengers comics, either: they feature Thanos, who is likely to be the main villain in "Avengers 2." He must be preparing to take his role as Spidey into the Avenger-verse, right?

Well... maybe not so much. Ryan Penagos (who works for Marvel) notes that Marvel associate producer Blake Garris gave Garfield the comic books, simply because Garfield is a fan. We may have to delay our hopes after all.